RuPaul’s Drag Race's first cishet queen responds to backlash over her casting

6 December 2021, 12:47

Meet Drag Race’s first cishet queen Maddy Morphosis

By Sam Prance

Maddy Morphosis has opened up about being cast in season 14 in a new statement.

RuPaul's Drag Race season 14 star Maddy Morphosis has addressed the reaction to her being the show's first cishet queen.

Last week (Dec 2), RuPaul's Drag Race unveiled the cast for season 14 and revealed that Maddy Morphosis, one of the new queens, would be the franchise's first cisgender, heterosexual male contestant. The news was met with a mixed reaction from fans, with many calling out Drag Race for casting a straight, white man before drag kings and AFAB queens.

Now, Maddy has released a statement opening up about her drag journey and the response to her casting in the series.

READ MORE: RuPaul's Drag Race season 14 will not air on Netflix in the UK

Taking to Twitter last night (Dec 5), Maddy wrote: "Hi everyone, I just wanted to take a moment and talk about a few things regarding myself, the show, and the reaction. Obviously, with short clips and snippets you don't get a full sense of who someone is, or their story."

She then explained: "I entered the scene shortly after high school, because it was a safe space for me to explore my own gender identity. The people I met, and the experiences I had, helped me understand more about gender and sexuality, what it meant to me and where I fit in with everything."

As for the backlash, Maddy clarified; "I'm not here to show the world that "straight guys can do drag. For anyone saying that I'm representing an underrepresented group, I appreciate you, but straight men are not a persecuted and excluded group within the drag community. I've always felt welcomed in any drag space I've entered, and have never been shunned, excluded or persecuted because of my sexuality."

Maddy then specified: "But I know many entertainers who have been discriminated against for being AFAB, trans, POC and more. I think one of the best things to come out of my casting is that it's kicking up a lot more talk about representation in the drag scene. And I hope that it leads to more marginalised groups being showcased and represented."

Maddy ended the statement by writing: "Thank you to everyone who has shown me love and support! With how crazy everything is, I'm not able to respond to everyone, but I promise I do see your messages, and I appreciate you. Be sure to send the love to all the other contestants as well! They're all amazing and beautiful people and deserve all your love and support."

RuPaul's Drag Race season 14 will premiere on VH1 on December 7, 2022.

Listen to Charlie Craggs and NoseBleedFitz talk about their coming out journeys

This week on the Coming Out Chats podcast, trans activist Charlie Craggs and TikTok superstar NoseBleedFitz open up about their coming out journeys, their experiences accessing health care in the UK, staying in touch with teachers, and drawing strength from the trans community.