Trixie Mattel Criticised For Collaborating With Transphobic Comedian, Whitney Cummings

Trixie Mattel is under fire for inviting transphobic comedian Whitney Cummings onto her webseries, with fans calling for the video to be taken down.

Posted on November 18, Cummings appeared on the third episode of Mattel’s webseries, Out of Pocket with Trixie Mattel, where the All Star’s season 3 winner plays pool with a guest at L.A. gay bar, The Eagle, while interviewing them.

Earlier this year, Cummings sparked backlash when she shared the jokes she cut from her CNN New Year’s Eve set, including one that referenced the flood of anti-trans hate Algerian boxer Imae Khelif received at last year’s Paris Olympics.

“Another 2024 CNN joke I cut for time: Shania Twain’s on the show tonight. Reminds me of this year’s Paris Olympic theme: ‘Man! I feel like a Woman,’” Cummings wrote, saying she cut the joke because she “didn’t know if [Twain] was going to go before or after me or if she would even do that song.”

Shortly afterwards, she was criticised for perpetuating a homophobic conspiracy theory around the Los Angeles fires, questioning the ability of LA’s first openly gay fire chief, Kristin Crowley, who endured a media pile on from conservatives accusing her of being a “DEI hire”.

“I came across a video of the fire chief. A lesbian. Love it…. Tried to be one, didn’t take,” Cummings said in a now-deleted X video. “I don’t think I’m a lesbian…I just live in Los Angeles. The men are so effeminate that honestly, at this point, dating a woman is like the straightest thing you can do.”

Cummings joked that the LAFD were only “recruiting more lesbians”, following it up with the question, “isn’t that essentially just recruiting people in your dating pool to work at your office?”

“All of the people in charge of L.A.’s fire response are lesbians named Kristin,” she concluded. “I don’t recall voting on a prop that said we could recruit our fire team off Grindr. What?”

Mattel accused of prioritising money over community

Fans took their concerns to Instagram, commenting on Mattel’s recent posts, calling for her to address the issue.

“Keeping that video up this long is crazy,” one user wrote. “Do the right thing.”

“Are we just ignoring the Whitney Cummings situation, or is your team scrubbing comments calling you out?” wrote another.

Cummings’ behaviour has been discussed by Drag Race fans in the past, with the comedian appearing as a guest judge on season 17 of the show.

Mattel is being accused of putting money over her fans and the LGBTQIA+ community, with many saying they feel betrayed that such an influential figure would try to ignore the very community that made her so successful.

“Trixie is a rich person and she does what rich people do,” one Redditor wrote.

This isn’t the first time Mattel has attracted controversy. In 2018, a racist joke she made during an earlier tour resurfaced online, referencing slavery in relation to Black drag queen, Latrice Royale.

“I couldn’t decide what to wear so I wore this. It’s just like a cotton. Latrice picked it.”

When the audience responded with boos, Mattel shot back “Oh, is that too far, Denver? What, did you forget to invite your black friends tonight?”

Mattel’s tone deaf behaviour around social issues has long been a regular point of contention from fans and critics alike, while others argue drag queens are meant to be controversial and toe the line.