I feel blessed and humbled that people have loved my music. Nothing would be possible without their acceptance.
Fortunately, I got critic and audience acceptance much earlier than industry acceptance.
The need we have for information is great, and we get it from many admirable sources. The need we have for understanding and acceptance is much greater. The arts are uniquely able to help us meet the greater needs.
And as I stumbled onto Eastern philosophy and Buddhism, it was the first time I had ever read any sort of philosophy that really made a tremendous amount of sense. What I liked that was missing from my experience of Christianity growing up was a sort of acceptance, a sort of being OK with being imperfect and not focusing on the sin.
I think it's good for 'Drag Race' to be moving toward the mainstream. I'm grateful for the move to VH1. I'm glad that one million people watched the first episode of Season 9. Our message is one of love and acceptance and truth and strength and perseverance, and I believe it should reach everyone, near and far.
We all want the same thing, love and acceptance. That's pretty much it. And what I've learned is that unless I'm happy with my side of the nickel, it can change violently - quickly.
My first letter of acceptance, to UMass - Amherst, came with an offer of a fellowship and a note from John Edgar Wideman.
When it's open and honest, that's when the real nature of who you are as a vocalist or as a performer, all of that stuff can finally start to become what it's supposed to be. Like a settling into yourself. It's not even a musical thing, it's a whole mindset, a whole acceptance of who you were supposed to be. Life sounds good.
For all the challenges I've faced in my path to self-acceptance, I've also traveled it with my own set of luck and privilege.
When I speak of diversity, I don't mean replacement of white comics. I don't mean acceptance by white comics. We comics who weren't born into the white guy paradigm of 'funny' don't need a handout. We don't need a PC push. We don't need 'a look.'
