The mixing of the real and the unreal may explain why some advocates of counterfeiting Drag race become so passionate about what they see on their feeds. Michael says he “lives for the exaggerated reactions of fans” who believe his creations are real people. He says people often ask him about a queen’s real Instagram account.
“I also get the occasional hate comment from someone who says I’m taking jobs away from real drag queens,” he says. An illustrator himself, Michael says he’s aware “that AI is coming to take over my work,” but he doesn’t believe his Instagram passion project is taking people’s money. “If someone doesn’t go to the club and tip a real drag queen because they saw AI Drag Race, that’s that person’s problem, not my Drag Race problem,” he says.
Fantasy Drag Race’s Más says she also came into contact with other creators in group chats after wondering how seriously they took the whole process. “I’m a queer, non-binary Mexican in upstate New York,” she explains. “Someone saying that my drag competition isn’t their thing or that some look I made is ugly isn’t going to sway me at all.” Still, it’s understandable that people become emotionally attached to her work, she says.
Unfortunately, that kind of attachment is also accompanied by a sense of impending fear, as the very idea of AI is generated Drag race is a play about a major franchise. While some creators claim what they’re doing is a parody, posting what Grimmelmann says are “almost completely useless” (or perhaps pointless) copyright disclaimers that absolve themselves on their main Instagram page, others acknowledge that they probably building their following on shaky ground.
A number of accounts, including one featuring exclusively Disney characters, have already been pulled from Instagram, giving creators who only use animated or existing characters more than a break. “I’m very afraid of being knocked down,” says Haus of Dreg’s Boopy. “But if I do, then so be it. I mean, what could I even do?
“I make sure I don’t do anything to sexualize the characters, and I don’t do anything to diminish their actual tone,” Horror Drag Race’s Shayne adds. “I’m just merging two mediums: horror and Drag race– and putting it together into something that both groups of fans can enjoy.
It’s not right Drag race fans who also enjoy the AI experience. Mhi’ya Iman Le’Paige, a queen from season 16 of drag race, just looked at the runway which first emerged in a series of AI-generated images. One of her sisters from season 16, Plane Jane, follows at least one of the AI creators.
Michael from the Official AI Drag Race says multiple queens have reached out asking to use their fictional creations as inspiration, with an unnamed queen from an international franchise asking Michael to design their entire package of runway looks based solely on up Carla Montecarlo images. “I feel like it’s only a matter of time,” says Michael, “before I watch TV and see something I rendered a year ago.”