25/05/2023
Television Drag Race contestant Peppermint spoke for many in the LGBT+ community when she posted a simple and eloquent tribute to singer Tina Turner online. Peppermint wrote “We are suffering a great loss, even those who may be unaware of her impact and legacy. Rest Queen.” With her life story of overcoming prejudice and adversity, it was perhaps inevitable that Turner, who has passed on to the realm of our African-American ancestors at the age of eighty three, would be an instant gay icon. Not only that, but Turner publicly supported the LGBT+ communities who had embraced her. As early as 1982, when she was re-emerging as an independent artist and severing ties with her abusive husband, Tina opened the inaugural Gay Games festival. And many times in interviews with magazines, she spoke of her support for marriage equality and the love that she received from the LGBT+ population. Gay singer Elton John was amongst dozens of celebrities who tweeted their feelings, saying "We have lost one of the word’s most exciting and electric performers. A total legend on record and on stage. She was untouchable."
