“You directly attacked my livelihood, which is an act of violence,” Couleé said, later adding they are finally speaking out now that their mentees, known as drag daughters, “are still experiencing these micro-aggressions.”
“The fact that … I had to almost beg for an apology really let me know where I stood to you not just as a person, but as a person of color specifically.”Īctually fuming /8SyZKFYEjI- martin June 21, 2020Ĭouleé also accused T Rex of pay inequity and blacklisting Couleé until they made it onto “Drag Race” in 2017. “I want you to know that experience has stayed with me for a very long time because you were somebody that I considered a friend,” Couleé said. T Rex, who sat quietly during most of the town hall and appeared to occasionally be on a cellphone, admitted to making the joke. The performance would have been set to “I’m A Slave 4 U” by Britney Spears, and Couleé, the only Black performer, would have been dressed as a slave while the other performers whipped them, Couleé said. Shea Couleé, a star of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” who came up in the Chicago drag scene at the same time as T Rex, accused T Rex of joking about doing a racist group number for Black History Month. “The goal tonight is to hear from members of the community who have been harmed and … create specific actions for restorative justice,” LaRoux said. We have to take some steps forward to make sure we have a more inclusive and diverse Boystown or ‘Queerstown’ - whatever you would like to call it.”Īmong other ground rules, LaRoux asked all participants to honor each speaker’s courage, hoping to facilitate discussion between members of the community who’d been hurt and the people they said were responsible for their trauma. “It’s up to our community to do what’s right and practice what they preach. “This is a very needed conversation that’s been a long time coming, and it’s at the point now where we can no longer ignore it,” Stoole said. Lucy Stoole, one of the queens who led the Drag March for Change, moderated the nearly three-hour town hall with Shimmy LaRoux, a Black woman from Chicago’s burlesque community who works as a diversity, equity and inclusion consultant for her day job.
The town hall was organized by the new Chicago Black Drag Council, an open group for Black nightlife performers created after this month’s Drag March for Change, which drew thousands of protesters demanding racial justice - starting in Boystown. T Rex did not immediately respond to requests for comment.