Drag Superstar RuPaul's Secret Punk Past (Video)

@ 2026 Equal Entertainment LLC.
All rights reserved

RuPaul's Secret Punk Past
Long before the gay host of RuPaul's Drag Race became a household name, he was the frontman of a punk rock band called "Wee Wee Pole."
 Dawn Ennis
          
          Mar 30, 2016
          
        
Dawn Ennis
The Advocate's news editor Dawn Ennis successfully transitioned from broadcast journalism to online media following another transition that made headlines; in 2013, she became the first trans staffer in any major TV network newsroom. As the first out transgender editor at The Advocate, the native New Yorker continues her 30-year media career, in which she has earned more than a dozen awards, including two Emmys. With the blessing of her three children, Dawn retains the most important job title she's ever held: Dad.
 See Full Bio 
                  Follow:
                  

        
        FROM OUR SPONSORS
        
    

        
        The Latest
        
    
HIV
        How Black communities protected each other during the early days of the AIDS crisis
    Fighting against an illness with no treatment and institutional racism, Black queer communities had to look inward for support. 
Jacob Ogles
Politics
        For New Yorkers, Stonewall’s new Pride flag is only step one
    New Yorkers are doubling down on organizing efforts to combat an anti-LGBTQ federal agenda.
Jack Walker
Opinion
        When community care became a threat
    In Minnesota, staying human was treated as a danger—and innocent lives paid the price.
Kate Wilder
Crime
        Defiant Don Lemon says ‘the process is the punishment’ after lawyers reveal feds took his phone
    “I will fight these baseless charges, and I will not be silenced,” the gay journalist said.
Christopher Wiggins

        
        More For You
        
        Editor’s Letter: “It’s hard enough being human”
    
Alex Cooper
Jan 23, 2026

        courtesy Alex Cooper; Alyssa Pointer
    
        Just before casting my vote in the 2024 election in my hometown in South Carolina, I turned on Brandi Carlile’s “The Joke” from her album By the Way I Forgive You, which was written in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s 2016 win. I needed to listen to it before I went into the voting booth. Carlile’s soaring vocals and poignant lyrics about hope in the face of persecution comforted me as I pulled into the parking lot of a former Walmart turned megachurch that served as my polling station. I parked my Subaru and cried, singing along between quiet sobs. Keep Reading →

        Zohran Mamdani: Save a horse, play a yet-unreleased Kim Petras album
    
Bernardo Sim
Dec 30, 2025

        Zohran Mamdani; Kim Petras
    
        Ron Adar/Shutterstock; Amigo Records/Republic Records
    
        If Zohran Mamdani is a BunHead, then Kim Petras can be an animal rights activist. That's how pop music and politics work in 2025, after all. Keep Reading →

        LE SSERAFIM’s new music video has 3 drag queens—major queer moment in K-pop
    
Moises Mendez Ii
Oct 22, 2025
Drag queen NANA Youngrong Kim is seen eating spaghetti in the new music video for by LE SSERAFIM.

        Courtesy Hybe Labels
    
        The popular K-pop group LE SSERAFIM is gearing up for the release of their upcoming single, "SPAGHETTI," and fans were pleasantly surprised to see that the teaser video that they released on Tuesday featured a drag queen. Keep Reading →

        How to build a career in drag without 'Drag Race:' The story of Shontelle Sparkles
    
Ryan Adamczeski
Aug 29, 2025
Shontelle Sparkles (Hair by Vanity Mirror, earrings by Drag In Jewels, and heart locket by Adoryanti)

        Photo by Ethan Cross
    
        Shontelle Sparkles is getting her big break — with or without RuPaul's Drag Race. Keep Reading →

        Country music trailblazer Chely Wright's journey from stage to boardroom executive
    
John Casey
Aug 15, 2025
Chely Wright at the OUTLOUD: Raising Voices Concert Series in Los Angeles.

        Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
    
        Chely Wright has never been one to follow a predictable path. The Kansas-born singer who made history as the first major country artist to come out as queer has reinvented herself more than once. Keep Reading →

        Most Popular
        
News
        Gay ice dancer Guillaume Cizeron's gold medal is questioned as judging scandal heats up
    Guillaume Cizeron and his ice dancing partner Laurence Fournier Beaudry have been mired in controversy since the start of the Milano Cortina Olympics.
Ariel Messman-Rucker
Arts & Entertainment
        10 of the sexiest music videos that gagged everyone in 2025
    These celebrities brought the sex appeal in their steamy videos this year.
Ricky Cornish
People
        NBC apologizes for misgendering trailblazing trans Olympian Elis Lundholm
    "We apologize to Elis and our viewers," NBC Sports said in a statement.
Ariel Messman-Rucker
Politics
        Charlie Kirk DID say stoning gay people was the 'perfect law' — and these other heinous quotes
    These are some of his worst comments about LGBTQ+ people made by Charlie Kirk.
Ryan Adamczeski
Crime
        Don Lemon faces judge who rejected DOJ’s previous attempt to charge him with a crime
    The Trump Justice Department is testing whether courts will find that journalism is a crime.
Christopher Wiggins
News
        Canadian school shooting sparks anti-trans uproar after shooter identified
    Authorities have identified the shooter that killed eight people as an 18-year-old local resident.
Ryan Adamczeski

Site Navigation

RuPaul's Secret Punk Past

Long before the gay host of RuPaul's Drag Race became a household name, he was the frontman of a punk rock band called "Wee Wee Pole."

The Latest

How Black communities protected each other during the early days of the AIDS crisis

Fighting against an illness with no treatment and institutional racism, Black queer communities had to look inward for support.

For New Yorkers, Stonewall’s new Pride flag is only step one

New Yorkers are doubling down on organizing efforts to combat an anti-LGBTQ federal agenda.

When community care became a threat

In Minnesota, staying human was treated as a danger—and innocent lives paid the price.

Defiant Don Lemon says ‘the process is the punishment’ after lawyers reveal feds took his phone

“I will fight these baseless charges, and I will not be silenced,” the gay journalist said.

TN Republican demands official probe after calling Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show 'gay pornography'

12 lesbian music icons to know this Lesbian Visibility Day

60 Homoerotic Album Covers

Rascal Flatts' Joe Don Rooney has nothing against the community, but says he isn't trans

More For You

Editor’s Letter: “It’s hard enough being human”

Zohran Mamdani: Save a horse, play a yet-unreleased Kim Petras album

LE SSERAFIM’s new music video has 3 drag queens—major queer moment in K-pop

How to build a career in drag without 'Drag Race:' The story of Shontelle Sparkles

Country music trailblazer Chely Wright's journey from stage to boardroom executive

Most Popular

Gay ice dancer Guillaume Cizeron's gold medal is questioned as judging scandal heats up

Guillaume Cizeron and his ice dancing partner Laurence Fournier Beaudry have been mired in controversy since the start of the Milano Cortina Olympics.

10 of the sexiest music videos that gagged everyone in 2025

These celebrities brought the sex appeal in their steamy videos this year.

NBC apologizes for misgendering trailblazing trans Olympian Elis Lundholm

"We apologize to Elis and our viewers," NBC Sports said in a statement.

Don Lemon faces judge who rejected DOJ’s previous attempt to charge him with a crime

The Trump Justice Department is testing whether courts will find that journalism is a crime.

Canadian school shooting sparks anti-trans uproar after shooter identified

Authorities have identified the shooter that killed eight people as an 18-year-old local resident.

Latest Stories

Stay up to date with the latest in LGBTQ+ news with The Advocate’s email newsletter, in your inbox five days a week.

RuPaul's Secret Punk Past

Long before the gay host of RuPaul's Drag Race became a household name, he was the frontman of a punk rock band called "Wee Wee Pole."

FROM OUR SPONSORS

The Latest

Fighting against an illness with no treatment and institutional racism, Black queer communities had to look inward for support.

New Yorkers are doubling down on organizing efforts to combat an anti-LGBTQ federal agenda.

In Minnesota, staying human was treated as a danger—and innocent lives paid the price.

“I will fight these baseless charges, and I will not be silenced,” the gay journalist said.

More For You

Most Popular

Guillaume Cizeron and his ice dancing partner Laurence Fournier Beaudry have been mired in controversy since the start of the Milano Cortina Olympics.

These celebrities brought the sex appeal in their steamy videos this year.

"We apologize to Elis and our viewers," NBC Sports said in a statement.

These are some of his worst comments about LGBTQ+ people made by Charlie Kirk.

The Trump Justice Department is testing whether courts will find that journalism is a crime.

Authorities have identified the shooter that killed eight people as an 18-year-old local resident.