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Drag Race star Derrick Barry thinks people died during Stonewall

By Ross Semple

RuPauls’s Drag Race

star Derrick Berry may want to think about cracking open some queer history books, after the drag queen made an embarrassing error during a discussion about the Stonewall uprising.

Derrick was part of a panel of drag queens, including Manila Luzon, Mariah Balenciaga, Pandora Boxx and Willam, taking part in a roundtable discussion series for Billboard. The web series, Spilling the Tea, was hosted by Drag Race guest judge Tamar Braxton.

Over the course of the series, Tamar and the queens chatted about everything from Lady Gaga, straight audiences, and the influence of Madonna.

However, Derrick raised eyebrows during a discussion of LGBT+ history.

Chastising those who aren’t aware of queer history, the season 8 queen, famous for her Britney Spears act, said: “Like when people don’t know what Stonewall is.”

Tamar then asked Derrick to explain what the Stonewall uprising was. Derrick, looking a little confused, replied: “That was fighting for gay rights, and people were killed.”

Erm, what now?

Luckily, Willam was there to correct Derrick, chipping in with her trademark deadpan: “Nobody was killed at Stonwall.”

“Nobody was killed?” replied Derrick, looking genuinely shocked.

This week marks the 48th anniversary of the uprising at the Stonewall Inn in New York City. Police raided the bar on June 28, 1969. While this was a common occurance at the mafia-operated LGBT+ bar, this time the patrons fought back and protested the police’s brutality. The Stonewall uprising became the flashpoint for the modern LGBT+ rights movement.

Season 9 of Drag Race was recently confirmed as the most successful ever.  Friday’s episode, which saw Sasha Velour snatch the crown after a pair of sensational lip syncs, was the series’ most-watched season finale ever. 859,000 people saw Sasha triumph over Peppermint. in the first finale to air on VH1 since the show moved channels earlier this year,

Compared to last year’s finale, which saw Bob the Drag Queen crowned America’s Next Drag Superstar, Sasha’s crowning was up over 200% among adults 19-49. The episode was the second most-watched of the season, behind the mega-hyped season opener with special guest judge Lady Gaga. On average, season 9 was up 122% from season 8.

Watch the full segment below: