Parody music and political satire lovers gathered at the Harris Theater for the release of internet personality Randy Rainbow’s book “Low Hanging Fruit: Sparkling Whines, Champagne Problems and Pressing Issues from My Gay Agenda.”
Part of the ongoing Chicago Humanities Festival, the Oct. 16 event marked one of many stops for Rainbow as he embarked on a promotional book tour. His collection of essays delve into political irony in light of the upcoming 2024 election while touching on Rainbow’s personal experiences as an internet personality and gay man.
After starting in musical theater, Rainbow gained a following as he posted spoof videos on YouTube in 2010. Rainbow’s videos tackled politics during the 2016 election, and many of his viewers now associate him with his liberal political commentary.
Axios reporter and moderator Justin Kauffman started the conversation with questions about Rainbow’s material on political elections.
“The political stuff in this book is very campy,” Rainbow said before playing his parody video of Taylor Swift’s song “Blank Space” to the audience.
In the video, Rainbow acts as a moderator for the latest presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. The video criticizes claims that former President Trump made during the debate and his criminal cases with Rainbow singing, “When I see a blank space baby, I won’t check his name.”
Rainbow endorsed Democrat nominee Harris at the event, though he claimed to not have a political agenda when producing his content. He jokingly named his late father Gerry Rainbow, an inspiration for his political satire, comparing him to former President Trump.
“His soul entered the body of Donald Trump,” Rainbow said when describing his late father. “I feel like I understand Trump on a basic level.”
Despite covering politics in his work, Rainbow wants to keep his parodies lighthearted and maintain his comedic status.
“Comedy is a good way to reach people,” Rainbow said. “It’s like a spoonful of sugar. It sheds light on the darkness.”
Attendees Kate Moss and Theresa Bicanic said they became Rainbow fans because of his songs and videos that balance comedic wit, musical theater and political discourse.
“With his smart, witty banter and hilarious music numbers, Rainbow brings everyone down to a level where we can enjoy his work and pay attention to politics at the same time,” Moss said.
Both Moss and Biancic have long followed Rainbow’s posts, although they started watching him more during the 2020 election cycle.
“It’s funny, and it’s different,” Biancic added. “You see people talking about politics, but I think he should be more mainstream. He holds all the little nuances of Trump and hits the nail on the head.”
Moss and Biancic see political satire as more vital than ever in light of the upcoming 2024 election. They hoped that the satire in Rainbow’s videos would bring attention to issues happening on America’s political right, even with Rainbow’s primarily left-leaning audience.
“He’s singing to the choir,” Biancic said. “I’m on the left side, and I think most people here are hopefully on the left. I don’t know if the other side watches him. They probably dismiss him.”
Chicago Humanities Festival organizers embraced Rainbow’s unique perspective and ability to spark conversation on politics within the culture of humanities. Stephanie Storey serves as the publicity manager for Chicago the Humanities Festival.
“We try to bring people in who talk about big issues in an entertaining way that lets our audience engage with it,” Storey said.“It’s not all super serious. Randy Rainbow helps Chicago to be entertained by what’s all going on in the world.”
Storey also said diversity and inclusion plays a factor when selecting speakers.
“(Rainbow) comes at it from an LGBT+ perspective, and that brings an important element of diversity that the Chicago Humanities Festival wants to bring to our conversations,” Storey said.
According to Storey, the festival prioritizes speakers approaching the humanities from varying angles. With focuses on academics, entertainment, politics and music, the festival organizers want event patrons to consider what the humanities culture means to them.
“We want people to enjoy themselves,” Storey said. “We want to foster curiosity and creativity. This festival’s about bringing communities together so that we can connect.”
The Chicago Humanities Festival will continue to host events until Dec. 4.
Related Stories:
- Sara Davis Buechner at the Holtschneider Performance Center
- FIDLAR “On Repeat” at the Vic
- Sounds of Sheffield takes over the Student Center
Stay informed with The DePaulia’s top stories, delivered to your inbox every Monday.