Famed Drag Race queen Peppermint perfectly explained why the fight for trans rights is so vital in a recent CNN roundtable debate about the current US Supreme Court transgender case.

The RuPaul’s Drag Race season 9 alum made her thoughts and feelings on the pivotal US v Skrmetti case clear during the Thursday (5 December) broadcast.

“We are having a lot of conversation that has been highly politicized, and most of the conversations with me, with the exception of this one…have not involved transgender people in any way, shape or form,” she said. “Major decisions that impact our bodies, our lives, our families, our health, are being made without us being considered at all.”

The 44-year-old, who is a trans woman and whose real name is Agnes Moore, spoke eloquently and passionately about the Supreme Court transgender rights case, which will determine the legal precedent for gender-affirming care bans across US states.

The case was brought to the Supreme Court following legal back and forth on a bill passed in Tennessee that would ban under-18s from being prescribed gender-affirming care, including physically reversible puberty blockers.

It was originally blocked by a federal judge in the state, but was brought back to life through an appeals court verdict, and eventually taken to the national court.

While debating the validity of the case and gender-affirming care bans, Peppermint said that, while it’s “important” to remain respectful, she believes that there are lots of “strong feelings” on the subject.

“I think part of the reason why there’s so many strong feelings is we’re talking specifically when we’re talking about trans issues,” she said. “This is something that relates to gender and sexuality, something that all human beings have an inherent connection to, and also feel like they are the authority on. But every person is different in their own gender, in their own sexuality, in their own expression.”

Alongside Peppermint was LGBTQ+ nonprofit GLAAD’s board member and trans actress, Shane Diamond, who said that the bottom line is the fact that healthcare is a right.

“I don’t think being transgender or seeking medical care is political,” she said.

“I think it has been politicized largely by the right to create this type of conversation, to create these wedges, and we have now pigeon-holed transgender people as the crux of what so much is hung upon in political discourse, but trans people make up such a small percentage of the population, and trans youth make up an even smaller percentage.”

A decision about the Supreme Court transgender case (US v Skrmetti) is expected in the spring or early summer of 2025.

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