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Drag Race Philippines Makes Herstory With Two Trans Judges On The Panel
KaladKaren joins Jiggly Caliente as permanent hosts on the upcoming series.
Drag Race Philippines is about to make history by having not one, but two trans permanent judges on the panel. The franchise has come a long, long way when it comes to trans representation and we are living.
World of Wonder shared that joining the previously announced trans drag icon Jiggly Caliente on the panel will be KaladKaren.
Jiggly took to Twitter to celebrate the news by sharing a photo of the two of them. “The future is TRANS. @kerricolby flicked her fingers and made 2 trans women main judges on a franchise. @jervijervi brings such a richness in knowledge of the Philippines drag industry to the table that I’m excited for you all to see. This is GIRL POWER,” read the caption.
\u201cThe future is TRANS. @kerricolby flicked her fingers n made 2 trans women main judges on a franchise. @jervijervi brings such a richness in knowledge of the Philippines drag industry to table that I'm excited for you all to see. This is GIRL POWER.\u201d— Jiggly Caliente Official (@Jiggly Caliente Official) 1658293770
KaladKaren responded with her own tweet staying, “Two trans women on the judging panel of #DragRacePH! Let’s take up space! THE TIME IS NOW!!!! Mabuhay ang mga LGBTQIA+ Filipinos!”
Rounding out the judge’s table for the series is head judge and host Paolo Ballesteros, a well-known TV host, actor, and beauty expert in the Philippines.
Jiggly’s inclusion in the judging panel adds her to an elite but growing list of RuGirls who have graduated from the runway to the judge’s panel. Brooke Lynn Hytes was the first to make the jump as the host of Canada’s Drag Race. She’s has been followed by season 12 participant Nicky Doll, who’s presiding over the judges on Drag Race France, and Rita Baga, who will be hostingDrag Race Belgique. With much of the world still left for RuPaul to conquer, who knows which RuGirl may get the nod next? But we definitely have thoughts.
Drag Race Philippines is set to premiere August 17 on WOW Presents Plus.
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Rachel Shatto, Editor in Chief of PRIDE.com, is an SF Bay Area-based writer, podcaster, and former editor of Curve magazine, where she honed her passion for writing about social justice and sex (and their frequent intersection). Her work has appeared on Dread Central, Elite Daily, Tecca, and Joystiq. She's a GALECA member and she podcasts regularly about horror on the Zombie Grrlz Horror Podcast Network. She can’t live without cats, vintage style, video games, drag queens, or the Oxford comma.
Rachel Shatto, Editor in Chief of PRIDE.com, is an SF Bay Area-based writer, podcaster, and former editor of Curve magazine, where she honed her passion for writing about social justice and sex (and their frequent intersection). Her work has appeared on Dread Central, Elite Daily, Tecca, and Joystiq. She's a GALECA member and she podcasts regularly about horror on the Zombie Grrlz Horror Podcast Network. She can’t live without cats, vintage style, video games, drag queens, or the Oxford comma.
