Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton seems to have a new obsession — and it’s not European excursions with his alleged mistress.
Paxton seems to have set his sights on one particular Texas drag queen, RuPaul’s Drag Race alumna Alyssa Edwards. That’s because state Rep. James Talarico, Paxton’s democratic opponent in a white-knuckle race for U.S. Senate, was asked on the campaign trail who his favorite drag queen is.
Without hesitation, Talarico name-dropped Mesquite’s Alyssa Edwards — real name Justin Dwayne Lee Johnson — a favorite for many Drag Race fans as one of the funniest queens to ever grace the show.
“What normal person can name their favorite drag queen this quickly?” Paxton said in a Sept. 15 post on X, accompanied by video of Talarico answering the question at a campaign event. “When James Talarico isn’t advocating for children to dress in drag, he’s watching drag performances and saying that Texas produces the best drag queens. James Talarico is too weird and too radical for Texas.”
What normal person can name their favorite drag queen that quickly? Um, millions of us?
After Paxton’s initial post, Edwards reshared it and embraced the title of “your favorite politician’s favorite Drag Queen.”
In her response, Edwards thanked Talarico “for recognizing that the arts have a purpose and a home right here in the Lone Star State,” and then ended the post citing Matthew 7:1, which reads “judge not, lest ye be judged.”
And since he hasn’t yet gotten the obsession out of his system, Paxton shared a subsequent video on Tuesday, stating “Meet Alyssa Edwards: James Talarico’s favorite sick and twisted drag queen.”
We’re still doing this Ken? OK.
Long before she achieved international fame as a contestant on RuPaul’s Drag Race season 5 and All Stars 2 , Edwards was a dance instructor in her North Texas hometown, specializing in teaching dance to children.
Paxton seized on this fact in his video, blurring out the kids’ faces.
Edwards responded to Paxton’s attack with an “open letter” on Twitter Wednesday afternoon, keeping it classy in true Southern belle fashion.
“I’m not sure I fully understand your motive or intention in attempting to disparage my name, my character, or my reputation,” Edwards began the letter. “But I do know this: the way we choose to speak about others often says far more about our own character than it ever will about theirs.”
Edwards went on to list her many accomplishments both as a drag performer and an educator. Those include bringing her dance troupe onto America’s Got Talent and winning RuPaul’s Drag Race Global All Stars.
“But among all of those accomplishments, one of the things I remain most proud of is Beyond Belief Dance Company,” Edwards continued.
“What began as a community recreation program at a YMCA grew into a place where generations have been encouraged to discover their creativity, ignite their passion, develop discipline, and, perhaps most importantly, believe in themselves,” Edwards added.
Meanwhile, Paxton has received criticism on the campaign trail for pardoning a Waco man charged with repeatedly sexually abusing a young boy. The deal involved releasing him after only one day in jail and not requiring him to register as a sex offender.
… But that’s none of our business … *tongue pop*
Texas politics is a mess. We make it a readable mess.
Sign up for San Antonio Current’s new “Texas Politics This Week” newsletter.
Sign Up for SA Current newsletters.
Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed
