Adore Candidly Opens Up About Her Legal Battles, Emotional Turmoil, Trump's Immigration Crackdown…and Her Gripe with RuPaul
On RuPaul: “I mean, he’s from an older generation and a lot of his comments are out of touch with what’s happening.”
On Deporting Undocumented Immigrants: “I have foster tías on my mom’s side who could be affected by everything.”
On the Entertainment Business: “Most of my homegirls are drag queens, and we didn’t go to business school. We didn’t know what it was going to feel like to be thrust out there, and make all this money… it’s easy to take advantage of somebody when they’re not used to handling books or business."
Adore Delano, the rebellious drag queen rocker, graces the cover of the first-ever Pride issue of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame-celebrated publication Alternative Press Magazine. For Adore’s first international cover, she joins the ranks of many other rocker greats who landed their first magazine cover with Alternative Press over the past 30 years, including Nine Inch Nails, Paramore, Fall Out Boy, twenty one pilots, Nirvana, Oasis, Radiohead and—one of Adore’s biggest influences—Marilyn Manson. The cover and inside spread pair exclusive photographs by Giselle Dias and a captivating story by Sam Chapman. Adore doesn’t hold back the punches. She candidly opens up about her ongoing legal battles, the emotional turmoil from losing her dad last year, what the dating scene is like for a queen, the impact Trump's immigration crackdown is having on her family and her gripe with the person in whose footsteps she most directly follows, RuPaul.
Earlier this year, in a profile for The Guardian, RuPaul disclosed that he likely would not allow a trans contestant who’d had gender confirmation surgery or begun medically transitioning to compete on his VH1 reality television competition show, RuPaul’s Drag Race. Adore, who competed on the show’s sixth season and narrowly missed taking the crown, tells AltPress, “…seeing that the fans are getting younger and younger, and the culture of drag is becoming a lot more accepting, it’s a really fucked-up way of thinking. Drag really starts with trans women. Those comments are very cringe-y, and every time (RuPaul) says something like that, I end up on the phone with some of my homegirls from the show and I’m like, ‘Girl… she needs to chill.’”
When asked if those kinds of comments make her personally question RuPaul’s cultural legacy, Adore confirms that it does. “It makes me question, of course! It makes everybody question. We’re all on the phone together saying, ‘What the fuck is going on?’ We can chalk it up to age, but (RuPaul) grew up in the midst of drag, as well. My friend and I were on the phone that morning and we were like, ‘Is she tired? Was she sleeping when she tweeted that? What’s going on?’”
It is brash comments like these that made Adore Delano an easy choice for the first Pride issue of AltPress. Says General Manager/CFO Joe Scarpelli, “While other artists are scared to tackle truth for fear of losing opportunities, Adore demands respect by addressing her feelings head on and standing up for what she believes is right. I am so proud of our staff and Adore for piecing together a wonderful work of art that truly showcases pride in both the alt rock and LGBTQ communities.”
The LGBTQ community in rock certainly isn’t a new thing. From Little Richard in the ’50s to Laura Jane Grace in the 21st century, some of the most exciting and inspiring music being made in the name of rock has come from quarters far and away from the constructs of binary gender.
As the flagship publication of the alternative music community, AltPress is excited to celebrate the rock contributions of the LGBTQ community this Pride. The issue connects history’s big dots to today’s new awareness in order to open minds and lengthen playlists. It’s an updated general overview for new music fans who may not know the history of LGBTQ performers in rock n’ roll.
Additional LGBTQ musicians featured in the Pride issue are Julien Baker (a Southern, Christian, lesbian rocker), Panic! At The Disco, Lynn Gunn of PVRIS, and Tobi Duncan of the U.K. melodic hardcore band Trash Boat, among others.
AltPress founder/CEO Mike Shea says he’s seen a profound shift toward acceptance of the LGBTQ community from the alt rock population and the music industry as a whole. He credits the gay marriage fight. “Suddenly, artists — from metal dudes to hip hop moguls and even top country stars from red states — came out in support of the community. Supporting the gay community, and even being gay, was no longer considered a business risk and that ultimately changed the game.”
He also sees more young artists today proclaiming at the beginning of their careers, “I’m a singer, I’m a performer, I believe in this, I want to do that, and, oh, I’m LGBTQ, too.” With both Shea and Scarpelli being openly gay, Scarpelli hopes the first ever Pride issue of AltPress will help to instill the rocker mantra into this year’s celebrations. His advice to the young queer generation: “Chase your dreams, and to anyone who says you’re shit, give them the middle finger and keep on course. Go against the grain and be different, be yourself and rock on, gay rockers.”
The special Pride issue of Alternative Press Magazine, featuring cover-queen Adore Delano, is available now. Visit http://altpress.com/adoredelano.
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Adore Delore is on Twitter and Instagram@AdoreDelano, on Facebook @ AdoreDelanoOfficial and on YouTube and Snapchat @DannyNoriega.
She joins the ranks of Nine Inch Nails, Fall Out Boy, Nirvana, Radiohead and Marilyn Manson.