January 07 2026, 08:15 
Cardi B spotlighted her transgender glam squad after appearing as a guest judge on the January 2 premiere of Season 18 of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
“These are the dolls. I can’t live without them… literally,” she said on Untucked, a spinoff showcasing what happens on Drag Race behind-the-scenes.
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Cardi lavished praise on her hairstylist, Tokyo Stylez, and makeup artist, Erika La’Pearl, while the three of them sat with the Drag Race contestants. She said she has “learned a lot” from both the drag and trans community.
“I don’t care if people feel uncomfortable or whatever,” she emphasized. “Like, I do not care. These are my dolls, and don’t ever get it twisted. The men be looking. I’m not going to spill tea, you know what I’m saying?”
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Stylez said watching Drag Race in part helped her career blossom. She said the show taught her how to do makeup when she first began her transition. “Just seeing all the looks and stuff, it always inspires me,” she said. “Even with [Cardi], I’ll be like, ‘We should do this, recreate this and do it a different way.’ You know, sometimes we bring the culture into a more mainstream, hip-hop field.”
The Drag Race contestants thanked Cardi for celebrating trans women of color. “To have an artist of your caliber incorporating our community into what you do, thank you,” one said.
On social media, contestant Jane Don’t called the moment “major.”
“There are not a lot of women— let alone women in hip hop— who would take an opportunity to give credit to the dolls for their undeniable cultural impact,” she said.
I do have to take a sec to say that @iamcardib taking a moment to highlight two trans women of color is SO major. There are not a lot of women— let alone women in hip hop— who would take an opportunity to give credit to the dolls for their undeniable cultural impact
— Jane Don’t (@Heyjanedont) January 3, 2026
She followed up in two more posts, adding, “Cardi admitting that the dolls are her teachers is so refreshing and important SORRY.”
“Drag comes from the dolls! Period point blank!”
The moment came as another rapper who was also once a guest judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nicki Minaj, continues her abrupt public pivot toward MAGA, including making anti-trans comments.
In a recent sit-down with Erika Kirk, Turning Point USA’s new CEO and the widow of the conservative youth organization’s founder, late right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, Minaj shared her advice for America’s young men.
“Boys, be boys,” she said. “It’s okay, be boys. It’s nothing wrong with being a boy. How about that? How powerful is that? How profound is that? Boys will be boys, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Minaj didn’t elaborate further. Nonetheless, many have interpreted her comment as transphobic.
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