RuPaul

Throughout my life, I have always believed in love; I've always put my heart in love. But I've seen fear take people so often. It's very scary.

I love drag, and I love people who gravitate toward it. Because the people who do drag are people who dance to the beat of a different drummer.

Usually, people who don't have a broad perspective see gay people as servants - as people who are there to make them look good.

I love Ashford & Simpson, and I love the Brothers Gibb. They are amazing.

Everyone has a really short attention span, and you have to bombard them with content, content, content.

Unfortunately, in our culture, one person can write a letter to the network, and they shut something down. It's unfortunate.

There's not another lip-synch song on the planet, in the history of lip-synching songs, that has been lip-synched more than 'I Will Survive.'

If you look at their voting habits and their eating habits, you realize people are stupid.

I go to the gym at five in the morning and then go do a hike.

It's hard to get intimate with an audience.

I don't think drag will ever be mainstream because it's counter to what the mainstream directive is, which is picking an identity and sticking with it for the rest of your life.

I feel like I've won every year the show has been picked up by Logo because, really, nothing beats a paycheck.

I love the creativity and the social and political aspects of drag.

I've lived my whole life in the life - I've lived my whole life doing the thing, I've been doing my own thing. And I think my life speaks volumes about what one must do.

From childhood, we're trained to be a certain way, to behave a certain way - so that the power base can control us, really. And punk and drag are completely outside of that.

I have always worked and did my work on the fringe, where I have feel very comfortable.

I remember being 14 years old, making a pact with myself. I would never join into the matrix, never join into the status quo, and I would always fight it. It always felt like I was on an operating table and the anesthesia never worked.

In our subconscious, we all know we're playing roles.

The only person I look up to - and not just in show business but also in the world - is a little lady named Judge Judy! Honestly.

Drag is involved with changing identities and not taking identities too seriously at all. That's why drag is such a hard sell to a network - or anyone, really - because it's up against the ego.

A regular old drag queen is usually your science teacher who's actually wearing women's panties underneath his slacks. A drag-queen superstar is someone who actually works in clubs and makes a living doing it more than one night a year, or even one night in six months.

Wyoming - God bless you in Wyoming - it's very boring, and it's the most isolated place on Earth.

Don't believe the hype; don't believe what it tells you on your driver's license. You are an extension of the power that created this whole universe.

I always bring an orange scarf, not just so I can wear it or tuck it into my pocket, but also so I can throw it over a lamp in the hotel room. Orange is my favourite colour, and it gives a lovely, warm ambience.

La Flavour's 'Mandolay' is a disco classic - I dare you to sit still while listening to it.

I loved 'Carol.' I thought it was a beautiful film.

I don't think there is a life in the mundane 9-to-5 hypocrisy. That's not living.

Young people need to know there are ways for them to navigate this life.

The number one taboo for boys is to be feminine, so for someone to not only override their internal directive but society's directive is mind-boggling and heroic. It's courageous.

I've been on both sides; I've interviewed people, and I do an okay job, I guess. But it's awful. Because you feel like you have to defend your life, which is such an interesting concept. It's not an easy process to sit down and talk about, 'What's your motivation?' Because as I'm answering, I'm working it out for myself at the same time.

My spiritual practice reminds me of what's really real, what's really hood.

I've still never gotten used to myself in drag.

Doing drag in a male-dominant culture is an act of treason. It's the most punk-rock thing you can do.

I've always been ambitious. I've always been able to roll up my sleeves and get to work. I like to stay busy. I love working, and I love being creative.

It's very easy to look at the world and think this is all so cruel and so mean. It's important to not become bitter from it.

I started out in this business in rock and roll bands and stumbled into drag. Drag just happened to be my vehicle for my creativity. So, you know, it's afforded me the opportunity to create new shows, to make music.

There are only two types of people in the world. There are the people who understand that this is a matrix, and then there are the people who buy it lock, stock and barrel.

Hollywood is an idea. It's not a real place.

I enjoy being creative.

If you grow up in show business, you look beyond the looking glass. So, all of the surface facades get broken.

I had mentors, growing up in gay life - older gay men who told me about our history and the history of art and culture - but somehow, the younger generation missed out on that synergy.

Mainstream's never appealed to me, really. I mean, I've become popular over the years in certain areas. But mainstream, you know, I would rather the mainstream come to me.

People can identify as however you want to. Right on. Go for it. But my strategy in this bigger game of life is to not identify as anything.

Having an automobile in Los Angeles enables me to change clothes at least three times a day: I will go from western wear to nautical to Savile Row in the course of 12 hours.

People deal with grief in many different ways. And some people in show business parade their relationships around like an accessory, and others like to keep it separate from business and commerce. It's perfectly fine to say, 'I actually don't want to talk about my love because that's not part of the fantasy world I created in commerce.'

When I go out, I'm always dressed up. Not in drag but always prepared to be 'on.' Just in case somebody's going to take a picture. Everyone has a Facebook page, so no matter what, I'm prepared to service the public.

I've cried my eyes out and wanted to end it all before. I hope everybody's gone that far, because it makes life rich.

I think drag is universal, no matter who does it. I mean, yeah, I am homosexual, but I think everybody likes to toy with their image. I love those guys. I love Milton Berle and Flip Wilson and all those people.

I haven't found a heel that's been too high for me yet.

My love life has never been of interest to people. Of course I have a love life; I have a real life outside of show business.