This profile is part of Queerty’s 2024 Out For Good series, recognizing public figures who’ve had the courage to come out and make a difference in the past year, in celebration of National Coming Out Day on October 11.
Name: Detox, 39
Bio: Detox might have come at you with the slow verse, but she lives her life in the fast lane.
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The Florida native cut her teeth in the LA drag scene before sashaying into the workroom on RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 5, becoming one of the most iconic queens to ever compete on the series.
In 2016 she Ru-turned for the legendary second season of Drag Race All Stars, and in the years since, she has stayed booked and busy, performing in clubs around the world… including a brief stint with Madonna earlier this year!
Coming out: This past August she made headlines at the DNC— no,not the Democratic National Convention, but Drag Night Chicago, which was a “voter registration kiki” thrown by the DRAG PAC. Detox co-hosted the event with her DWV girl group sister, Willam.
During the live show, the two performed the DWV favorite, “Chow Down (at Chick-fil-A),” a parody of the hit Wilson Phillips’ song, “Hold On.”
In the original “Chow Down” track, Detox can be heard in the background proclaiming she’s “a top” before the chorus kicks in. But when she performed at the DNC, she changed the line to… “I’m trans now!”
She confirmed the news in a comment on the viral video clip, writing: “Cat’s outta the bag!”
Detox joins the ever growing list of Drag Race queens who have come out as trans, which this year alone includes Season 15’s Amethyst and Season 16’s Amanda Tori Meating.
She later reposted an Instagram story by Chicago drag queen and DJ, Miss Toto, who captured the moment Detox made her announcement.
Miss Toto wrote: “Looking over and seeing my dawtah and all of my friends in the audience burst into tears at this moment that has been brewing for the past few years was so magical. I’ll never forget it. 🥹💖”
A Drag Race Ru-turn?: Earlier this year, Detox teased she would consider a return to the Drag Race main stage. At an All Stars Season 9 viewing party at Roscoe’s Tavern in Chicago, Drag Race Season 8 and All Stars Season 8 queen Naysha Lopez asked Detox her thoughts about competing again.
She didn’t close the door..
“Honestly, even if there were [eliminations], I have an itch. I do, and I haven’t had it in so long. I do have a little bit of an inch, but also… it’s the first time we’ve seen Roxxxy without Rolaskatox on the show, and that excites me,” Detox said, referring to her Drag Race sister competing on All Stars Season 9.
Detox continued, saying seeing Sasha Colby and so many of her friends on the series had her considering a return.
“I miss that camaraderie in the werkroom, I miss the fun of it, when it’s new and exciting,” she said. “For years I was like, ‘No, no, f*ck them.’ But now I’m like, ‘Wait a minute now.’”
But sadly, it seems like Detox’s itch was short-lived. After Roxxxy Andrews came in second to winner Angeria Paris VanMicheals on the most recent season of All Stars, Detox posted on X: “The itch is gone. Playin’ in my girl’s face.”
10s across the board: Aside from coming out as trans, another highlight of Detox’s year was sharing the stage with her ultimate icon: Madonna.
Detox—who has a Ray of Light-inspired tattoo—is a massive fan of the Queen of Pop, and was blessed enough to be the “Vogue” guest judge during the Sacramento stop on Madonna’s Celebration Tour back in February.
“Thank you for literally EVERYTHING. You have changed the world and forever changed me. Thank you for allowing me to be myself. To find my own way in a life that is not necessarily designed for people like me,” she wrote to Madonna on Instagram, posting the video of her “Vogue” moment.
“Thank you for teaching me to celebrate myself. And thank you for, for just a moment, letting me into your world. All hail THE QUEEN!!!”
It’s been over a decade since the world was introduced to the drag legend, but she is still D to the E to the T to the O to the excellent!
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