Yahoo News “Drag Race Italia” queen Farida Kant clarifies Lady Camden drama after “Drag Race” stars hit back
After drawing heated responses from international RuPaul's Drag Race queens for her controversial criticism of industry booking practices and season 14 finalist Lady Camden, Drag Race Italia star Farida Kant has opened up to EW in an exclusive statement clarifying her remarks.
Earlier this week, Heidi N Closet, DeJa Skye, Kornbread, Mistress Isabelle Brooks, and more Drag Race alums reacted after the Italia season 1 runner-up shared a message about what she thought were unfair standards for casting tours, though the note also included harsh criticism for the popular Werq the World tour and Lady Camden — including a quip about what Farida described as "average dancing skills."
Farida has confirmed to EW via email that the now-viral English translation of her original Italian-language Instagram post is accurate but that she deleted the post because the "context was wrong" as her words spread across social media.
Elisabetta A. Villa/Getty Images; Gilbert Flores/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images
"First and foremost, I will admit that I was in the wrong for dragging Lady Camden into this and for making comments about her," Farida wrote. "She has nothing to do with the issue I was addressing, but in the heat of the moment I went off on her solely because she happened to be in some videos that I came across in that moment. That's why I later made another story with an apology to her and we squashed it over DMs. She was absolutely gracious about it, and I'm really appreciative of that."
While she said she has made amends with Lady Camden, Farida told EW she stands by the sentiment she intended to express with her first post.
"Italy is a country that is incredibly behind in terms of a healthy representation and giving LGBTQIA+ performers opportunities, so for people to say, 'Just put yourself out there and work hard,' it's unfortunately very simplistic and unrealistic," Farida continued. "We put ourselves out there every day and every night. We try to create spaces for ourselves and for our community, but with little to no support, the truth is that things rarely work out. We often don't get paid or get paid weeks after our gigs happen. A lot of the time the fees we get maybe don't even cover the costs of our outfits or of our travels."
That's why, Farida explained, she wants to see more global touring companies and shows that align themselves with Drag Race franchise queens — particularly queens from the U.S. edition of the series, which now boasts many spinoffs in countries around the world — highlight talent from other regions.
Farida also noted that while many Drag Race contestants spoke out against her publicly, "just as many" contacted her "in private" to agree with her stance.
It’s just that sometimes no matter how hard you try or the effort you put in and the connections you try to make, it feels like some opportunities are out of our reach regardless. Again, no shade to any queen, just my thoughts on this issue
— Farida Kant (@FaridaKant) October 24, 2023
"Again, I was wrong for dragging a queen into this because she has absolutely nothing to do with this and I apologize for it," Farida wrote. "But I think the issue I was really trying to tackle is one worth thinking about."
EW has reached out to representatives for Lady Camden and Werq the World for comment.
Farida joined Drag Race Italia season 1 as an accomplished seamstress, costume designer, and dancer, making it all the way to the final episode of the Italian series' inaugural run.
Lady Camden, originally born in the United Kingdom, joined Drag Race season 14 and also made it to the show's final episode before finishing the season in second place behind Willow Pill. She has since made a guest appearance on RuPaul's Drag Race UK season 5 and even co-starred in a commercial for the city of San Francisco, where she settled when she moved to the United States.
Correction: Any earlier version of this story included an incorrect photo.
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