Hawaii’s Sasha Colby ‘still on cloud nine′ after winning ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Before Iam Tongi won season 21 of American Idol, another Hawaii native made history in the world of LGBTQ+ entertainment.
Waimanalo native Sasha Colby beat out some of the top drag performers from across the nation to win season 15 of the hit TV series “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”
She outlasted the talented cast of queens in several weeks worth of acting, design, and other performance challenges for the series. Her win has propelled her to new heights of stardom in the LGBTQ+ community around the world having already been featured in major magazine publications like Vogue.
“I’m like still on cloud nine,” Colby said. “It feels amazing. It feels amazing to accomplish a goal that I had set for myself, while getting to represent all Hawaiians, which is really cool.”
She added, “Seeing the love from Hawaii has been the thing that’s been carrying me through this and making me feel so excited.”
The title not only came with a coveted crown and scepter. She also banks the $200,000 cash prize.
“It’s a show, it’s a competition. You’re expected to do a lot of things: Sew, be funny, act, all at the drop of a hat,” she said. “Not counting yourself out before you actually do it was a big thing that I made sure to do.”
On the show, she spoke of Hawaii’s culture of mahu identity and how it is respected and revered.
She also spoke of the dark history of Honolulu’s Glades era, a time where gay and trans performers not only faced violence, they were also forced to label themselves with an “I am a Boy” button, or risk being arrested.
Colby acknowledges that many challenges and threats to gay and trans rights still exist, and she hopes to shatter negative misconceptions.
“I think it happened at this moment for a reason, especially with a lot of the legislation that has been going on,” Colby said. “I’m just so happy to be representing the complete opposite of what these people are saying, and that you can have a beautiful, successful, safe happy healthy life.”
For the first time since her win, Colby will be coming home to Hawaii in October for Honolulu Pride. The parade goes through Waikiki on Oct. 21.
She says she’s honored to have been selected as the parade’s grand marshal.
“Drag is so empowering because it’s such a personal thing and you get to create what you wanna be, which is not that easy in normal life,” she added.
She also appreciates the continued support from fans here in the islands, and was astounded to see the watch parties and celebrations in her honor during the season.
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