Gottmik: 'Stale' drag scene should look to kings as 'the future'

Gottmik is singing the praises of drag kings — and saying they the "future" of the art form.

The RuPaul's Drag Race alumnus took the stage Sunday at the season 2 premiere of Revry's King of Drag, the first-ever reality competition to focus on drag kings.

"These kings are so amazing," said Gottmik, who is a judge on the series. "As a trans guy who does femme drag...the way that they took their stories and told it through fashion and art was absolutely so mind-blowing to me, and that's coming from me."

"It literally turned my world upside down," Gottmik added. "I was so inspired, and I really cannot wait for every single one of you to watch this and be just as inspired because it is absolutely brilliant. I was like watching the outfits. I was like, you'd kill a lot of the girls on Drag Race's ass!"

"People have been asking me like what, why is drag kind of like stale right now? Is it like too many Drag Race's or what's going on?' And I'm like, it's because we've seen drag be that. We need drag to be this. This is the future. This is gonna unstale the community."

Gottmik made these remarks at Beaches Tropicana in West Hollywood, which held a screening of King of Drag and featured performances from the cast. This season's contestants include Chase Lounge, Cyrus K. Stratton, D. Vour, Lollygag, Papi Culo, Trade, Twinka Masala, and Vera!, who in addition to competing on the Revry show can be seen on a 22-city tour beginning October 25. Cameron Esposito is the host of season 2.

“Every one of these kings are so unique that they brought things we haven’t seen before, and that’s exactly what this show was built for,” said Christopher Rodriguez, series cocreator and Revry cofounder, in a statement. “Season 1 proved the world was ready for drag kings. This cast is going to show everyone just how far the art form can go.”

“The return of Season 1 standout kings signals more than nostalgia, it's a direct reinvestment in the drag king community that the show set out to elevate,” added Damian Pelliccione, a series cocreator and Revry's CEO. “These are artists, activists, and entertainers who understand the power of performance and the importance of uplifting underrepresented voices. We are honored to have them join us again.”

Drag kings — cisgender female, nonbinary, and transgender artists who perform exaggerated forms of masculinity — have historically been excluded from competing on RuPaul's Drag Race. In 2016, RuPaul told The Advocate, "If a female were to do drag, it loses the irony." When asked why drag kings were not being cast on Drag Race at the time, the host explained, "If you mix it up it's like trying to make a Mac computer compatible with a PC.... They don't really mix."

However, Drag Race España made headlines Monday for announcing the global franchise’s first-ever full-time drag king, Marcus Massalami, perhaps signaling a new era for the World of Wonder production.

In the meantime, catch King of Drag Sundays on Revry.

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