This Heavy Metal Icon Wants to Give “Drag Race” a Metalhead Makeover

by Brandon Voss

4h ago

Judas Priest just received a second nomination for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but there’s another honor that would rock gay frontman Rob Halford’s world: being a guest judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race.

“Get all the drag queens in full-on metal,” the 68-year-old British legend tells Yahoo Entertainment, suggesting a Drag Race tie-in challenge. “Let’s do it, Ru!” Can you imagine that lip sync?

Judas Priest are in the screaming metal thrill zone again with our second RRHOF nomination especially as we approach our 50 Heavy Metal Years Anniversary in 2020……so please vote!

Vote at https://t.co/hs1uF6OQca #judaspriest #RockHall2020 pic.twitter.com/evba44jvdp

— Judas Priest (@judaspriest) October 17, 2019

“I am a RuPaul’s Drag Face fan,” he continues. “I just love that show just for every emotional dimension of what’s being presented… the interaction, and the support, and the fun, and the bitchiness, and all this kind of stuff. It’s great. It’s a beautiful insight to a part of our world and it’s really important. It has a tremendous amount of value.”

“Shows like Ru’s show, or the Queer Eye show, these things are wonderful opportunities for people that don’t know about us. Just to look and listen and learn. That whole thing about we are your bus driver, we are your nurse at school, we are your judge court. We’re their airline pilot. We are everywhere. Just taking away and destroying this horrible pushback that we have.”

“Even today we’re about to get to 2020 and we still have to talk about this,” Halford continues. “We’ve been practically ignored by this current administration. We were forging so far ahead with the previous administration, and now we are pushed to the sidelines, and I think that’s a terrible disservice. It’s insulting. And thank God that [Trump] won’t last forever.”

Halford came out as gay in 1998, live on MTV, and says he’s received many messages of support, particularly from grateful LGBTQ fans. “It gave me some more power to remain where I’m at—and to just go out there now, as an openly gay metalhead singer.”

The other 2020 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominees include Pat Benatar, Dave Matthews Band, Depeche Mode, The Doobie Brothers, Whitney Houston, Kraftwerk, MC5, Motörhead, Nine Inch Nails, The Notorious B.I.G., Rufus featuring Chaka Khan, Todd Rundgren, Soundgarden, T. Rex, and Thin Lizzy.