RuPaul Wins First Emmy Award

Last night RuPaul won the Creative Arts Emmy for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program. Yahoo News reports:



Truth be told, the first-time nominee had reason to feel like an Emmy underdog, since he was representing RuPaul’s Drag Race, a fringe show about drag queens on Logo, a niche LGBT cable network.

But Sunday, on night two of the Creative Arts Emmys held at Los Angeles’s Microsoft Theater, RuPaul surprised everyone — including himself — by winning the Emmy, beating out decidedly mainstream reality hosts Tom Bergeron (Dancing With the Stars), Steve Harvey (Little Big Shots), Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn (Project Runway), Jane Lynch (Hollywood Game Night), and even American Idol’s Ryan Seacrest.

“I haven’t landed yet,” RuPaul gasped backstage. “I can’t believe it. This is really so crazy. I really did not expect this… I’m still not sure if I won! I don’t know if I’m dreaming or not, because I’ve never felt like this before — maybe in a drug flashback or something.” On a more serious note, RuPaul recognized that a win for Drag Race is significant in a year filled with social and political turmoil, from debates over bathroom bills to the tragic June 12 shooting at Orlando’s gay nightclub Pulse.