Drag queen crowned as prom king at Southern Indiana high school goes viral
Krista JohnsonCristian Hernandez showed no lack of confidence as he strutted down the red carpet after being named this year's prom king of Jeffersonville High in Southern Indiana.
Dressed in long, black sequined gown and a blond wig, Hernandez twirled and tossed his hair back after his name was called — the scene captured in a viral video uploaded to TikTok.
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As of Monday morning, it had been viewed more than 162,000 times and garnered about 53,000 likes and more than 1,000 comments. Prom was April 16, with Hernandez posting the video May 8.
Hundreds of users offered words of encouragement on the social media platform.
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"This is so heartwarming bro😭😭," one wrote.
"You look sooo good!!! Congratulations love," wrote another.
Despite the aura of certainty, Hernandez didn't think he'd win the competition, NBC Out reported.
“Honestly, when I walked out there, I left everybody speechless,” said Hernandez, who is nonbinary and uses he and they pronouns, according to NBC Out.
“In my head, I’m thinking, “I’m not going to win.’ I was just praying to the gay lords,” he said with a laugh, NBC Out reported.
Contact reporter Krista Johnson at kjohnson3@gannett.com.