By WILL WEISSERT Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris crashed the season finale of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars,” urging Americans to vote in an appearance that was taped before President Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid.
The episode caps the series’ ninth season and is streaming Friday on Paramount+. It opens with an announcer saying that programing is being interrupted for an “extra special ‘Drag Race’ viewing party.”
The scene cuts to the Democratic vice president smiling broadly and saying into the camera, “Hi, everyone. It’s Kamala Harris. Each day, we’re seeing our rights and freedoms under attack, including the right of everyone to be who they are, love who they love — openly and with pride.”
Clad in a purple suit that nicely complements the hot-pink couch where she’s seated with actor Cheyenne Jackson and surrounded by other celebrities and stars from the show, Harris continues: “So, as we fight back against these attacks, no one is alone.”
“We are all in this together, and your vote is your power, so please make sure your voice is heard this November and register to vote,” the vice president concludes.
That prompts Jackson to proclaim, “Can I get an amen?” and Harris and others happily cry, “Amen!” The vice president, like many on the set, holds up her hands in a gesture of praise before adding, “Now on with the show.”
Harris and others then clap to RuPaul’s song “A Little Bit of Love,” as some of the assembled hoist placards promoting the website vote.gov. Harris laughs along as one sign is mistakenly held upside down. RuPaul, the show’s host, does not appear in the clip.
Harris, a former U.S. senator from California, is not the first Democratic politician to appear on the show, which is based in Los Angeles. New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was a guest judge in 2020.
Biden announced he was leaving the presidential race and endorsing Harris last weekend. The vice president has since stepped up her campaign and travel schedule.