RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Bob the Drag Queen is the latest to speak out against California governor Gavin Newsom, who has come under fire over anti-trans comments that many view as him throwing the trans people under the bus. After setting himself up as a staunch supporter of trans and other LGBTQ+ rights, Newsom has since shifted away from supporting the trans community, noticeably after President Trump’s 2024 re-election.
In March of this year, Newsom had Charlie Kirk as the inaugural guest of his new podcast, This is Gavin Newsom. Kirk is the founder of right-wing student group Turning Point USA, a group that has an extensive history of spreading anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. He has called trans people “an abomination” and further said transgender identities are “against our senses” and “against the natural law.” During the podcast, Newsom agreed with Kirk about how it’s “deeply unfair” to allow transgender female athletes to compete against cisgender girls and women.
After the Trump administration shutdown the LGBTQ+ Youth Specialized Service hotline on July 16, Bob the Drag Queen joined MSNBC’s The Weekend: Primetime with Ayman Mohyeldin and Antonia Hylton, to weigh in on the discussion.
“I’m really afraid of what the outcome will be,” the Drag Race alumni replied when asked about the closure. “… Obviously, mental health is really important, especially when it comes to mental health surrounding suicidal ideology and how hard it can be to get through something like that. Obviously, when you’re in that state of mind, you’re going to end up needing some help. And it feels really upsetting that that will not be provided to people who need it now.”
Bob also elucidated that people should remember that “transgender is not a dirty word,” that it is simply an adjective. Bob chastised Newsom for failing to understand the real lives of the people he is selling out.
He continued, “I will say this: No one who actually knows a trans person would ever go around saying and doing these things. And I mean, actually knows … Your partner, your children, your parents, your cousin, your best friend, like, people that you see on a daily basis. When you realize that everyone’s just trying to live their life … trying to go to the bathroom, trying to have jobs, take care of their families … Transgender is not a dirty word.” He finished the interview by reminding marginalized people that they belong in the United States.
Furthermore, he adds, “America was not built by a monolithic group of people,” he said. “They would like you to believe that America was built by all these old, straight white guys, but there were queer people, there were people of color, there were Black people, Asian people, all building this country, literally building with our bare hands … They could not have built this country without us, and they cannot sustain it without us either, so just remember that.”
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