Sharon Needles Tries To Explain Why So Many Gay Men Worship Judy Garland

"I grew up loving The Wizard of Oz like any gay boy, but I was that different gay kid, so I was really more connected to the witch. But I know that Judy through the ‘40s, ‘50s, and ‘60s was this subculture gay icon, and I think my generation really just spawns new Judy Garlands: Barbra Streisand, Cher, Lady Gaga. I think the appeal is that they are caricatures of femininity that usually emerge from fighting adversity.

Judy was not a classical beauty, but all the faggots thought she was the most beautiful thing they’d ever seen. Barbra Streisand is ugly as sin—ugly as sin!—but every gay man think she’s beautiful. Cher looks like Chad Michaels, and we all know what Chad Michaels looks like out of drag. So again, it’s gay men identifying with unconventional beauty and fighting adversity. I think that’s where the love of Judy comes from, and I think that’s why people see beauty in me. I’m not a classic model beauty, but I think people identified with my struggle and my success story and my unconventional beauty. I am the new Judy Garland! It’s just hitting me now! That wig is not even going to fit on how big this head is gonna get."

– Sharon Needles, in an interview to promote her upcoming performance as the Wicked Witch of the West in a production of The Wizard of Oz opposite Peaches Christ as Dorothy