Rsell T Davi, the creator of It’s A S, has spoken out about the importance of stg gay actors as gay characters.
Contents:
- ‘IT’S A S’ CREATOR RSELL T DAVI SAYS IT’S IMPORTANT TO CAST GAY ACTORS AS GAY CHARACTERS
- RECLAIMG THE F-WORD: ‘DRAG RACE’ CAST BREAKS DOWN USG QUEER SLURSHAVING A KIKIIT’S THE MAKEOVER CHALLENGE ON THIS WEEK’S “RUPL’S DRAG RACE ALL STARS,” WH THE QUEENS PUTTG LBIANS DRAG WHILE BATG THE RECLAIMG OF TRIGGERG QUEER SLURS.COLEMAN SPILENTERTAMENT CRICUPDATED JUL. 08, 2023 4:05AM EDT / PUBLISHED JUL. 07, 2023 1:34PM EDT PHOTO ILLTRATN BY ER O’FLYNN/THE DAILY BEAST/PARAMOUNT+THGS ARE G DOWN TO THE WIRE ON RUPL’S DRAG RACE ALL STARS 8, WHICH MEANS THAT THE WORKROOM IS BEG MORE SPAC, AND THE PRODUCERS ARE LOOKG FOR WAYS TO FILL AN ENTIRE HOUR OF TELEVISN. ON DRAG RACE, THAT TYPILLY MEANS A DREAD MAKEOVER CHALLENGE, WHERE THE REMAG ST OF QUEENS WILL HAVE TO DRAG UP A SET OF RANDOM PEOPLE WH A FG SHARED TRA, ROPED OM SOME BAR SOMEWHERE THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY. NOT LERALLY, OF URSE, BUT JUDGG BY HOW HAPHAZARDLY THE GROUPS OF MAKEOVER PARTICIPANTS ARE PICKED, DO FEEL AS THOUGH A PRODUCER STUMBLED TO SOME WATERG HOLE AND ASKED, “WHO WANTS $1,000 AND A EE LUNCH?”THIS SEASON’S MAKEOVER SUBJECTS ARE—DMROLL PLEASE—LBIANS. TO WHICH YOU MIGHT ASK, “…LBIANS?” Y, JT GOOD OLD-FASHNED LBIANS. HELL, THEY’VE DONE ARMY VETS; THEY’VE DRAGGED UP UNRAPPRECIATED SCHOOL TEACHERS; THEY’VE EVEN TOUCHED UP THE ST OF LTLE WOMEN LA. ALL THAT’S LEFT IS LBIANS!EXPLAG THEIR CHOICE, HOST RUPL SAID, “FROM THE EARLY DAYS OF THE GAY LIBERATN MOVEMENT, TO THE AIDS CRISIS, TO TODAY, OUR QUEER SISTERS HAVE ALWAYS SHOWN UP WHEN THE LGBTQ MUNY NEED THEM THE MOST.” THAT’S VERY TE, BUT WAS A STATEMENT THAT LEFT ME SCRATCHG MY HEAD. RU MAK SOUND AS IF THE LBIANS WERE SHOWG UP AT THE MOMENTS QUEER HISTORY JT TO SUPPORT THE GS, BUT THE LS LGBTQ WERE JT AS IMPACTED AT THOSE TIM, TOO. RU DID, HOWEVER, MENTN THAT LBIANS OFTEN REMA THE SILENT HERO SUPPORTG THEIR ENTIRE MUNY, SO THIS WEEK WAS THE SHOW’S TRIBUTE TO THOSE CHAMPNS.MAKEOVER EPISOS ED TO PRENT A MORE FORMIDABLE CHALLENGE. CONTTANTS HAD TO DOLL UP A PARTICIPANT WHO WAS PLETELY UNFAIAR WH THE ART OF DRAG, AND DIDN’T KNOW WHERE TO BEG HELPG THE QUEENS THEY WERE PAIRED WH. NOW, EVERYONE WHO WALKS ONTO THE SET OF DRAG RACE KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT THEY’RE GETTG TO, WHICH IS BOTH AN ADVANTAGE TO THE QUEENS, AND A SLIGHT DISADVANTAGE TO THE SHOW. THE MAKEOVERS ARE LS OF A CHALLENGE OF FDG THE RIGHT