‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Celebrates Black Excellence of Emmy Nominations (EXCLUSIVE)

Jazz Tangcay
·3 min read

It was a record year for Black performers at the Emmys, who received 34.3% of the 102 acting nominations. This included “Black-ish’s” Tracee Ellis Ross and Anthony Anderson, “Watchmen’s” Regina King, “Euphoria’s” Zendaya and “Hollywood’s” Jeremy Pope.

To celebrate the milestone, some of the Season 12 queens from the Emmy-nominated “RuPaul’s Drag Race” recreated iconic character looks from these Emmy-nominated performances and shows.

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From Jaida Essence Hall championing Thandie Newton’s Maeve in HBO’s “Westworld,” to Widow Von’Du recreating Regina King’s Sister Night look from HBO’s “Watchmen,” to Heidi N Closet embodying Octavia Spencer as the real-life Madam C.J. Walker in Netflix’s “Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker, the goal was to “show love to and honor women who work tirelessly in television, women who have made a difference in my life and so many others,” says Hall.

Widow Von’Du as Tracee Ellis Ross in “Blackish”: “I chose Tracee Ellis Ross because she’s incredible! Always a serve, fierce and stylish! Getting the chance to honor her with this look was absolutely everything.”

Widow Von’Du as Regina King in “Watchmen”: “I choose Regina King because she always brings so much life to whatever role she’s in! “Watchmen” is one of my favorite shows. Also, who doesn’t love an ass-kicking nun?”

Heidi N Closet as Octavia Spencer in “Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker”:
“I’ve been a huge fan of Octavia Spencer since seeing her in ‘The Help.’ My look is inspired by her character in “Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker.” Plus, many fans point out we look similar. I think it’s the eyes.”

Jaida Essence Hall as Laverne Cox in “Orange is the New Black”: “I chose Laverne Cox because not only is she an incredible actress but she is an incredible advocate, a beautiful human being, and can move me with her performances. And as a trans woman, she is showing the world that women of all kinds can do anything!”

Jaida Essence Hall as Thandie Newton in “Westworld”: “I chose Thandie Newton not just because she thought I was beautiful, but because she is as well. She has such range when performing in any film or show and she makes you feel with your heart because she breathes life into every character. I aspire to one day embody all that she’s done with her career. She is such a huge inspiration to me!”

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