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In response to the GOP pushinganti-drag bills, the Instagram account@rupublicanswas born. Created by Craig and his partner — who have chosen not to reveal their last names — in March 2023, this parody account uses AI technology to dress Republicans in complete drag.
The Instagram page’s handle,@rupublicans, is a clever twist on the Republican party’s name and also pays a little homage to the iconic American drag queen,RuPaul. With over 250,000 followers, this flourishing parody account isn’t just funny and entertaining, but it also serves as a platform to educate and inform about drag, and rally against harmful rhetoric surrounding the drag and LGBTQ+ community.
Paired with hilarious introductions and drag queen names to match, here are some of the fiercest queens of the GOP. Prepare yourself for glitter, smize, and fashion, darlings!
1.Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as Claretta Corrupta:
2.Former FOX News host Tucker Carlson as Miss Glitzy Mothuh Tuckuh:
3.South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham as Lady Graham Cracker:
4.New York House Rep. George Santos as Guiltria Santos:
5.Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell as Anita Fila-Bust Her:
6.Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani as Rudy Garland:
7.Texas Senator Ted Cruz as Cruzella Deville:
8.Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as Rhonda Santy:
9.Texas Governor Greg Abbott as Miss Tex-Ass Abbottina:
10.Florida House Rep. Matt Gaetz as Ms. GoldenGaetz Showers:
11.Missouri Senator Josh Hawley as Miss-Hawl About Me:
12.Political commentator Ben Shapiro as Sister Slaypiro:
13.Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy as Speaker Sparklebottom:
And finally, my personal favorite:
14.Former US Vice President Mike Pence as Mother Pence aka The Womb Warden:
Craig and his husband told BuzzFeed, “Drag artists have brought us joy, laughter, helped heal old wounds, and given us the permission to love ourselves. So the GOP’s anti-drag rhetoric and actions made us want to do something. Since late March, we have been creating and posting AI-generated art and captions that are just as over the top and ridiculous as the false narratives around drag.”
But the Instagram page reaches beyond just AI. Recently, @rupublicans raisedover $21,000for theACLU Montana Foundation.
When asked about how much AI is relied on when creating these images and captions, the couple told BuzzFeed, “We use ChatGPT-4 for help with idea generation. 90% of the writing is us, but we sometimes use it in the beginning for brainstorming or when we’re stuck and can’t figure something out.” The couple describes working with AI as “a collaborative process with AI and gay husbands.”
If these queens were in a season ofDrag Race, who do you think would win? Who would you love to see in full drag next? Make sure to check out@rupublicans on Instagramfor more content!
