Drag Can Save a Life in New York City—if People Show Up
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/ February 9, 2026
Drag Can Save a Life in New York City—if People Show Up
Black and trans drag performers are crowdfunding to survive in one of the most expensive cities in the world.
Ava Pauline Emilione
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“You shouldn’t wait until somebody is on Drag Race to show your support,” says Afrosephone. “The one thing that will keep us performing, the one thing that will keep us afloat, is if you show up.”(Courtesy of Afrosephone)
After he somersaults on the bar in six-inch stilettos and a blood-stained, Chucky’s-bride-themed white corset, the crowd at Bushwick’s queer-owned Pink Metal Bar roars in delight for Xaddy Addy, a Black transmasculine drag king and sideshow performer. The audience has gathered in the intimate bar for Superstar Open Set’s Halloween show, an open stage that Xaddy Addy cohosts each week alongside drag performer Pachacvnti. After a night of performances from Brooklyn’s emerging talent, the crowd remains spellbound as Xaddy Addy staples cash tips to his cheeks, thighs, and hips. Not even the loud cheering drowns out the clack of the staple gun as it pierces his skin. His self-assured, “weird” drag performance—an expansive genre melding drag with horror, stunts, and complex dramaturgy—belies the economic insecurity and discrimination he faced while building a following.
Manhattan native Xaddy Addy tells me that drag was “a way to save his life” after years of doing sex work “100 percent out of survival.” For many, drag is both a calling and an art form—one that contributes to New York’s $35 billion nightlife economy. But income from their performances barely covers their bills in one of the most expensive cities in the world, where the average rent soars beyond $3,000. Many Black and trans performers are crowdfunding on social media to cover rent, medical bills, and groceries.
“You have some of the best Black trans drag performers in the world in your city,” says Klondyke, a Black drag artist and sideshow performer. “Why are they starving? Why am I seeing more people that are Black and trans posting mutual aid than posting shows that they’re in?”
With the election of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, drag artists are hopeful about his promises to make the city more affordable, by freezing rent for stabilized housing, and to expand protections for trans New Yorkers. But they argue that policy changes alone will not be enough to undo decades of decisions that have disenfranchised the city’s marginalized residents. That will take all of us.
Xaddy Addy(McKenna)
Drag performance artists occupy a precarious ledge in New York’s gentrified landscape. The city’s exorbitant costs …
Transparency shouldn't be controversial.
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Drag Can Save a Life in New York City—if People Show Up
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Current Issue
Society
/ February 9, 2026
Drag Can Save a Life in New York City—if People Show Up
Black and trans drag performers are crowdfunding to survive in one of the most expensive cities in the world.
Ava Pauline Emilione
Share
Copy Link
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Ad Policy
“You shouldn’t wait until somebody is on Drag Race to show your support,” says Afrosephone. “The one thing that will keep us performing, the one thing that will keep us afloat, is if you show up.”(Courtesy of Afrosephone)
After he somersaults on the bar in six-inch stilettos and a blood-stained, Chucky’s-bride-themed white corset, the crowd at Bushwick’s queer-owned Pink Metal Bar roars in delight for Xaddy Addy, a Black transmasculine drag king and sideshow performer. The audience has gathered in the intimate bar for Superstar Open Set’s Halloween show, an open stage that Xaddy Addy cohosts each week alongside drag performer Pachacvnti. After a night of performances from Brooklyn’s emerging talent, the crowd remains spellbound as Xaddy Addy staples cash tips to his cheeks, thighs, and hips. Not even the loud cheering drowns out the clack of the staple gun as it pierces his skin. His self-assured, “weird” drag performance—an expansive genre melding drag with horror, stunts, and complex dramaturgy—belies the economic insecurity and discrimination he faced while building a following.
Manhattan native Xaddy Addy tells me that drag was “a way to save his life” after years of doing sex work “100 percent out of survival.” For many, drag is both a calling and an art form—one that contributes to New York’s $35 billion nightlife economy. But income from their performances barely covers their bills in one of the most expensive cities in the world, where the average rent soars beyond $3,000. Many Black and trans performers are crowdfunding on social media to cover rent, medical bills, and groceries.
“You have some of the best Black trans drag performers in the world in your city,” says Klondyke, a Black drag artist and sideshow performer. “Why are they starving? Why am I seeing more people that are Black and trans posting mutual aid than posting shows that they’re in?”
With the election of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, drag artists are hopeful about his promises to make the city more affordable, by freezing rent for stabilized housing, and to expand protections for trans New Yorkers. But they argue that policy changes alone will not be enough to undo decades of decisions that have disenfranchised the city’s marginalized residents. That will take all of us.
Xaddy Addy(McKenna)
Drag performance artists occupy a precarious ledge in New York’s gentrified landscape. The city’s exorbitant costs …
Drag Can Save a Life in New York City—if People Show Up
Transparency shouldn't be controversial.
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Drag Can Save a Life in New York City—if People Show Up
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Current Issue
Society
/ February 9, 2026
Drag Can Save a Life in New York City—if People Show Up
Black and trans drag performers are crowdfunding to survive in one of the most expensive cities in the world.
Ava Pauline Emilione
Share
Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Email
Ad Policy
“You shouldn’t wait until somebody is on Drag Race to show your support,” says Afrosephone. “The one thing that will keep us performing, the one thing that will keep us afloat, is if you show up.”(Courtesy of Afrosephone)
After he somersaults on the bar in six-inch stilettos and a blood-stained, Chucky’s-bride-themed white corset, the crowd at Bushwick’s queer-owned Pink Metal Bar roars in delight for Xaddy Addy, a Black transmasculine drag king and sideshow performer. The audience has gathered in the intimate bar for Superstar Open Set’s Halloween show, an open stage that Xaddy Addy cohosts each week alongside drag performer Pachacvnti. After a night of performances from Brooklyn’s emerging talent, the crowd remains spellbound as Xaddy Addy staples cash tips to his cheeks, thighs, and hips. Not even the loud cheering drowns out the clack of the staple gun as it pierces his skin. His self-assured, “weird” drag performance—an expansive genre melding drag with horror, stunts, and complex dramaturgy—belies the economic insecurity and discrimination he faced while building a following.
Manhattan native Xaddy Addy tells me that drag was “a way to save his life” after years of doing sex work “100 percent out of survival.” For many, drag is both a calling and an art form—one that contributes to New York’s $35 billion nightlife economy. But income from their performances barely covers their bills in one of the most expensive cities in the world, where the average rent soars beyond $3,000. Many Black and trans performers are crowdfunding on social media to cover rent, medical bills, and groceries.
“You have some of the best Black trans drag performers in the world in your city,” says Klondyke, a Black drag artist and sideshow performer. “Why are they starving? Why am I seeing more people that are Black and trans posting mutual aid than posting shows that they’re in?”
With the election of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, drag artists are hopeful about his promises to make the city more affordable, by freezing rent for stabilized housing, and to expand protections for trans New Yorkers. But they argue that policy changes alone will not be enough to undo decades of decisions that have disenfranchised the city’s marginalized residents. That will take all of us.
Xaddy Addy(McKenna)
Drag performance artists occupy a precarious ledge in New York’s gentrified landscape. The city’s exorbitant costs …
