“Drag Race” alum Peppermint admitted she wished RuPaul Charles would speak out against the Ellisons, fearing what was to come for the beloved competition series.
“It would be wonderful to see anyone on that show speak out against, sort of, what is happening in our country with regards to the control over politics and policy and the intersection again of money with politics, especially as related to the Ellisons and the purchase of Paramount,” Peppermint said in an interview with Blade on Tuesday.
“We’ll know when the takeover is complete, when RuPaul is like, ‘I love Larry Ellison,’ cause that’s probably happening. They’re gonna get a script. So let’s just wait for them to get a script and start talking about how great President Trump is, whatever, I don’t know.”
The host of the most Emmy award-winning reality TV series in history has yet to speak out against the new ownership of the network. This is a notable tidbit, as “Drag Race” streams on MTV, which is owned by Paramount. David Ellison, the son of billionaire Larry Ellison and owner of Paramount Skydance, has been transparent about his family’s friendly relationship with President Donald Trump.
In fact, Ellison has recently cozied up to Trump’s administration as the company attempts to finalize their Warner Bros. Discovery merger. The Warnermount deal, as it has been dubbed by the press, will see the Ellison-run company own a chunk of legacy media, including CNN, which has sparked First Amendment concerns.
Hence, why Peppermint is concerned.
The series does not shy away from politics, especially as they relate to LGBTQ+ rights, but as it has hit mainstream popularity the series has softened.
Peppermint, who was the first openly transgender woman to compete on the series and finished as the runner-up on Season 9, predicted that, in order to appease the new owners, Paramount may retool “Drag Race” to take out political messaging.
“What I envision happening is they will try to either cut ‘Drag Race’ or use it as a tool to parrot what they want to say,” she said. “I hope that doesn’t happen, but it’s either one or the other.”
She continued: “I certainly see a world where Paramount, CNN, anything under this new umbrella is going to have to follow what their owner and boss wants. Every show, every network that’s been sort of sucked into the umbrella is gonna have to fall in line. That’s what fascism is about. You follow directions. And so I think that’s in the future for the show if they don’t leave.”
Peppermint said “Drag Race” was at risk of facing “weird messaging,” adding, “We’ll wake up one day and … Suddenly they’re like forcing us to say the Pledge of Allegiance, but with Donald Trump’s name in it. Like that’s what’s gonna happen.”
She urged the Ellisons “to just leave ‘Drag Race’ alone,” noting that “‘Drag Race’ is a wonderful thing … because it features wonderful drag entertainers…But I don’t rely on ‘Drag Race’ to get my political anything.”
Peppermint did suggest that the show could move to YouTube or another platform to speak completely freely. The drag queen argued that “ultimately no linear, traditional television is safe. They own most of it.”
The franchise has released two seasons of its programming — “Drag Race” Season 18 and “All Stars” Season 11 — since Skydance completed its $8 billion merger and acquisition of Paramount Global in August 2025.
Representatives for RuPaul and Paramount Skydance did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
