“Gooped, gagged and stripped raw”: RuPaul announces memoir in emotional video
RuPaul has announced the release of his first ever memoir. Titled The House of Hidden Meanings, the book will be released on 5 March 2024.
According to Vogue, the memoir “charts a course from his tumultuous home life as a child, through to coming to terms with his sexuality as a teenager, his wayward years in the punk and drag scenes of Atlanta and New York, and all the way up to finding sobriety and true love with his now-husband Georges LeBar.” The Drag Race host told the publication that it’s a “very American story” in which he details how to “navigate life on this planet, but also create something that isn’t just for you—something that’s exploratory and adventurous and selfless.” There will be a chapter that explores RuPaul’s teenage years, particularly how he ‘dabbled in hard drugs’ and lost his virginity. “I can’t determine whether people are going to accept it or understand it, but it was very cathartic for me to just get it all out,” he explained. “I feel like I’ve kept up a poker face and held my cards close to my chest my whole life, and I still do that, because it’s a protection mechanism.” RuPaul announced its release in an emotional Instagram video, where he revealed that it took two-and-a-half years to write. “It’s finally here, my memoir,” he says in the clip. “I’m so excited and so anxious at the same time because I reveal so much of myself.
This world, today, it feels so hostile and it’s such a scary place to be vulnerable in. But, I did it. So, get ready!” In the caption, RuPaul further shared that writing the book left him feeling “gooped, gagged and stripped raw”, but he learned that there’s strength in vulnerability.
News of The House of Hidden Meanings was met with excitement from Drag Race alumni, such as Just May, Ginny Lemon, Grag Queen, Nicky Doll, Brooke Lynn Hytes, Danny Beard, Vicki Vivacious and Le Fil.
