RuPaul’s Drag Race star Hannah Conda has revealed an executive told him Australian television is ‘not ready’ for drag queens.
The Sydney-based drag performer, 32, who was a finalist on the Down Under version of the show as well as UK versus The World made the comments in The Daily Telegraph on Friday.
Hannah, whose real name is Chris Collins, said that the hugely successful RuPaul franchise does not translate to mainstream acceptance in Australian television.
‘Off the back of RuPaul, I find myself feeling a little bit jaded by the media landscape in Australia,’ Collins said.
‘I had a conversation with someone who was a higher up in a TV company and they said “Australia’s not ready to see this queer stuff”.’
RuPaul ‘s Drag Race star Hannah Conda has revealed an executive told him Australian television is ‘not ready’ for drag queens. Pictured
Hannah, whose real name is Chris Collins, said ‘I had a conversation with someone who was a higher up in a TV company and they said “Australia’s not ready to see this queer stuff.” Pictured with Jack Vigden in 2021
But the drag queen admitted that he believed the television executive was very wrong.
‘I disagree. It’s not ready because it’s not being shown or showcased. All it takes is humanising us,’ the internationally successful performer remarked.
As a result of this conversation, Collins has become disappointed with the Australia’s entertainment scene.
But the drag queen said that he thought the television executive was very wrong: ‘I disagree. It’s not ready because it’s not being shown or showcased. All it takes is humanising us’
Collins claimed that while the country will be happy to celebrate Priscilla and companies will participate in Mardi Gras, drag queens rarely get work at any other time.
Hannah was runner-up in the second season of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under back in 2022.
This year, she finished as a finalist in RuPaul’s Drag Race UK versus The World, where competitors from many countries compete against the best competitors from the British version of the show.
After conquering the Perth drag scene, Hannah Conda took a leap of faith and made her way to Sydney in 2015, building a name for herself before getting on the international smash hit drag competition.
She co-founded ‘Drag Storytime’ in 2016 where she reads to children while dressed in drag to teach them about inclusion, acceptance and love.
The event came under fire in 2018 by activists who deemed it inappropriate for children and ‘shocking.’
Collins also claimed that while the country will be happy to celebrate Priscilla and companies will participate in Mardi Gras, drag queens rarely get work at any other time. Pictured with Spankie Jackzon (left) and Kween Kong (centre)
Hannah came runner-up in the 2022 season of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under. This year, she finished as a finalist in RuPaul’s Drag Race UK versus The World, where competitors from many countries compete against the best competitors from the British version of the show
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