‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Team On Critiquing Queens & Lifting Up The Queer Community: “There’s No Other Show That Belongs To Us” – Contenders TV: The Nominees
RuPaul’s Drag Race continues to top itself year after year, and it shows no sign of slowing down after receiving 10 Emmy nominations for the show’s 16th season. “Thankfully, we draw from such a deep well of queen talent across the country,” explains EP Mandy Salangsang at a virtual panel for Deadline’s Contenders Television: The Nominees.
She was joined by senior producer and judge Michelle Visage, judge Ts Madison and choreographer Jamal Sims. “Every season obviously brings with these talented queens such variety, such diversity, such unique and new talent and visions.” “When people interview me, they’ll say, ‘What makes this different than any other season?,’” says Visage. “The queens make it different.
Each batch is an incredibly talented, gifted group of individuals that brings so much to this platform.” RELATED: Deadline’s Contenders TV: The Nominees – Full Coverage As a judge, Visage’s approach to critiquing the queens comes from a place of tough love. “I’m a mother to a queer child,” she says. “I’m on this earth as an ally… to help make this world a better place for all humans, but mostly for LGBTQIA+ humans because they have a harder go of it on this earth… It’s really hard out there if they’re wanting to be in this game for more than 15 minutes.
I want them to show all of themselves while they have the moment, because you don’t know if they’re going to be here for one week or if they’re going to be here for 13 weeks, so I think they should lay it all on the line every single episode.” Ts Madison’s approach to judging may be different, but her motivation also comes from the same place of advocacy in the queer community. “When I’m judging the girls, I’m always judging them from the place of ‘I’m a self-made star,’ so they have the opportunity to have a stage that reaches the entire world,” says Madison.
