January 30, 2024
Listen: Another Popular 'Drag Race' Star Just Came Out As Trans
Emell Adolphus READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Popular "Drag Race" queen Amanda Tori Meating has found her truth, and we salute her.
In an exclusive interview on Entertainment Weekly's Quick Drag podcast, Meating recapped how starring on "RuPaul's Drag Race season 16" and a wicked divorce gave her the strength to live as her full self. And if you thought Meating was hot outside of drag, wait until she gets a chance to live in her most confident skin.
"When we were filming 'Drag Race' I was about five months fresh out of a divorce," said Meating. According to her, her then-husband refused to be with her because of her "gender exploration journey."
"It wasn't at all supported by my partner, and it ended up being a big part of why I had to leave, because he didn't want to be with a trans person," said Meating. "I was in a bad place about it, mentally, for a while, but you get to a point where you're like, I have to do what's right for me, and that involved getting out of that."
"Drag Race" helped her get through it all. "[I was] in this environment for the first time where everyone's calling me Amanda and not my government name, and realizing how good that felt, and I started to feel a bit more comfortable in the reformation of my identity," she said.
Meating adds to a list of fabulous "Drag Race" alums who have come out as trans, including Adore Delano, Jade Jolie, and Madame LaQueer.
"It was kind of jarring to go from that environment where everyone is calling me Amanda and she/her-ing me, to being called by my government name again, and he/him," said Meating. "I was like, this is very much not correct for me. That experience helped push me out of the nest a little bit and crack the egg."
And now she is ready. Congrats, Meating. Listen to her full interview at Entertainment Weekly.