Last night’s episode of I Am Jazz featured an amazing show for a great cause.
When Jazz’s good friend Noelle, who is transgender like Jazz, found out that her gender confirmation surgery wouldn’t be covered by insurance, Jazz stepped in to help.
Noelle’s surgery wasn’t cheap — she and her family needed to raise $25,000. She was able to raise some money on her own, and Jazz came up with the idea of a drag show fundraiser to raise the rest.
Stressful planning for Jazz
Organizing the event was difficult for Jazz, especially with all the stress of her upcoming journey to Harvard weighing on her mind.
Ru Paul’s Drag Race star Peppermint had originally intended to perform but had to drop out at the last minute.
“She is visibly upset,” Jazz’s mom Jeanette said of Jazz’s stress level, “sometimes even crying. I know she’s been binge eating.”
Luckily, Jazz had the support of her large family and many friends. Jazz’s old friend Michaela Paige, a singer known for competing on The Voice, stepped in to help.
Michaela and Jazz had a falling out a while back over songwriting credits for a song they performed together. In last night’s episode, we saw Jazz swallow her pride and made up with Michaela — all to help out Noelle.
Michaela wasn’t the only big star at the fundraiser. Jazz’s grandparents Jack and Jackie stole the show when they performed under their drag names, Dr. Jack Be Nimble and Jackie O’s Ghost.
Grandpa Jack even took dance lessons with Jazz’s brother Sander to prepare.
“The only thing I’m going to miss is being 5’11” Grandpa Jack said of the experience. His son-in-law Greg described his drag look as “a mature Raggedy Ann.”
Sander gave a great performance under the name “Sandra Bollocks.” Jazz’s sister Ari and mom Jeanette also took trips down the runway.
Peppermint turned up as a huge and very welcome surprise for Jazz and Noelle. She arranged her schedule to make time for the fundraiser, and the girls were thrilled to see her.
Michaela had a great time
In the end, the event was a great success. While Jazz wasn’t thrilled with her own performance, everyone else had a great time, and they raised lots of money for Noelle.
“No part of this entire night is a letdown for me,” Noelle said. “I consider myself lucky that people actually cared for me and rallied around me enough to come here.”
Jazz had planned to perform a song with Michaela but ended up deciding not to due to her stress level. Michaela took it in stride and stepped up to perform without Jazz.
Michaela shared four amazing photos from the show — Jazz, Sander, Jeanette, and even Jazz’s friend Jojo made appearances in her Instagram post.
“Jazz, I’m so proud of all you do…but most of all who you’ve transformed into,” Michaela captioned the post, “nothing brings me more joy than having you back in my life.”
It was a great event and viewers can continue watching Jazz’s life, and get updates on Noelle, for the rest of the season.
I Am Jazz airs on Tuesdays at 9/8c on TLC.