Drag performer RuPaul has defended the controversial cross-dressing sitcom Work It just before it was announced that the show has been cancelled.
The show, about two unemployed straight men who pretend to be women in order to get jobs, was slammed by LGBT rights organisations on its debut.
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and the Human Rights Campaign took out a full page ad in entertainment industry magazine Variety claiming that “by encouraging the audience to laugh at the characters’ attempts at womanhood, the show gives license to similar treatment of transgender women…”
They added that Work It has “the potential to jeopardise the safety of many transgender Americans…”
The ABC network defended the show, but on Friday, after broadcasting just two episodes, it announced that Work It has been taken off the air due to low ratings.
A day later, RuPaul – who hosts RuPaul’s Drag Race – told
“It’s ridiculous! It’s ridiculous!… I love the word ‘tranny’…And I hate the fact that he’s apologised. I wish he would have said, ‘F-you, you tranny jerk!'” said RuPaul.
GLAAD welcomed the cancellation of Work It. “As a result of this campaign, an important dialogue has been started in Hollywood and mainstream media about the real discrimination faced by transgender people today,” said Herndon Graddick, Senior Director of Programs and Communications at GLAAD.
