Exploiting people’s fear is not power, it’s weakness. And RuPaul’s Drag Race season 2 winner Tyra Sanchez is putting hers on full display.
Tyra may have a point to make about how distorted narratives are projected onto public figures, and that’s a challenging conversation to have in today’s internet call-out culture, but she has ultimately abandoned any rational footing by insinuating threats of violence.
And not just one threat.
If you haven’t been following this story, Tyra was banned from attending DragCon, RuPaul’s annual drag convention in downtown Los Angeles, after she refused to publicly apologize for a video in which she threatens physical attacks on fellow season 2 queen Tatianna and season 4’s Phi Phi O’Hara.
How about we take this to the next level?
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Some fans have defended her by essentially saying that’s just how she talks, and that everyone should understand she doesn’t really mean what she’s saying literally.
“You can continue to push your narrative that I’m some angry black queen, but you and I know that is simply untrue,” Tyra wrote at the time. “If you want to remove me from DragCon because of some drag queen drama then by all means remove me.”
Tyra followed up by making a cryptic threat against the convention on Facebook, writing, “Fair warning: DO NOT attend RuPaul’s DragCon on May 12, 2018. Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” and the real outrage started pouring in.
“427 mass shootings in America in 2017, 96 in 2018 alone, and you think it’s cute to post a ‘warning’ like this?” one commenter asked, adding, “This is NOT okay Tyra.”
And here’s how Tyra has been using her Facebook account since:
Fellow Drag Race crown holder Jinkx Monsoon put it well on Twitter:
Queer people already have limited safe spaces- and we have fought hard to et to this place where we have a weekend to celebrate drag and the LGBTQAI+ community. I don’t know how to explain how upset I am that someone from within is threatening that and trying to scare us away.
— Jinkx Monsoon (@JinkxMonsoon) April 26, 2018
I hope this person receives guidance out of this dark place they’re in. We’ve always been friends and I am trying to maintain empathy and compassion while they threaten the community I’ve sworn to protect- but nothing excuses these scare tactics in today’s climate.
— Jinkx Monsoon (@JinkxMonsoon) April 26, 2018
RuPaul has not publicly commented on the situation, but assuming Tyra continues to ramp up her rhetoric as DraCon approaches, this is unlikely to be the end of the story.
DCguy
Rupaul is probably regretting not giving the crown to Raven or JuJubee
skyboy63
Sounds threatening to me, deuces bitch…..
medcannabis1
What Ms. Sanchez has dMs.. displays a serious personality disorder that is tending toward serious Criminal conduct. She should be reported to the FBI for making terrorist threats against the community that nurtured and embraced her. I have seen a lot of hate directed to our community over the last 45 years of my being out and I have the damage hatred and bigotry does to a community. We do not need to be poisoned from within. I hope she gets mental health care but until she’s well and understands humility and compassion she should not be allowed to roll within the community or a voice of some borderline personality disorder on steroids. Miss thing is no martyr.