A school department in General Santos City has apologized for using American drag queen Trixie Mattel’s image in its graduation pictorial guidelines.
The Basic Education Department of Cronasia Foundation College Inc. (CFC) acknowledged concerns over its graduation pictorial guide, which featured Trixie Mattel’s face under the “Don’ts” section related to makeup.
The “don’t” in question referred to wearing “overloaded makeup.”
The “RuPaul’s Drag Race” alum’s image can be seen below the text.
Meanwhile, the department said students should only “wear simple and light make-up.” It also included an image of a female student wearing light makeup for reference.
The post reached Trixie, who expressed her reaction on her Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) accounts.
“Damn!” she wrote on Facebook on Saturday, January 11.
“A college is using my picture for this,” the drag queen also said on the X platform.
A college is using my picture for this: pic.twitter.com/fVxYt6S7gy
— Trixie Mattel™ (@trixiemattel) January 10, 2025
Each of her posts earned viral status, with her Facebook post reaching 31,000 likes and reactions, and her post on the X platform amassing 238,000 likes and 13,000 reposts.
Some called out the school for its perception of drag makeup.
“It’s like they don’t get how drag makeup works,” a Facebook user wrote.
“Comparing rocks to water,” another user commented with laughing emojis.
“Actually, this is sad, they are giving us entertainment and joy, yet some people treat our queens as a bad example,” a different user said, referring to drag queens.
The CFC’s Basic Education Department later released a statement apologizing to Trixie and the drag community for using her picture as a reference for a bad makeup example in graduation photos.
“Our school, Cronasia Foundation College, Inc., acknowledges that the communication around the ‘Do’s and Don’ts’ for graduation pictures may have caused confusion and unintended frustration,” it said on Saturday.
“For this, we sincerely apologize to the people involved — Trixie Mattel and the Drag community, our students and our families,” the school department added.
“We also acknowledge that the use of certain words and punctuation was our fault. While we strive to ensure fairness and uphold the values of our institution, we recognize that the guidelines shared may not have been as clear or inclusive as they could have been,” it continued.
The department vowed to “revisit” its guidelines so it would be “clear, inclusive and considerate of individual needs and preferences.”
It also encouraged those “who feel affected” about the situation to reach out to them “for clarification.”
“We deeply regret any distress this may have caused and appreciate your understanding as we work to clarify the situation. Our commitment remains to celebrate each student’s success with fairness, dignity and inclusivity,” the department said.
Meanwhile, Naia Black, the country’s first “Drag Supreme” who won the first season of “Drag Den,” was able to march to her college graduation in drag makeup.
RELATED: ‘Drag Den’ winner Naia recalls marching in drag at UP grad ceremony
Drag queens’ signature look involves heavy and extravagant makeup, which includes thick, ombré block eyebrows, heavily contoured cheeks, blinding highlighter, and fluttering false eyelashes.
