RuPaul's America: We're Here, Whether You Like it or Not
Eating For Free
Joan Summers and Matthew Lawson
4.8 • 536 Ratings
🗓️ 6 June 2024
⏱️ 78 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
A pandemic, an election, nationwide uprisings against police brutality, a swarm anti-drag Facebook trolls, and a HBO show walk into a bar in rural South Dakota. What happens next?
About:
Hosted by journalists Joan Summers and Matthew Lawson, Eating For Free is a weekly podcast that explores gossip and power in the pop culture landscape: Where it comes from, who wields it, and who suffers at the hands of it. Find out the stories behind the stories, as together they look beyond the headlines of troublesome YouTubers or scandal-ridden A-Listers, and delve deep into the inner workings of Hollywood's favorite pastime. The truth, they've found, is definitely stranger than any gossip.
You can also find us on our website, Twitter, and Instagram. Or buy our merch! Any personal, business, or general inquires can be sent to eatingforfreepodcast@gmail.com
Sources [may cut off in certain apps]:
- On Location: How HBO's 'We're Here' Brought Drag Shows to Small Towns Across America, 06/30/20, [Conde Nast Traveler]
- The Personal, Political, and Profound Impact of HBO's 'We're Here', 04/22/20 [Shondaland]
- HBO's heartfelt "We're Here" is the drag show America needs now, 04/22/20, [Salon]
- Drag's next act: We're Here, RuPaul, more bring 'money and momentum' to gay TV, 04/21/20 [EW]
- Shangela and Bob the Drag Queen Dish on Ariana Grande, 'Queer Eye,' and Active Allyship, 06/29/20 [RS]
- Shangela and Bob the Drag Queen Urge Voter Turnout in GLAAD PSA, (2020) [Them]
- Community has mixed reactions to HBO's 'We're Here' visiting Watertown, 07/30/21 [Watertown Public Opinion]
- HBO's 'We're Here' drag queen show, filmed in Evansville, features pastor, other locals, 11/05/21 [Courier & Press]
- Pastor loses his job after performing in drag on HBO's 'We're Here', 12/07/21 [NBC]
- Settlement for St. George city manager forced out after drag show will cost taxpayers $625,000, 10/27/22 [SLC Tribune]
- What St. George residents said about drag shows at divided council meeting, 11/04/22 [SLC Tribune]
- HBO showrunners say St. George drag show controversy should be seen as a warning, 12/07/22 [SLC Tribune]
- This is what happens when HBO drag queens sashay into ruby-red Granbury, Texas, 11/23/22 [Fort Worth Star Telegram]
- 'We're Here' cast & crew faced threats of violence & outright hostility while filming Season 3, 11/23/22 [LGBTQ Nation]
- Drag Race stars publicly harassed, called homophobic slurs in We're Here season 4 premiere, 04/26/2024 [EW]
- Milwaukee drag queen Jaida Essence Hall discusses confronting LGBTQ+ discrimination in new season of HBO's 'We're Here', 04/24/24 [MJS]
- We're Here's new queens Priyanka and Jaida Essence Hall explain big change for season 4, 04/26/24 [Digital Spy]
- Misinformed bigots are no match for Sasha Velour on We're Here, 05/10/24 [OUT]
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | In Indiana, pastor lost his job after appearing on TV with drag queens. |
| 0:05.4 | Reverend Craig Duke was the minister at Newburgh United Methodist Church in Newburgh, Indiana for three decades. |
| 0:12.2 | And he said he wanted to demonstrate solidarity with the LGBTQ community by appearing in drag on the HBO series, We're Here. |
| 0:19.5 | After appearing on the show, the pastor says he started getting attacked over email by people in his congregation. |
| 0:25.6 | This went on for months until Duke made it clear to his supervisor what was happening. |
| 0:29.9 | Duke claims he was bullied out of the church. |
| 0:32.9 | In November, his supervisor sent an email to the congregation announcing Duke was being relieved of his |
| 0:38.8 | pastoral duties. |
| 0:42.7 | These gays, they're trying to murder me. |
| 0:58.1 | What do I think of her? |
| 0:59.1 | Yes. |
| 1:01.4 | I don't think of her. |
| 1:08.2 | Wait about that in the New York fucking post. |
| 1:10.9 | Diva. Diva. |
| 1:11.9 | Diva. |
| 1:19.4 | Diva, we're here today in small town America to show that drag can be fierce, girl, wig. |
| 1:22.7 | We're here to revolutionize this small town. |
| 1:26.0 | We're here to come in here and teach them how to slay boots. |
| 1:30.1 | We're going to show them that drag is resistance, that drag is political. |
| 1:33.1 | And we're going to tell them that love is love. |
| 1:36.2 | Mama, if you don't hire yourself, where are you going to go? |
| 1:37.2 | What are you going to do? |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Joan Summers and Matthew Lawson, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Joan Summers and Matthew Lawson and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.

