RuPaul’s Drag Race star Q reveals HIV diagnosis: ‘It’s so stigmatised’
Q, a 26-year-old drag queen from Kansas City, Missouri who has competed in RuPaul’s Drag Race, is bravely opening up about her HIV-positive diagnosis.
Sharing her emotional journey, Q advocated for hiring more queer people in the healthcare sector.
In a video obtained by People from the show’s season 16 episode, Q remarked, “I am doing something very sentimental for the runway today. It’s inspired by the generation of gay people that we lost to the AIDS epidemic in the ’80s. So it’s really, really special to me.”
Q revealed the challenges she faced after receiving the diagnosis, struggling with feelings of being lost and alone. “When I first got my diagnosis I felt really lost and I felt, like, super alone,” she said. “I tested positive when I was 24. I was mostly scared about how I was going to be treated by family and people around me who don’t understand it because it is so stigmatised.”
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“You know, people have said really awful and nasty things to me and almost de-humanising me,” she recalled.
Reflecting on the importance of having understanding and compassionate healthcare providers, Q emphasised the need for more queer people in healthcare. “It’s crazy how much people with HIV have to deal with. I’ve been treated differently by like, health care providers,” she added. “I think it’s so important to have queer people in health care. You really feel that difference in care between those providers.”
To which, drag queen Plane Jane replied, “Do you hear that gay people? Stop doing drag and start going to medical school!”
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In past seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race, contestants like Ongina and Trinity K. Bonet bravely shared their HIV-positive diagnosis stories. Ongina, from season one, tearfully revealed her diagnosis on the runway, inspiring others to celebrate life. Trinity K. Bonet, in season six, also opened up about living with HIV.
