Maddy Morphosis

Maddy Morphosis
Maddy Morphosis at RuPaul's DragCon LA, 2023
Born
Fayetteville, Arkansas, U.S.
TelevisionRuPaul's Drag Race (season 14)

Maddy Morphosis is an American drag performer most known for competing on season 14 of RuPaul's Drag Race. She is the show's first contestant to identify as a heterosexual.[1][2] Since 2023, Maddy Morphosis has hosted the talk show web series Give It to Me Straight.

Early life

Maddy Morphosis is from Fayetteville, Arkansas, and worked at Target before appearing on Drag Race.[3] Maddy Morphosis dropped out of college.[4]

Career

Maddy Morphosis has been doing drag since 2017 and describes her persona as "Arkansas's most overrated drag queen".[5] Her name is a play on the word "metamorphosis".[6]

RuPaul's Drag Race

In December 2021, Maddy Morphosis was announced as a contestant on RuPaul's Drag Race season 14. She was the first cisgender heterosexual man to compete on the show. Her inclusion in the franchise sparked an initial backlash and opened a broader conversation about the implications of cishet inclusion in predominantly LGBTQ+ spaces.[7] Writing for The Conversation, Theresa Kenney and Linzey Corridon argued that Maddy Morphosis' casting "overshadows more than six decades of documented queer performance art within carefully crafted safe spaces" and "puts racialized queer histories, community discomfort and modes of allyship to the backseat all for the sake of shock-value inclusion."[8] In an interview with Pedestrian, Australian drag queens Felicity Frockaccino and Marlena Dali said that while "drag is for everyone," the decision to cast Morphosis "speaks to a wider issue of diversity on the show". According to Dali: "The problem lies with the lack of representation of more marginalised people such as drag kings, non-binary/trans people, Indigenous people, and disabled people." Frockaccino added that if she were Maddy Morphosis, she, as an LGBTQ+ ally, would give up her spot for a queer person.[9]

During this time, Maddy Morphosis received support from other drag queens, including some of her fellow-contestants from season 14. Divina De Campo, finalist of RuPaul's Drag Race UK series 1, advocated for queer spaces to be accepting of people who are respectful and appreciative towards the community. "Drag is supposed to toy with and subvert traditional approaches to gender, which Maddy Morphosis appears to be doing – even if she isn't considered queer," she said.[10]

On December 5, 2021, Maddy Morphosis published a statement on Instagram in response to the backlash. "I'm not here to show the world that 'staight guys can do drag'. For anyone saying that I'm representing an underrepresented group, I appreciate you, but straight men are not a persecuted and excluded group within the drag community," she explained. Maddy Morphosis also shared that in high school, drag offered her a safe space to explore her gender identity and she hopes her casting will "lead to more marginalized groups being showcased and represented."[11]

Maddy Morphosis's entrance look on the first episode of Drag Race was inspired by Guy Fieri.[3] Sam Damshenas of Gay Times wrote "Maddy immediately won over viewers due to her sheer respect for drag and LGBTQ+ culture, as well as her jaw-dropping runway presentations."[12] In episode five ("Save the Queen"), Maddy Morphosis won a lip sync to Kylie Minogue's "I Love You" against June Jambalaya.[13] In the sixth episode, she landed in the bottom for a second time after underperforming in the "Glamazon Prime" maxi challenge, which required contestants to design a runway look parodying e-commerce packaging. Michael Cubby, writing for Nylon, said that Maddy Morphosis "chose camp over style, haphazardly crafting a patchwork-style dress and using a blowup doll as a prop in a way that felt more confusing than entertaining." She was eliminated from the competition after losing the lip sync, set against "Suga Mama" by Beyonce, to Jasmine Kennedie.[14]

Maddy Morphosis received the Golden Boot award during the reunion episode,[15] and wore an Elvis Presley-inspired outfit during the season finale.[16][17]

Give It To Me Straight

After Drag Race, Maddy Morphosis launched the talk show Give It To Me Straight on their YouTube channel, later published on podcast-streaming services through the Moguls of Media network created by fellow Drag Race queens Alaska Thunderfuck and Willam Belli. The talk show features interviews with drag queens from the Drag Race franchise as well as other drag queens and other queer media personalities, and gives more in-depth discussions on her interviews in the talk show compared to other mainstream interviewers. Maddy Morphosis quotes, "I think people involved in the drag scene know the questions that we're tired of answering. (...) No shade to the drag interviews out there, but I feel like a lot of the drag fans don't really care about that. They want to know deeper stuff. They want to know what your thoughts and opinions are. They watch my show, they want to know where you came from, what happened."[18]

Personal life

Maddy Morphosis' partner Jennifer Standridge is a former drag performer, known as Miss Liza.[3][19] Maddy Morphosis identifies as heterosexual and cisgender,[6] and uses the pronouns she/her when in drag. She has said, "I identify as a cisgender straight man, but I'm gender non-conforming in my presentation."[20]

Filmography

Television

Year Title Role Place Ref
2022 RuPaul's Drag Race (season 14) Herself Contestant (10th place) [21]
2022 RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked
2023 RuPaul's Drag Race (season 15) Special guest; Episode: "Reunited!"

