Kimora Amour | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Kimora Amour atRuPaul's DragCon LA, 2022 | |
| Born | Justin Baird |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Occupation | Drag queen |
Justin Baird, also known under the stage nameKimora Amour, is a Canadiandrag queen, nurse, costume designer, and television personality best known as a competitor in thesecond season ofCanada's Drag Race,[1] and theninth season ofThe Amazing Race Canada.[2]
Justin Baird, ofGuyanese descent, is father to a son, and lives in theScarborough district ofToronto,Ontario.[1] He works as a nurse in apain management clinic, and has been acostume designer for CaribbeanCarnival events such asCaribana.[1]
He has been a close friend of fellowCanada's Drag Race contestant Jermaine Aranha, better known asAnastarzia Anaquway, ever since they first met at aball.[1] Kimora Amour has competed in variousdrag pageants, winning titles such as Ms. Opulence and Miss Trillium.
In 2021, Baird was a contestant on theCanada's Drag Race season 2 under the stage nameKimora Amour. On the show, Kimora Amour received special praise for a look she wore during the "Sinner's Ball" episode; given the runway prompt "Ugly as Sin", she chose to portray the ugly horrors ofslavery by dressing as an enslaved woman, who eventually breaks her chains and runs toward freedom.[3] For the first time in the history of the entireRuPaul's Drag Race franchise, the runway was presented with no comedic interjections from the judging panel, and was framed by brief fades to black upon both her entrance to and exit from the stage.[1] The look was designed by Baird and Aranha.[4]
After a poor showing in the "Roast ofBrooke Lynn Hytes" episode, she was eliminated from the competition after giving a bizarre Lip Sync for Your Life performance; disliking the song and feeling checked out of the competition, she spent most of the lip sync stalking and hovering over opponentGia Metric like an "annoying bird".[5] She later attributed her poor performance in the roast episode to the lingering emotional intensity of having done the slavery runway the previous week, which left her struggling to perform at her best in either the main challenge or the lip sync.[6]
In 2022, Kimora Amour was a judge on theCBX: Canadian Ballroom Extravaganza competition web series. In the same year, she raised allegations of racially insensitive behaviour among severalDrag Race queens onTwitter, although the most widely publicized allegation was that first seasonCDR competitor andDrag Race Belgique hostRita Baga had once done ablackface number impersonating actress and singerAmber Riley.[7]
In 2023, Kimora Amour was one of the participants, alongside fellowCDR alumniIcesis Couture andSuki Doll, in Courage Across Canada, a speaking tour in which theCDR queens spoke to high school students about bullying and homophobia.[8]
Justin Baird and his friend Jermaine Aranha competed as a team on theninth season ofThe Amazing Race Canada.[9][2] The team was eliminated inSaguenay, Quebec, becoming the sixth team to be eliminated in the season.[10][11] The duo wanted to serve as an inspiration for otherLGBTQ people.[12]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Canada's Drag Race | Himself | Contestant;season 2 |
| 2023 | The Amazing Race Canada | Himself | Contestant;season 9 |
Media related toKimora Amour at Wikimedia Commons