FORT LEVEL, AND MORE ABOUT PERFECTG A DRAG FAY REMBLANCE WHEN ALL IS SAID, DONE, PADD, AND BEATEN WH A MAKP BSH. THAT SAID, THE MAKEOVERS FUNCTN BETTER WHEN THE NTTANTS PERFORMG THEM FEEL SAFER. IN DRAG RACE SEASON 6, THE QUEENS HAD TO MAKEOVER STRAIGHT MEN WHO WERE ON THE SHOW AT THE BEHT OF THEIR SPO AND GIRLIENDS, LEAVG BOTH THE QUEENS AND THE STRAIGHT MEN UNFORTABLE. WH THE LBIANS PRENT, NONE OF THE REMAG QUEENS HAVE TO SPEND THEIR TIME GGG THEIR LEVEL OF SAFETY, WHICH IS A NICE FUNCTN OF THE LATER-SEASON MAKEOVER CHALLENG. YET, THEY STILL ONLY PRENT A FEW KERNELS OF TERTG NVERSATN.THIS WEEK, THAT ME OM THE QUEENS—ALL GAY MEN—CHATTG WH THEIR LBIAN FAY ABOUT THE PLITED SUBJECT OF RECLAIMG CERTA SLURS. ONE OF THE LBIANS, AMANDA, TOLD NTTANT JIMBO THAT SHE REFERS TO HERSELF AS A “SISSY DYKE,” PROMPTG FELLOW NTTANT JSI WILD TO ASK ABOUT THEIR RELATNSHIPS TO THE WORD.“FOR ME, ‘DYKE’ IS A RECLAMATN OF A WORD THAT WAS ED TO HURT , BUT REALLY MEANS BEG POWERFUL YOUR QUEER, WOMAN-LOVG SELF,” ANOTHER ONE OF THE LBIANS BEG MA OVER, ANGIE, SAID.“THERE’S AN ADD POLIL NNOTATN,” AMANDA CHIMED . “‘DYKE’ IS JT AN ENPSULATN OF MY POLICS, JT LIKE ‘QUEER.’” THE THIRD LBIAN THE ROOM, LISA, MENTNED THAT TOOK MUCH LONGER FOR HER TO BEE OKAY WH G THE WORD. “IT WAS A TERM THAT WAS ED AGAST ME WHEN I WAS BULLIED. BUT RECENTLY, ME AND MY MOTORCYCLE IENDS, WE DID THE QUEERS ON GEARS/DYK ON BIK, SO WAS REALLY NICE TO RECLAIM THE WORD WH A BUNCH OF OTHER QUEER WOMEN.” THEN, AMANDA POSED AN TERTG QUTN, WHICH REMAS A HOT-BUTTON ISSUE WH QUEER CIRCL (AND THE DRAG RACE FANDOM SELF): “DO YOU GUYS THK THAT LBIANS N SAY ‘FAG’ AND THAT GAY GUYS N SAY ‘DYKE,’ OR THAT SHOULD ONLY BE KEPT WH THOSE GROUPS TO SAY?” KANDY ME MENTNED THAT HER OWN MOTHER IS A BUTCH LBIAN, WHOM SHE REFERS TO AS A DYKE, BUT ALSO PLETELY UNRSTANDS WHY LBIANS WOULD NOT WANT A GAY MAN TO SAY . THE GAY EXPERIENCE AND THE LBIAN EXPERIENCE—THOUGH TRSILLY LKED BY QUEERNS—ARE HERENTLY DIFFERENT. JIMBO AGREED WH KANDY, ADDG, “I THK ’S ABOUT TENTN, DO TEND TO HURT ME, DO TEND TO BE FUNNY?”THERE’S ONE THG THAT’S FOR SURE: IF YOU’RE READG THIS, AND YOU’RE NOT A PART OF EHER OF THE MUNI, YOU SHOULDN’T BE SAYG ALL! BUT EVEN IF YOU’RE NOT ALLOWED TO SAY , YOU N STILL LEARN SOMETHG OM . THAT’S THE BETY OF DRAG RACE AMASSG SUCH A LARGE STRAIGHT DIENCE.THE TYP OF NVERSATNS ARE MUCH MORE TERTG THAN THE ON THAT WERE AFFORD TO ON PREV MAKEOVER CHALLENG. WE ED TO HAVE TO WATCH QUEENS BEAT THE FACE OF A STRANGER WHILE ANSWERG THE SAME OLD QUTNS ABOUT THEIR HISTORY