Bob The Drag Queen is getting ready to head out on the road with Madonna on her The Celebration Tour, but he’s also busy with his own projects as well. The beloved drag performer and winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race spoke to Attitude magazine about his new comedy special, the tour, and his relationship with the pop icon, and he revealed that yes, he’s shown her one of the most shocking moments from the RuPaul’s Drag Race runway.
In the chat, Bob stated the he “did once show her a clip of Drag Race when all the queens were dressed in kimonos.” While some might see the episode as odd or even find it uncomfortable, Madonna reacted well to the many homages paid to her. “She thought it was pretty funny” the champion admitted.
The clip that Bob showed the Grammy winner was from an episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race that included a Madonna-inspired runway challenge. The contestants all had to pick an iconic look from Madonna’s time in the spotlight and showcase their own version of it on the runway, which is a challenge that has happened in the past with a focus on other stars.
Four contestants, Thorgy Thor, Derrick Barry, Kim Chi, and Naomi Smalls, all wore kimonos as part of the challenge. They were all referencing her “Nothing Really Matters” music video, which famously featured Madonna in a kimono at a time when cultural appropriation wasn’t as much of an issue that people got called out for as it is today. Immediately after the episode aired, many fans of the show referred to the moment as “kimono gate.”
Bob has referenced this interaction with Madonna before. In a separate chat he had on his Sibling Rivalry podcast, which he co-hosts with fellow RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Monét X Change, Bob stated that when he showed this clip to Madonna, her main question to him was why he chose to recreate her 2013 GLAAD Media Awards protest look, which featured a Boy Scout uniform.
Of all the many looks she’s turned out throughout her career, why pick that one, which is fairly straightforward, and very masculine? Bob explained that he loved the look and believed it was a great choice. He then proudly told Madonna that he had won the challenge that week, thanks in part to the Boy Scout outfit.
Bob is set to open for Madonna when her The Celebration Tour begins in October in London. The run of shows was supposed to begin in America this summer, but weeks before it commenced, Madonna was rushed to the hospital with a bacterial infection, which delayed the start of the venture.
Love ran deep last night between Bad Bunny and his fans, who filled the Capital One Arena from the floor up to the championship banners. The crowd’s passion for the artist and his music was punctuated with the roar of recognition that greeted the first notes of every single song.
Deafening screams greeted Bad Bunny, too, as he made his entrance rising from beneath the stage to a live orchestra playing the Bond-style overture of “Nadie Sabe,” the opening track on the rapper-singer’s latest LP, Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana (No one knows what will happen tomorrow).
Kyle Griffin’s first foray into the world of news was serving as the anchor for his high school’s morning announcements program. But the then-teenager quickly realized that being an on-air personality was not for him.
“I saw at my local NBC affiliate that while the anchors and reporters were great, they were reading someone else’s words, and I wanted to be the person who wrote those words,” says Griffin. “I wanted to write the news.”
Griffin got his wish. A veteran of Seven Network Limited, NBC News Yahoo!, and the Albany, New York-based NBC affiliate WNYT, he’s currently the executive producer of MSNBC’s The Weekend, the network’s Saturday and Sunday morning news show, which launched earlier this year.
Variety is the name of the game of this very section, a treasure trove of nontraditional, often multi-genre, events that don't neatly categorize in the other listings. This is where you'll find a few different alt-queer dance parties at DC9 to check out. Or if you'd like to consider reading a new book or getting to know a new-to-you queer author, flip the page to browse the lineup at the queer-owned Loyalty Bookstore.
Feel like taking in an art show that's not in a building surrounding the Mall? Consider Glen Echo Park. Looking for drag queens? See the Boulet Brothers at the Fillmore, or Shi-Queeta-Lee and company at The Hamilton Live. And if you like to laugh, well... we have queer comics galore.
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!