RuPaul has accused Spike TV’s hit Lip Sync Battle of stealing ideas from his show RuPaul’s Drag Race, emphasizing how both he as a public figure and his show are not part of mainstream pop culture.
RuPaul criticized the fact that someone like Channing Tatum can hit the stage in drag (as Beyonce) and it’s accepted, but he’s not.
He told Vulture about Lip Sync Battle, “It's a poor ripoff of our show. Regular, straight pop culture has liberally lifted things from gay culture as long as I can remember.”
RuPaul also said “there’s a reason” he’s not asked to go on shows like The Ellen DeGeneres Show or Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show despite being a recognized public figure.
“There's a reason that I've never been thought of as someone who can go on there,” he said. “Because it makes those hosts feel very, very uncomfortable, especially if we really talked. It would be the opposite of what they're used to.”
“So am I part of the mainstream? No,” he continued. “People know my name, people know what I look like, but am I invited to the party? No, and there's a reason for it.”