Mahajanay DeMornay shows off her dress during the Miss Gay Missouri America pageant evening gown round on March 23 at the Sun Theater in St. Louis. Roy Lovelady designed the gown and did the makeup. “I have a drag basement in my house,” Lovelady said. “Fabric that’s just sitting in my basement waiting to be used.”

Roy Lovelady, center, watches as Erynn Bradford, 11, left, and Raniyah Lucas, 10, right, run more than a dozen laps with their classmates to warm up on April 17, 2024, at 360 Star Styling Studio in Columbia. Lovelady had the young dancers focus on conditioning and technique, adding repetitions to certain exercises when he saw the students were cutting corners or not pushing themselves enough. 

Roy Lovelady watches as his dance students stretch and warm up before class on April 17, 2024, at 360 Star Styling Studio in Columbia, Mo. Lovelady had the young dancers focus on conditioning and technique, adding repetitions to certain exercises when he saw the students were cutting corners or not pushing themselves enough. Lovelady imparts on his students the importance of practicing with intention, precision and consistency—the same standards he holds himself to when preparing for a drag pageant—so the skills each dancer learns in the studio transfer to competition environments.

Roy Lovelady, front, transfers dance class leadership to Oshay Allen, back, before leaving early to drive to a rescheduled City Council meeting on April 17, 2024, at his studio in Columbia. In addition to teaching dance, Lovelady owns his own hair salon, competes in drag pageants and serves as the Third Ward representative on City Council.

1. Roy Lovelady gets into his car on April 17, 2024, to drive from his dance studio to Daniel Boone City Building in Columbia, Mo. He used a fan in his studio to dry out his undershirt after working out with his dancers before changing into a white button up and jeans for the City Council meeting.

Ward 5 City Council member Donald Waterman, front, hugs Ward 3 City Council Member Roy Lovelady, for the first time ever on Tuesday, April 17, 2024, at City Hall in Columbia, Mo. “I greet everybody with love,” said Lovelady, who is the only out, gay man on the council. Earlier in the year, Waterman was the only member of the City Council to vote against an LGBTQ+ “Safe Haven” ordinance, which, in part, aimed to declare the city’s support for the LGBTQ+ community.

From left, City Council members Lisa Meyer, Betsy Peters, Roy Lovelady, Mayor Barbara Buffaloe and City Council member Donald Waterman talk among themselves after the end of their meeting on April 17, 2024, at City Hall in Columbia, Mo. The meeting started at 7 p.m. and lasted until about 11:25 p.m. “Even running in the election, everybody told me I wouldn’t win. So I hit the ground running, knocking [on] doors, doing any and everything,” Lovelady said. “ A lot of stuff that I do is to prove people wrong.”

Roy Lovelady, left, speaks with Ward 4 City Council member Nick Foster atop a parking structure near City Hall in Columbia, Mo., following a City Council meeting on April 17, 2024. “I do represent the Third Ward, but I’d also like to represent myself,” Lovelady said during a City Council meeting in February when the council members were deciding whether or not to pass a proposed “Safe Haven” ordinance supporting members of the LGBTQ+ community. “I am a drag queen, and I am a part of the LGBTQIA+ community. … Color, creed, sexuality; everyone wants to feel safe.”

Ali Kat, the 2003 Miss Gay Missouri America winner, accepts a tip from Roy Lovelady during the second night of the Miss Gay Missouri America pageant on March 22, 2024, at the Sun Theater in St. Louis. Tipping is a time-honored tradition in drag culture. Lovelady said that during his first performance in drag on Halloween 2004, he made more than $170 in tips.

Columbia City Council member Roy Lovelady works on his transformation into Mahajanay DeMornay for the final night of the Miss Gay Missouri America pageant on March 23, 2024, at Angad Arts Hotel in St. Louis. Lovelady said the reason performers stick with pageants, despite the personal and professional sacrifices it demands, is because “you want to be validated. For all those nos, you just want that one yes.”

