(Photo Credits: Screengrab from @dragraceph’s Official Instagram Account)
Filipino actor and comedian Paolo Ballesteros was recently announced by the discovery+ Philippines as the host of Drag Race Philippines – the Filipino franchise of the Emmy Award-winning reality TV series RuPaul’s Drag Race. The announcement reads:
Halleloo huns, come through!
Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve, and Talent sashay their way to discovery+ with the multi-talented artist Paolo Ballesteros as fab host.
We’re screaming, sists!
Start your free 7-day trial today! Visit https://bit.ly/3jwIz9B to find out more.
Of course, the announcement comes with a short clip showing Ballesteros in full glam. See below!
Dubbed by the media as a man with a thousand faces, the 39-year-old Filipino model and impersonator made a name for himself worldwide through his jaw-dropping celebrity makeup transformations. Among the celebrities he transformed into were former First Lady Michelle Obama, Julia Roberts, Songbird Supreme Mariah Carey, Viola Davis, Pop Princess Britney Spears, Wonder Woman actress Gal Gadot, and Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach, to name a few.
Apart from being an amazing makeup artist, Ballesteros has also been one of the co-hosts of the longtime noontime show Eat Bulaga! since 2001. In addition, he is a talented actor known for portraying gay and transgender characters both in film and television.
Ballesteros also won Best Actor awards in three countries, namely the Philippines (42nd Metro Manila Film Festival), India (21st International Film Festival of Kerala, Special Jury Award for Outstanding Performance), and Japan (29th Tokyo International Film Festival) for his portrayal of Trisha Echeverria, a Filipino transgender woman, in a film called Die Beautiful (2016, Jun Robles Lana).
In Die Beautiful, Trisha suddenly died due to an aneurysm after being crowned winner of Binibining Gay Pilipinas, a gay beauty pageant. Her last wish is to be “presented as a different celebrity on each night of her wake.” To prevent Trisha’s father from burying her as a man, her friends steal her body and give her the burial that she wished for. With the help of her friend Barbs, who has amazing makeup skills, Trisha is transformed into different female celebrities every night during her wake, the likes of Iza Calzado, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Angelina Jolie, Lady Gaga, and Beyonce. Those interested can watch Die Beautiful on Apple TV+ here and if you reside in the Philippines, you can watch it on Netflix through this link.
Having said all that, you can watch Drag Race Philippines starting August 17, 2022, on @wowpresentsplus. Learn more about it here.
Meanwhile, Manila Luzon is set to host Drag Den Philippines, though no date has been announced yet as to when it will be shown.
Anyway, you can check Ballesteros’ amazing celebrity makeup transformations through his Instagram account. And please don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for the latest news and other hotties like Paolo Ballesteros.
Did you research Paolo’s pronouns before using gendered language?
Stupidity only acknowledges It!
What a bunch of crap.
We all must remember now to ask everyone else what pronouns they require and also remember to remember what everyone else’s required pronouns are. Maybe we should all be required to wear name tags that state our pronouns or be required to register ourselves on an ap so we don’t get insulted if we refer to someone by a pronoun that’s incorrect.
Perhaps,
wear our Genitals outside our clothing so everyone will get-the-drift?
This is newsworthy?
Or just another example of the absurdities of gay life…regardless of time and place?
How utterly disingenuous to the gay community at large.
We live in a great country. We get to express ourselves. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else in the world. But for the life of me, I don’t understand this drag queen/ female impersonation thing. It does absolutely nothing for me.
Totally agree. Drag makes me unsettled; there’s just something “off” between what we’re seeing and what is presented. Like an actor who is really not good at acting their part or clowns who were told are happy yet their sad stories leak out. Not into WWE (Wrestling), Basketball, International Football, or Awards (Emmy, Oscar, Country, etc.) Programs. But I respect those who are. l just request that they tolerate my like for US Football, Baseball, Orchestra and Theater. That last one has Tonys which is holding on only by a thread due to the inappropriate, in my mind, behavior of… Read more »
Wow! So interesting (not)
Drag is such an insult to men, women, and real performers.
Are there Drag Kings? Women who dress over the top as men? Yes, some are”butch”, but that’s not over the top.
I support them as part of the LBGQ+, but it’s a form of art that is a lifestyle; I think maybe is more for the younger/femme-set. When I first arrived on the gay scene, I’ve seen a few shows, but I have too much testosterone for it, lol. I’m Just not wired for it, to truly appreciate it and now that I’m older, too, it’s, well, kinda silly and immature for such a pragmatic type, I guess.
Disgusting and sexist