It’s been a banner week for queer artistry, resilience, and reinvention across the American entertainment scene. From the glittering runways of drag royalty to the storied stages of Broadway and the sharp spotlights of HBO comedy, three LGBTQ+ trailblazers—Nymphia Wind, Caleb Hearon, and Jinkx Monsoon—are redefining what it means to break barriers, inspire communities, and keep audiences laughing, thinking, and dreaming.
On September 19, 2025, Nymphia Wind, the reigning queen of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 16, opened her Brooklyn home to viewers in a special episode of Out of the Closet, the beloved fashion series that peeks behind the sequins and into the creative process of drag’s brightest stars. As reported by Out of the Closet, Nymphia didn’t just showcase her wardrobe—she offered an intimate look into the artistry and intention behind her most iconic runway moments. From the crisp tailoring of her menswear design challenge look to the whimsical bubble tea couture and her breathtaking stepdown gown, every piece told a story of ingenuity and self-expression. “The banana became my signature inspiration,” Nymphia revealed, explaining how the fruit’s playful shape and color have become a recurring motif in her drag. But don’t expect her to chase the Hollywood dream. “I won’t move to LA,” she insisted. “I’m a Brooklyn queen.”
Her devotion to her craft and her city runs deep, and it’s this sense of pride and place that has fans clamoring for her to compete on Project Runway—a prospect she’s not ruling out. Nymphia’s approach to fashion, she explained, is influenced by a mix of global pop culture and personal heritage. According to Out of the Closet, she draws inspiration from both avant-garde designers and the everyday resilience of her community, blending them into looks that are as meaningful as they are memorable. “I take such pride in my work—and it shows,” she shared, her voice brimming with the kind of quiet confidence that’s earned her a devoted following.
Meanwhile, on the comedy front, Caleb Hearon’s star has never shone brighter. Also on September 19, Hearon released his highly anticipated hour-long HBO comedy special, Model Comedian. As HBO and Comedy Central both note, Hearon’s rise from viral Twitter videos to stand-up stardom has been marked by a unique blend of humor and heartbreak, self-deprecation and social critique. “The world’s on fire but I’m like ‘Let’s get silly with it,’ you know? I do. I wake up every day and feel good despite…everything,” Hearon says at the top of his special, setting the tone for an hour that’s equal parts raucous and raw.
Hearon’s set covers a dizzying array of topics: the absurdities of online life, the realities of being gay and growing up in the Midwest, the villainy (and, yes, the comedic potential) of Republican lawmakers, and the complicated legacy of his late father. One standout bit, as described by Comedy Central, sees Hearon recounting his experience as a fat kid bullied by his peers—and the strange adult expectation that “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” The segment crescendos with Hearon enlisting audience members to help deliver a “speech [he] wrote for little fat kids today,” sending the crowd into fits of laughter.
But it’s not all punchlines and pratfalls. In the most vulnerable part of his set, Hearon opens up about his “mentally ill” family and his relationship with his absentee father, who he only truly connected with after his death. “When you have a complicated relationship with someone you love and you lose them, you have to mourn kind of two relationships. You have to mourn the actual one that you had, which was complicated and fraught and sometimes fucked up, but it was the one you got. And then, you have to mourn the second relationship, this kind of like hopeful relationship that you’ll never get now,” Hearon reflects. Yet, even here, he can’t resist a wry twist: “If any of you have ever been through anything, this part will probably be hitting like crazy. But as the only person who’s ever been through anything, you’ll have to just take my word for it.”
Hearon’s social commentary is sharp, especially when it comes to the culture wars roiling America. He coins the term “redneck progressivism” to describe the sometimes awkward, well-intentioned liberalism of the Midwest and South. And he doesn’t hold back when lampooning conservative firebrands. “My favorite straight guys out right now are conservative Republicans. I don’t care, I love them. I love them. I think they’re so funny because they all hate gay people so much and they’re such faggots,” he deadpans, before skewering Ben Shapiro, Jordan Peterson, J.D. Vance, and Ron DeSantis for their obsession with masculinity and performative outrage.
In an interview before the special’s release, Hearon told HBO, “I wanted people to walk away from it first and foremost having laughed but also just having a better understanding of who I am and why I see the world the way I do and where I’m coming from.” For Hearon, comedy isn’t just a way to survive the backlash against queer and trans people—it’s a weapon to break through it. Model Comedian is now streaming on HBO, and it’s a testament to the power of laughter in the face of adversity.
The week’s queer creativity didn’t stop there. On Thursday, Broadway’s Jinkx Monsoon stopped by Late Night with Seth Meyers to discuss her star turn as Mary Todd Lincoln in Cole Escola’s hit play, Oh, Mary! Monsoon, who will play the role through September 28 at the historic Lyceum Theatre, told Meyers she knew she wanted to be involved with the show after seeing its off-Broadway run. “I told Cole that night…‘I want you to do everything you can with this. Take it everywhere, win all the awards, and only then, give me a call because I would love to have a whack at it!’” she recalled.
Monsoon also shared the thrill of having RuPaul in the audience during a recent performance. “It’s all very cyclical because Ru inspired me to even be here right now. And then I get to go out to the stage door and I meet young people who literally say, ‘Seeing you on Broadway makes it feel like it’s possible for me,’” she told Late Night. The production itself is a juggernaut: Oh, Mary! became the first show in the Lyceum Theatre’s 121-year history to gross over $1,000,000 in a single week, shattering its own record twelve times and becoming the first production of the 2024-25 Broadway season to recoup its investment, according to Broadway World. Jane Krakowski will take over the role of Mary Todd Lincoln for an eight-week engagement starting October 14, and Monsoon will hit the road with BenDeLaCreme for their acclaimed The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show, touring 30 cities across the U.S. and Canada from November 12 to December 30.
In a week marked by milestones, these three artists—whether on stage, screen, or runway—demonstrate the enduring power of queer voices to challenge, entertain, and inspire. For fans and newcomers alike, their work is a reminder that creativity, courage, and community can turn even the toughest moments into something worth celebrating.
