Mary J. Blige’s Purpose Ball Was The Embodiment Of Community

“If it’s custom, where’s your sketch?! Tell the truth!” 

Law Roach read the room for filth with this resounding statement as one of the special celebrity judges for Strength Of A Woman’s Purpose Ball: Bridging The Gap. Held on Sunday (May 14), Mary J. Blige, Pepsi, Live Nation Urban, and Gilead Sciences partnered with the House of Balenciaga’s Miss Lawrence for the incomparable event to spotlight the LGBTQ+ community’s impact. The event also aims to highlight “the disparities of access and equity in healthcare for Black and LGBTQIA+ communities.”

With the tragic rise of Black trans women being murdered in Atlanta, the communal event felt particularly necessary. Legends and rising stars from several ballroom houses including the House of Balenciaga, House of Garçon, House of Margiela, and House of Mugler were given their flowers and competed for an estimated $60,000 in cash prizes across various categories.

“It’s all about love. This festival is about love and everybody is a part of Mary J. Blige’s world,” the Queen of Hip Hop Soul shared ahead of the ball. “Most of my fan base are LGBTQ. They are a huge part of everything. They’re part of our life and we love them. [The ball represents] freedom, you know. Freedom for everyone. And just love, light and understanding—just everybody just loving on each other. Yeah, that’s really it. Of course it’s a big thing. It’s fashion. It’s all this stuff. But for me, the most important thing is unity.  Us coming together and loving each other—period, the way God loves us. Unconditionally, you know?”

Whatever one could think the ball would be—as seen on Pose or otherwise—it was even better to experience in real time. Roach’s proverbs aside, the colors were vibrant, the shade was direct, the reactions were priceless, and the lemon pepper wings were divine.

The ruthless competition sparked disgruntled retorts as terms like “custom” and “1 of 1” infuriated judges, but ballroom and shade go hand-in-hand. While explaining his look, one house competitor exclaimed, “SHE DO MARY STUFF!,” referring to his ensemble being customized by Blige’s stylist. “I been a rich bi**h,” he added before earning a perfect score across the board. Stifled laughter ensued and many were gagged as others were chopped, leaving host Dashaun Wesley to state, “Help that lady down.” The main category, where your face card need not get declined, was met with the precursor—”It’s either a good morning gorgeous or a goodnight irene.” 

Blige audibly reacted to Raquell Balenciaga’s beauty as the singer expressed, “She’s beautiful, f**k!” However, it was grand prize winner Simone Tisci from the Haus of Tisci—who had everyone stunned from the moment she stepped foot on the stage—that was crowned the Fem Face Queen. Ethereal is the best way to describe the enchantress.

Saucy Santana also took the stage that night and performed his hits “Material Girl,” “Walk,” and “1-800-Bad-Bxtch.” 

“I have so much gratitude. Even though ballroom is not my culture, it’s a part of my community,” the rapper explained to VIBE. “I just appreciate people being so delicate and picking who was here to represent. And I’m very grateful. I’m glad that we’re able to be here, be loud, be proud, bring awareness, especially for the people that’s not of the community, to just be here and experience us, see how we live and just how we celebrate the ballroom is a very big thing in our community.” 

While honing in on the importance of this particular affair, Santana continued, “This is like [our] motherf**king Grammys so it’s very serious. But I’m always glad to be a part of anything that me and my community does. Almost everything that I do, I involve [LGBTQ+]. It’s what I started rapping for. This ain’t for me; it’s for my culture. I’m just always happy when I could just be a part and just be a pioneer in my community and just bring awareness to whatever we got going on. All year round. It’s not just a pride thing. I’m really working hard for us 12 months out of the year.” 

Speaking of summertime, he later confirmed that he has the season in his crosshairs, as he gears up to release new music with “big features.”

Despite nearly getting shut down over 10 times by the fire marshal, the ball featured appearances from Angelica Ross and Amiyah Scott, as well as celebrity judges Brandee Evans, Gail Bean, Muni Long, Blake Newby, Yashua Simmons, and Raven Goodwin. By its end, the event resulted in a round of viral memes and quotables. 

See the photo recap below.

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