Cross-dressing comic wins praise and the popular vote in conservative Singapore. Kumar, as he likes to be called, is very funny. And although he hasn't turned his attention to crime or violence, he certainly manages to get away with a lot in Singapore's conservative culture.
Kumar the name means "young man" in his native Tamil language is gay and the country's first and reigning drag queen. But most remarkable of all for this straight-laced nation, he is astonishingly popular in a country where cross-dressing is not exactly in vogue, and homosexuality remains illegal. What accounts for this stand-up comic's fame in a nation-state not known for its sense of humor?
That openness has garnered the year-old many fans, as was evident when I attended one of his performances at Three Monkeys, a bar in Singapore's swanky Orchard Road area. As for his mother, "She thought I was a male prostitute when I started doing this.
No memory, no matter how unhappy, is immune to his comedy. Although he takes his fair share of swipes at government policies, he is careful never to name any particular politician during his routine. He also insists that he will "never use four-letter words onstage. It's just too tasteless.
But everything else is up for grabs, including race, sexuality and gender. We'll notify you here with news about. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? By ABC News. But it has also caused him problems at home.