WH DRAG AND HOW MUCH THEIR FAI DO OR DO NOT ACCEPT THEM. IT GOT TIRG! LIKE SO MANY ASPECTS OF DRAG RACE OVER THE YEARS, THE MAKEOVER CHALLENGE NEED A MAKEOVER SELF. THE MAKEOVERS MIGHT BE ON THEIR LAST LEGS, BUT THERE IS STILL SOME VALUE LEFT THE DISCSNS THAT THEY GENERATE—EVEN IF RUPL PROBABLY DID JT SP A BIG WHEEL THAT LAND ON “LBIANS.”KEEP OBSSG! SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY BEAST’S OBSSED NEWSLETTER AND FOLLOW ON FACEBOOK, TWTER, INSTAGRAM AND TIKTOK. COLEMAN SPIL
‘IT’S A S’ CREATOR RSELL T DAVI SAYS IT’S IMPORTANT TO CAST GAY ACTORS AS GAY CHARACTERS
Season 14 featur the anchise’s first openly gay hoewife.
Breakg new ground, the st featur Jenna Lyons, the anchise's first openly gay hoewife, and Jsel Taank, the first Indian hoewife, addg much-need diversy and reprentatn to the show.
Rsell T Davi, the creator of Channel 4 and HBO Max’s upg AIDS crisis seri It’s A S, has spoken out about the importance of stg gay actors as gay characters. The A Very English Sndal wrer told the Rad Tim: “I’m not beg woke about this… but I feel strongly that if I st someone a story, I am stg them to act as a lover, or an enemy, or someone on dgs or a crimal or a sat… they are not there to ‘act gay’ bee ‘actg gay’ is a bunch of s for a performance.
RECLAIMG THE F-WORD: ‘DRAG RACE’ CAST BREAKS DOWN USG QUEER SLURSHAVING A KIKIIT’S THE MAKEOVER CHALLENGE ON THIS WEEK’S “RUPL’S DRAG RACE ALL STARS,” WH THE QUEENS PUTTG LBIANS DRAG WHILE BATG THE RECLAIMG OF TRIGGERG QUEER SLURS.COLEMAN SPILENTERTAMENT CRICUPDATED JUL. 08, 2023 4:05AM EDT / PUBLISHED JUL. 07, 2023 1:34PM EDT PHOTO ILLTRATN BY ER O’FLYNN/THE DAILY BEAST/PARAMOUNT+THGS ARE G DOWN TO THE WIRE ON RUPL’S DRAG RACE ALL STARS 8, WHICH MEANS THAT THE WORKROOM IS BEG MORE SPAC, AND THE PRODUCERS ARE LOOKG FOR WAYS TO FILL AN ENTIRE HOUR OF TELEVISN. ON DRAG RACE, THAT TYPILLY MEANS A DREAD MAKEOVER CHALLENGE, WHERE THE REMAG ST OF QUEENS WILL HAVE TO DRAG UP A SET OF RANDOM PEOPLE WH A FG SHARED TRA, ROPED OM SOME BAR SOMEWHERE THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY. NOT LERALLY, OF URSE, BUT JUDGG BY HOW HAPHAZARDLY THE GROUPS OF MAKEOVER PARTICIPANTS ARE PICKED, DO FEEL AS THOUGH A PRODUCER STUMBLED TO SOME WATERG HOLE AND ASKED, “WHO WANTS $1,000 AND A EE LUNCH?”THIS SEASON’S MAKEOVER SUBJECTS ARE—DMROLL PLEASE—LBIANS. TO WHICH YOU MIGHT ASK, “…LBIANS?” Y, JT GOOD OLD-FASHNED LBIANS. HELL, THEY’VE DONE ARMY VETS; THEY’VE DRAGGED UP UNRAPPRECIATED SCHOOL TEACHERS; THEY’VE EVEN TOUCHED UP THE ST OF