Kerri Colby urges Drag Race fans to fight for trans rights: 'The love doesn't just end in the bar'

Kerri Colby and her RuPaul's Drag Race season 14 sisters believe fan passion for the art form of drag is powerful enough to course-correct the fight for trans rights as political figures in Texas, Florida, Utah, and more move to introduce laws threatening LGBTQ equality.

Speaking to EW as part of our Awardist roundtable recapping all of the best moments from season 14 alongside Kornbread "The Snack" Jeté, Bosco, Jasmine Kennedie, and Willow Pill — the largest number of trans contestants to ever compete at one time on Drag Race — Kerri reveals her strategy to inspire people to translate their enthusiasm for drag into social and political action.

"My next comment [on stage] always is, 'Okay, every single person in this room…. ya'll see this? Ya'll feel this? This is love, but the love does not just end in the bar, it doesn't just end at the venue, it doesn't just end at the show where you see a girl give you a moment and performance,'" Kerri explains, later cautioning that maintaining awareness beyond the fantasy of the craft is vital because "there are a lot of places at stake right now more than ever, where they're trying to do little things that no one notices if you're not paying attention in the polls, if you're not paying attention in legislation."

She says that she wants to "see this exact same energy at the polls" that fans display when showing up to performances ready to tip.

"You need to be impacted, affected, and take that and put your money where your mouth is, put your heart where your mouth is, put your vote where your mouth is," she continues, "and look for opportunities where you see you can help make a positive impact. It is a splash in a puddle in a very big ocean, but ripples happen and tsunamis happen because of these things."

Kerri, who rose to prominence in January on the season 14 premiere as the daughter of drag pageant legend Sasha Colby, recalls being on the road throughout Drag Race's 2022 run, which allowed her to tour rural, conservative states where the LGBTQ population faces more scrutiny than larger metropolitan areas.

The Los Angeles-based queen says attendees make her feel "almost [like] a lifeline" and "a beacon of hope" — a feeling she wants to keep alive on every stage she hits, especially at a time during the rise of things like Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law and Texas officials' recently suggested law that could ban children from attending family-friendly drag events with their families.

"You should not feel like walking out of your house and living is a privilege, and that you're lucky to get home without potentially being followed or being attacked…. I'm glad that we're able to use our platforms to not only bring awareness, but to kind of rile people up," notes Kerri. "We represent so much more than booties and titties shaking and good music and a great performance that you tip when you see it; we represent a future, and we represent the right to exist, and not just be known as the artist and the individual in this outlandish person, but we represent an entire group of people that deserve to live and live comfortably."

Season 14 of RuPaul's Drag Race marked a monumental stride for the show in terms of trans representation, with five trans contestants competing for the crown.

On the season 14 finale, Willow became the first trans winner of a traditional Drag Race season in the United States, joining a lineage that also includes All Stars 6 champion Kylie Sonique Love and international trans winners Angele Anang (Drag Race Thailand) and Vanessa Van Cartier (Drag Race Holland).

"It feels amazing to me because this season broke so many boundaries and had so many firsts," Willow exclusively told EW after she was crowned. "What's important to me is that I'm representing people who are disabled and chronically ill. That's not something we see on television — especially not on reality television, because people who are ill and disabled are amazing, fun, nasty, and catty, and they're everything anyone else can be, times 25."

EW's full Awardist roundtable with the season 14 queens is available now as a video as well as a podcast on our feeds via Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Entertainment Weekly's Ultimate Guide to RuPaul is available online or wherever magazines are sold.

Subscribe toEW's BINGE podcast for full recaps of RuPaul's Drag Race, including weekly All Stars 7 recaps and reactions with the cast, special guests, and more.

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• Drag Race season 14's 'Trantastic 5' reunite to talk chaos, clashes, and secrets of their her-storic run
• Bosco's wings broke, Jasmine's hair was late: Drag Race season 14 queens reveal wild stories behind their finale looks
• Watch Drag Race stars Kerri Colby and Kornbread do their Snatch Game characters we never got to see
• Kathy Najimy offered to call RuPaul to recommend Kornbread for Drag Race on Hocus Pocus 2 set
• Kornbread planned to come out as trans to a photo of her young self if she stayed on Drag Race
• Drag Race stars Willow Pill and Kornbread clarify that they're not 'quitting drag' any time soon