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In just four weeks, the GoFundMe raised $6,000 of the boys $10,000 goal.
When I sat down with Christopher Quarles (a.k.a.
Afrika Juicy Milan), Eddie Plaza (a.k.a.
By the end of our conversation, we were all hugging and promising to meet back in New York.
Eddie Plaza:They let us vogue on the red carpet.
Did you see it?
Look [shows me the photos in the Cannes Festival magazine].
Jesus Christ, thats amazing.
I also thought it was a scam.
But I decided to have faith.
It became an amazing experience.
Taliek Jeqon:And I was at the same ball!
[Laughs]I didnt win.
They actually missed my category.
They were like, I didnt see you walk!
We need to see you again.
Eddie:They cast me literally in the street.
How much you weigh?
I was like, Mister!
I dont know who you are!
Im not telling you anything.
Did you guys all know each other beforehand?Eddie:Yes.
But we werent close.
But we built a crazy bond over filming.
It was so dope to know the people, then learn who they are inside.
Christopher:This is my nephew.
This is my brother.
This is my best friend.
The only person I didnt know was Eddie.
But in this community, we dont have to know each other to know each other.
Were like, Whats up, girl?
Whats up, sis?
Do you hang out all the time now?All:Of course.
Eddie:Its family vibes.
Christopher: Join the Marines.
Eddie:Join the McQueens!
Do you guys refer to yourself as the McQueens now?Christopher:WeareMcQueens.
We hold onto that legacy.
Its been a part of the kiki scene for 13 years now.
Were all individually in different houses some of us lead their houses.
[All go around and name their houses, overlapping with each other.]
People look up to us and we dont even know half the time.
Im openly HIV-positive, so I deal with a community thats very different.
We deal with a lot of trauma, emotions, stigma.
So for me, its deeper.
Im able to be an openly HIV-positive person.
You have so many people who look at us like, Hell be gone in a few years.
Ive had people say that to me.
My mom had the nerve to take out an extra life-insurance policy on me.
For me, its deeper.
Theres no life expectancy for me.
Jari Jones:Preach.
Paris Warren:Moments like this are reassuring for me as well.
Im HIV-positive as well.
Meeting all of them, connecting with them in this way, inspired me as a person.
This is my brother.
This is my best friend.
This is my good Judy.
Its bigger than me.
Its bigger than all of us.
Even though people in America are talking about it, they dont even know whats going on.
Eddie:The tip of the ice cube!
To have black and brown bodies on that red carpet its a game-changer.
Black men, queer black men.
They dont make it [to Cannes], not like that.
Its not something thats common.
For them, these individuals, to be that symbol for them to do that it meant the world.
We did everything we could to get here.
Taliek:It feels really good and reassuring to be able to communicate [our story].
The art of vogue is a place to express yourself.
Its good for your mental health.
Its reassuring to our community to see us here.
We wanted to uplift our community, and our community uplifted us.
We wanted to show people what our family was like.
Its our community and were trying to get ourselves together.
It takes a village.
It feels good to know you have people supporting you.
Everybody wants to feel accepted.
And we have it amongst each other, too [Devons] mom is here with us.
Christopher:Even though Im the head honcho.
[Laughs]She, like, was my mother.
How did you react when you learned youd be here?Christopher:I went and got my passport.
They made me the ringleader for passports.
Eddie was like, What do I need to do?
I was like, Listen, girl, you gotta get in line.
She didnt wanna wait.
She wanted to get online.
It didnt hit me until the day before.
Ive been let down so much.
As a black man, Ive been let down a lot in my lifetime.
I dont ever get my hopes up, because shit always happens.
I was like, Im not gonna brag, Im not gonna talk about it.
I held this to myself for so long.
I told a few people, but I held it in because I was afraid.
People told me all the time I had potential to do great things.
But I would doubt myself.
Every time something good came along, something would happen.
Paris:You gotta get so many nos to get a yes.
Christopher:You have to build your strength.
At this point in my life, theres nothing nobody can tell me.
Taliek: A goddamn thing!
Eddie: Thats why it was so amazing.
Wed gone through all that just to get here.
Watching people support us, watching that number go up, I was so ecstatic.
Devon:It felt so good.
Eddie:They believed in us.
They believed in the dream we had.
They wanted us to create history.
And thats what we did.
Christopher:Indya Moore fromPoseused to be one of my gay daughters.
She told me her dream.
She was like, This is what Im doing.
Nobodys gonna stop me.
We lost connection because Im doing this and shes doing this, but that happens in life.
Once I did that, she posted it back, and $500 was in the account.
Paris:Its about time.
To see that momentum will just continue to make these moments come for people, not just us.
Jari:Thats how we survive being black, being queer.
You dont have something?
Borrowing a cup of sugar?
We know how to come together to make something grand.
So we came together and did it.
Its our chosen family.
Paris:Chosen family its the family you have [versus] the family you choose to have.
This is my family.
They mean the world to me.
Devon:Im so thankful to share this with my family.
Eddie:We wanted to!
But we got the confirmation literally three hours beforehand.
So we were pretty much like, This is what were gonna do.
Were gonna take [Talieks] dress off, and thats what gonna happen.
He wouldnt be Taliek if he wasnt extra and had those two outfit changes.
She was like, Why are you wearing a dress to the red carpet?
I was like, Because Im representing my community.
If I was going to a ball, thats what Id be wearing.
But I was like, I love you down mom, and you helped me get here too.
So to respect you, Im gonna wear a suit, too.
But I want to have my moment as well.
The pictures are on Page Six!
I think she was surprised she didnt realize how big this was.
But she texted me, Oh my God.
Jari:Were holding so much weight.
To let it out was amazing.
Leyna is the first trans leading black woman.
Im the first black trans woman to produce a film here.
If we dont go big, why are we even here?
We have to work twice as hard to make a statement.
Paris:Three times harder!
Christopher:You knowParis Is Burningpremiered here years back.
None of the [cast] made it here.
Now look at us, generations later.
Weve imprinted on that carpet.
Eddie:This is howParis Is Burningwas supposed to be.
Paris:Its about creating an opportunity.
Devon:For that little boy in Minnesota, in Indiana, who think they cant do this.
They can see us on that red carpet.
Paris: Its all about support.
Especially in our community, its about creating a narrative and building on it.
Jari:We have to do it all ourselves.
Nobody else is going to do it.
Eddie:Especially coming from the background we come from.
We were given scraps, and we made
All in unison:Gold.
