Humor can be a powerful force for change, and no one knows that better than drag queen Lauren Banall.
Banall has managed to rack up millions of views this week after videos of her hilarious and biting Erika Kirk impersonations went viral online, allowing her to parlay her newfound success into a fundraiser to stop the Trump administration.
“I absolutely did not expect this reaction,” Banall told PRIDE. “I thought I would make the 100 people at my brunch laugh, maybe a thousand people who follow me would see the Reel, and that would be it. I truly only did it to make myself and my friends laugh, just like any other drag number I do."
Banall knew she could use drag to “hold a mirror up to life” by performing as Erika Qwerk and doing satirical impersonations of Turning Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk.
“I think it came from feeling so helpless and gaslit in this political moment,” Banall said. "So many things feel so insane, so not-normal, and it feels like no one is addressing it. I kept seeing [Erika Kirk] over and over again in different interviews and events, and kept being bewildered by her strange behavior. Eventually, I saw a TikTok where someone added the horror noise every time she squinted her icy blue eyes in a menacing manner, and it made me laugh so hard. I thought, ‘finally it feels like someone sees what I see.’”
@laurenbanall We are Charlie Kirk 🧿👄🧿
Banall’s viral videos show her lip-synching to actual audio of Erika Kirk and wearing a red blazer, intense black eye makeup, icy blue contacts, and the bug-eyed expression the new MAGA figurehead is known for.
In her newest viral impersonation video on TikTok, you can hear uproarious laughter from the crowd as Banall stands in front of a podium, uses eye drops as fake tears, and holds sparklers to mock the time Erika Kirk took the stage with pyrotechnics behind her at the first Turning Point USA conference after her husband’s death.
Banall said there have been moments after her video started picking up steam that she’s been “afraid of backlash and scared for my safety,” but she’s also felt intense “joy and validation from the overwhelming positivity of the response” she’s gotten from fans. “It definitely makes me feel less crazy that it has struck a nerve and even a lot of conservatives see it and laugh,” she said. “Comedy and satire can be so powerful in moments like this, and it's crazy to be at the center of it.”
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The drag queen managed to take the reactions she’s garnered and turn them into a way to raise money to fight back against President Donald Trump and his administration by asking fans to donate to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
“I’m a drag queen, I’m not going to be the one to fight this administration in the courts, but I can use my art to raise money for those who can,” she explained. “The ACLU is an organization that champions for the rights of marginalized and persecuted minorities, including the transgender and wider LGBTQ+ community and immigrants. They also have their Defense of Drag Fund so it was a no-brainer to help them help us and other minorities that conservatives are trying to legislate away.”
Banall has no plans to stop mimicking Erika Kirk and sticking it to Republicans using her comedic drag performances. “Conservatives are determined to dominate the culture and I think it’s a drag queen’s (or any artist’s) duty to reflect the culture of the times,” she said. “I’ll continue fighting for a better, more equal, future with liberty and justice for all!”
Follow Lauren Banall on TikTok and Instagram, and if you’re in the Los Angeles area, you can see her perform at a politically themed drag show on March 4 at Precinct DTLA.
