Could America’s most elite university really be turning classrooms into drag stages? Hegseth’s fiery rant over Harvard’s new courses, RuPaulitics and Queer Ethnography, has ignited a nationwide brawl over what higher education is becoming.

The Outburst That Lit a Fire

On Fox & Friends this week, Pete Hegseth unleashed one of his most animated tirades yet — and this time, the target wasn’t politicians, athletes, or pop stars. It was Harvard University, the crown jewel of the Ivy League, which has reportedly hired drag performer and academic LaWhore Vagistan to teach classes blending performance art, politics, and queer studies.

“Harvard used to be about excellence,” Hegseth fumed. “Now it’s about drag queens in the classroom. This isn’t education, it’s a circus. And America is paying the price.”

The clip went viral instantly, with conservatives cheering his fiery denunciation and progressives mocking his outrage.

Who Is LaWhore Vagistan?

LaWhore Vagistan, a drag persona created by scholar and performer Dr. Kareem Khubchandani, is no stranger to controversy. Known for blending camp, humor, and cultural critique, Vagistan has performed in venues worldwide and given lectures on drag as a lens to explore politics, identity, and society.

Harvard’s announcement that Vagistan would join as a visiting professor to teach courses like RuPaulitics: Drag, Democracy, and the State and Queer Ethnography 101 was hailed by some as groundbreaking. But for critics like Hegseth, it was a red line.

“They’re not teaching math, they’re not teaching science,” he raged. “They’re teaching boys how to twerk in wigs. Is this really what $80,000 a year in tuition gets you?”

The Courses at the Heart of the Firestorm

According to Harvard’s course catalog, RuPaulitics examines how drag intersects with global politics, using RuPaul’s Drag Race as a starting point for discussions about democracy, citizenship, and representation. Queer Ethnography focuses on how marginalized communities document and narrate their lived experiences.

To supporters, these classes represent progress and inclusivity, expanding the boundaries of academia. To detractors, they’re proof of what Hegseth calls “the ideological collapse of American higher education.”

Public Reaction: Applause and Outrage

Social media quickly divided into camps.

Supporters tweeted: “Finally, Harvard is catching up with culture. Drag is art. Drag is politics. Drag belongs in classrooms.”

Critics fumed: “Our elite universities have become clown colleges. Pete is right — this is a circus.”

Memes flooded the internet, with one viral image showing Harvard’s logo replaced with RuPaul’s face under the caption: Harvard Dragversity.

Harvard Responds

Caught in the middle of the firestorm, Harvard defended its decision with a statement emphasizing the importance of academic freedom and diversity.

“Our mission is to explore all forms of knowledge and culture,” a spokesperson said. “The inclusion of drag as both performance and pedagogy reflects Harvard’s commitment to critical inquiry and representation.”

The statement only fueled critics, who argued Harvard was abandoning rigorous scholarship for ideological theater.

Pete Hegseth Doubles Down

Refusing to let the issue fade, Hegseth continued his attacks throughout the week. On his podcast, he warned that Harvard was setting the tone for universities nationwide.

“What starts at Harvard doesn’t stay at Harvard,” he said. “This is where elites are trained. If drag is the curriculum there, it’s coming soon to your kid’s school too.”

Hegseth even suggested that parents begin reconsidering sending their children to Ivy League institutions. “Why pay six figures for a degree in drag studies? At that point, just send them to Vegas,” he scoffed.

The Culture War Expands

The controversy quickly spread beyond Harvard. Politicians weighed in, with some Republican lawmakers blasting the university for wasting resources while Democrats defended academic freedom.

Conservative commentators called it proof that universities had become “indoctrination factories.” Liberal voices countered that drag courses challenge power structures and expand cultural literacy.

One progressive columnist wrote: “Pete Hegseth is terrified not of drag queens, but of students thinking critically about gender, politics, and democracy. That’s the real circus.”

Conspiracy Theories Take Off

As always, the internet turned the controversy into a breeding ground for conspiracy theories. Some claimed Harvard was secretly grooming drag queens to infiltrate politics. Others argued the classes were funded by shadowy globalist organizations to “weaken American masculinity.”

A viral TikTok alleged that RuPaulitics would become a mandatory freshman requirement, sparking panic among parents online. Harvard quickly denied the claim, but the rumor spread like wildfire.

Students Speak Out

On campus, Harvard students seemed amused by the controversy. Many embraced the attention, posting TikToks of themselves sashaying across Harvard Yard in wigs and heels under the hashtag #DragHarvard.

“I came here to study law,” one student joked in a video. “Now I’m minoring in RuPaulitics.”

Others defended the courses more seriously, saying drag pedagogy is about questioning norms, not just entertainment. “This is about identity, resistance, and creativity,” a student activist said.

The Bigger Picture: What Is Higher Education Becoming?

The uproar has reignited debates about the purpose of universities. Are they spaces for free exploration of culture, identity, and politics? Or are they abandoning the fundamentals in favor of fashionable ideology?

For Hegseth, the answer is clear: “Our universities have become clown shows. And the joke is on the American people.”

For others, Harvard’s move represents a natural evolution of academia, reflecting cultural shifts and the breaking down of rigid boundaries.

Final Thoughts: Circus or Revolution?

The hiring of LaWhore Vagistan and the creation of drag-centered courses may be one of Harvard’s most controversial moves in decades. But it has succeeded in one undeniable way: sparking a national conversation about what education means in the 21st century.

For Pete Hegseth and his supporters, it’s a circus — proof that America’s intellectual elite have lost their way. For Harvard and its defenders, it’s a revolution — proof that the academy is finally catching up with the realities of culture and identity.

One thing is certain: the battle over Harvard’s drag classroom won’t be the last fight in America’s ongoing culture war. And as Hegseth’s fiery words echo across cable news and social media, the question lingers: is this education, or is this entertainment?