NEW YORK – VH1’s RuPaul’s Drag Race star, Peppermint, is working on a documentary film about her life as it happened over this last exciting year. The film, titled Project Peppermint, follows Peppermint’s transition and rocketing rise to fame as an international drag star, after years of struggles with her career, gender identity and personal life. The trailer is now available and the full documentary is due release in 2018.Filmmaker Oriel Pe’er has been following Peppermint throughout her journey, filming her onstage, between the walls of her surgery rooms and her new life during this season’s RPDR. “Project Peppermint” also includes interviews with her close friends Laverne Cox, Trace Lysette (“Transparent”) and Bob The Drag Queen.
In the film, Peppermint talks candidly about her life – both her struggles and her triumphs. She opens up to the camera for the first time about considering sex-work as a last resort when she couldn’t pay for her gender-alignment surgery years ago: “Before the show came out, I thought the only way I could afford it was doing sex-work,” she said.
After coming out as a trans woman on TV, Peppermint was slammed with both positive and negative responses on social media, some claiming trans women should not be able to compete in the show.
“Even if I never been assigned male at birth, I would have found my way to the stage,” said Peppermint. “Am I going to continue to do drag, and wear lashes and put makeup and go out on stage? Yes! My spirit belongs on the stage.”
The production is launching an Indie GoGo campaign on June 9, to help fund the last stages of production and distribution. The campaign offers an exclusive brunch and a one-on-one makeup tutorial with Peppermint as part of the incentives for donations.