Web series

Year Title Role Notes Ref
2022 Whatcha Packin' Herself Guest [22]
Drag Us Weekly [23]
2023 Give It to Me Straight Host [24]
Death, Drag, and Decadence
(with Bombae and Evah Destruction)		 [25]

Music videos

Year Title Artist Ref
2022 "GAGA" Grace Gaustad [26]

Awards and nominations

Year Award-giving body Category Work Results Ref.
2022 Critics' Choice Real TV Awards Best Ensemble Cast in an Unscripted Series
(Shared with the Season 14 cast)		 RuPaul's Drag Race Won [27]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Maddy Morphosis Opens Up About Controversial 'Drag Race' Casting". www.out.com. 2021-12-06. Archived from the original on 2021-12-11. Retrieved 2022-01-17.
  2. ↑ Kornhaber, Spencer (2022-04-20). "Who's Watching 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Now?". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 2022-04-22. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  3. 1 2 3 Patton, Elaina (2022-01-15). ""RuPaul's Drag Race" star Maddy Morphosis on her transformative looks: "I pull a lot from nostalgia"". Salon. Archived from the original on 2022-01-17. Retrieved 2022-01-17.
  4. ↑ "LADY CAMDEN - Give It To Me Straight Ep1 - Hosted by Maddy Morphosis". YouTube. January 18, 2023. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
  5. ↑ ""Drag Race" Just Cast a Straight, Cis Male Contestant. Not Everyone Is Happy". them. 2021-12-07. Archived from the original on 2022-01-08. Retrieved 2022-01-17.
  6. 1 2 "What To Know About The Most Controversial New 'Drag Race' Queen". Bustle. 7 January 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-01-07. Retrieved 2022-01-17.
  7. ↑ "Who belongs in drag? First straight man on 'RuPaul's Drag Race' reignites debate". NBC News. 2021-12-09. Archived from the original on 2026-03-04. Retrieved 2026-07-08.
  8. ↑ Corridon, Linzey; Kenney, Theresa N. (2022-02-14). "RuPaul's Drag Race contestant, Maddy Morphosis, sparks conversations about cishet inclusion and queer discomfort". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 2024-06-23. Retrieved 2026-07-08.
  9. ↑ Farmilo, Kathleen (2022-01-15). "Drag Race Cast A Cis Straight Man In Season 14: Here's What IRL Drag Artists Think About It". PEDESTRIAN.TV. Archived from the original on 2024-02-22. Retrieved 2026-07-08.
  10. ↑ Lesniara, Tomasz (2021-12-16). "Drag Race's first straight, cisgender queen Maddy Morphosis is a cause for celebration". The i Paper. Retrieved 2026-07-08.
  11. ↑ James, Alastair (2021-12-06). "Drag Race's first-ever straight cisgender drag queen responds to backlash". Attitude. Archived from the original on 2025-12-10. Retrieved 2026-07-08.
  12. ↑ "Exclusive: Drag Race's Maddy Morphosis addresses her season 14 controversies". GAY TIMES. 2022-02-17. Archived from the original on 2022-03-14. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  13. ↑ "RuPaul's Drag Race Season 14 Episode 5 Recap". Honeysuckle Magazine. 2022-02-05. Archived from the original on 2026-05-08. Retrieved 2026-07-08.
  14. ↑ "Exit Interview: Maddy Morphosis On Getting Cut From 'RuPaul's Drag Race'". Nylon. 2022-02-14. Archived from the original on 2025-08-04. Retrieved 2026-07-08.
  15. ↑ Nolfi, Joey (April 15, 2022). "The best 'Drag Race' reunion moments: Kornbread's face, Jasmine's yelling, and more". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2022-04-24. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  16. ↑ "Watch RuPaul Learn She Got Her Own Day During 'Drag Race' Finale". www.out.com. 2022-04-21. Archived from the original on 2022-04-25. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  17. ↑ "Finally, the finale of RuPaul's Drag Race crowns its new reigning Queen from Vegas". The A.V. Club. 23 April 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-04-24. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  18. ↑ Sim, Bernardo. "Maddy Morphosis spills the tea on hit series 'Give It to Me Straight'". www.pride.com. Archived from the original on 2026-02-27. Retrieved 2026-01-07.
  19. ↑ "RuPaul's Drag Race: All About Maddy Morphosis's Girlfriend Jennifer". ScreenRant. 2022-02-21. Archived from the original on 2022-02-27. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  20. ↑ "RuPaul's Drag Race: Maddy Morphosis Cast As 1st Straight Cisgender Man". ScreenRant. 2021-12-03. Archived from the original on 2021-12-04. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
  21. ↑ Christopher, Rudolph. ""RuPaul's Drag Race" Season 14 Queens to Be RuVealed in VH1 Special". NewNowNext.com. Archived from the original on 2021-11-23. Retrieved 2021-11-23.
  22. ↑ Whatcha Packin' | S14 E06 | RuPaul's Drag Race, February 11, 2022, archived from the original on June 18, 2022, retrieved June 18, 2022
  23. ↑ RuPaul's Drag Race 14 Maddy Morphosis On Jasmine Kennedie Fight, Elimination, & More, February 11, 2022, archived from the original on June 18, 2022, retrieved June 18, 2022
  24. ↑ Give It To Me Straight w/ Lady Camden - Hosted by Maddy Morphosis, January 18, 2023, archived from the original on February 3, 2023, retrieved February 3, 2023
  25. ↑ @maddymorphosis (June 19, 2023). "We're going live!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  26. ↑ "Grace Gaustad - GAGA - PILLBX: Episode 1 (Official Music Video)". YouTube. June 16, 2022. Archived from the original on June 17, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  27. ↑ Erik Pedersen (June 12, 2022). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' & 'Top Chef' Lead Critics Choice Real TV Awards". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 13, 2022. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
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