Drag legend Rupaul—best known as the host of the drag competition Rupaul's Drag Race—did not mince words in regard to Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz's stance on marriage equality.
While guest-hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live on Thursday, July 21, Rupaul noted that Cruz has spoken out against a House bill to codify marriage equality, aruging that the Supreme Court "was clearly wrong about about its 2015 same-sex marriage ruling," referring to Obergefell v. Hodges, in which the Court found that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Rupaul—who has been married to painter Georges LeBar since 2017—went further, saying:
"In gayer news: Child, f*ck Ted Cruz."
You can hear what he said in the video below.
Cruz had earlier made clear that he would like to see marriage equality overturned, saying it was not correctly decided.
Speaking on his podcast Verdict with Ted Cruz, he said that in Obergefell "the Court said, 'no, we know better than you,' and now every state must sanction and permit gay marriage," constituting what he considers governmental overreach.
Rupaul's takedown quickly went viral and many could only echo his criticisms.
Concerns about the future of marriage equality have taken on fresh urgency in the weeks since the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark decision that once protected a person's right to choose reproductive healthcare without excessive government restriction.
The decision on Roe, which hinged on a right to privacy that while not explicitly granted in the United States Constitution was nonetheless accepted per the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment (which grants all citizens “equal protection of the laws"), suggested other Supreme Court rulings, such as those regarding contraception, same-sex and interracial marriage, are now in doubt.
Associate Justice Clarence Thomas suggested in a solo concurring opinion that established gay rights (Lawrence v. Texas and Obergefell v. Hodges) and contraception rights (Griswold v. Connecticut) should be reconsidered now that the federal right to reproductive freedom has been revoked, calling them "demonstrably erroneous" and calling on the Court to "correct the error."
