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Dr. Fauci on Larry Kramer's Legacy, Pride 2021, and "RuPaul's Drag Race"

"So everyone has been asking if I would be a judge on next year's 'Drag Race...'"

Could Dr. Anthony Fauci go from the White House briefing room to the mainstage of RuPaul's Drag Race?

In honor of World AIDS Day, Fauci sat down with Logo to discuss his decades of work fighting HIV/AIDS, his friendship with activist Larry Kramer, and if he would sit next to Michelle Visage and RuPaul at the Drag Race judges' panel.

Long before he was famous for leading America's efforts to fight COVID-19, Fauci was involved with the government's response to the AIDS epidemic. That was when he became a foe — and eventual friend — of Kramer.

"I got to get involved not only with Larry but with the activists and young men who really wanted to put much more attention to this emerging plague," Fauci recalls. "As I extended myself to listening to the activists, I found out they were absolutely correct and even though they had to resort to theatrical disruptions to get the attention of the scientific community and the regulatory community and the federal government in general, I realized that I would have done exactly the same thing they did."

"So I transformed from the object and the target of their activism to being an activist with them," he adds.

Sadly, Kramer passed away earlier this year. When asked what he thought Kramer would have to say about the current state of affairs in American politics, Fauci laughed and answered, "You don't really want me to say that publicly. Anyone who knows Larry knows that he was not shy about confronting what he felt was not fair, not done correctly."

Win McNamee/Getty Images

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 30: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci waits for the start of the daily coronavirus briefing in the Rose Garden of the White House on March 30, 2020 in Washington, DC. The United States has updated its guidelines to U.S. citizens to maintain current social distancing practices through the end of April after the number of reported coronavirus (COVID-19) deaths doubled to over 2,000 nationwide within two days. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Fauci goes on to explain how Kramer was "extraordinarily protective of the gay community, who he referred to as 'my people, my children.'" The ACT UP founder famously opined that it was "completely unacceptable" that the federal government was not "properly addressing" this plague "which seemed to be targeting the gay community."

In addition to reflecting on his friendship with Kramer, Fauci also predicts whether we will have some normalcy by the time Pride Month 2021 rolls around, and if he would ever consider being an extra-special guest judge on RuPaul's Drag Race.

"So everyone has been asking if I would be willing to be a judge on next year's Drag Race," he says. "What I can tell you on that is that I can give it some serious consideration, but I will have to get back to you on that."

We can't fault him for having to think about critiquing drag queens — after all, he's been a little busier than normal this year given the COVID-19 pandemic. Watch Logo's full interview with Fauci in the video below.

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