“WeHo Pride! Don’t You Have Google?” Peppermint Reacts to Kathy Hilton Being Removed as Grand Marshal

The RuPaul’s Drag Race alum weighs in on Kathy Hilton’s WeHo Pride controversy and why community service should matter more than celebrity when choosing Pride Grand Marshals.

A 2026 NYC Pride Grand Marshal and RuPaul’s Drag Race alum says Pride organizers should prioritize LGBTQ+ community members with a “legacy of service.”

While celebrating the premiere of E!’s Cocktail Wars, guest judge and RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Peppermint weighed in on the controversy surrounding Kathy Hilton’s selection — and eventual departure — as WeHo Pride’s 2026 Grand Marshal Icon.

“WeHo Pride! Don’t you have Google? Come on,” Peppermint told The Reality Rundown.

WeHo Pride organizers faced backlash after announcing Hilton as the 2026 Grand Marshal Icon, with critics questioning the decision and pointing to past controversies involving The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star.

Among the concerns raised by critics were Hilton’s past ties to President Donald Trump and a years-old allegation involving a homophobic slur. Hilton and her husband, Rick Hilton, hosted a party celebrating the premiere of Trump’s The Apprentice in 2004, and she was photographed attending a Super Bowl party at his Mar-a-Lago estate in 2012. Critics also resurfaced a 2022 Real Housewives of Beverly Hills controversy in which Erika Jayne accused Hilton of using a homophobic slur during a cast trip to Aspen. Hilton has repeatedly denied making the comment, and the allegation was never independently substantiated. Hilton has not publicly endorsed Trump and has also pointed to her history of supporting LGBTQ+ organizations, including GLAAD, the Elton John AIDS Foundation and the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation.

Following the backlash, the City of West Hollywood, WeHo Pride and Hilton announced in a joint statement that Hilton would no longer serve in the role and that the 2026 parade would move forward without a Grand Marshal Icon.

While questioning WeHo Pride’s decision, Peppermint also offered some grace, noting that people should have the opportunity to demonstrate growth and learn from their past.

“I do believe in people being able to turn over a new leaf and learn from their past. We all have a past.”

But when it comes to choosing a Pride Grand Marshal, Peppermint said she believes organizers should prioritize members of the LGBTQ+ community with a history of service.

“We really want people who are a part of the community first, who then have a legacy of service to the community.”

For Peppermint, being part of the LGBTQ+ community and putting in the work to support that community can hold more weight than having a less-than-perfect past.

“If you’re a lesbian or a trans person or a bisexual person or someone who’s queer in the community and you’ve been volunteering at that homeless shelter, I don’t care what your tweet said. I don’t care what your thing said in the past.”

But for those bringing more celebrity than service, Peppermint was less forgiving.

“But if you are somebody who’s just like a celebrity, I mean, come on, WeHo. Come on, Hollywood.”

For Peppermint, the title of Grand Marshal carries more weight than celebrity — something she experienced firsthand as one of NYC Pride’s 2026 Grand Marshals.

“Doing Pride was amazing. I’ve done Pride before in New York and in other places, and it’s always so much fun,” she said. “But being a Grand Marshal, I mean, it felt like I was able to bring a little bit of responsibility for the community.”

It’s a responsibility that felt particularly important to Peppermint amid what she described as a changing climate for the trans community and corporate support for Pride.

“We’re there to celebrate, but especially these days with the trans community being under attack the way it is, and a lot of companies and corporations pulling out their support from Pride because of the way the current administration is talking about us, I felt like a higher sense of responsibility than just feeling cute in the parade,” she said.

The milestone wasn’t all serious. Peppermint joked that her Grand Marshal title came with one perk that significantly upgraded her Pride experience this year.

“I have been in many a Prides where my heel was broken and I was hobbling down the street trying to get to the end of the thing,” she recalled. “And then this year they had a golf cart, like one of those little cars to drive all the Grand Marshals where they wanted.”

The Reality Rundown caught up with Peppermint while attending the New York City premiere of E!’s newest competition series, Cocktail Wars. Hosted by *NSYNC’s Lance Bass and Joey Fatone, the 10-episode series puts some of the country’s top mixologists head-to-head in themed challenges, with $10,000 on the line in each episode. Bass and Fatone are joined by expert mixologist Melissa Brooke and a rotating lineup of celebrity guest judges — including Peppermint, Melissa Gorga, Lauren Graham, Rachel Maddow, Seth Green, Ramona Singer and Sonja Morgan. Cocktail Wars premieres Tuesday, Aug. 18 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on E!, kicking off with two back-to-back episodes.