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RuPaul’s Drag Race has become a global phenomenon. The Emmy-winning series has inspired over a dozen Drag Race spin-offs around the world, with more editions of Drag Race on the way. 2023 is set to be a stacked year for Drag Race fans, with one — if not multiple — series airing every week.

Priscilla | Rosdiana Ciaravolo/Getty Images Drag Race Belgique

Drag Race Belgique premiered in February 2023 and brings together some of the best and brightest drag talent from across Belgium. The show is hosted by Canada’s Drag Race and Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs. The World alum Rita Baga, who lived in Belgium for several years.

Drag Race Sverige

Drag Race Sverige is Scandinavia’s first Drag Race spin-off, hosted by Swedish drag icon Robert Fux. The show, which premiered in March 2023, is also one of two non-American Drag Race series with its own Untucked.

Drag Race España

Drag Race...

There’s not enough RuPaul to go around the world. But the drag competition show he created in 2009 along with World of Wonder co-founders Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey continues to spread into new territories with his trademark spirit intact.

“Drag Race Philippines” will become the latest spinoff when it launches on Aug. 17 on Wow Presents Plus, joining 12 other international iterations of the franchise, along with all-star offerings. Last month, Jinkx Monsoon was crowned winner of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” Season 7.

“Drag is an Esperanto. It’s a universal language, and it’s so visual,” says Bailey of the franchise’s appeal.

RuPaul hosts “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” “All Stars,” “RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under” and “RuPaul’s Drag Race UK.” But fans follow along regardless of who is fronting the competition, sharing their passion on social media.

“The first thing that grabs the viewers is the big little secret, which is that drag is universal,...

Drag Race is going big for the premiere of its latest international offshoot, which promises blood, sweat and tears. And that’s just in the promo.

Drag Race Philippines will now drop two episodes on premiere day (Wednesday, Aug. 17), TVLine has learned exclusively. The show is available to stream Stateside on Wow Presents Plus.

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The Lgbtq+ voices get louder in Asian cinemas too. Generally, outside specific genres like sex comedies or erotic pictures, sex is rarely approached as a serious issue, unless you really look for it. Here are 5 films of 2019 that have broken the taboo and even taboo within the taboo and have discussed sex, sexual identity or orientation openly. Of course, we still swim in the not-exactly-mainstream waters, but the below listed five films hit several jackpots with bravado. And they are fabulous alternatives for the Valentine Days flick. Well, except for “Kalel, 15”, perhaps. But with the person queer in a fitting way…

The films are alphabetically ordered.

1. Born Beautiful (2019) by Perci Intalan

“Born Beautiful” is a sequel, or rather spin-off, of fabulous “Die Beautiful” (2016) by Jun Robles Lana. Now, the spotlight lights on Trisha’s (Paolo Ballesteros) Bff Barbs (Martin del Rosario) and her identity crises. Bearing the traces of Lana’s writing,...

Chris Kraus’s film exploring inter-generational legacy of the Holocaust scores twice at Tiff.

German director Chris Kraus’s The Bloom of Yesterday has won the $50,000 Grand Prix at the Tokyo International Film Festival (Tiff), running Oct 25 to Nov 3.

Set against the backdrop of a conference devoted to the German death camp Auschwitz, the film stars German actor Lars Eidinger as a Holocaust researcher who is forced to confront his connection to the past by an intern played by French actress Adèle Haenel.

The film also won the Wowow Viewer’s Choice Award.

Croatian film-maker Hana Jusic won Best Director for her debut feature Quit Staring At My Plate, about a woman living cheek by jowl with her family in a tiny apartment.

The Special Jury Prize went to Amanda Kernell’s Sami Blood inspired by the Swedish 1930s practice of forcibly removing indigenous Sami children from their families.

The film follows the fate of Elle Marja...

This year’s Tokyo International Film Festival (Tiff) will feature five unique Filipino dramas. The Philippine Entertainment Portal reports that Die Beautiful, I America, Birdshot, Hele Sa Hiwagang Hapis and Shiniuma will be part of the festival’s 29th year.

Die Beautiful stars Paolo Ballesteros as a transwoman and beauty pageant veteran whose dying wish is to be dressed as Lady Gaga for her funeral. The film is directed by Jun Lana. It is the only Filipino film included in the main competition. This marks Lana’s second run at Tiff. His 2013 freshman entry Barber’s Tales won the Tiff Best Actress award for its star Eugene Domingo.

Hele Sa Hiwagang Hapis or “A Lullaby To The Sorrowful Mystery” is Lav Diaz’s eight-hour epic for Tiff’s World Focus Section. Anchored by Philippine superstars John Lloyd Cruz and Piolo Pascual, Hele Sa Hiwagang Hapis is a fantastical meditation on Philippine literature,...

Paolo Ballesteros has done it again. The Filipino actor, TV host and makeup artist extraordinaire has made headlines again after putting his amazing skills to work for his latest transformations. Once again inspired by the Keeping Up With the Kardashians family, Ballesteros took to Instagram to show how he turned himself into Kris Jenner, Caitlyn Jenner and Khloé Kardashian. And it's absolutely insane. With the help of heavy contouring, eye makeup, lip liner and some wigs, Ballesteros created spitting images of the E! stars, some to the point where it's a little freaky. Seriously, how uncanny is his Kris Jenner? Caitlyn and Khloé are on the money, too, from the hair styles to the...

