Who Is Marti G. Cummings? Drag Artist Invited by Joe Biden to White House

Drag artist Marti G. Cummings was among the guests who attended Joe Biden's signing of the Respect for Marriage Act on Tuesday, a landmark piece of legislation protecting same-sex marriage rights.

But who is Cummings and why were they granted an invitation?

Cummings, a New York City-based, non-binary political activist, was one of two drag performers at the White House ceremony on Tuesday, together with drag queen Brita Filter, best known for appearing in Season 12 of RuPaul's Drag Race.

On their website, Cummings describes themselves as a "drag artist, television personality and political figure." They said they have been working as a drag performer for nearly a decade, performing up to six regular shows a week, including sold-out concerts.

Cummings is also on the board of directors for the Ali Forney Center for Homeless LGBTQ Youth and the Advisory Board of Equality NY, on top of being a national co-chair of Drag Out the Vote—a non-partisan nonprofit working with drag performers to promote their participation in politics.

Cummings also serves on the NYC Nightlife Advisory Council, as well as Community Board 9. In 2021, they ran for city council in New York City's 7th district but ultimately lost the election. If they won, they would have been the first non-binary person elected to New York City Council.

Cummings posed for a photo with Brita Filter, who attended the event in drag, in front of the White House on Tuesday. They wrote in the caption on Instagram: "proud to be a drag artist in politics w my sister @thebritafilter representing at @whitehouse for the signing of the Respect for Marriage Act."

"Today was historic but we have more work to do to ensure the Equality Act is passed, trans people are protected federally, & the rights of all queer people are protected," Cummings wrote in another Instagram post.

As a prominent member of the community, Cummings was at the White House to witness and celebrate a massive win for LGBTQ rights.

But the presence of the drag artist was criticized by some on the political right, who raised concern over comments Cummings had allegedly made on Twitter about children and the police, as reported by Fox News.

In May, Cummings reportedly tweeted: "The kids are out to sing and suck d!." It is unclear whether the comment refers to actual children or if "kids" is simply an expression to indicate young people who are not necessarily underage.

In a public statement that was shared with Newsweek, Cummings wrote that "kids" was used as "queer colloquialism" in reference to their adult group of friends in response to a night out.

Cummings said the tweet had been taken out of context and "used to stoke the flames of the baseless and inaccurate talking points that right-wing media and pundits have been using against drag artists, including the false claims that we are 'groomers' and threats to children."

About the accusations against them, Cummings said they were "sickened and saddened that anti-LGBTQ activists would take something out of context to fuel their own false, fake and desperate narrative."

In another tweet, Cummings has defended drag performances for children, saying: "Anyone who thinks drag isn't for children is wrong."

In a series of tweets published in August 2020—the summer when Black Lives Matter protests spread across the country following the murder of George Floyd by a police officer—Cummings, who was campaigning for city council in New York, wrote about defunding the police.

Cummings' Twitter profile is currently locked from public view.

Update 12/15/22 4:45 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to add a statement from Cummings shared with Newsweek by their press representative.