How 2 stars from 'RuPaul's Drag Race' created an online town hall for Black queer voices that raised 6 figures, then got out the vote in Pennsylvania

• Over the summer, Bob the Drag Queen and Peppermint, drag queens and performers known in part as cast members on "RuPaul's Drag Race," launched Black Queer Town Hall.
• Following the murder of George Floyd, the duo was inspired by former President Barack Obama's town hall forum on systemic racism — and wanted to create an online platform that would compensate Black queer performers.
• They created what they call a "percentage model," where performers could expect to be paid a certain minimum amount, but would receive a fixed percentage of overall revenues.
• The event ultimately raised six figures from contributions and sponsorships, according to the duo. Black Queer Town Hall's GoFundMe page lists $156,858 being raised.
• Bob and Peppermint made their next challenge helping to get out the vote in Pennsylvania, which Business Insider and Decision Desk HQ called as the determining state in president-elect Joe Biden's victory.

When I get on a video call with Bob the Drag Queen, she pauses to eat a caramel — and then does a several-minute riff on articles that begin with the subject dramatically eating.

It's that brand of comedy and wit that helped catapult her to win season eight of "RuPaul's Drag Race," the long-running drag queen reality-TV competition, and cemented her as a New York institution years before that.

She and Broadway performer Peppermint — who appeared on "Drag Race" in season nine — have also been known for their activism both on and offstage. As physical stages shuttered during the coronavirus pandemic, they moved to where drag lives these days: online.

When protests over the murder of George Floyd began over summer, the duo told Business Insider that they started having "emotional" conversations on race and police brutality.

They found themselves inspired to emulate former President Barack Obama's town hall discussion on racism and police brutality — and create something that, according to Peppermint, "highlighted Black queer joy, voices, talent, all of those things."

It's what ultimately became Black Queer Town Hall, a three-day-long event that debuted in June with speakers including Laverne Cox and Dr. Angela Davis.

Bob said that creating this type of forum — on their own terms — would allow them to directly address a worrying trend.

"In the heights of the resurgence of Black Lives Matter, Pep and I noticed how often people were calling us and being like, 'Hey, could you please use your Black queer voice to let everyone know that our brand is cool with Black queer people?'" Bob said. "'And we would also like you to do it for free — we certainly don't want to pay you.'"

They committed to paying all of the performers involved, using what they called a percentage model; every performer or person involved would be paid a certain percentage of however much money they ended up raising. They aimed to pay queens what they could expect to earn from a typical night performing at a club.

Everyone was given a minimum for what they should expect to be paid, based on a model that assumed the event would bring in at least $20,000.

According to Bob and Peppermint, the event brought in six figures (Black Queer Town Hall's GoFundMe page lists $156,858 being raised).

All of the revenue for the event came from donations and brand sponsorships, according to Genie Gurnani, the head of creative agency Virtue, which works with Black Queer Town Hall. Gurnani told Business Insider that Virtue had about a week-and-a-half to secure sponsorships for the event.

Brands including HBO, MasterCard, and Postmates ended up sponsoring.

Tackling voting initiatives

Following the success of the first Black Queer Town Hall, Bob and Peppermint took on the next big issue of the day: getting out the vote. They launched "The Most Office" voting campaign, which targeted swing counties in Pennsylvania, urging voters to register and request their absentee ballots.

"We weren't just going to be like, 'You're going to go to hell if you vote for Trump.' We needed to strike a nice little balance and we wanted it to be something that would be useful and educational — but entertaining — at the same time," Peppermint said.

Business Insider and Decision Desk HQ called Pennsylvania on Friday morning, which gave President-elect Joe Biden enough electoral votes to clinch the win. Four of the six counties that the queens targeted (Erie, Lackawanna, Northampton, and Chester) went blue, while Luzerne and Westmoreland Counties narrowed from 2016.

Gurnani said that, if all goes well, the queens will tackle gerrymandering next.

The future of Black Queer Town Hall

"I do want there to be an aspect of this online world that continues," Bob said, "because it really helps people who did not have access to drag performers."

That increased accessibility means drag is getting to more people.

"I think drag is one of those really interesting professions or job skills," Peppermint said. "it kind of encompasses everything. It talks about gender; it can talk about politics; and it's obviously entertaining and involves fashion."

"Drag has done everything for me," Bob said.

And while what future Black Queer Town Halls will look like depends on external factors — such as if we're still in the midst of a pandemic next pride season — the platform will continue on.

"One of the amazing things about drag is that it's hard to compare to other entertainment sources — because I'm so in drag — but the online fandoms and audiences are just as excited to see queens online as they are in person," Gurnani said.

Another nice byproduct of everything going virtual, Peppermint said, is that everyone is a whole lot more tech-savvy — and hopefully future-facing.

"You know what? In 10, 15 years we are going to be probably flying around in spaceships," Peppermint. "We're going to know how to use that screen — and Bob and I will be on it."