Lexi Love

Lexi Love
Born (1990-11-22) November 22, 1990[1]
Other names
OccupationDrag queen
Years active2024–present
TelevisionRuPaul's Drag Race

Clair Barnes (born November 22, 1990), known professionally as Lexi Love, is an American drag performer and model. She rose to prominence for competing on the seventeenth season of reality competition television series RuPaul's Drag Race.

Career

Lexi Love was appointed as the official American ambassador to the United Kingdom-based House of Versace by Drag Race UK winner Krystal Versace. One of her mentors is 2016 Mr. Continental winner Mykul Jay Valentine.[5] An early drag mother of Lexi Love's was Nomi Love, and her current drag mother is Jessica Dimon.[6]

Lexi Love competed and finished as a finalist on the seventeenth season of competition series RuPaul's Drag Race (2025),[7] alongside Jewels Sparkles, Onya Nurve, and Sam Star.[8] She was the first contestant to represent Louisville,[9] and the oldest competitor in the season. Many of her competitors referred to her as "grandma" or "auntie" which sparked a debate online with fans involving ageism in the franchise.[10]

Throughout the season, she won two main challenges such as the talent show where Lexi Love debuted "She's Giving" while roller skating and doing cartwheels.[11] Her debut song was produced and co-written by record producer Drew Louis, and was released on January 10, 2025.[12] Alongside with Onya Nurve, they both won the narrative interpretive dance challenge.[13] For the Snatch Game challenge, Lexi Love impersonated the late comedian Gilbert Gottfried; Entertainment Weekly saw her effort and "tried her hand at pulling off the feat" as Lexi Love became the third contestant in the series playing a male-presenting character.[14] Her Instagram following grew by 1,144 percent as the show aired.[15]

Personal life

Barnes is a transgender woman and uses she/her pronouns.[16] She is based in Louisville, Kentucky.[17] Barnes was raised in Florence and previously performed within the Cincinnati metropolitan area for nearly a decade,[18] and afterwards Barnes worked for Play Dance Bar in 2021.[19] She survived a period of homelessness and drug addiction, mostly thanks to her drag family.[20]

During her appearance for the seventeenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, Barnes disclosed in an interview about taking on a second mortgage for their garments.[21]

After various HIV resources from government websites attributing for the LGBTQ community were removed on January 22, 2025,[22] Barnes called out the second Donald Trump administration through social media platform Instagram.[23] She shared an infographic from the NOH8 campaign, revealing herself to be HIV positive, and utilized those funded programs from over ten years ago.[24]

Barnes soon announced her indefinite break from performing on April 27 through social media in order "to nurture my mental, physical, and emotional well-being."[25] It was revealed she will be admitting herself to a rehabilitation clinic. Her manager subsequently clarified on May 10 that although Barnes had suffered with methamphetamine addiction in the past, "meth is not a factor here" and is simply for emotional therapy as well as "complete sobriety" from all other forms of drugs and alcohol.[26] Barnes ended her time at the facility she attended on May 19, stating it was "short-lived due to some unforeseen circumstances."[27]

Artistry

Barnes cites her inspirations for her drag persona to be "nostalgic" from the annual Victoria's Secret runways and "very hardcore" in Y2K fashion.[28] She uses roller skates while performing and describes herself as Kentucky's "Roller-Derby Doll".[29][30]

Discography

Singles

List of singles as lead artist, showing year released, and album name
Title Year Album Writer(s) Producers(s) Ref.
"She's Giving"
(or Club Love remix) 		2025 Non-album single Drew Louis, Lexi Love, and Timothy Liedel Drew Louis [31]

Filmography

Television

List of television credits, with selected details
Year Title Genre Role Notes Ref.
2024 WHAS-TV Interview Guest No notes [32]
2025 RuPaul's Drag Race Competition Contestant [33]
RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked

