All the latest breaking news on RuPaul’s Drag Race. Browse The THEGAYUK’s complete collection of features and commentary on RuPaul’s Drag Race and the LGBT+ community.
RuPaul’s Drag Race has become a phenomenon of epic proportions in the gay community, serving us sickening looks and gag-worthy moments since its debut in 2009. Here are our 10 most fiercest, most shocking moments that left us with our wigs snatched, hunty.
10. Violet Chachki’s Teeny-Tiny Cinched Waist
In the “Death Becomes Her” challenge of season 7, Violet used her notoriously trim waist to her advantage. All 18 inches of it. In a sickening look that received literal gasps from RuPaul herself, Violet cinched her waist so tight she was serving numb-from-the-waist-down realness. Although she lost the challenge to Katya’s shark leg look, the outfit is legendary and will no doubt go down in herstory as one of the most wheeze-worthy – albeit most dangerous – looks ever on the runway.
9. Tyra’s win over Raven
Everyone knew unforgettable fashionista Tyra Sanchez was a shoo-in for top three, maybe even top two. But everyone thought fan favourite and queen of all things dark and beautiful, Raven, was the definitive winner of season 2. Needless to say, fans were as gagged as Tyra was when she was crowned the winner. Not only was their lip sync finale one of the most neck-to-neck, nail-biting sequences of the show’s herstory, I think I speak for everyone when I say Tyra’s breathless breakdown was literally the reaction of all of us watching. Same, Miss Thang. Same.
8. Ongina’s HIV Status
Season one was a season of remarkable firsts, for obvious reasons. But one – if not the – stand-out moment from the freshmen run of RuPaul’s Drag Race was Ongina bravely announcing and embracing her status as HIV positive after winning the Mac Viva-Glam challenge. Even today in 2017 it’s still quite taboo to talk about the subject, can you imagine the absolute courage it must have taken for Ongina to do it in 2009? She paved the way for queens further down the line to open up and talk freely about it, such as Trinity K. Bonet, as well as creating a safe, loving space and opening up the conversation for transgender drag queens Sonique, Carmen Carrera, Monica Beverly Hillz and the first trans finalist Peppermint.
7. Adore Delano Willingly Dropping out of All Stars 2
Many fans don’t know about the RuPaul spin-off All Stars show that brings back past legendary queens to compete in an uber-intense race to be in the Drag Hall of Fame. Adore had the briefest of brief appearances on its second season. After some extremely harsh criticism on the first day, Adore was shaken and immediately brought back to all the insecurities she felt when originally competing in season 6. In her words, she felt like she had to keep proving her drag was meaningful after so many years and although she expressed remorse over her decision on the reunion it’s still tough to watch her admit to Ru that she wants to go home. It’s also heartbreaking knowing how talented Adore is and how far she could have potentially gone.
6. Bianca Del Rio as Judge Judy
While this selection isn’t shocking per se, notorious insult comedy queen Bianca Del Rioslayed as Judge Judy on the season 6 Snatch Game. From her eerily accurate makeup to her impossibly snappy Judy comebacks, Bianca gave the performance Michelle Visage – among many – had been dying to see. After all, Judge Judy had never been done before and as one of Ru’s faves, it was just a matter of time. Well, Bianca certainly did raise the bar for anyone who dares to follow her act. If her standup and her consistent reads were anything to go by, Bianca was probably the only queen who could have served it like she did. Piping hot.
5. The Season 8 Lip Sync Finale Extravaganza
Season 8 brought us Bob The Drag Queen, appropriately titled, Naomi Smalls, also known as The Legs, and Kim Chi, makeup creative extraordinaire. These three went on to be the top contestants of their season, packing back-to-back lip syncs of original songs with choreographed performances that left the crowd roaring in the finale. Kim Chi proved dancing during a lip sync is overrated with her killer “Fat, Fem & Asian” lip sync. She wore a gorgeously gargantuan gown, while the men around her swayed with claws, and looked elegant and campy – letting loose at the end with what can only be described as gyrating. Naomi stuck to her guns, or should we say her buns, with her song, “Legs”, encompassing her passion for modelling all the while highlighting her self-appointed best feature. Bob The Drag Queen who (SPOILERS) ended up snatching the crown also snatched our wigs with her song, “I Don’t Like To Show Off”, in which – yep, you guessed it – she showed off in the best possible way. All three performances are available to watch on the Logo YouTube channel.