LTLE WOMEN LA. ALL THAT’S LEFT IS LBIANS!EXPLAG THEIR CHOICE, HOST RUPL SAID, “FROM THE EARLY DAYS OF THE GAY LIBERATN MOVEMENT, TO THE AIDS CRISIS, TO TODAY, OUR QUEER SISTERS HAVE ALWAYS SHOWN UP WHEN THE LGBTQ MUNY NEED THEM THE MOST.” THAT’S VERY TE, BUT WAS A STATEMENT THAT LEFT ME SCRATCHG MY HEAD. RU MAK SOUND AS IF THE LBIANS WERE SHOWG UP AT THE MOMENTS QUEER HISTORY JT TO SUPPORT THE GS, BUT THE LS LGBTQ WERE JT AS IMPACTED AT THOSE TIM, TOO. RU DID, HOWEVER, MENTN THAT LBIANS OFTEN REMA THE SILENT HERO SUPPORTG THEIR ENTIRE MUNY, SO THIS WEEK WAS THE SHOW’S TRIBUTE TO THOSE CHAMPNS.MAKEOVER EPISOS ED TO PRENT A MORE FORMIDABLE CHALLENGE. CONTTANTS HAD TO DOLL UP A PARTICIPANT WHO WAS PLETELY UNFAIAR WH THE ART OF DRAG, AND DIDN’T KNOW WHERE TO BEG HELPG THE QUEENS THEY WERE PAIRED WH. NOW, EVERYONE WHO WALKS ONTO THE SET OF DRAG RACE KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT THEY’RE GETTG TO, WHICH IS BOTH AN ADVANTAGE TO THE QUEENS, AND A SLIGHT DISADVANTAGE TO THE SHOW. THE MAKEOVERS ARE LS OF A CHALLENGE OF FDG THE RIGHT FORT LEVEL, AND MORE ABOUT PERFECTG A DRAG FAY REMBLANCE WHEN ALL IS SAID, DONE, PADD, AND BEATEN WH A MAKP BSH. THAT SAID, THE MAKEOVERS FUNCTN BETTER WHEN THE NTTANTS PERFORMG THEM FEEL SAFER. IN DRAG RACE SEASON 6, THE QUEENS HAD TO MAKEOVER STRAIGHT MEN WHO WERE ON THE SHOW AT THE BEHT OF THEIR SPO AND GIRLIENDS, LEAVG BOTH THE QUEENS AND THE STRAIGHT MEN UNFORTABLE. WH THE LBIANS PRENT, NONE OF THE REMAG QUEENS HAVE TO SPEND THEIR TIME GGG THEIR LEVEL OF SAFETY, WHICH IS A NICE FUNCTN OF THE LATER-SEASON MAKEOVER CHALLENG. YET, THEY STILL ONLY PRENT A FEW KERNELS OF TERTG NVERSATN.THIS WEEK, THAT ME OM THE QUEENS—ALL GAY MEN—CHATTG WH THEIR LBIAN FAY ABOUT THE PLITED SUBJECT OF RECLAIMG CERTA SLURS. ONE OF THE LBIANS, AMANDA, TOLD NTTANT JIMBO THAT SHE REFERS TO HERSELF AS A “SISSY DYKE,” PROMPTG FELLOW NTTANT JSI WILD TO ASK ABOUT THEIR RELATNSHIPS TO THE WORD.“FOR ME, ‘DYKE’ IS A RECLAMATN OF A WORD THAT WAS ED TO HURT , BUT REALLY MEANS BEG POWERFUL YOUR QUEER, WOMAN-LOVG SELF,” ANOTHER ONE OF THE LBIANS BEG MA OVER, ANGIE, SAID.“THERE’S AN ADD POLIL NNOTATN,” AMANDA CHIMED . “‘DYKE’ IS JT AN ENPSULATN OF MY POLICS, JT LIKE ‘QUEER.’” THE THIRD LBIAN THE ROOM, LISA, MENTNED THAT TOOK MUCH LONGER FOR HER TO BEE OKAY WH G THE WORD. “IT WAS A TERM THAT WAS ED AGAST ME WHEN I WAS BULLIED. BUT RECENTLY, ME AND MY MOTORCYCLE IENDS, WE DID THE QUEERS ON GEARS/DYK ON BIK, SO WAS REALLY NICE TO RECLAIM THE WORD WH A BUNCH OF OTHER QUEER