How Valentina Helped One 'Drag Race' Fan Come Out to His Dying Mother

Photo Credit: Movi Inc for World of Wonder

RuPaul's DragCon took Los Angeles by storm this past weekend, and during the "Playing Nice: Miss Congeniality" panel, Drag Race season 9 fan-favorite Valentina shared a powerful story about how her drag impacted one fan's life. 

"It's a special story from a fan I met in Peru," she began. "He came up to me during a meet and greet and told me a beautiful story about how my experience on Drag Race created an opportunity to become really close with his mother that passed away, like two months before I met him."

She continued:

"Before Drag Race he was having a really hard time with his mom, coming out to her. This is in Latin America, like a Catholic, religious kind of background, so she was really harsh on him.

As he started to watch Drag Race, his mom over his shoulder would start to watch it with him and judge him like, 'What are you watching, what is this?'

He started to introduce her to me and the kind of songs I perform. The kinds of songs I perform in Spanish are very much like, old Mexican lady cleaning her house, brokenhearted telenovela, 'he left me, he left me' kinds of songs. Any Latina mom knows the kinds of music I perform."

"His mom, while watching the show, got cancer and got extremely sick. They just started to open up and get really really close to one another, and he told me, 'Thank you so much because you really helped open up my mom's mind about this lifestyle that is being gay. You really are an example for us gay people in the media.'

It was so special because I never knew that I had an impact by putting a dress on like that. I never knew drag could be so political by just being authentically yourself. It was just so special because these people really, you guys really love us so much. There's nothing more rewarding than when a fan comes and tells you and cries and shares that hug with you. 

If he's watching this, I love you mi amor."