Peppermint is at the center of the controversy of RuPaul’s comments on trans performers.

She was the first queen to be an openly trans competitor at the start of the show.

Other stars, like Jiggly Caliente and Jinkx Monsoon, have come out as trans or non-binary after competing.

RuPaul’s troubling comments on trans performers

While Drag Race was praised for this, many have questioned RuPaul’s motives following comments made to The Guardian.

‘Drag loses its sense of danger and its sense of irony once it’s not men doing it, because at its core it’s a social statement and a big f-you to male-dominated culture,’ he said.

‘Peppermint didn’t get breast implants until after she left our show; she was identifying as a woman, but she hadn’t really transitioned.

On whether he would accept a contestant who had, Ru said: ‘Probably not. You can identify as a woman and say you’re transitioning, but it changes once you start changing your body.

‘It takes on a different thing; it changes the whole concept of what we’re doing. We’ve had some girls who’ve had some injections in the face and maybe a little bit in the butt here and there, but they haven’t transitioned.’

RuPaul has issued a response to the wave of backlash. He has explained his regret and called trans people ‘teachers’.

Are trans women ‘required’ to present as male in the workroom?

Some on social media has claimed RuPaul’s comments ‘proves’ producers have allegedly required trans women to present as male while in the workroom.

Others have claimed they stopped taking hormones before their appearance on camera.

In an exclusive interview with Gay Star News in July last year, Peppermint said it was her decision to stay in clothes that could be considered presenting as male.

Peppermint: ‘No one can determine my womanhood except for me.’

‘No one can determine my womanhood or my trans womanhood except for me. No one can define it except for me. And no one can set the parameters except for me. That’s it,’ Peppermint said.

‘I was balancing coming out to strangers, people in the workroom I didn’t know, and it was a competition.

‘I had history to go against. There hadn’t been a lot of trans women on the show who had come out on the show and excelled at Drag Race.

She said it was important for her the environment was supportive. She credits Sasha with creating that tone in the workroom.

‘It would have been nice to be glamorous 24/7, but at 6 in the morning and you have the call to get in front of a camera where you’ll likely be dressing like a cat or a zombie or whatever at a moment’s notice, you’re not concerned about putting on a wig and another set of makeup just to take it all off,’ Peppermint added.

‘You just want to shower and get out of the door because you want to win the challenge. Focusing on, “Wait guys, I need paint my nails.” It would have been more of a disadvantage rather than an advantage.’

Peppermint hopes Drag Race will evolve

Peppermint is hoping Drag Race will evolve.

‘As long as I’ve been doing drag, I’ve seen performances that would run circles around me,’ she said.

‘A lot of that comes from cisgender women or drag kings. I’ve seen some really amazing things come from the community.

‘If gay men can be inspired by the likes of Liza Minelli, and Diana Ross, and Wonder Woman enough to put on an outfit and wow an audience doing drag.

‘Why can’t a woman or a trans man be inspired by the performances of a gay man doing drag, enough to put on a costume or a kooky outfit, to wow an audience as well?

‘If drag is about being an illusionist or a performer or a gender rebel, I don’t think gay men own that experience. Gay men don’t own gender and genderfuck and playing with rules. Humans do. Everyone has a right to it.’