Can someone tell Bianca Del Rio that rape jokes are still not OK?
While performing at Montreal Pride, Drag Race Season 6 winner Bianca Del Rio used fellow Drag Race alum Blair St. Clair’s experience being raped as fodder for jokes while discussing Season 10 of the drag queen competition show.
“Then you’ve got that other bitch, ‘I was raped!’” Del Rio said on stage talking about Blair, who came out as a survivor of sexual assault during an episode of the Drag Race’s 10th season. “No – fuck you! You notice she wasn’t raped until she was in the bottom two? Think about that, bitch – that’s fucking strategy!”
oh god the video is even worse pic.twitter.com/qWt4rWfVlO
— ً (@allforschafer) August 17, 2018
The crowd begins to turn on Del Rio and boo her.
“Oh fuck you, rape is funny if you haven’t had it,” Del Rio responds. “And if you weren’t raped, remember this – you’re ugly.”
Montreal Pride responded to Del Rio’s set on Facebook, calling her statements “so-called jokes” and saying the organization “would like to severely disassociate itself” from the remarks.
“The approach of certain sensitive themes, presented in the form of so-called jokes, in no way reflects the policies of our organization and we apologize to anyone who has experienced discomfort due to these events,” the organization wrote. “We will also take the necessary steps to ensure that such situations do not happen again.”
Blair St. Clair tweeted a response to the jokes over the weekend.
In the U.S. someone is sexually assaulted every 2 minutes, but people persist in thinking that making rape or sexual assault jokes is “comedy.” It is not. Rape jokes contribute to rape culture.
— Blair St. Clair (@BlairStClair) August 18, 2018
“In the U.S. someone is sexually assaulted every 2 minutes, but people persist in thinking that making rape or sexual assault jokes is ‘comedy,’” St. Clair wrote. “It is not. Rape jokes contribute to rape culture.”
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