4. Mimi Imfirst vs. India Farrah
Drag is not, I repeat – not, a contact sport. Whatever was going through Mimi’s mind when she picked up India like some kind of drag wrestler is, to this day, beyond me. Her lip sync was doomed from the start, her shoddy wardrobe was malfunctioning, her dance was uninteresting and India was obviously going to be staying while Mimi was sashaying. Her solution was, apparently, to try to divert all the attention to herself but it only resulted in the judges struggling not to laugh and Ru sending her home for her poor taste and lack of judgement. Picking someone up during a lip sync is a definite no-no, but it will also always one more thing to write in the herstory books.
3. Valentina’s Mask Debacle & The Aftermath
I like to think I’m not alone when I talk about my love-hate relationship with Valentina. The season 9 beauty was effortlessly charming and stunning, quickly winning the judge’s approval with her unflinching ability to dedicate herself to any task and her always on-point runway looks. It was no wonder the fans felt so warmly towards her. Which was why so many were heartbroken when she was sent home for not knowing the words to her lip sync song, she tried to cover it up with her club kid mask and RuPaul ultimately had to stop the lip sync to demand she show her lips. But the truth came out when the reunion aired and fans who, like me, aren’t on the Twitterverse or up to date on their drag social media knowledge found out about the dark side of Valentina. Die-hard fans are no new thing, even to Drag Race. I sipped my tea watching queen after queen attack Valentina for a maelstrom of things; first of, neglecting to defend Alexis Michele or Nina Bo’Nina Brown while her fans incessantly bullied them was something else altogether, then Shea did most certainly not come to play, pulling out receipts the whole reunion, and apparently Farrah’s on-screen friendship with Valentina didn’t last long after the cameras stopped rolling. A black spot was marked on Valentina’s once pristine rep and the latest drag gossip has some more sins to add to her list. Red M and Ms, anyone?
2. Roxxxy’s Double Wig Reveal
If Don’t Pick Up A Fellow Drag Queen is rule number one on the list of things NOT to do during a lip sync, snatching your own wig is a very close second. But Roxxxy Andrews, top three finalists during season 5, proved this rule to be fine on occasion. Her lip sync against Alyssa Edwards is known as one of the most recognisable lip syncs ever to hit the stage of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Ru herself was gagged, Michelle whooped and hollered – when was the last time you saw Visage whoop and holler ever? Jaws dropped as Roxxxy revealed her much more hair whip-friendlier wig and rocked out to the song like she was Willow Smith herself, leading both her and Alyssa to be safe.
1. Willam’s Sudden Disqualification
And lastly, Willam’s out of the blue disqualification from the show lands on the number one most shocking spot on this list. Willam was a character who didn’t Rupologize over ANYTHING and her no-explanation sashay away came out of a left field. Fans had to wait until the finale to finally learn that she was breaking the rules and having secret rendezvous meetings with her husband in her hotel room. Ru, of course, couldn’t allow her to continue on in the competition (as fierce as she was) and sent her on her merry way after hurling backstage. I’m a firm believer in Willam at least landing in the top three if she had not been disqualified, a first for the show, but since leaving Willam has gone on to form the drag girl group The AAA Girls with Alaska and Courtney Act, write a book and even have her own talkshow on Fullscreen.
Do you agree with our list? Sound off in the comments below and remember: If you don’t love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love somebody else?
VH1 just announced that RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 3 is set to return for a THIRD SEASON…
We are a go! RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 3 has been green lit for a third season.
The series was nominated for an Outstanding Reality Series Emmy back in July. The Emmys premiere on 17 September – so we will find out if the best woman wins!
‘The world is calling out to see more of these beautiful queens and I am going to give them every bit of it they can handle,’ RuPaul said.
‘These All Stars represent the best of the breasts, legs and thighs. They are giving everything and you’re not going to want to miss it!’
Series 9 has now ended and I feel a hole in my gayness that needs filling (I genuinely didn’t intend to put a pun there, but I spotted it and decided to leave it in). Oh, the puns!
It is widely expected that All Stars 3 is coming (not soon enough!) and fans are already talking about who could return. We already know that Willem is out (she said so herself via a post on Tumblr which was subsequently removed, oh the intrigue) so who do you want to see in the new all-stars? Here is my ideal lineup;
BenDeLaCreme (Season 6)
I liked Ms de le Creme, especially her Maggie Smith. She slayed the runway on a number of occasions and I think she would put up a good fight.
Adore Delano (Season 6 & All Stars 2)
Now I wasn’t sure about this one as I didn’t agree with her decision to leave AS2. I could also see that she majorly went wrong in life. So I’m torn. I’d love the old Adore back, a little older a little more experienced I reckon she could easily get through to the final again.
Courtney Act (Season 6)
Simply because I like nice boys to look at.
Laganja Estranja (Season 6)
RuPaul’s drag race wouldn’t be the same without a shady queen to spice things up a little. And with this mix, it would get nice n spicy.
Bianca Del Rio (Season 6 Winner)
I’d bet money on her to win again. But these girls would give her a run for her money.
Sharon Needles (Season 4 Winner)
A little bit of the extraordinary is always a good thing.
Latrice Royale (Season 4 / All Stars 1)
This lady is my spiritual mother. The shade, the alcoholic pink lemonade and all that sass baby.
Morgan McMichaels (Season 2)
Another pretty one, and hopefully this time round she has some more tricks up her sleeve (if not it’ll just be fun to watch).
Bebe Zahara Benet (Season 1 Winner)
The first ever winner, remember her? She mastered it with low budget challenges and even worse prizes. I say give her a crack at some Series 9 level realness.
Trixie Mattel (Season 7)
Again the viewing value is worth its weight in pink lemonade. I doubt she would get through to the final but it would be one hell of a show.
Chi Chi De Vayne (Season 8)
She came 4th, that’s some serious ability (and I think she’s a dark horse, so it’ll make for good telly!).
Kennedy Davenport (Season 7)
Another girl that came 4th just missing the final post. She had some killer looks for the runway and again, she’d give the girls a run for their money.
Milk (Season 6)
I threw Milk into the mix because, well, I’m a little drunk. I wanted someone that didn’t do that well on their season (her Julia Child was just awful in Snatch Game) and that, given some time and gin, could come back and not fcuk it up.
What do you think? Is that lineup shady enough do we think? Who would you like to see in the next All Stars series?
There is currently no fixed date for an announcement on All Stars 3 we can likely expect something soon. A life without RuPaul’s Drag Race in it is a very bland one indeed. Watch this space!
His iconic ‘Too Funky’ video was released in 1992 as part of the Red Hot + Dance album which raised money and awareness to fight HIV and AIDS.
Peppermint’s video starts with Cynthia Lee Fontaine asking the question, “would you like me to seduce you?” in Spanish followed by Sasha Velour, Alexis Michelle, Valentina, Shea Couleé, Charlie Hides, Kimora Blac, Trinity Taylor, Eureka, Farrah Moan, Jaymes Mansfield, Aja and Peppermint walk down the run was just like Linda Evangelista, Tyra Banks and Julie Newmar did in George’s original video.
Speaking to Billboard Peppermint said that George Michael was an “absolute inspiration to me and many queer people during a time when being openly gay was a career killer.”
She went on to say: “It’s likely the public would have rejected him had he come out in the ’80s and instead he had them dancing, celebrating, and even singing along to lyrics about the life & love of a queer man. I think it just shows that we are all more alike than different. We really wanted the chance to pay proper tribute to George Michael.”
The show’s popularity has not waned at all, in fact, the producers have said that series 9 of the show was “breaking rating records”. The show also won RuPaul an Emmy.
Speaking about the renewal RuPaul said,
“As we celebrate a Decade of Drag, we’ll continue to tell universal stories of the tenacity of the human spirit,
“Now more than ever, we rely on the power of love, laughter and creativity to combat fear and darkness.”
Chris McCarthy, President of VH1, MTV and Logo said,
“It’s been amazing to see the show get its highest season ever on a whole new night on a whole new network,” “We brought in a whole new set of audience that is loving the show.”
