Culture
‘A hero’s origins’: the true story of the first drag queen presidential candidate
Source: The Guardian · Published

In off-Broadway show Ms Blakk for President, Oscar-winning Moonlight writer Tarell Alvin McCraney explores a slice of under-appreciated queer history At the height of the Aids crisis, Chicago activist Terence Alan Smith put on his drag persona, Joan Jett Blakk, and announced she was running for president. Her slogan: “Lick Bush in ‘92!” Her platform: fire everyone in the White House and paint it…
Related stories
- Russell Brand found guilty of rape and sexual assault
The Guardian · 5 Nov 2026, 17:03

- Seth Meyers on the midterms ‘blue tsunami’: ‘Say hello to the shy woke voter in Texas’
The Guardian · 5 Nov 2026, 15:32

- Is that an explosion, an implosion or an orgasm? Pixies bass-player Emma Richardson’s realm-leaping life in painting
The Guardian · 5 Nov 2026, 14:12

- ‘George Lucas told me off for wearing lipstick’: Celia Imrie on Traitors, Star Wars and treating the lens like a lover
The Guardian · 5 Nov 2026, 13:00

- Full of life and catching feelings: Christine and the Queens’ greatest songs – ranked!
The Guardian · 5 Nov 2026, 12:15

- ‘Children were wearing fake life jackets’: one Syrian family’s terrifying, 10-year journey
The Guardian · 5 Nov 2026, 11:39

We are a news aggregator: we show the headline and a short excerpt with a link to the original source. We never republish full articles.