Desmond Napoles | |
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![]() Desmond Napoles in Battery Park in 2023 | |
Born | 2007 (age 17–18) |
Nationality | American |
Known for | Drag performance, LGBTQ activism |
Website | desmondisamazing |
Desmond Napoles (born 2007) is an American former 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] and has been doing drag since the age of eight. [8] 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. [9] In 2018, Napoles walked in Gypsy Sport's New York Fashion Week show. [10] [11] Be Amazing: A History of Pride, a children's picture book with text by Napoles, was published in 2020. [12] [13]
A 2022 appearance at a Bronx library was cancelled due to violent threats against the Napoles family. [14] 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. [12] [14] As of 2024, they use the name Desi. [8]
In 2018, Napoles lived in Brooklyn, [15] continues to live in New York City as of 2023 [16] and identifies as genderfluid. [17]