RuPaul opens up about 'traumatic and tumultuous' childhood

“It forced me to understand my own value.”

RuPaul

RuPaul has opened up about his childhood in a new 'Masterclass' video. Source: FilmMagic

RuPaul has been typically busy recently, hosting Saturday Night Live, launching his new Netflix series AJ And The Queen, and preparing for two new seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race.

In between gigs, the iconic drag queen and TV host has also been filming a on authenticity, spliced into 16 12-minute episodes.

“In this Masterclass I’m going to teach you about self love, confidence, joy, lips, foundation, wigs, chiffon,” he says in a trailer for the series, which also features Drag Race alum Raven.

“Everything it takes to unleash the magic that makes you, you.”
The 'Masterclass' lessons include: 'Owning the Room', 'Cultivating Your Tribe', and 'Finding Your Frequency'.

In the fifth lesson, titled 'Seeing Yourself', RuPaul opens up about the “shame, trauma, and hard emotions that many people carry with them.”

He goes on to reflect on his own experiences.

“My childhood was very tumultuous and traumatic,” he says. “My parents were always at war so my thinking was ‘this is all too much for me, just wake me when it’s done.’ Until I realised, you know I want to be present for my life.”

He continues: “It forced me to understand my own value. Everything starts with know thyself — know what works with you. You have to be present enough to know what feels right.”

The lessons are, ahead of Drag Race's return to screens this weekend.

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Published 26 February 2020 1:56pm
By Samuel Leighton-Dore


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