Desmond Napoles | |
---|---|
Born | 2007 (age 16–17) |
Nationality | American |
Known for | Drag performance, LGBTQ activism |
Website | desmondisamazing |
Desmond Napoles (born 2007) is a former American child drag performer known by the stage name Desmond is Amazing. Napoles has been performing since they were eight years old[1][2][3] and is an LGBTQ activist.[4][5]
Napoles received early attention when they appeared in the 2015 NYC Pride March.[6][7] As of 2019, Napoles had around 180,000 followers on Instagram, and had the largest online presence of American "drag kids".[6]
In October 2017, Napoles announced they would be organizing Haus of Amazing, the first drag club for child drag performers.[8] In 2018, Napoles walked in Gypsy Sport's New York Fashion Week show.[9][10] Be Amazing: A History of Pride, a children's picture book with text by Napoles, was published in 2020.[11][12]
A 2022 appearance at a Bronx library was cancelled due to violent threats against the Napoles family.[13] In a March 2023 interview, Napoles said that they were retiring their drag persona and had instead begun working on a line of skin care products.[7] Napoles has started a fashion brand, Be Amazing NYC, and is a LGBTQ+ influencer.[11][13]
In 2018, Napoles lived in Brooklyn,[14] continues to live in New York City as of 2023[15] and identifies as genderfluid.[16]