A powerful gesture for World AIDS Day.
Cheddar Gorgeous became a global superstar after appearing as a cast member on the recently-completed fourth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. She ultimately finished the season in second place.
During her run in the drag competition, Gorgeous wore an iconic outfit inspired by the ACT UP movement for the “Tickled Pink” runway category. The outfit featured “Silence = Death” slogan as well as the pink triangle used by the ACT UP coalition. Now, Gorgeous has chosen to auction that outfit for World AIDS Day.
The Drag Race UK star will auction her outfit and donate its earnings to the Terrence Higgins Trust and the George House Trust, two leading charities in the U.K. for HIV and sexual health matters. Gorgeous shared a video on Instagram announcing the auction.
The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, a.k.a. ACT UP, was formed in 1987 to advocate for people living with AIDS. The organization staged several protests and made itself heard by politicians who, back in the 1980s and 1990s, were flat-out ignoring the AIDS epidemic.
It was fabulous to see a veteran drag artist like Gorgeous bringing these issues to a younger audience through Drag Race UK.
Now, one lucky person will get to buy Gorgeous’ herstory-making “Tickled Pink” runway look and be sure that the money will be used for a great cause.
Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs. the World airs Fridays on WOW Presents Plus.
