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The results from the Republican gubernatorial primary held yesterday in Arizona are still being tallied and the election remains too close to call as former TV news anchor/MAGA queen Kari Lake leads her opponent, Karrin Taylor Robson, by less than 12,000 votes.
As people across the country wait for the results, one former ’90s TV icon and occasional actress who happens to share the same last name as Lake wants everyone to know she is 100% not related to the pro-Trump, anti-drag queen conspiracy theorist.
Related: Daily Dose: A wild queer musical classic of divas and drag
TV host Ricki Lake took to Twitter last night to clear up any confusion.
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“For the record- NO RELATION!” the Hairspray star tweeted, along with a video of Lake bickering with a reporter about non-existent voter fraud.
In the clip, MSNBC reporter Vaughn Hillyard grills Lake about her unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud, to which she replies, “The last person on the planet Earth that I would tell about we discovered is you and MSDNC!”
For the record-
NO RELATION! https://t.co/B8fDvxttnb— Ricki Lake (@RickiLake) August 3, 2022
As of this morning, Lake had captured 46.2% of the vote to Taylor Robson’s 44.5%. The two women are seeking to succeed term-limited Gov. Doug Ducey. Despite the election still not being called, Lake gave a speech prematurely declaring victory late last evening.
“We won this race!” she told supporters at a primary election night rally.
Lake made national headlines in June when photos of her partying with a drag queen leaked online right after she joined her fellow Republicans in targeting drag performers, insinuating they’re all perverts and pedophiles.
Related: Turns out this drag-hating GOP candidate secretly loves drag and here are the receipts
She responded to the photo leak in true Trumpian fashion: by sending a cease and desist letter to the queen she was photographed with and doubling down on her hatred for LGBTQ people.
As for the other Lake (Ricki, that is), she is a longtime advocate for queer people and LGBTQ equality. And, we should add, very pro-drag queen!
In addition to appearing alongside Divine in John Waters’ 1988 cult classic Hairspray, she played a lesbian in the 2006 indie film Park. In 2014, she was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for “Outstanding Talk Show Episode” for an episode she did on same-sex parenting on the single season reboot of The Ricki Lake Show.
still_onthemark
Kari Lake = POLLUTED and drying up like the Great Salt Lake
Ricki Lake = Safe to drink, fish, and swim in!
winemaker
I wondered what happened to Ricki Lake after her afternoon talk show folded and now I along with lots of others know. Booyah !
Kangol2
Ricki Lake was amazing in the original Hairspray; anyone who has not seen that version of the film should try to do so right away. My favorite moment, out of so many, is when she arrives at the TV show after getting out of jail, and dances to Gene and Wendell’s “The Roach.” Just movie-making brilliance! Glad to know she’s doing well and no relation to that Don the Con-cultist wacko Kari!
Wheelerman
I cannot stand RuPaul, but I have always liked Ricki Lake as an actress and talk show host. She appears approachable and genuine. RuPaul, not so much. IMO.