"Drag Race" Herstory Lesson: Who the F*ck Was Lady Bunny?
Legendary drag diva Lady Bunny has crossed over to the great gay bar in the sky... at least to the queens on RuPaul's Drag Race. On this week's episode of All Stars, the queens had to perform a "Ru-ology," roasting Bunny at her own funeral while she was lying in a casket onstage.
Now, if you are one of the children watching Drag Race, but you don't exactly know the (loooong) history of Lady Bunny and why she is so important to the world of drag, then scroll down below for 10 reasons why you should mourn the passing of the legendary "pig in a wig."
She had been friends with RuPaul since the beginning of time.
Mother Ru and Bunny met in 1982 while they were both living in Atlanta. The two would later conquer the club scene in the East Village after they moved to New York and became drag superstars. The oooold friends had a hilarious and candid conversation about their long friendship last year when Bunny was a guest on Ru and Michelle Visage's podcast, What's the Tee?
She put the "ho" in Hollywood!
Not only did Bunny conquer the clubs, she also sashayed onto the big screen with roles in To Wong Foo... and Starrbooty. She also emceed an LGBTQ prom in one of the best episodes of Sex and the City.
She was the "Dean of Drag."
Ru loves Bunny's drag so much that he hired her as the "Dean of Drag" for all three seasons of Drag U. Bunny taught the female contestants their "Lady Lessons" and also sat on the judging panel. She even taught yoga on the show!
She was a Trans-Jester!
If you followed Bunny on social media you know she had a lot to say about the state of politics and the political correctness that has taken over in recent years. She brought her opinions and hilarious jokes to the stage in her sold-out one-woman shows like Trans-Jester, which made fun of everyone.
She got the party started.
If you have attended a tour featuring Drag Race queens like Werq the World, then you probably saw Bunny get the crowd goin' with her pre-show DJ set, which included some overlooked disco and pop bops. She also spun at events around the New York, including the Tea Dance at the Monster in the West Village.
She released bops herself!
Not only did she DJ, she also filled the dance floor with her own tracks like "Take Me Up High."
Her friendship(?) with Bianca Del Rio.
These two hateful queens were cut from the same cloth, and that's why they worked so well together. We could've watched them insult one another for hours. These two should have had a TV show before Bunny passed on!
She always knew how to make an entrance.
Even in her later years Bun-Bun still knew how to make an entrance—which you can see when she was a special guest on Christina Aguilera's tour last summer.
She changed drag forever with the creation of Wigstock.
Bunny started the drag-centric festival back in the late '80s, becoming a highlight for queens and their fans, but the party finally stopped in 2001 when Wigstock went dark. In 2018, with the help of Neil Patrick Harris, Bunny resurrected the concert for a new generation. The magical day was one for the herstory books—and hopefully it will return to snatch our wigs again this year.
And she was always down to give you a pickle surprise...
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars airs Fridays at 8/7c on VH1.