RuPaul’s Drag Race star Shea Couleé was asked to perform ‘I’m a Slave 4 U’ for Black History Month

‘All Stars 5’ contestant recalled moment from Chicago drag scene

RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant Shea Couleé has revealed that she was once asked to perform Britney Spears’s song “I’m a Slave 4 U” while dressed as a slave.

The drag queen, who is currently competing on All Stars 5, appeared on a Twitch live stream discussing the treatment of black performers in her native Chicago’s drag scene, where she confronted another queen about the past incident which happened during Black History Month.

“We had already worked a show and were backstage with the staff… I was the only person of colour back there,” said Couleé, whose real name is Jaren Merrell.

‘You had made a joke, because at that time we would do cast numbers at the top of the show, that for Black History Month, it would be funny as a number, as a cast, if we performed to Britney Spears’s “Slave 4 U” with me dressed as a slave, while the rest of you whipped me.”

With the queen responding that she did remember it, Couleé continued: “I want you to know that that experience has stayed with me for a very long time because you were somebody I considered a friend.

“The fact that my hurt and my displeasure to being subjected to that and how I had to almost beg you for an apology really let me know where I stood to you, not just as a person, but as a person of colour specifically.”

Shea Couleé first appeared on RuPaul’s Drag Race for season 9 in 2017, during which she reached the final and cemented her status as a fan favourite contestant.

She is currently appearing on the fifth All Stars season, which sees former contestants return for a chance to win $100,000 and a spot in the “Drag Race Hall of Fame”.