Music icon Shania Twain loves the LGBTQ+ community — and takes inspiration from drag queens.
“I’m an all-inclusive person first of all, to each his own,” Twain, who has been an outspoken ally since the early days of her career, said in a
recent interview with GLAAD’s Anthony Allen Ramos.
“I’ve had so many friends in my life from early on that I would say … some openly, some not so openly struggled with their sexuality. ... I would even say I resented society for making anyone feel like an outsider.”
She is a great fan of drag performers and their shows, which are under attack from the right. “I’ve learned a lot from drag queens,” said Twain, who has been a guest judge on
RuPaul’s Drag
Race.
“I’m very inspired by them. I think we need this inspiration; we need drag queens to share their talent with us.”
She praised the recent
Grammy win for Kim Petras and Sam Smith,
who took the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance award for their song “Unholy.” Petras was the first out trans woman to win the award, and it was the fourth Grammy for Smith, who is nonbinary. “I admire all the talent,” Twain said. “Kim reminds me of a living angel. This is a person that carries no ego and is a very, very elegant person.” Of Smith, she said, “Sam’s just got one of those voices that’s just so beautiful and so perfect.”
Despite the attacks on LGBTQ+ people from conservative politicians, Twain sees hope. That queer artists such as RuPaul and Orville Peck have become household names “is a sign that our society is just slowly getting there.”
Twain has a new album out,
The Queen of Me,
and will be touring in support of it this summer. It has 12 new songs, and one of them, “Giddy Up,” has become a fan favorite and inspired many TikTok videos. Twain said she created the song because “I just want to be cheerful. I want to cheer myself up. I want to cheer others up and it’s just time to just get some pep in our step.”
Through her music, she hopes to promote a more open and accepting world. “We need more love in the world, not rejection and criticism and judgment,” she said.
“I want to say that I love you, LGBTQ community,” she said in closing. “You are rock solid. I am inspired and I admire your courage to get out there and be yourself to be beautiful.”
The full interview is below.
Shania Twain Shares Support for Drag Queens, LGBTQ Community; Calls Kim Petras "A Living Angel"
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