PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Aaron Coady was bullied for being gay in the town where he grew up, but he found acceptance in Pittsburgh where he takes the stage as drag queen “Sharon Needles.”

This year, “Sharon” won America’s hearts as the winner of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”

At the City County Building, Pittsburgh City Council honored the city’s newest reality TV champion by proclaiming Tuesday “Sharon Needles Day.”

“I’m so happy that I’m being recognized today,” the performer said, “and that I can be a voice of positivity for gay people in Pittsburgh and the state of Pennsylvania.”

“I think gay people have the right to be as unhappily married as half the people in this room,” Needles continued. “I’m a big supporter of gay divorce. I want my alimony check, too.”

It’s a major step for the one-time gawky kid closeted in a small town called Newton, Iowa.

“I was bullied a lot in high school, so I left. I got out of there.”

Eight years ago, the road led to Pittsburgh and acceptance. In the performer’s words, “We’re poor, we’re filthy, we’re dilapidated, but we have a heart of black and gold.”

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