House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) will appear in drag queen show “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars,” according to a Paramount+ announcement Friday.
The show premiers on May 20, and follows previous drag competition winners in a “tournament of champions,” The Hill reported Friday. Pelosi appeared in a commercial for the show for only a few seconds where she is seen asking “Can I get an amen?” which is one of the host’s iconic lines.
It won’t be the first appearance for Pelosi on the show. She was also on “RuPaul’s Drag Race” in 2018. “This idea of people believing in themselves, being themselves, taking pride in themselves, is not just a lesson for politicians but for everyone in the country. And that’s why I was so excited and couldn’t resist being on the show,” Pelosi told The Hollywood Reporter after her first appearance.
“You’re an inspiration ― I hope you know ― because you really know your power,” Pelosi told the drag queens on the show, according to Huffington Post. “It’s about taking pride. And that’s what you do ― take pride in yourselves.”
The 82-year-old House speaker also tweeted about her cameo on the show in 2018, writing, “All I can say is, you betta werk! Had a fabulous time with @RuPaul and good luck to all the queens.”
All I can say is, you betta werk! Had a fabulous time with @RuPaul and good luck to all the queens. #DragRace https://t.co/ZrJDyDmuVh
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) January 18, 2018
Some considered Pelosi’s 2018 appearance on the show to be a publicity stunt as former President Donald Trump tried to block transgender people from serving in the military. Trump’s rule went into effect in 2019, but was later repealed by the Biden administration.
“President Joe Biden repealed a Trump-era executive order barring people who identify as transgender from serving in the military in most cases, as well as preventing military funding from paying for sex reassignment surgeries,” The Daily Wire’s Tim Pearce reported in January 2021.
At the time of her first appearance on the drag queen show, Pelosi was asked what her drag name would be, but she said she hadn’t considered it, The Hill reported.
Politicians appear on TV shows often, but Pelosi’s drag show cameo is a different strategy than what most politicians use to get on TV.
In March, Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacy Abrams (D) appeared on “Star Trek” to the excitement of the show’s producers and actors, The Daily Wire reported.
“I’m still floored when I think about Stacey gracing us with her presence in our Season 4 finale,” actress Sonequa Martin-Green told Deadline. “We spent so much of our time fanning out and pretending to be cool in her midst.”
Abrams is reportedly a huge “Star Trek” fan and appeared in season 4 of the series as the “president of Earth.” “She’s one of the most prominent ‘Star Trek’ fans in the public eye. She’s spoken at length about how much she reveres Kathryn Janeway and that ‘Voyager’ is her favorite ‘Trek’ show,” IndieWire reported.