we built this

"I just wanted to really be aware of how many of us there are that are making work. So that when time looks back, that no one says we weren’t," she said.

The Cleveland native is using social media to change the perception of foster care.

"It was really freeing for me to create Shangela. And not because I’m hiding in the character. There’s a lot of me as D.J. in Shangela, and I have the same confidence now, in and out of drag. It’s something you have to build up."

"You get to see me as this model, and I’m also a breast cancer survivor, I’m also black, I’m also queer. I’m not just one identity that you want to pull out, right?"