'RuPaul's Drag Race' season 4 star Madame LaQueer comes out as trans

Everybody say love! Madame LaQueer, star of RuPaul's Drag Race season 4, has come out as trans — and she's celebrating with a new stage name as well.

After sharing a short post to her Instagram Story on Monday, Madame tells EW in an exclusive interview that she feels "ecstatic" over her decision to live her truth, and that coming out made her realize she hasn't "seen this clearly for a long time."

“It’s something I’ve been pondering for myself for years,” she tells EW, explaining that she'll now go by the name Cassie (short for Cassandra) out of drag, and in drag she'll perform as Madame Cassandra Uzumaki LaQueer from here on out. “It’s now or never. I think this serves for me to be a voice for those that have persuaded themselves into not pursuing their truths and let time take over. It’s never too late to come out and live your true experience and be yourself and be authentic. There’s nothing like feeling loved in your own skin.”

Madame — who hails from Puerto Rico, and is also the drag mother of Drag Race season 5 contestant Lineysha Sparx — says she first realized she was trans in 2006 while performing on the pageant circuit, but regularly allowed her "inner saboteur to reel" her back from living authentically.

"I kind of talked myself out of it. A couple of years ago, I started pondering it again, but I talked myself out of it," she recalls, saying that she endured a "12-year long depression" over the inner conflict, and admits that she felt like "giving up" at certain points along the journey.

She says, however, that the strong network of people she built around her led her to the path she's on now — including an emotional conversation she had with fellow Drag Race contestant Jade Jolie, — who previously came out as trans in October 2023 — while traveling to a performance around three weeks ago.

"Madame LaQueer gave me a whiff of how that empowerment would feel, because Madame LaQueer gets the boys, but, Carlos, unfortunately, was not that lucky. I felt like, Okay, this is how I need to regain control of my life, because even as a boy, I looked at myself in the mirror, and I still see the woman in there, but, no, she can’t come out, it’s too late," she says. "The climax of the story is just coincidentally having to carpool with Jade Jolie to a gig we had together, and we had hours to talk. It came out in the conversation, and she knew everything I was going to say. She clocked it quickly, and it just made sense. Like, girl, it’s now or never."

Madame also remembers nearly coming out to Drag Race season 2 contestant (and eventual All Stars 6 winner) Kylie Sonique Love, who made her mark on the competition by being the first queen to come out as trans during filming, at a season 4 premiere party in 2012.

"I was giving her a little bit of a backstory, and she thought I was coming out as trans to her. She was like, 'Oh my God, there are resources, you can live your truth!' and I was like, 'No that's not it,' and I brushed it off and moved on, because I wasn’t ready to face that, but she clocked it!"

Now, Madame says she didn't plan to come out this week, but a coincidental look in the mirror gave her the courage to use her voice.

“I’ve always thought I’d look ugly with my [real] eyebrows. In drag, I’ve never done my makeup with my eyebrows. I always cover them and elevate them higher,” she says. “I trimmed them a little bit thinner [on Monday], I drew them and did my makeup, and I’m like, Oh my God, I’m not going to take this off. I just did my laundry, I cooked, I cleaned, and it felt right. I’m very happy. The only regret is not having thought of it sooner."

Before this week's news, Madame rose to national prominence on season 4 of Drag Race, on which she made a strong first impression by memorably winning the wrestling-themed maxi challenge on episode 2.

Though Madame was ultimately eliminated in episode 4, she later made Drag Race her-story in the Werk Room upon informing the other queens that she had a wounded ankle. In a confessional, she described the sound her ankle made as the bone going "cleek" — a phrase that has since been used by fans to affectionately describe similar show-based injuries sustained by Eureka, Kornbread "The Snack" Jeté, and more.

Since competing on the show, Madame has continued to perform at gigs around the country. She joins other RuGirls who have come out as trans over the last year, including the aforementioned Jade, season 6 and All Stars 2 competitor Adore Delano, and season 9 and All Stars 4 queen Farrah Moan.

Subscribe to EW's Quick Drag podcast for recaps of RuPaul's Drag Race, including reactions from the cast, special guests, and more.

Related content: