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Drag Wars Featuring Congressman George Santos

Denny PattersonBy Updated:3 Mins Read
Embattled U.S. Congressman George Santos, who has been accused of lying about multiple aspects of his background including his work history, ancestry, finances, and that his mother was in the World Trade Center on September 11, has responded to accusations that he once performed and dressed in drag. Of course, he strongly denies them. “The most recent obsession from the media claiming that I am a drag queen or ‘performed’ as a drag queen is categorically false,” the congressman tweeted last week. “The media continues to make outrageous claims about my life while I am working to deliver results. I will not be distracted nor fazed by this.” Santos, who is openly gay and represents New York’s 3rd District, was identified by a Brazilian drag performer known as Eula Rochard. On January 12, she posted a picture of herself with another person in drag at a Rio de Janeiro-area parade. She claims the other person is Santos, who went by the name Kitara Ravache. In an interview with CNN, Rochard said that she knew Santos from LGBTQ events he attended in the town of Niterói, near Rio de Janeiro, where he was well-known in the gay community. She recognized him from a recent news report and dug up the old pictures, but was surprised to learn that Santos was a Republican. George Santos “I don’t know him now; I only knew him then,” she says. Rochard adds that she wishes Santos would own up to this part of his past. “It’s marvelous work (to be a drag queen)” she exclaims. “He can’t discriminate against what he himself did, and if he does; he is discriminating against me.” Santos, who has gone on record saying he has never experienced discrimination in the Republican Party, has voiced support in the past for policies seen as discriminatory against LGBTQ individuals. In April 2022, he posted a video on Facebook vocalizing his support for Republican Governor Ron DeSantis’ legislation in Florida banning certain teachings about sexual orientation and gender identity in classrooms. In the video, he accused Democrats of “wanting to groom our kids”—a homophobic term that invokes an idea that LGBTQ people corrupt children. Although Santos took to social media denying claims that he ever dressed in drag, he gave somewhat of a different response when he landed at New York’s LaGuardia Airport on Saturday and was bombarded by reporters. One of the questions Santos commented on involved the drag photos circulating online. He responded, “I was young, and I had fun at a festival. Sue me for having a life.”

However, the cherry on top of this whole fiasco had to be when he started a Twitter battle with drag superstar Trixie Mattel. It started by Santos complaining about people impersonating him on late night television shows such as SNL and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. “I have now been enshrined in late night TV history with all these impersonations, but they are all TERRIBLE so far,” he wrote. “Jon Lovitz is supposed to be one of the greatest comedians of all time, and that was embarrassing—for him, not me! These comedians need to step their game up.”

Mattel, who won the third season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, responded with: “Maybe the source material was weak.” From there, it went on a short, but extremely comical ride. As expected, Twitter users were quick to drag Santos even further. https://twitter.com/THEashleyvrana/status/1617902259437985800 So, in the words of Mama Ru herself, “I can’t wait to see how this turns out.” Photos courtesy of social media
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