WOMEN.” THEN, AMANDA POSED AN TERTG QUTN, WHICH REMAS A HOT-BUTTON ISSUE WH QUEER CIRCL (AND THE DRAG RACE FANDOM SELF): “DO YOU GUYS THK THAT LBIANS N SAY ‘FAG’ AND THAT GAY GUYS N SAY ‘DYKE,’ OR THAT SHOULD ONLY BE KEPT WH THOSE GROUPS TO SAY?” KANDY ME MENTNED THAT HER OWN MOTHER IS A BUTCH LBIAN, WHOM SHE REFERS TO AS A DYKE, BUT ALSO PLETELY UNRSTANDS WHY LBIANS WOULD NOT WANT A GAY MAN TO SAY . THE GAY EXPERIENCE AND THE LBIAN EXPERIENCE—THOUGH TRSILLY LKED BY QUEERNS—ARE HERENTLY DIFFERENT. JIMBO AGREED WH KANDY, ADDG, “I THK ’S ABOUT TENTN, DO TEND TO HURT ME, DO TEND TO BE FUNNY?”THERE’S ONE THG THAT’S FOR SURE: IF YOU’RE READG THIS, AND YOU’RE NOT A PART OF EHER OF THE MUNI, YOU SHOULDN’T BE SAYG ALL! BUT EVEN IF YOU’RE NOT ALLOWED TO SAY , YOU N STILL LEARN SOMETHG OM . THAT’S THE BETY OF DRAG RACE AMASSG SUCH A LARGE STRAIGHT DIENCE.THE TYP OF NVERSATNS ARE MUCH MORE TERTG THAN THE ON THAT WERE AFFORD TO ON PREV MAKEOVER CHALLENG. WE ED TO HAVE TO WATCH QUEENS BEAT THE FACE OF A STRANGER WHILE ANSWERG THE SAME OLD QUTNS ABOUT THEIR HISTORY WH DRAG AND HOW MUCH THEIR FAI DO OR DO NOT ACCEPT THEM. IT GOT TIRG! LIKE SO MANY ASPECTS OF DRAG RACE OVER THE YEARS, THE MAKEOVER CHALLENGE NEED A MAKEOVER SELF. THE MAKEOVERS MIGHT BE ON THEIR LAST LEGS, BUT THERE IS STILL SOME VALUE LEFT THE DISCSNS THAT THEY GENERATE—EVEN IF RUPL PROBABLY DID JT SP A BIG WHEEL THAT LAND ON “LBIANS.”KEEP OBSSG! SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY BEAST’S OBSSED NEWSLETTER AND FOLLOW ON FACEBOOK, TWTER, INSTAGRAM AND TIKTOK. COLEMAN SPIL
Davi was not emphatic about only stg gay actors as gay characters — and his past work shows that straight men have featured gay rol he has thored. Channel 4’s 1999 seri Queer as Folk featured straight actors Aidan Gillen, Craig Kelly, and Charlie Hunnam as three men livg the Manchter gay scene.
It’s A S is loosely based on Davi’ own life, explorg iendship and love durg the 1980s AIDS crisis through the ey of three young gay men as they embark on a new life London. But the 1980s I kept my head down and worked a lot, I didn’t start gog out properly on the gay scene until I was my 30s, the 90s. Explag their choice, host RuPl said, “From the early days of the gay liberatn movement, to the AIDS crisis, to today, our queer sisters have always shown up when the LGBTQ muny need them the most.
Yet, they still only prent a few kernels of tertg week, that me om the queens—all gay men—chattg wh their lbian fay about the plited subject of reclaimg certa slurs.