Pride
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After touring the world as Madonna’s emcee, drag star Bob the Drag Queen is ready to get back on the road with a show of his own.
On Tuesday (June 4), the Drag Race winner announced his new comedy tour, the This Is Wild! World Tour. Set to take place this fall, Bob’s new show will kick off the 35-date North American leg of the tour in Sacramento, Calif., on Sept. 18, before heading to cities including Seattle, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C., New York and Los Angeles, before closing out the show at the Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas on Nov. 15.
The new show will see Bob flexing his skills as a multi-hyphenate, including “stand-up comedy, crowd work and music, all while entertaining his audience with the charisma and flair,” according to a press release. In a statement, Bob made it clear just how much fun he intends to have on the road: “If you’ve ever laughed with me on the internet, wait till you see me in person.”
The new North American dates of Bob’s tour join a suite of previously announced shows in Australia, set to begin in Brisbane on July 18 at the QPAC Concert Hall. The star will perform shows throughout the month in Sydney and Melbourne before closing out at the Astor Theater in Perth on July 24.
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Bob spent the last year on the road with Madonna for her Celebration World Tour, serving as the emcee for her decades-spanning setlist. Speaking to Billboard in 2023 before the tour started, Bob said that working with the pop legend had already proven to be a validating experience. “She respects me in a way that doesn’t feel like a novelty,” he said. “Obviously, what matters most is how I feel about myself, but still, a stamp of approval from Madonna is just like … ‘What?!’”
Check out the full list of dates for the North American leg of Bob the Drag Queen’s This Is Wild! World Tour below:
Bob the Drag Queen
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Among the platitudes that are shared every Pride Month, “accept yourself” is one of the most common — but pop star Kim Petras wants to examine the actual meaning behind that phrase. In a post to her Instagram Stories on Monday (June 3), the pop singer shared a “lil pride message for anyone who needs […]
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. Mariah Carey isn’t just celebrating The Emancipation of Mimi during her Las Vegas residency, she’s also taking a moment to observe […]
Taylor Swift and tens of thousands of fans spent the second day of Pride Month singing and dancing at the Eras Tour concert in Lyon, France, and the pop star was sure to mark the occasion during a sweet moment on stage Sunday (June 2). The celebratory shout-out came toward the beginning of Swift’s three-hour-plus […]
Happy Pride from Katy Perry! As Pride Month begins, the pop star marked the occasion with a message of encouragement in the form of a heavily reworked take on the controversial — to say it lightly — grad speech given by the Kansas City Chiefs’ Harrison Butker at Benedictine College.
In a 20-minute speech on May 11, the football player condemned LGBTQ rights and attacked what he called “dangerous gender ideologies.” He spoke against abortion, birth control, IVF and surrogacy. He told female college graduates, whom he claims have been told “diabolical lies,” to embrace being a “homemaker.”
“I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world,” he said, directing his words to the women who were there for their college graduation.
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“fixed this for my girls, my graduates, and my gays — you can do anything, congratulations and happy pride,” Perry captioned a post on Instagram on Saturday (June 1). She shared a Perry-approved version of Butker’s speech.
Here is a transcript of the edit of Butker’s commencement speech posted by Perry: “For the ladies present today, congratulations on an amazing accomplishment. You should be proud of all that you have achieved to this point in your young lives. How many of you are sitting here now, about to cross this stage, and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you’re going to get in your career? I would venture to guess the women here today are going to lead successful careers in the world. I say all of this to you because I have seen it firsthand: how much happier someone can be supporting women, and not saying that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world. The road ahead is bright. Things are changing. Society is shifting and people young and old are embracing diversity, equity and inclusion. With that said, I want to say Happy Pride to all of you, and congratulations class of 2024.”
In a puzzling move, Butker’s speech had also quoted a lyric from Taylor Swift (“my teammate’s girlfriend,” he said, instead of naming names), apparently forgetting Swift’s decades-long dedication to her career; this week Swift, still on her historic international Eras Tour, holds onto No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for the sixth week in a row with her latest studio album, The Tortured Poets Department.
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, the “teammate” in reference, weighed in on the speech on his New Heights podcast after his teammate’s words went viral. Kelce said in the seven years he’s known Butker, he’s viewed him as a “great person and great teammate.” “When it comes down to his views and what he said … those are his,” said Kelce. “I can’t say I agree with the majority of it, or just about any of it outside of him loving his family and his kids. I don’t think I should judge him by his views, especially his religious views, of how to go about life. That’s just not who I am.”
Watch Perry’s version of the much-talked-about commencement speech below. The star just finished her run on American Idol and has been teasing that new music is on the horizon.
This Pride Month, Billboard asked artists to write a series of love letters to their LGBTQ fans, highlighting what the community means to them as people and as artists. Below, R&B sensation UMI shares her coming out story, and thanks the community for “being my family.” Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts […]
This Pride Month, Billboard asked artists to write a series of love letters to their LGBTQ fans, highlighting what the community means to them as people and as artists. Below, Max Ernst of SHAED shares his coming out story, and thanks the community for “being my family.” Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, […]
This Pride Month, Billboard asked artists to write a series of love letters to their LGBTQ fans, highlighting what the community means to them as people and as artists. Below, J-pop idol Shinjiro Atae breaks down his decision to come out in 2024, thanking the LGBTQ+ community for their “warm embrace” and “unconditional love.” Explore Explore See latest […]
This Pride Month, Billboard asked artists to write a series of love letters to their LGBTQ fans, highlighting what the community means to them as people and as artists. Below, Katie Pruitt reaffirms the community’s “hard won” pride, celebrating their collecting “bleeding heart for the underdog and zero tolerance for bigotry.”
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If you’re anything like me, “Pride” in your identity was hard won. Whether that battle was internal, external, or both, you’ve made it this far and I’m so proud of you. Most of us are bonded by the isolating and traumatizing feeling of being closeted in a largely heteronormative world, and we remember having to deeply consider how our lives will change once we get up the courage to speak those irreversible words: “I’m gay.”
Because as liberating as those words are, they are also loaded with a whole new list of challenges, uncertainties and questions. And although you’d never “go back” to a time when you had to hide yourself, this newfound visibility can be so overwhelming. Your personal life is suddenly on display for your friends and family to chime in and give their two cents.
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It’s these specific challenges that make it necessary for us to seek comfort in our queer community. We intentionally seek out and create safe spaces to go when we want to feel seen and understood. Even then, we have to keep our guard up on the off chance that we become a victim of ridicule or god forbid another hate crime.
Somewhere in your journey, I’m sure you’ve had to dig deep for the resilience necessary to keep going. Having to not only embrace your differences but use them to your advantage. You know exactly what it’s like to be “othered” and for that reason, you have a bleeding heart for the underdog and zero tolerance for bigotry.
So, no matter how “hard won” pride in your identity has been, all of these impossible milestones have made you into the fierce, self-loving, empathic and compassionate person you are today, and THAT is something to be proud of.
Love your friend, Katie Pruitt
This Pride Month, Billboard asked artists to write a series of love letters to their LGBTQ fans, highlighting what the community means to them as people and as artists. Below, JT thanks the community for supporting her, and reminds them to “hold on and stay strong” during turbulent political times. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See […]