RuPaul's Drag RaceContestant Reveals Charles Barkley Is Her Godfather (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

ADrag Racecontestant is spilling the tea on her famous family member!

“How is that possible?” RuPaul asks in anexclusive clipfrom Friday’s new episode.

“He went to high school with my mom and they’re best friends. So he played a big role in raising me. I’m sure he’s proud that I’m now a drag queen and not a basketball player,” Sam jokes.

Sam Star at DragCon UK in January 2025.Jeff Spicer/Getty

Jeff Spicer/Getty

PEOPLE caught up with Sam ahead of Friday’s episode to learn more about the fascinating familial connection, which all began in the suburb of Leeds, Ala.

“My mom’s name is Leslie Blair, and she met Charles in high school. They were actually really close,” Sam told PEOPLE.

“My mom always struggled financially a lot, working so many jobs. And he was always someone that she could look to to help us whenever we were drowning. So I owe a lot to him, for us being able to keep our house and all these fabulous things. I also promised myself that one day I would do something big so my mom wouldn’t have to work so hard. So hopefully I’m on the right path for that.”

Sam says she never got into basketball like “Uncle Charles” but was still an athlete, competing in cheerleading and gymnastics.

“I was involved with sports,” Sam explained. “Cheering along the basketball players because I really didn’t think I could cut it out there. I mean, I’m only 5'7” on a good day."

Sam incorporates her dance and gymnastics into her drag routines and says Barkley, 61, has seen her perform in drag several times, as recently as two years ago.

“He’s an entertainer himself, so I think he enjoys the art and the magic of it,” Sam said. “Every time we’re at the drag show and he’s tipping, the girls are living. Because he’s not giving singles, he’s giving big bills.”

“He’s always been supportive, and that’s why I’ve always loved him so much, because he’s very outspoken about supporting the queer community,” she continued of the NBA Hall of Famer. “And he’s gotten lots of backlash for that, but he stands toes down for that, and that always has meant a lot to me.”

Charles Barkley playing for the Houston Rockets.ROBERT SULLIVAN/AFP via Getty

ROBERT SULLIVAN/AFP via Getty

Back in 2017, Barkley said he would sit out the NBA All-Star Game coverage over North Carolina’s HB2 bill, which restricted the use of gender-segregated bathrooms to users with the corresponding sex listed on their birth certificates. Barkley’s efforts helped move the game from Charlotte to New Orleans.

“I think in a time when you’re Black, you got to stand up for other people. Black people know what discrimination is like. If you’re in a position of power, you got to always stand up against discrimination. I’ve been blessed man, and I’m never going to sit back and let discrimination happen on my watch,”the two-time Olympic gold medalist said of his stanceonThe Ellen DeGeneres Showin 2020.

In recent years, Barkley hasvocally supported LGBT and transgender rightsat numerous events.

Sam hopes to one day be as famous as her godfather.

“At Leeds High School, they put a statue of him outside of our basketball court,” she explained. “One day they’re gonna have a statue of me outside the theater department!”

source: people.com