Shangela on the red carpet and inside the Dolby theater with pal, Jenifer Lewis
Well, Ru, Shangie beat you to it (in drag, that is)…
Shangela told Out after her big Oscars debut, walking the carpet alongside pal Jenifer Lewis,
“I woke up asking, ‘Did it really all just happen?’ I have no voice right now after screaming and dancing at the afterparty.“
Her friend, (and someone I know from a past life) composer Marc Shaiman was up for two Oscars for his work on Mary Poppins Returns. (Bette Midler sang and he played piano on the broadcast. Btw, Marc had something to do with drag and the Oscars once before when he accompanied South Park‘s Trey Parker and Matt Stone in faux drag as JLo & Gweyneth to the 2000 Oscars.)
Shangela said to Out,
“Marc invited Jenifer and I as his guests. That was really amazing that he and Jenifer both support me — not only as a friend but also as a drag queen — and made that moment for the very first drag queen, in drag, to walk the red carpet at the Oscars. So I will forever be thankful to the both of them. Jen is one of my favorite people in the entire world … she was like your mom at the prom. She kept fixing my train and I would say, ‘Stop that,’ and she would say, ‘No honey, you gotta have this right.’””
She said on her Instagram post,
“Thank you to all the Queens that came before me. All those who were not welcomed but still held their heads high. Those who dealt with ignorance and hatred. Those who withstood the time when being a drag Queen wasn’t respected or applauded. Thank you. And to the Queens of today and tomorrow, hold your head High and know that you must love and accept yourself, even when others don’t. WerQ hard, be Kind to people and you can achieve whatever u dream. Yesterday I walked the largest red carpet in the world… but I didn’t do it alone. I did it with and for ALL OF US. Queer visibility and representation matters. And I hope to rep us well. Also, Huge Thank U to @marc_shaiman, Lou, Scott Wittman, Brian and my @jeniferlewisforreal for making the dream a reality.“
Shangela is currently developing her own one woman show and a comedy special Shangela is Shook is coming soon. To see more pics and read about her Oscar prep, gown and more go here.
(Photos, courtesy Shangela; via Out)
