Three-time RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant and co-host of We’re Here, Shangela, also known as D.J. Pierce when not performing in drag, has become the first person ever dolled up in drag to attend a vice-presidential event at their home. Vice President Kamala Harris, 57, invited the 40-year-old drag legend to introduce her at a June 28 Pride Month event, held at her official residence, which is known as Number One Observatory Circle. Shangela expressed his utmost gratitude for the honor in a post on Instagram the following day. “I woke up today asking myself ‘did that really just happen?’ Last night I had the honor of becoming the first drag queen in drag to ever attend an event at the residence of the Vice President of America. It was also the first time that an LGBTQ+ Pride Event had been held at the residence. MAJOR. Thank you Madame @vp for being an authentic ally and for not only holding this LGBTQ event at ur residence, but for also inviting me to make a few welcoming remarks. Wow,” he gushed at the top of his post.
“After laughing and sobbing on the phone with my Mom this morning, I took a sec to take this in. Me – the lil, country gay kid from Paris, TX just helped introduce the highest ranking female leader ever elected in our Country. And I did it standing in my Truth. Proudly representing my community,” he enthusiastically continued in his post. “Here’s to all the dreamers. I’m doing it, and so can YOU. I might not have ever won a crown, but that has never stopped me from being a Queen.”
In the video of the speech he shared, Shangela gushed about how important it is to have someone as influential as Kamala to be supportive of people within the LGBTQ+ community. “Drag Queens, I like to say, belong everywhere,” he proudly stated. “Especially in the residence of the vice president.” Later on in the speech, he said, “Isn’t it so wonderful to have an advocate on your team, to have someone who believes in equality, who believes in equal rights, and who believes in progression for all our communities, especially for someone who believes with us that the LGBTQ+ community belongs in a visible place? This is what visibility looks like.”
In another post, Shangela shared a selfie with Kamala. “Celebrating LGBTQ Pride tonite alongside our Madame Vice President at her and the Second Gentleman’s residence in DC. Thank you for your words about activism and your commitment to standing together for Equality for all,” he wrote.
Kamala posted about the lively event on her Instagram Story via a Boomerang of a mini Ferris wheel that served as a drink holder in her luscious yard. “For me, Pride Month has always been a joy-filled celebration. I was proud to welcome members of the LGBTQI+ community to celebrate Pride with me at my home,” she wrote over the snapshot. She also shared some behind-the-scenes footage from the night, including a clip of a performance by Hayley Kiyoko and a photo of her house lit up with Pride colors.
Kamala has made sure to support the LGBTQ+ community all month long. On June 12, she spoke on stage at Capitol Pride with Drag Race season 13 champion Symone and addressed the anti-LGBTQ+ violence the community faces. “No one should fear going to a nightclub for fear that a terrorist might try to take them down,” Harris said in her speech, referencing the tragic Pulse nightclub shooting in Florida, which happened six years ago on that day. “No one should fear loving who they love,” she continued later on in the moving speech. “Our children in Texas and Florida should not fear who they are,” she added. Texas, Florida, and several other American states have various laws that impede the rights of the queer community, as Kamala mentioned in her thoughtful speech.