He's baaaack! Paolo Ballesteros—the actor and Instagram makeup artist who flawlessly transformed into Kim Kardashian and Kendall Jenner using only cosmetics—revealed three more Kuwtk transformations this past week, including his take on Caitlyn Jenner as seen on the cover of Vanity Fair! "I thought [Jenner's Vanity Fair cover] was very surprising, but very brave," the Filipino TV host, 32, told Us Weekly. "When I saw it on the news, I said to myself, 'I have to do it today!' But the day it broke the net, I was [...]...

Raven-Symone is making waves once again after defending embattled Univision host Rodner Figueroa during an episode of The View.

Symone has been a guest host on The View all week, and during a discussion about Figueroa's firing -- after he said that Michelle Obama "looks like she's from the cast of Planet of the Apes" -- Symone got into a heated argument with co-host Rosie Perez.

Perez went off on the topic, saying that she believes there is rampant racism against black people in the Latino community.

Video: Flashback: 3-Year-Old Raven-Symone Adorably Shows Off Her Spanish Skills

Symone, who recurred on Empire, defended the comments saying, "Was he saying it racist-like?"

"Michelle, don't fire me for this right now, but some people do look like animals," Symone added. "Is that rude? I look like a bird. So can I be mad at somebody that calls me Toucan Sam?"

The backlash against Symone's comments came quickly, but the 29-year-old...

Rodner Figueroa was fired from Univision after comments he made about Michelle Obama on Wednesday's episode of El Gordo y la Flaca.

Discussing makeup artist Paolo Ballesteros, who earned Internet notoriety for transforming himself into everyone from Kim Kardashian to Dakota Johnson to the First Lady, Figueroa said, "Well, watch out, you know that Michelle Obama looks like she's from the cast of Planet of the Apes, the movie."

His cohosts tried to save the situation, with Lili Estefan asking him, "What are you saying?" and Raul de Molina adding that he thought Obama was very attractive.

Figueroa's termination was announced the next day.

And he's out. An Emmy-winning host at Univision was fired on Thursday, Mar. 12, after comparing First Lady Michelle Obama to characters in Planet of the Apes. On Thursday, Rodner Figueroa wrote an open letter to the First Lady (posted on LatinWe), apologizing for his lapse in judgment. During Wednesday's broadcast of the show El Gordo y La Flaca, Figueroa said: "Michelle Obama looks like she's part of the cast of Planet of the Apes." His comments were made during a segment about Paolo Ballesteros, the makeup artist who made headlines this [...]...

Univision has fired a popular network talk show host after he made derogatory comments about Michelle Obama on air. Rodner Figueroa was on the program El Gordo Y La Flaca when he pointed to a photo of the first lady and said, "Mind you, you know that Michelle Obama looks like she's part of the cast of Planet of the Apes, the film." Figueroa made the controversial statement during a segment on makeup transformations alongside makeup artist Paolo Ballesteros—who has become Instafamous for his ability to make himself look like celebrities using different makeup techniques. The show's other host, Raúl de Molina, appeared shocked by the racist remark and did his best to smooth things...

Well, this is just uncanny. Paolo Ballesteros—a Filipino actor, TV host and makeup artist extraordinaire—is putting his incredible face contouring skills to, er, interesting use: The 32-year-old has literally transformed himself into some of the biggest female celebrities in Hollywood right now, including Kim Kardashian, Dakota Johnson and Cate Blanchett. And not only that! He's shared the entire before, in-between and after process with followers on Instagram. We were first struck by his rendition of Mrs. West, who he recreated post-platinum dye job for a look that was, well, pretty spot on. With sky-high lashes, a peachy pout and cheek bones for days, Paulo literally became Kim (kissy face and...

new look ang sister ni allanK... Kim K. ???????? #makeuptransformation #transformlangnangtransform #kimKardashian #kimQuilantang A photo posted by @pochoy_29 on Mar 8, 2015 at 4:45am Pdt The power of makeup! One incredible — and male — makeup artist has taken the craft of applying blush, concealer, and a little foundation to new heights, by producing eerily dead-on recreations of famous celebs including Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, and Dakota Johnson. Photos: Editors' beauty picks -- winter 2015 Paolo Ballesteros, aka @pochoy_29, has 687,000 followers on Instagram eagerly anticipating his next A-lister reveal. The 32-year-old [...]...

new look ang sister ni allanK... Kim K. ???????? #makeuptransformation #transformlangnangtransform #kimKardashian #kimQuilantang A photo posted by @pochoy_29 on Mar 8, 2015 at 4:45am Pdt The power of makeup! One incredible — and male — makeup artist has taken the craft of applying blush, concealer, and a little foundation to new heights, by producing eerily dead-on recreations of famous celebs including Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, and Dakota Johnson. Photos: Editors' beauty picks -- winter 2015 Paolo Ballesteros, aka @pochoy_29, has 687,000 followers on Instagram eagerly anticipating his next A-lister reveal. The 32-year-old [...]...

A photo posted by @pochoy_29 on Mar 8, 2015 at 4:45am Pdt Paolo Ballesteros is a Filipino actor and TV host. But he's also Nicki Minaj. And Kim Kardashian. And Tyra Banks. And Katy Perry. Ballesteros is an expert makeup artist, and his Instagram is crammed with examples of him using his skills to transform into a wide variety of female celebrities. He's attracting a ton of attention and fans across the Internet with his shocking transformations. For example: Here's his Kylie Jenner… A photo posted by @pochoy_29 on Mar 9, 2015 at 7:46am Pdt… and his Dakota Johnson. A photo posted...