RuPaul’s Drag Race judge Michelle Visage, who met RuPaul in the ‘80s, reflected on her friendship with the Stop! That! Train! star in an exclusive interview about her ViiV Healthcare partnership.
Michelle Visage could never be green with envy over RuPaul.
In fact, ever since the RuPaul’s Drag Race judge met the self-described Queen of Drag in the late ‘80s, their best-friendship has only continued to strengthen.
Of course, fans of the drag competition have had a peek into some of the pair’s antics since Michelle joined the competition series’ judging panel in 2011 for the show’s third season, but she admits that’s only part of the fun they have together.
“Oh, you don't get to see a lot,” she told E! News in an exclusive interview. “You see the craziness and the fun and the laughter that we have together, and that's there all the time.”
However, the 57-year-old added, “I'm not sure if people really know what big goofy kids we are.”
And it’s the "guttural laughing” at “silly things” that feed the friendship—that, and their mutual love for dancing.
“If we're filming and it's his dressing room and he has his music on, I go in there and start dancing,” Michelle continued, “and he'll just get up with half of his face beat [with makeup] and start dancing with me. It's that childish fun that still lives in our relationship.”
And even when they haven’t seen each other in months, she and Ru carry on like a pair of modern-day squirrel friends.
“Even on our FaceTimes, he’ll pick up and we're not even talking about anything,” she explained. “We're just laughing and carrying on and drinking coffee or tea or whatever. And that's, I think, what an adult relationship looks like.”
Still, Michelle and Ru’s special bond doesn’t exist by chance. No, the Seduction singer emphasized they have achieved the depth of their friendship by making it a priority.
“With every kind of inception of who we were in the ‘80s, the ‘90s, the noughties and so on, we were able to grow together,” she said. “Do we have different views? Some, but for the most part we are just so in love with who we are individually that if Ru wants to eat beef and I don't, that's fine.”
Plus, as the longtime vegan put it, “Ru and I just have an innate understanding and deep, profound love for one another that it's lasted all these years, and it ain't going anywhere.”
Of course, friendship is such an important aspect of Michelle’s life, which is why, as someone who lived through the AIDS epidemic in the ‘80s and ‘90s, she is passionate about advocating for sexual health.
"So many people that I know of in my life would have done anything to have opportunities like we have now for [preventing] transmission of HIV through PrEP," she shared about the preventative medication while discussing her partnership with ViiV Healthcare. "People still—especially youth—do not understand that HIV does not discriminate.”
“It could affect anyone, anywhere, at any time,” she added. “It's important to keep in mind that PrEP is for everyone."
Plus, as Michelle noted, there are now multiple options to take the preventative medication, including long-acting injectable medicines that she called "an amazing opportunity."
“It is so exciting to have these options, because HIV prevention is not one size fits all,” she explained, noting people can go to ViiV’s Get PReP Wisdom website to learn more. “I don't think people know all of it. So, this is a great way to find out what it is.”
While Michelle and RuPaul’s friendship has endured in the spotlight for decades, read on for other stars you may not have known share a special bond.
The actors became pals after they both secured a 2026 Oscars nomination. Since then, Teyana has affectionately referred to Jacob as her "awards-season bestie" and joked that they often find themselves going "mullet for mullet," bonding over their similar hairstyle.
“We're young, we're blessed, we're being celebrated—this is the time to be happy and to have fun with it," the Best Supporting Actress nominee told Time in an interview published Feb. 2026, "especially in a space that some people take so serious, and some people are cold, some people are robotic."
They have been friends for years and have worked together. The two starred together in A Wrinkle in Time, while Mindy also had a recurring role on The Morning Show. In addition, the latter is co-writing Legally Blonde 3.
The Food Network star and Mean Girls alum first became friends during a trip to Dubai years ago and have since grown closer. In fact, Ayesha and Stephen Curry were even named the godparents of Lindsay and husband Bader Shammas' son Laui.
The two actors, who costarred in the 2014 film Men, Women & Children, reunited for an outdoor game of basketball in New York City in July 2023.
The actor has worked with the Wu-Tang Clan rapper on several movies, including The Man with the Iron Fists, American Gangster and The Next Three Days. But their bond goes much deeper than that. "As friends, we talk," Crowe tells Fuse. "It is no effort for me to give a friend advice. Film has many gods and you have to understand, as a director, you will be required to please and appease them all."
Before running into each other again at Wimbledon, the unlikely duo first crossed paths at the Downton Abbey set. "She actually came on-set with her brother, James, a few years ago," Dockery told E! News."They are good fans of the show."
When the "footballer" moved to L.A. and became a "soccer player," he befriended the rapper. Becks appeared on Snoop's reality show, the two played soccer and Snoop plays his new music for David first.
The two former child actors have worked on two films, Twilight and The Runaways, but Dakota says their friendship isn't based on work, "When we're together, we're not talking about movie stuff."
The two hung out together in the aughts and maintained their friendship over the years.
The two have two very different approaches to fashion (has Anna ever been bedazzled?), but they bonded in the front row of an Oscar de la Renta show and Anna scored a name-drop in one of Nicki's raps.
Now this is one strange duet! Fiddy met Bette working for the charity New York Restoration Project, where she gushed, "He's one of the newest members of our tribe. He's really made my life worth living."
Taylor is a self-proclaimed good girl. Lena isn't afraid to stir the pot. But they have a lot of mutual respect for each other and the Girls creator described T.Swift's show as the "most life-affirming thing I've experienced."
The former King of Queens actress has been supertight with Jenny From the Block for a while now, bonding over fashion and tweeting cutesy things at each other with the hashtag "#luckybesties."
The Goop goddess herself is actually friends with both Jay and his wife Beyoncé, though you might be more surprised to learn that Gwyn is an intense rap enthusiast and her kids even call Mr. Carter "Uncle Jay."
You might not expect the hunky thespian to be close with the dude from Superbad, but look at it this way: Brad is a total prankster (says Jonah) and Jonah is now a serious Oscar nominee (for their film Moneyball).
The controversial rapper joined forces with Sir Elton at the 2001 Grammys and later Em turned to his new friend for support getting sober: "I told him, 'Look, I'm going through a problem and I need your advice.'"
