George Santos praises “Dragula” queen Meatball's viral performance: 'It's flattering'
Controversial, indicted politician George Santos has an... interesting take on The Boulet Brothers' Dragula star Meatball's viral, satirical performance based on his image.
The 35-year-old congressman revealed his positive feelings toward the set on Tuesday's episode of ex-View cohost Meghan McCain's new podcast as part of a wide-ranging discussion about his thoughts on drag culture — including his unpopular stance on restricting children from watching drag performances.
"It's not that I'm anti-drag queen. I love drag queens. I love drag queens so much that, hey, guess what, when I was 18 years old in Carnival? I dressed in drag," Santos told McCain, referencing a resurfaced photo of him in drag as a character named Kitara Ravache.
McCain called Kitara an "icon" and asked if Santos saw Meatball's widely shared parody performance, in which the entertainer sang Keala Settle's "This Is Me" while transforming from a suited Santos into Kitara while on stage at RuPaul's Drag Race winner Sasha Velour's NightGowns stage show in February.
"I did see the video," Santos said. "It's hysterical. My husband hates it — he just thinks it's a mockery. I'm like, 'No, this is great. This is good content.' It's flattering. I thought it was hilarious. I thought Meatball did a great job."
McCain later added that "being impersonated by a drag queen is a badge of honor," though neither referenced the fact that many criticized Santos for what they feel is hypocrisy — especially, as his critics have pointed out, that his past as Kitara seems to clash with his political views regarding drag artists.
Santos did, however, discuss his Twitter feud with Drag Race All Stars 3 winner Trixie Mattel and revealed that he's actually a fan of Drag Race.
Sasha Velour/YouTube; Jackie Molloy/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Sasha Velour/YouTube George Santos praised 'Dragula' queen Meatball's viral performance as Kitara Ravache
"I watch RuPaul's Drag Race. I think drag culture is fun —I just don't think it's age-appropriate for kids," Santos said. "Drag culture is adult culture. It's 18-plus in my opinion, and I think we should keep it that way."
Santos' words come amid a difficult year for drag artists and trans people in America, with many politicians pushing anti-drag and anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation targeting queer people. Prominent entertainment figures — including RuPaul, Maren Morris, several Drag Race stars, and the Boulet Brothers — have long spoken out against such moves.
EW has reached out to Meatball for comment.
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