Lexi Love | |
---|---|
Born | [1] | November 22, 1990
Other names | |
Occupation | Drag queen |
Years active | 2009–present |
Television | RuPaul's Drag Race |
Clair Barnes (born November 22, 1990), known professionally as Lexi Love, is an American drag performer and model. She rose to prominence for competing on the seventeenth season of reality competition television series RuPaul's Drag Race .
Lexi Love was appointed as the official American ambassador to the United Kingdom-based House of Versace by Drag Race UK winner Krystal Versace. One of her mentors is 2016 Mr. Continental winner Mykul Jay Valentine. [5] An early drag mother of Lexi Love's was Nomi Love, and her current drag mother is Jessica Dimon. [6]
Lexi Love competed and finished as a finalist on the seventeenth season of competition series RuPaul's Drag Race (2025), [7] alongside Jewels Sparkles, Onya Nurve, and Sam Star. [8] She was the first contestant to represent Louisville, [9] and the oldest competitor in the season. Many of her competitors referred to her as "grandma" or "auntie" which sparked a debate online with fans involving ageism in the franchise. [10]
Throughout the season, she won two main challenges such as the talent show where Lexi Love debuted "She's Giving" while roller skating and doing cartwheels. [11] Her debut song was produced and co-written by record producer Drew Louis, and was released on January 10, 2025. [12] Alongside with Onya Nurve, they both won the narrative interpretive dance challenge. [13] For the Snatch Game challenge, Lexi Love impersonated the late comedian Gilbert Gottfried; Entertainment Weekly saw her effort and "tried her hand at pulling off the feat" as Lexi Love became the third contestant in the series playing a male-presenting character. [14] Her Instagram following grew by 1,144 percent as the show aired. [15]
Barnes is a transgender woman and uses she/her pronouns. [16] She is based in Louisville, Kentucky. [17] Barnes was raised in Florence and previously performed within the Cincinnati metropolitan area for nearly a decade, [18] and afterwards Barnes worked for Play Dance Bar in 2021. [19] She survived a period of homelessness and drug addiction, mostly thanks to her drag family. [20]
During her appearance for the seventeenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, Barnes disclosed in an interview about taking on a second mortgage for their garments. [21]
After various HIV resources from government websites attributing for the LGBTQ community were removed on January 22, 2025, [22] Barnes called out the second Donald Trump administration through social media platform Instagram. [23] She shared an infographic from the NOH8 campaign, revealing herself to be HIV positive, and utilized those funded programs from over ten years ago. [24]
Barnes soon announced her indefinite break from performing on April 27 through social media in order "to nurture my mental, physical, and emotional well-being." [25] It was revealed she will be admitting herself to a rehabilitation clinic. Her manager subsequently clarified on May 10 that although Barnes had suffered with methamphetamine addiction in the past, "meth is not a factor here" and is simply for emotional therapy as well as "complete sobriety" from all other forms of drugs and alcohol. [26] Barnes ended her time at the facility she attended on May 19, stating it was "short-lived due to some unforeseen circumstances." [27]
On June 18, 2025, Barnes got engaged with her partner Jay Groff, a trans man and vet tech. [28] [29] [30]
Barnes cites her inspirations for her drag persona to be "nostalgic" from the annual Victoria's Secret runways and "very hardcore" in Y2K fashion. [31] She uses roller skates while performing and describes herself as Kentucky's "Roller-Derby Doll". [32] [33]
In August 2025, Selena Scola, a former pornographic actress who previously performed under the name "Lexi Love" announced that she had sent cease and desist letters to Barnes, RuPaul's Drag Race, Paramount, MTV, and World of Wonder seeking to enforce her trademark on the name "Lexi Love", which she claimed to have used for more than twenty years. [34] [35] Following the dispute, Barnes's accounts on Cameo, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter) were suspended, and her debut single, "She's Giving", was removed from Spotify and Apple Music. [36] [37] [38]
In statements released to online newspapers Deadline and Out Magazine , Barnes said that Scola –who describes herself as "a SAG-AFTRA actor, AI architect, producer, and sustainable fashion entrepreneur" –had also sent cease and desist notices to several venues where Barnes had been booked to perform, resulting in three gig cancellations at the time of reporting. [36] [37] An investigation by Deadline found that although Scola had previously registered a trademark for the name "Lexi Love," it had lapsed in March 2015. She subsequently applied for a new trademark in February 2024, covering "performing artists being both human clients and digital talent in the nature of digital personas, virtual performers and AI-driven talent," which was granted in January 2025, [36] [39] about one month after the cast reveal of the seventeenth season of Drag Race. [7] Barnes remarked that Scola began attacking her personally after it was revealed she was cast on Drag Race and Scola's social media accounts were mistakenly tagged instead of her own. [36] [37] Scola also objected to Barnes's disclosure of her personal history on Drag Race such as her HIV status and previous drug addiction as causing brand confusion to Scola's trademark. [36] [37]
Additionally, Barnes gave a further statement citing that her legal team attempted to contact Scola trying to offer, as possible solutions, licensing agreements or terms, but without receiving any response from her, who continued to attack online and report all Barnes' social accounts for trademark infringement. [37] As of August 2025, Barnes's official Instagram and TikTok accounts remained the only active social media profiles, which she was required to operate under her deadname in order to avoid suspension. [40] [41]
Title | Year | Album | Writer(s) | Producers(s) | Ref. |
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"She's Giving" (or Club Love remix) | 2025 | Non-album single | Drew Louis, Lexi Love, and Timothy Liedel | Drew Louis | [42] |
Year | Title | Genre | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2024 | WHAS-TV | Interview | Guest | No notes | [43] |
2025 | RuPaul's Drag Race | Competition | Contestant | [44] | |
RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked |