What happens when a fierce congresswoman from Queens meets a group of fierce queens? A lot of shrills, tears, and inspirational messages ensue. Last night, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez appeared as a guest judge on season 12 of RuPaul’s Drag Race on the Madonna-themed episode. But the real tea was spilled during the Untucked aftershow.
“You’re amazing!” contestant Jan Sport told Ocasio-Cortez as she walked in. “No, you’re amazing!” she responded.
“I’m a huge Drag Race fan,” Ocasio-Cortez told the contestants as they gathered around her. The New York native said being a judge on Drag Race was a “dream come true.”
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“Last year, I was bartending in a restaurant — that was my life last February,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “Every night, I would come home, and the only thing that would help me disconnect and unplug was watching Drag Race.”
Ocasio-Cortez added that she was very humbled to be on the show, and contestant Jaida Essence Hall said they were equally thrilled that someone “so important in this country would take the time out of their life to come here.”
Contestant Jackie Cox also expressed her gratitude to AOC during the episode, telling her that her advocacy of immigrants gave her hope. “I do have to say, it is crazy to meet you,” Cox emotionally said to AOC. “Seeing you working in Congress in solidarity with Congresswoman Tlaib and Congresswoman Omar gives me so much hope for our country. My mom immigrated from Iran, and people would tell her to go home and go back to where she came from. And when I was young, I hid this part of my heritage for so long. She is an American citizen now, and seeing you standing up for people like my mom gives me so much hope.”
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“I’m so thankful that your mother is here and part of our country,” Ocasio-Cortez responded.
Later during the aftershow, Cox continued to praise Ocasio-Cortez and her unrelenting persistence against President Donald Trump.
“I see you standing up to that man every day…how can we all complain about anything, when you literally stand in the face of what I think is the worst part of our nature as humans? You stand up against him, and you say, ‘No.’”
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“But we all do it, in our own way,” Ocasio-Cortez replied. “People think Congress and government is all about leading people, but ultimately, a lot of our politics is about following the public will. And the people who change what people think are artists — and drag queens! And let’s not forget who threw that first brick at Stonewall. It starts with you. I mean, you are patriots. I’m so proud of you all.”
*story by Refinery29