Debbie Allen is hosting a ball with Jordan E. Cooper, Jack Mizrahi, Lena Waithe & Billy Porter

Debbie Allen is an icon.

She is everything—choreographer, actor, director, teacher, not to mention incredible LGBTQ ally.

Her work on the cult classic TV shows Fame, A Different World, Girlfriends, and Grey’s Anatomy has helped shape the world’s view on social issues and diversity long before it was a hashtag on social media. 

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Allen is hosting the second annual Remember My Name Ball in Los Angeles this weekend along with Jordan E. Cooper (Ain’t No Mo and The Ms. Pat Show) and the legendary ballroom emcee Jack Mizrahi (Pose and Legendary).

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The ball will include luminary judges Lena Waithe (Master’s of None, The Chi, and Queen & Slim), Billy Porter (Pose, Cinderella, and Anything Is Possible), and Ms. Tina Knowles (mother of Beyoncé) to benefit The Debbie Allen Dance Academy and House Lives Matter.

The ball will also honor Black gay Hollywood powerhouse Lee Daniels (Empire, Precious, Monster’s Ball). 

Native Son sat down with Allen to ask five questions about the Remember My Name Ball, “judging” with the legendary children, paying homage to Lee Daniels, living through the AIDS Crisis, and the iconic impact of Gene Anthony Ray’s role as Leroy on Fame. 

Native Son: Thank you for everything you have done for us, Debbie Allen. How did the Remember My Name ball come to life?

Debbie Allen: I have become good friends with Jordan Cooper. We did the Miss Pat Show together—they sought me out as their director. And then he introduced me to Jack Mizrahi. They were talking about a ball. I said, wow, you know, I have this beautiful space. The Rhimes Performing Arts Center is an incredible state-of-the-art center and cultural oasis. I said we should bring this to DADA. And we did it. And it was so well received because so many people in our community had never been to a ball. They thought it was the greatest thing brought to Los Angeles. (Laughs). I couldn’t take all the credit because Jack Mizrahi is the emcee of life and how he puts the houses together is fantastic. We said: let’s do it again. This year, we’ve added to our celebrity guest list. We have Billy Porter, Lena Waithe, Jordan, and Jack, and we added the beautiful Tina Knowles to our panel of judges. 

Native Son: The list of judges is legendary! What are you most excited about for the ball? 

Debbie Allen: I’m just looking forward to being at that table and hollering, screaming, and fighting about who’s supposed to win the battle. Because it’s not televised—the gloves are off. And we go at each other. The pictures of us from last year tell how much fun, how wonderful it was. I’m looking forward to the catfight. Because last year, when it got to the Sex Siren Category, these beautiful men came out. I said, Lena, let that boy do what he wants. (Laughs).

Native Son: I’m screaming! So you are honoring Lee Daniels, one of the most powerful Black gay men in Hollywood. Why is it essential to celebrate Lee and the representation of Black gay/queer men?

Debbie Allen: Lee Daniels is a trailblazer in this community and the entertainment world. What he has done is create juggernauts everywhere, and he does so much of it on his own, so independently. I think it’s very important to acknowledge him as the artist he is and as someone who lives his life very transparently. But he is a man who I admire for his artistry, his courage, and his love of his community. I love that. And I haven’t seen one of his works yet that did not reflect that. You go from Monsters Ball to all the movies he’s done, and Empire changed the television narrative. Lee did something with his portrayals, Jussie Smollett’s character was unique. It was a portrayal we had not seen before.

Native Son: You lived through the AIDS Crisis. Talk about the era of the Lost Generation. 

Debbie Allen: Oh my God. We lost decades of genius artistry in a fell swoop of a few years. The AIDS epidemic devastated the arts community and devastated the dance community. There are so many people that we lost, from Michael Peters to Rudolf Nureyev and Alvin Ailey, my company from Fame, my boys, my boys. It was challenging to bury them. And it was tough to say goodbye. It’s very crisp in my memory because you’re talking about people that I love. I remember difficulty they were going through because it was a banner of shame at the time, and then people were embarrassed to say that they had contracted AIDS because it was a death sentence.

Native Son: Gene Anthony Ray, who played Leroy on Fame, is a role model for so many Black gay/queer men. What was it like working with this young, talented pioneer in the ‘80s? 

Debbie Allen: Gene Anthony Ray was the biggest diamond in the rough I’ve ever met. And when I say that, he didn’t have the training that many had. It was just his raw talent, his strength, and his attitude and working with him was wonderful. It was always a challenge because he was so undisciplined. And I had to rail him in and reel him in. And, sometimes I had to, like, whip him. Let’s just put it that way, to get him to behave. But my God, when he did. When I danced with Gene, he would throw me up in the air and it was like I would never come down. He was so strong. And he loved me.