Some of the most popular queens from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” will perform live at National Harbor outside D.C. on Aug. 6 as part of the official “WERQ THE WORLD”tour.
In recent months, drag queens have received significant media attention, much of it from right-wing figures criticizing events like Drag Queen story hours and brunches.
However, the colorful, creative performances continue to be wildly popular, and this year’s “WERQ THE WORLD” tour marks the return of RuPaul’s live U.S.
tour after a COVID-enforced hiatus. “In this year’s live production, an experiment gone wrong sends audiences spiraling through time with no way of returning to 2022,” publicity representative Jeff Dorta said in an email to the Blade. “The queens will whisk fans on a magical journey through iconic periods of history in hopes of returning them safely home.” The Blade spoke with Daya Betty, a Season 14 finalist on “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and one of the queens who will be performing in D.C., who talked about getting started in drag, her “WERQ THE WORLD” experience so far and how drag performance unites audiences. “I’m a Type One diabetic — that’s actually where my name comes from — and I started out in a small town called Springfield, Missouri,” Betty said. “There’s not a lot going on there, except for a college and lots of little dive bars, which is actually where I got my start.