BY: Sierra Kennedy
Published 2 weeks ago
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” season 14 alum Jasmine Kennedie is speaking out after a disturbing encounter on the New York City subway — and her courage in sharing her experience is striking a powerful chord across the LGBTQIA+ community.
On April 14, 2025, Kennedie posted a video to Instagram recounting how she was harassed by a man who identified himself as a Trump supporter. According to Kennedie, the man directed homophobic and transphobic slurs at her, told her “this is Trump’s America,” and aggressively followed her onto the train after a performance while she was still in full drag.
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“He sat uncomfortably close to me, started with the slurs, and then kept following me,” Kennedie said in the video. “It was scary, but I wasn’t about to let him intimidate me into silence.”
Kennedie bravely started recording the encounter, forcing the man to backpedal slightly once the camera was rolling. However, the damage was already done. Fans quickly mobilized, identifying the man as an employee at a gym in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood — a district typically known as a hub for LGBTQIA+ nightlife, wellness, and community. Within 24 hours, the gym announced that the employee had been terminated.
The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on anyone: this harassment happened in a neighborhood and a business that markets itself as LGBTQIA+-friendly. It’s a reminder that just because a space looks inclusive on the surface doesn’t always mean it’s truly safe. Protecting and cultivating authentic safe spaces is critical for queer and trans individuals, whether that’s in nightlife, fitness, or everyday public spaces.
Kennedie also made it clear that even the way she was insulted revealed a deeper ignorance about the LGBTQIA+ community. In a follow-up interview, she joked, “If you’re going to use the correct slur on me, it would have been tr*nny, but he didn’t. I think clearly he does not understand the range of slurs in this community.”
While said with humor, Kennedie’s comment highlights a real issue: many outside the LGBTQIA+ community don’t truly understand the depth and diversity within it. Queer, trans, nonbinary, and asexual individuals all have different lived experiences, identities, and challenges. For anyone who needs a refresher, you can look into resources on what LGBTQIA+ stands for.
Kennedie also touched on the difference between sexual identity and gender identity, which is another topic that many are uneducated on. One has nothing to do with the other, yet, individuals like the one in the video use the concepts interchangeably and then try to weaponize.
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Since speaking out, Kennedie has received an outpouring of support from fans, fellow Drag Race queens, and LGBTQIA+ allies. Messages of solidarity flooded her Instagram comments, applauding her for her bravery, quick thinking, and refusal to let hate dictate her story.
“It gave me a little bit of a sense of joy in the world we’re living in right now,” Kennedie said to PRIDE. “There is still hope for people to stand up for us.”
Her experience as a transgender woman is unfortunately not an isolated one, but Kennedie’s choice to share her story so openly sends a powerful message: hate has no place here—and neither does silence.
Have you ever had to stand up against hate or protect yourself in a supposedly safe space? Drop your story in the comments — let’s lift each other up.
