Drag Race’s Jinkx Monsoon , Jaida Essence Hall Blast Anti-Trans Legislation at MTV Awards

Jinkx Monsoon and Jaida Essence Hall of RuPaul’s Drag Race: All-Starsseason 7 spoke out against recent anti-trans, anti-LGBTQ+ legislation during the MTV Movie & TV Awards on Sunday.

The two cast members delivered a prerecorded acceptance speech after All-Stars brought home the award for best competition series.

"At this time it’s so important to hear queer and trans stories from queer and trans people, to meet the artists behind the artistry and see the human beings there, so we can have empathy for one another and halt these blatantly bigoted anti-queer, anti-trans legislations,” Monsoon said during the speech.

Following Monsoon, Hall highlighted the ACLU's Drag Defense Fund, which was created in collaboration with Ru Paul's Drag Race and MTV "in response to these threats against drag performers all across the world, and especially here."

Hall emphasized the Fund's goal "to help support the ACLU's work to defend and ensure LGBTQ+ rights all across the land, honey... period."

Hall and Monsoon's comments come after numerous states have introduced or passed anti-trans legislation in 2023, among them Florida, Montana, and Oklahoma.

At the end of the speech, Monsoon, who's recently starred in Broadway's Chicago and will appear in the new season of Doctor Who, also stood in support of the ongoing movie and TV writers strike, stating, "As drag queens and independent artists we know how important it is to advocate for yourself and your worth, and that’s why we queens stand with the writers in their strike.”

Monsoon's words echo Drew Barrymore's decision to drop out of hosting the MTV Movie & TV Awards in solidarity with the striking writers. Despite lacking an in-person host and a red carpet event, the show went off without a hitch, and featured virtual acceptance speeches from stars like Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, and Tom Cruise (who gave his speech from inside a flying aircraft, literally).

See all the acceptance speeches, including Hall and Monsoon's, below.

Every Acceptance Speech at the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awardswww.youtube.com