RuPaul's fracking controversy explained

RuPaul Andre Charles is a well-known figure in America’s drag scene, but his name has been embroiled in many controversies over the years. During an NPR interview in 2020, the drag star discussed his Emmy-winning show RuPaul’s Drag Race and divulged details about his business that makes for his fortune, which, as per Celebrity Net Worth, is estimated to be $60 million.

RuPaul and his husband reportedly own 60,000 acres of land in Wyoming, which he seems to lease to multiple oil companies for fracking. It is a controversial method of extracting oil and gas trapped in rock formations that contributes to the climate crisis. He explained:

“Well, a modern ranch, 21st century ranch, is really land management. It is – you lease the mineral rights to oil companies. And you sell water to oil companies. And then you lease the grazing rights to different ranchers. So it’s land management. Yeah.”

RuPaul's giving access to companies on his property can potentially harm the water resource and emit toxins in the area, thereby causing damage to communities and the agriculture sector.

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Drag Star Lady Bunny calls out RuPaul for fracking

Ahead of the release of his memoir The House of Hidden Meanings on March 5, RuPaul said in an interview with the New Yorker that humans are destroying the planet and that he has a “safety net,” which is supposed to be a concrete compound built on his 60,000-acre Wyoming ranch. He told journalist Ronan Farrow,

“Humans on this planet are in the cycle of destruction. I am plotting a safety net. I wouldn’t call it a bunker. It’s a lot of concrete and a lot of things.”

RuPaul also responded to Farrow, referencing the fracking controversy, by saying,

"Do you buy gas? Before you point the finger, smell it first, b*tch. There’s no combination of words I can put together that would soothe the mob,” he said.

After his comments, American drag star Lady Bunny, who is known for her occasional television and radio appearances, called out RuPaul on social media on March 3. She took issue with the revelations mentioned in the memoir's excerpts, including his sobriety. Lady Bunny took to Instagram to highlight:

“One chapter was devoted to how he got sober, which is quite a Ru-veal to me. It’s something he and I never discussed, and I’ve never had any desire to point that finger. Partially because I didn’t want to repeat unconfirmed gossip, and partially because I was drinking and drugging, too.”

What occurred alarming to her was the reality judge talking about a “safety bunker” in the New Yorker interview amid the “cycle of destruction.” Lady Bunny accused him of “destroying the planet.” She wrote in a lengthy Instagram post that featured a screenshot of his interview:

“This screenshot is from a tech site, and the article focuses on Ru’s dream of building a safety bunker, because, Ru says, “Humans on this planet are in the cycle of destruction.” So Ru is protecting himself from the climate’s “cycle of destruction” which his fracking helps to create.”

She continued:

“He’s making himself safe while destroying the planet, and he votes for and even writes song lyrics about the Clintons and Obamas, who sold fracking just as Biden drilled for more fossil fuels than Trump had. Mama Ru fracks, Mother Nature dies.”

Lady Bunny also took objection to his Emmy-winning reality show doing a Climate Change Ball in season 10. She questioned his double standards in raising awareness about the climate crisis while also contributing to it himself by allowing fracking. She added:

“And hypocritically, Drag Race had the nerve to have a Climate Change Ball on Season 10 to raise awareness among viewers as to the dangers of the climate crisis. But Ru and his husband Georges will be in their bunker safe and sound away from floods and extreme weather which their actions and Ru's support for Dem frackers have caused.”

At the time of RuPaul's fracking ranch rumors following the NPR interview, the Wilderness Society called the prospect “disappointing”.

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The House of Hidden Meanings: A Memoir released on March 5, 2024.