“I know how to cater my performances to students and different crowds,” Kenya exclusively tells EW. “Why can’t we provide entertainment to queer students and allies?”

Drag Race star Kenya Pleaser reacts to Rep. Nancy Mace, Libs of TikTok targeting her university show: ‘It’s insane’ (exclusive)

"I know how to cater my performances to students and different crowds," Kenya exclusively tells EW. "Why can’t we provide entertainment to queer students and allies?"

Joey Nolfi

Joey Nolfi is a senior writer at *. *Since 2016, his work at EW includes RuPaul’s Drag Race video interviews, Oscars predictions, and more.

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on April 9, 2026 11:29 a.m. ET

'Drag Race' star Kenya Pleaser; Rep. Nancy Mace. Credit:

MTV; Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty

*RuPaul's Drag Race* season 18 star Kenya Pleaser has exclusively opened up to * *about a budding controversy, after the University of South Carolina fired back at controversial politician Rep. Nancy Mace and the incendiary social media account Libs of TikTok — both of whom targeted the reality TV star's upcoming campus gig at the institution.

After Mace wrote online that "South Carolina tax dollars should not go to schools and universities promoting this kind of nonsense" in response to a Libs of TikTok post criticizing Kenya's upcoming April 14 performance at the university (which the institution promoted with an image of Emmy winner RuPaul), the drag superstar tells EW it's "very, very sad" to see political figures attack her for a show she's participated in multiple times in the past.

"Sometimes we lose the plot of what drag really is. Drag is entertainment," Kenya tells EW, calling Libs of TikTok's post one they're using to "fear-monger people into what I’ll be doing." She adds that she knows "how to cater my performances to students and different crowds," and that the tone of the show will be tailored to the audience.

Kenya is set to appear in an April 14 production of the university's *Birdcage* show at the campus' Russell House Ballroom venue.

"*Birdcage* has been around for 28 years. It packs that auditorium out every year. This is my third time doing it, but my first time headlining. It’s a full-circle moment. I started my drag at *Birdcage*" years ago, Kenya adds. "Being able to be part of something so important and iconic, especially being from South Carolina, this is going to show people what being queer in South Carolina really is about. They have underlying homophobia and racism that they hide behind a political agenda and Christianity. It is so sad. Why can’t we provide entertainment to queer students and allies? It’s insane."

University of South Carolina.

Bryan Pollard/Shutterstock

In response to the Libs of TikTok post, the University of South Carolina's official X account replied with a statement of its own: "Thanks for the tag! This event isn't sponsored by tax dollars. Student orgs host hundreds of events on campus every year and they are free to choose the programming as long as it's protected by the First Amendment."**** On her own page, Kenya additionally criticized the pushback. "If y'all ever wanted to know how it feels to do drag in South Carolina… here ya go lmaooo," Kenya, who placed seventh on the current season of MTV's *Drag Race* competition series, wrote Thursday on X.

The South Carolina-based drag entertainer added, "I think ppl sometimes think spreading the message of representation is corny but bby in the Deep South we need as much as we can get. I’m a blk queer man from the south and we are here!"

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Many of Kenya's *Drag Race* sisters came to her defense under the Libs of TikTok post that specifically used images of her from past performances.

"Oh great! They’re in for a fantastic show then," wrote season 17 and *All Stars 10* alum Lydia B. Kollins. Lydia's season 17 sisters Joella and Lana Ja'Rae also chimed in, writing, "She looks so fierce!" and "Y'all are so miserable," respectively.

When reached for comment, a University of South Carolina spokesperson tells EW via email, "The only additional thing I would share is that the event is inspired by [the movie] *The Birdcage* and this is the 28th year it has taken place."

EW* *has reached out to representatives for Mace for comment.

'' interviews 'Drag Race' season 18 queens.

Kenya opened up on season 18 about feeling ostracized as a queer person in the south, especially in religious communities. She and her season 18 sisters previously told EW in an exclusive group interview that they're thankful for the sisterhood they found together on set, with fellow contestant Vita VonTesse Starr saying, "One of the things* Drag Race* forced me to learn about myself or be aware about myself is my worth" — a sentiment that made Kenya cry in the moment.

The South Carolina drag queen first rose to national prominence on season 18, though she honed her skills on the southern drag circuit, and has positioned herself as a premier Lizzo impersonator in addition to performing in her own unique style of drag.

While she placed seventh on the current season of *Drag Race*, Kenya is set to return to the Main Stage for a lip-sync gauntlet against her fellow eliminated season 18 sisters, in a special episode Friday night that reunites all of the season's ousted queens ahead of the April 17 grand finale.

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