Six Legendary Things RuPaul Has to Teach Us About Life

Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten from RuPaul

On Monday afternoon, the super-legendary RuPaul came to visit us at MTV and Logo. As part of the annual Pride activities and diversity-tastic events produced in-house here by the LGBT employee group Out @ MTVN, the “Queen of Logo” (as Ru very accurately defined himself) showed up for a super-fun Q&A session, moderated by VH1’s super-blogger Rich Juzwiak.

A preview clip of the first few minutes of the forthcoming show RuPaul’s Drag U was screened (the crowd ate it up; watch it after the jump!), and then we were treated to a splendid “Inside the Actor’s Studio”-esque onstage chat.

Class is in session; Professors Rich & Ru take the stage.

RuPaul – who repeatedly referred to himself as a born show-off – got spiritual, imparted some fierce wisdom and talked about the influence of his sassy straight-talking Southern mother, who scolded Ru way back when he was a wee lad: “You’re too sensitive. And you reminisce too much,” she told him. “I was five!!!” he noted.

All in all, Ru proved to be much like the Headmaster role he’s playing on RuPaul’s Drag U… So pay attention, chickens!!! Here are some of the tidbits of Ru wisdom…

Be Yourself. Whoever She May Be.
Drag isn’t just about wigs and false eyelashes. “Drag is deconstructing how we see ourselves…” Meaning, don’t believe the roles or labels or society assigns you. Be who you truly want to be.

What Would Jesus Wear?
Ru talked a lot about spirituality, but as far as being religious? “Yes, honey, I’m a Christian,” he snapped. “Christian Dior, Christian LaCroix…”

Judge Not, Unless…
RuPaul’s longtime idol is none other than media maven and TV icon Judge Judy. “I liiiiiiiiive for Judge Judy,” Ru declared several times. The two were even seated next to each other once on a cross-country flight. “That was no accident,” affirmed Ru. It was fate, honey.

Get more Ru lessons for liiiiiiving (and the RuPaul’s Drag U teaser) after the jump.

“I’m 50!” [Kick!]
Ru revealed that he’ll turn 50 in November, a fact he’s happily proud of. And with that he reminded us all… “Life goes fast. You better try on those Spandex pants and that wig and those heels now, girl…” Don’t wait to do the things you really want to do.

…I Just Wanna Get Paid.
When asked why Ru won’t be appearing in drag on Drag U, Ru boiled part of it down to simple math, rather than a conscious choice to emphasize his masculine persona. “It’s more of an economic decision,” he laughed. “That sh*t cost money!”

Movin’ On Up
Finally, among many other gems too numerous to list here, when an eager young fan asked Ru the age-old “How did you get to where you are today?” Ru responded appropriately: “…I think we took Eighth Avenue.”

Now, prance.

For more legendary life lessons from RuPaul this Pride season, snatch a copy of Ru’s recently released book, Workin’ It! RuPaul’s Guide to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Style. And then tune in and get schooled when RuPaul’s Drag U debuts on Logo on Monday, July 19th at 9pm.

Wanna see a little more RuPaul? Tune in tomorrow night to Logo’s 2010 NewNowNext Awards, where Ru will be among the many fabulous presenters. The show begins at 10pm ET on Logo — or watch it all live here at NewNowNext.com.