As a kid I was in school shows and entertained my family with different characters. I used to do impersonations of my classmates and teachers and of TV personalities. The first time I did actual drag was as a teen ager as a way to sneak into nightclubs when I was still underage.
Charlie is, of course, utterly famous for his videos of Cher and Madonna did you know it takes around 20-30 hours to film each one?
I have so much fun making the videos, I don’t consider it work. Sometimes I come home from a gig and film till 4 in the morning but I keep going as long as I’m having fun. The day I filmed the Exorcist scene for my Halloween video. The guy from SKY showed up to install a new box in the bedroom. There were lights and camera all around the bed and I still had on some green make up. The look on his face was priceless.
How have the celebs reacted to his parodies of them?
Kylie has been very sweet and said some very nice things about me on Twitter and in interviews. And I’ve heard that Cher has started using some of my catch phrases with her sisters and friends.
You may recall that this past season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars was a bit of a train crash for some contestants. Well, super judge, Michelle Visage has suggested that you should only go on the show if you’re “stable” and willing to take the risk.
CREDIT: PR SUPPLIED
Speaking exclusively to THEGAYUK.com RuPaul’s Drag Race super judge, Michelle Visage has suggested that the All-Star version of the show is tough going and only the most “stable” should apply; and it can be a bad idea if you don’t think you can handle pressure. Answering concerns that doing an All-Star version could cause you to damage your brand, Michelle said that there was always the risk of the audience falling out of love with you and that they could end up hating you.
In fact, you should just stay clear if you’re worried about destroying all the good work you’ve done in creating your brand.
She told us,
“There’s always that risk because if you were loved first time around and you f*** up the second time around, there is the risk that people are going to hate you.
“It can be a bad idea if you’re not sure that you can handle it. If you’re not sure you can handle it, you shouldn’t do it.”
But it’s not all bad if you’re up for the challenge. Doing All-Stars could help further your career, she told us,
“I think that if you’re stable and you know which way you’re going to play the game and you feel con dent, then it can be a really good thing.
“Here’s the bottom line, it’s a TV show. Somebody goes home every week and this is the best of the best.”
“Here’s the thing, and I learned it from Ru, you can’t reason with stupidity. Stupidity is just stupidity. You can be as negative as you want.
“Why would I waste my great, beautiful, zen, happy energy trying to convince you? Absolutely not.”
Michelle who has been blasted on social media for her sometimes harsh constructive criticism of contestants on RuPaul’s Drag Race said that she pays the haters no mind and she doesn’t want to validate the hate by giving it any time.
She continued,
“There’s absolutely no need in trying to validate hate.
“Me giving my energy to that hateful energy is completely giving away my power. I need my power for good, not evil.”
This article does contain spoilers for All Stars season 2.
With RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 2 having just broadcast its latest episode, with a dramatic twist, a hoo-hah has erupted between the shows makers and one of its star turns. In this case, it’s Phi Phi O’Hara aka Jaremi Carey.
Phi Phi was the villain of season 4, her attitude was terrible, and some of the stuff she said was borderline offensive. She came across as spoiled, narcissistic and bratty. So it was with trepidation that I went into All Stars 2 knowing both her and series 5 villain Roxxxy Andrews would be appearing.
From the get go, Phi Phi was determined to redeem herself and distance herself from the behaviour that put her amongst the elite of the most hated queens to ever grace the show. Tyra Sanchez (Season 2 winner) and Roxxxy Andrews also hold that dubious title, but Roxxxy is far more insidious than the other two and her vile bullying of Jinkx Monsoon leaves me unable to watch Season 5 because of how uncomfortable it makes me.
I must admit I did have some preconceived ideas about Phi Phi and didn’t think that I would feel any different about her this time round. However I was pleasantly surprised, she seemed to have upped her game, her drag style had changed from a pageant queen, to a more refined style, and her cosplay costume was fantastic. But there was the lingering niggle, that the show seemed to exploit.
