RuPaul’s Drag Race and Paramount have a longstanding partnership with The Trevor Project. We used the Season 14 finale as an opportunity to come together to celebrate and uplift the LGBTQIA+ community, amidst political attacks in over a dozen states. As we ideated the red carpet concept, we wanted to both celebrate the herstoric season, while also calling attention to these issues in a way that felt organic to the fandom.
Everyone from Season 13 winner Symone to the Queens of Drag Race Live descended on Las Vegas to sashay down the pink carpet! RuPaul's Drag Race Season 12 winner Jaida Essence Hall was on the ground to interview Queens as they went by, streaming live on the RuPaul’s Drag Race Twitter. As arrivals began, Jaida explained the importance of “saying gay,” challenging homophobic legislation being introduced across the country. She went on to explain that “gay” would be the secret word of the night, and that RuPaul's Drag Race would make a donation to The Trevor Project each time it was mentioned.
There is only so much you can plan for when streaming live from a red carpet. That unpredictability in mind, a major key to success in the activation was the willingness and professionalism of our host Jaida Essence Hall. She kept the “secret word” game going, organically encouraging queens to participate and ultimately maximize the donation made to The Trevor Project.
Reaching over 2.4M viewers, the Season 14 Finale Red Carpet was a great success. Fans were super engaged with the content, watching along as Jaida interviewed each person to come down the carpet. Jaida also encouraged them to tweet out the word gay, and participate in on social. RuPaul’s Drag Race and Paramount are such proud supporters of The Trevor Project, so to be able to drive awareness and contribute to their work is a very fulfilling partnership for the franchise.
A donation of $10,000 was made to The Trevor Project following the livestream.
