Amanda Lepore discussed the controversy surrounding RuPaul‘s recent comments about not allowing post-transition transgender drag queen or bio queens to compete on Drag Race.

In a new interview with Gay Star News Amanda, who identifies as transsexual, said: “Well, I respect RuPaul. And it’s her show, you know, so, you can do that. But I do think there should be a spin-off or something, [for] bio girls and trans girls.”

She furthermore added: “I mean, it is different, and you get ready a little differently, so I understand RuPaul.

“And I don’t think RuPaul meant it as a put down. I think RuPaul meant it as he considers them women, and that it wouldn’t be fair to have a woman compete because they’d have an advantage.”

The former Club Kid has just released a new EP, LEPORE, which contains tracks such as “my Panties’ and ‘Too Drunk to Fuck’.

Lepore is also noted as a regular subject in photographer David LaChapelle’s work, serving as his muse, as well as many other photographers, such as Terry Richardson and Ruben van Schalm.

Lepore has been working in the clubs of New York City since the ‘90s, when she flaunted her looks and talent as one of the famous Club Kids. While many of the Club Kids today would tell you that the scene has dramatically changed since the ‘90s, Lepore disagrees. “I love the process of dressing up, and people that dress up, and serving looks and drag queens and club freaks and all of that. That’s what attracted me then, and it’s still around, honestly!”

While she acknowledged that aesthetics have shifted since the ‘90s, Lepore says that the worldwide popularity of RuPaul’s Drag Race has kept much of what she loved about the club scene intact. “With RuPaul’s Drag Race getting popular, you see more and more people dressing up and going out,” she explains. “There’s that element that’s still there.”

Drag Race has also brought about a significant bump in the starlet’s popularity. “I feel a pretty deep connection to the show,” she says. “I was kind of in that circuit that they were all in before the show started, so it elevated the circuits that I was doing.”