SYMONE MEETS VEEP Conway native and Rupaul's Drag Race Season 13 winner Symone got to spend time with Vice President Kamala Harris last week.
Harris made a surprise appearance at the Capital Pride Festival in Washington, D.C., on June 12 and was joined onstage by Symone, who shared photos on Instagram of herself with the vice president and husband Douglas Emhoff.
"Absolutely blown away y'all," Symone wrote. "I got to meet Kamala Harris and Douglas Emhoff today at the DC Pride. Thank you so much for this moment Madame Vice President and the lovely gifts! I love you DC!"
Not only has she been rubbing shoulders with the vice president, Symone has added acting to her resume. She plays an out-of-drag character in "Bros," the gay rom-com feature film from writer-star Billy Eichner.
"When I saw Symone, who I think is such a superstar, I thought, I want a place for Symone in 'Bros,'" Eichner told Entertainment Weekly earlier this month. "I was thinking of the roles we had and I didn't know if she'd be interested in playing a character that was out of drag, but I thought, why not use this as an opportunity?"
Symone has a small role as an acquaintance of Bobby Leiber, who is played by Eichner, according to Entertainment Weekly.
The film, directed by Nicholas Stoller and produced by Stoller and Judd Apatow, is set for release on Sept. 30.
REALITY SHOW ARKIES Symone became famous from appearing on a reality show, now two other hopefuls with Arkansas connections are looking for a similar outcome.
Scarlett Bentley, who grew up in Batesville and left Arkansas for San Diego, is a junior stewardess on the Parsifal III in season three of Bravo's "Below Deck Sailing Yacht," while Adam Riley of Fayetteville is among the survivalists competing for $500,000 in a remote valley in Labrador, Canada, on History Channel's "Alone."
The 36-year-old Riley was 9 when he immigrated with his family to Florida from England, according to the show's page at history.com. After leaving high school and quitting his job as an alligator wrestler -- no, really, that's what it says -- he spent years exploring wild areas all over the world. He now works as a carpenter building custom tree houses in Arkansas. After four episodes, Riley is among eight left from the original 10 contestants still in the running for the $500,000 prize.
Bentley was in marketing before working on chartered trips at sea and has two years yachting experience, according to bravotv.com. Drama has ensued since she joined the Parsifal III crew, according to the web site, and her relationship with the first mate could lead to trouble.
"Below Deck Sailing Yacht" airs Mondays at 7 p.m. "Alone" airs Thursdays at 8 p.m.
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