Watch: RuPaul Reveals His Shocking 'Naughtiest' '80s Moment to Ellen

by Kilian Melloy

EDGE Staff Reporter

Monday January 3, 2022

RuPaul stopped by "The Ellen Show" to talk about, among other things, the "naughtiest" thing he did back in the 1980s, UK newspaper the Daily Mail reported. The shocking reveal was unforgettable.

During a game of "Burning Questions," "When asked about the naughtiest thing he did in the 1980s, he told a story about how he got out of paying for a $9 cab ride," the Mail recounted.

Ru regaled Ellen with the tale of how the cabbie made him an intriguing offer. "'Listen, hey if you put your foot over the front seat,' he will give me the fare for free," the drag icon said. "Ellen, it was a $9 fare, so I just put my foot over the front seat, he did what he needed to do, and I got out of the cab without having to pay."

Mama Ru also disclosed what his stage name would be if he didn't go by RuPaul (it would be "Cupcake," he said), and named the Olsen twins as who he'd like to play him in a movie.

"He went on to say he would want Macaulay Culkin of 'Home Alone' fame to play his love interest," the Mail added.

Before the "Burning Questions" game, the two enjoyed a wide-ranging chat that touched upon a hideous Christmas ornament that purported to be a likeness of the drag star ("Of course, there was a 'cease and desist' that followed," RuPaul noted) before turning to a more glamorous development last year when an entomologist named a new species of exotic, multi-colored fly after RuPaul. "Thank you, science!" Ru exclaimed.

The two looked back a few years, revisiting a moment from Ellen's '90s sitcom "Ellen" when RuPaul guest starred in drag — and Ellen wore a dress, ET Canada said.

"That is drag for me," the talk show host quipped.

Check out part of the chat in the clip below.


Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.