1. A signed portrait from Erica Foxx, the 2009 Miss Gay Missouri America winner, sits on Roy Lovelady's bed on March 23, 2024, at Angad Arts Hotel in St. Louis. By the end of the competition, Lovelady had invested nearly $16,000 into the myriad elements of his performance including outfits, makeup, travel expenses, backup dancers and more. “That’s part of my problem: I do everything with my whole heart,” Lovelady said.

Mahajanay DeMornay, center, stands alongside other competing drag queens during the opening number of the 50th Miss Gay Missouri America pageant’s final night on March 23, 2024, at the Sun Theater in St. Louis. “I have a drag basement in my house,” DeMornay said. “Fabric that’s just sitting in my basement waiting to be used.” DeMornay said the reason performers stick with pageants, despite the personal and professional sacrifices they demand, is because “you want to be validated. For all those nos, you just want that one yes.”

Mahajanay DeMornay rips off her costume for a quick-change during the final talent performance of the Miss Gay Missouri America pageant on March 23, 2024, at The Sun Theater in St. Louis. Mahajanay lip-synced to Donna Summers’ “Last Dance” and performed along with six backup dancers while a video slideshow of images from her time as a drag queen played behind her.

Mahajanay DeMornay delivers her speech during the interview question round on the final night of the Miss Gay Missouri America pageant on March 23, 2024, at The Sun Theater in St. Louis. Mahajanay responded to the question, “If you win tonight, what would you like to accomplish during your reign as the 50th Miss Gay Missouri America?” “The one thing that I would like to accomplish is unity,” DeMornay said. “How do I accomplish unity? By being inspiring. I want to inspire the community. I want to inspire the promoters and the contestants. I want to make sure that I continue to inspire others and inspire me. I want to be resilient. I want to always, always be approachable.”

From left, Mahajanay DeMornay watches as Dan James, the 2023 Mr. Gay Missouri America winner, and Vicki Valentino, the 1995 Miss Gay Missouri America winner and one of this year’s pageant judges, congratulate this year’s Miss Gay Missouri America winner Vivian Versache on March 23 at The Sun Theater in St. Louis. DeMornay took second place, qualifying for the national pageant but not becoming the 50th title holder of MGMA.

Mahajanay DeMornay processes being named First Alternate on stage after losing the 50th Miss Gay Missouri America pageant on March 23, 2024, at The Sun Theater in St. Louis. While a crowd of drag performers surrounded the winner, DeMornay slipped off stage. As she bent down to pack, a single tear hit her makeup bag. “And before I knew it, I was crying. … I had a moment of, ‘I’ll never be in there,” DeMornay said. “All I could think about is [that] I did not achieve. I did not accomplish my goal.”

1. Michael Johnson sits while Roy Lovelady unbraids his hair on April 20, 2024, at 360 Star Styling Studio in Columbia, Mo. Johnson grew up in Columbia and said he’s known Lovelady for nearly 25 years. Since he no longer lives in town, Johnson drives seven hours for Lovelady to take down and wash his hair. "He’s a good person, a good person for the community,” Johnson said. “You know, you support good people. You let them know that they’ve got support.”

Hasani Fowlkes, 9, holds his head still while Roy Lovelady does his hair on April 20, 2024, at 360 Star Styling Studio in Columbia, Mo. Lovelady only accepts walk-ins, and three people were already waiting in their cars when he arrived at 8 a.m. “Roy is special with his customers,” Keisha Edwards, one of Lovelady’s customers, said. “He basically takes the time to get to know [everyone, and] he knows something about every client.”

Roy Lovelady rebraids Michael Johnson’s hair after washing it on April 20, 2024, at 360 Star Styling Studio in Columbia, Mo. Johnson grew up in Columbia and said he’s known Lovelady for nearly 25 years. Since he no longer lives in town, Johnson drives seven hours for Lovelady to take down and wash his hair. "He’s a good person, a good person for the community. You know, you support good people. You let them know that they’ve got support,” Johnson said. “He has great power. If something were to happen and the community were to need to come together, he could definitely bring them together, and I don’t think he gives himself that much praise to see himself as an icon like that.”