“Why Vote?” with Carmen Carrera, Betty Who and Parson James

In this video, performers Carmen Carrera, Betty Who and Parson James weigh in on why it’s so important to vote.

Carmen Carrera was a contestant on the third season of RuPaul’s Drag Race and has gone on to have a successful career as a model, actress, and burlesque performer. Carrera is a proud trans woman – one of few who have competed on Drag Race (among them Broadway star Peppermint) – and says she was involved in the movement requesting Ru replace one of the show’s popular catchphrases (“You’ve got She-Mail!”), which resulted in it being replaced by “”She done already done had herses.” Carrera famously appeared in episode of Primetime: What Would You Do? which tested whether patrons in a New Jersey diner would come to her defense when she was criticized for being trans. She also appeared in an ad for Gilead Sciences wearing a glamorous dress that was later auctioned to benefit the National Association of People with AIDS.

Betty Who is the stage name of Jessica Anne Newham, an Australian singer, songwriter and musician known for her popular cover of Donna Lewis’ “I Love You Always Forever”; the music video for that song prominently features images of same-sex couples caressing one another intimately. You may also recognize her from her version of Widelife’s “All Things (Just Keep Getting Better)”, which became the theme song for season two of Netflix’s Queer Eye; the video for the song features both Who and the Queer Eye guys.

Singer-songwriter Parson James draws inspiration for his gospel-inflected pop songs from his complicated upbringing as a biracial gay man in a conservative Christian community in South Carolina. You may recognize him from his song “Stole the Show,” which he co-wrote with Norwegian, DJ, producer, musician and songwriter Kongo and has performed on Ellen. In an interview with Billboard, he said that some of his LGBTQ icons include George Michael, Sylvester, Madonna, Ellen Degeneres, and David Bowie.

We spoke to Carrera, James and Betty Who about the importance of voting at an intimate concert celebrating National Coming Out Day hosted by AT&T.

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