Madame LaQueer has announced that she is transgender and has changed her drag name to be authentically her. We absolutely love to see it!
LaQueer, now to be known on stage as Madame Cassandra Uzumai LaQueer, rose to fame on RuPaul’s Drag Race season four in 2012, memorably winning the wrestling-themed maxi challenge in episode two.
On 22 January, the Drag Race alumni shared an Instagram story and followed up with an interview with Entertainment Weekly to confirm her elation: “It’s something I’ve been pondering for myself for years.
“It’s now or never. I think this serves for me to be a voice for those that have persuaded themselves into not pursuing their truths and let time take over. It’s never too late to come out and live your true experience and be yourself and be authentic. There’s nothing like feeling loved in your own skin.”
The Puerto Rico queen has also explained that she will now go by Cassandra or Cassie for short, a name which has been honoured in her new drag persona.
Cassandra first realised she was trans six years ago when she was performing on the pageant circuit, the outlet reported.
“I kind of talked myself out of it. A couple of years ago, I started pondering it again, but I talked myself out of it,” she added.
This resulted in a “12-year long depression” and moments of feeling like “giving up.” It was her strong network support including fellow Drag Race contestant Jade Jolie, who came out as trans last year, that encouraged her to live her truth. Jolie, in a simple one line statement, posted to X (formerly Twitter) said: “Deciding to choose myself and move forward with my transition.”
Cassandra continued to explain: “The climax of the story is just coincidentally having to carpool with Jade Jolie to a gig we had together, and we had hours to talk. It came out in the conversation, and she knew everything I was going to say. She clocked it quickly, and it just made sense. Like, girl, it’s now or never.”
She recalled a prior conversation with Kylie Sonique Love, who memorably became the first trans winner of an American season of Drag Race. “I was giving her a little bit of a backstory, and she thought I was coming out as trans to her.
“She was like, ‘Oh my God, there are resources, you can live your truth!’ and I was like, ‘No that’s not it,’ and I brushed it off and moved on, because I wasn’t ready to face that, but she clocked it!”
Coming out was not planned, rather an instinctive feeling: “I’ve always thought I’d look ugly with my [real] eyebrows. In drag, I’ve never done my makeup with my eyebrows. I always cover them and elevate them higher.
I trimmed them a little bit thinner [on Monday], I drew them and did my makeup, and I’m like, Oh my God, I’m not going to take this off. I just did my laundry, I cooked, I cleaned, and it felt right. I’m very happy. The only regret is not having thought of it sooner.”
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