References

  1. ^ @mslexilove; (November 22, 2024). "🎂 34, lol………shit 😅😂" – via Instagram.
  2. ^ O'Keeffe, Kevin (February 3, 2025). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 17, Episode 5 recap: Live from the Werk Room". xtramagazine.com. Xtra Magazine. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
  3. ^ "Lexi Love Has a Message for Trans Youth — and a New Name". April 18, 2025. Archived from the original on May 11, 2025. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  4. ^ "From brunch to burlesque, here's where you can see a drag show in Louisville". courier-journal.com. Courier Journal. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  5. ^ Nolfi, Joey. "RuPaul's Drag Race season 17 queens promise 'profane imagery' on runway, loads of drama, and twisty 'panic' ahead". ew.com. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on December 11, 2024. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  6. ^ "RuPaul's Drag Race S17's Lexi Love, LOVES Louisville - Queer Kentucky". queerkentucky.com. January 30, 2025. Archived from the original on February 7, 2025. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
  7. ^ Nolfi, Joey (December 4, 2024). "RuPaul's Drag Race season 17 cast revealed as Rate-a-Queen returns with a major twist: 'The game is new'". Entertainment Weekly. Dotdash Meredith. Archived from the original on December 5, 2024. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
  8. ^ O'Keeffe, Kevin (April 21, 2025). "RuPaul's Drag Race season 17 finale recap: America's Next Drag Superstar XVII is …". Xtra Magazine. Pink Triangle Press. Archived from the original on April 21, 2025. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  9. ^ Jenkins, Spencer (December 5, 2024). "Louisville's Lexi Love joins RuPaul's Drag Race season 17". Queer Kentucky. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
  10. ^ Wratten, Marcus (January 17, 2025). "Does RuPaul's Drag Race have an age problem?". PinkNews. Archived from the original on February 10, 2025. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
  11. ^ DeLellis, Trae (January 10, 2025). "RuPaul's Drag Race episode 2: Doechii guests, Michelle Visage gets dunked". Miami New Times. Voice Media Group. Archived from the original on January 25, 2025. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  12. ^ Aponte, Samuel (January 13, 2025). "Drew Louis, the creative force behind Drag Race's "My Kitty" is back". Too Much Love. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  13. ^ Huff, Matthew (March 21, 2025). "And then there were five! Who went home on RuPaul's Drag Race season 17 tonight?". Parade. Parade Media. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  14. ^ Nolfi, Joey (February 14, 2025). "Every Drag Race season 17 "Snatch Game" character: See all the stars the queens played". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on February 18, 2025. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  15. ^ "Here's how many IG followers Drag Race S17's queens snatched". www.out.com. Archived from the original on April 27, 2025. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
  16. ^ Sim, Bernardo (January 29, 2025). "Dear trans youth: 'You are a miracle who will survive'". Out. Archived from the original on January 30, 2025. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  17. ^ Tangcay, Jazz; Vary, Adam B. (December 4, 2024). "RuPaul's Drag Race announces season 17 cast, updated 'Rate-a-Queen' twist". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on December 4, 2024. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
  18. ^ ""RuPaul's Drag Race" Star Lexi Love: "We're Not Giving Up" - PAPER Magazine". www.papermag.com. Archived from the original on April 9, 2025. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
  19. ^ Garcia, Joseph (December 11, 2024). "'A long time coming': Louisville's Lexi Love ready to bring 'Kentucky realness' to RuPaul's Drag Race". WHAS-TV. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  20. ^ Johnson, Marina. "Louisville drag queen to appear in season 17 of 'RuPaul's Drag Race'". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
  21. ^ Factora, James (January 8, 2025). "A second mortgage?! Lexi Love resurfaces the financial cost of Drag Race contestants". Them. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on March 3, 2025. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  22. ^ Hansford, Amelia (January 22, 2025). "Multiple government websites purged of LGBTQ+ content following Trump's inauguration". PinkNews. Archived from the original on February 2, 2025. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  23. ^ Damshenas, Sam (January 31, 2025). "'I will continue to love myself': Drag Race star Lexi Love shares HIV status as she calls out Trump administration". Gay Times. Archived from the original on January 31, 2025. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  24. ^ Grimes, Gary (January 29, 2025). "Drag Race star Lexi Love shares HIV status as Trump cuts overseas aid and removes White House resources". Attitude. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  25. ^ Robledo, Jordan (April 28, 2025). "Drag Race's Lexi Love announces hiatus to focus on 'mental, physical and emotional well-being'". Gay Times. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  26. ^ Nolfi, Joey (May 10, 2025). "RuPaul's Drag Race season 17 star Lexi Love enters 30-day rehab for substance abuse: 'We appreciate the support'". Entertainment Weekly. Dotdash Meredith. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  27. ^ Duncan, Charlie (May 20, 2025). "RuPaul's Drag Race's Lexi Love offers update on recovery after leaving rehab". PinkNews. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  28. ^ Garcia, Joseph. "'A long time coming': Louisville's Lexi Love ready to bring 'Kentucky realness' to RuPaul's Drag Race". MSN. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  29. ^ Stultz, Caleb. "Louisville's Lexi Love joins season 17 cast of RuPaul's Drag Race". Louisville Eccentric Observer. Archived from the original on January 4, 2025. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  30. ^ Stultz, Caleb. "Louisville's Lexi Love Joins Season 17 Cast Of RuPaul's Drag Race". LEO Weekly. Archived from the original on January 4, 2025. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
  31. ^ Nurve, Onya (January 10, 2025). "She's Giving". Apple Music. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  32. ^ "Meet Lexi Love, Kentucky drag queen starring on next season of RuPaul's Drag Race" (Interview). Louisville, Kentucky: WHAS-TV. December 11, 2024. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  33. ^ Nolfi, Joey (December 4, 2024). "RuPaul's Drag Race season 17 cast revealed as Rate-a-Queen returns with a major twist: 'The game is new'". Entertainment Weekly. Dotdash Meredith. Archived from the original on December 5, 2024. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
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