RuPaul denies rivalry with Pabllo Vittar as he shuts down ‘catty’ trolls

Words: Alastair James; pictures: BBC and ErnnaCost 

RuPaul may be the ‘Queen of Drag’, but that hasn’t stopped her from being trolled online. Most recently she’s had to deny any kind of rivalry with the Brazilian drag legend that is Pabllo Vittar.

Taking to Twitter on Wednesday (20 April) the host of RuPaul’s Drag Race called out the “catty Twitter trolls” for creating a supposed rivalry between the two drag queens. 

I LOVE & SUPPORT @PablloVittar + Shame on you catty twitter trolls trying to create a rivalry. pic.twitter.com/1vvaxBzyv0

— RuPaul (@RuPaul) April 20, 2022

Vittar, who last weekend became the first drag queen to perform at the US music festival, Coachella, is also the first drag queen to be nominated for a Latin Grammy.

She is the world’s most followed drag queen, with three times as many followers on social media as RuPaul.

Pabllo, who has herself said that RuPaul is one of her idols, tweeted back to RuPaul: “I LOVE YOU MOTHER!”

I LOVE YOU MOTHER ! 🥺❤️ https://t.co/LvVPUZZWrd

— Pabllo Vittar (@pabllovittar) April 20, 2022

The 28-year-old artist told Attitude as she graced the cover of the 2021 summer issue that she got into drag after watching RuPaul’s Drag Race. 

“Queens who sang, acted, modelled… and I said to myself, I can do that, I want to do that. I could do the two things that always loved and when I put singing and performing together with drag, on stage, it just complemented and completed who I am as an artist,” she said.

Speaking to Newsweek on Wednesday Pabllo called RuPaul an “icon”.

She continued: “RuPaul opened so many doors. I love my fans and love all the support. But you know, girls, don’t forget who open[ed] the doors for you.”

The Attitude May/June issue featuring the cast of Heartstopper is out now.