The way it was shown and talked about was that Phi Phi was deliberately trying to play mind games with some of the other contestants, by saying Roxxxy’s idea to play Sophia Vegara in The Snatch Game could be problematic because her Spanish accent wasn’t as thick as Vegara’s. She actually advised Andrews to work on the accent a little more, and make it thicker, and therefore funnier. A couple of episodes later, and allegedly she was back to her old tricks, this time talking about the fact that Ginger Minj’s dress was a big dress to be dancing around in. Again I didn’t really see it as playing mind games, more just stating a fact and giving Ginger a heads up to ensure she took it into account while dancing. But the other queens, who may or may not have had the same ideas about Phi Phi, seemed to take these statements from Phi Phi as some kind of way of sabotaging the contestants and messing with their heads, and these soundbites were helpfully inserted throughout the episodes.
Another bone of contention was that from the start the queens had agreed that with the new twist of themselves having to do the elimination instead of RuPaul, they would base it purely on judges critique of that particular challenge and runway presentation only, and not previous wins, or losses. Phi Phi was very vocal about sticking with that idea, and when Alyssa Edwards decided to break the chain, and voted to send Ginger home, despite Ginger getting overall better judges comments, Phi Phi wasn’t happy about it, and voiced so.
The episode broadcast where Alyssa was sent home, during the after elimination talk, Phi Phi decided to let it be known that Alyssa had been trying to influence both her and Alaska to send either of the other two in the bottom three home because she hadn’t been in the bottom as much herself, yet she had received the worst critique for both her challenge and runway look. In this case both Alaska and Phi Phi had chosen to eliminate Alyssa, but the way it was presented made it look like Phi Phi had chosen Alyssa out of spite for not having stuck with the agreed upon way of elimination previously. Looking back at what was said, it’s more that Phi Phi was saying Alyssa, did the worst, yet she was trying to save herself by throwing the others under the bus, so she was voted off for simply getting the worst judges comments. In the latest episode broadcast, Phi Phi and Alyssa hashed it out, and while there was obviously still a lot of tension there, they mutually agreed to bury the hatchet.
Since the episodes have aired, Phi Phi has been getting a huge amount of hate online. People have been insulting her and sending death wishes to her. If Phi Phi had been the total and utter bitch she had been previously, I would’ve been among the first to call her out on it because I detested her first time round, but I haven’t seen her do anything that calls for such vitriol. Yes she can be feisty, and a little bitchy, but all of them are to one degree or another and some more than others. It has obviously affected her quite badly, and as of the time of writing, she is not attending the re-union show because she feels the show has misrepresented her quite badly.
I also can’t totally agree with her blaming editing because she has actually said the stuff she says, but I believe it has been taken far worse than it was intended, and the reactions to it by the other contestants could well have been based on their own ideas of who Phi Phi O’Hara is.
To me Phi Phi has made a concerted effort to break away from the idea that people have of her, and this time round I really don’t have a problem with her at all. I even started following her on Twitter. But one gets the feeling that Drag Race Phi Phi, live performing Phi Phi and Jaremi Carey are totally different people. Reading through Twitter, a lot of her fans who have met her have said she’s actually friendly, and very interactive with them and will spend a lot of time at meet & greets taking photos and talking. But distancing from Phi Phi, Jaremi the man has obviously been incredibly affected by this, and feels very hurt by the way the show has represented him and how the viewers have received him. He has since said that aside from the already booked shows remaining for the year, he will not be performing as Phi Phi again for a while, and wants to concentrate on being Jaremi, and releasing music.
I don’t think that the show has intentionally set out to hurt Phi Phi, and I don’t pretend to know the process that goes into making it, and Phi Phi has revealed a lot went on off camera that nearly made her quit the show, but she was eliminated this week by both returning queens Alyssa and Tatianna. However I think some of the viewers have read into everything Phi Phi says with far more of their own biases than the show intended to put across, and the viewers who hate her, will always find a way to hate her. I believe for Phi Phi, blaming the shows editing process is easier than delving deeper into the reasoning behind why people have reacted the way they have. My own personal opinion is that she did herself no favours with how she was on Season 4, and that has left a bad mark on the viewers, and some will never get it out of their heads that Phi Phi is a terrible person, and see everything she does as false. I for one have been able to separate how she was on Season 4 and how she is now. I think there is far more to Phi Phi O’Hara than the general viewers have seen.
Phi Phi did come across as awful in the past, but for me, she hasn’t actually done anything that has annoyed or angered me this time round, and I think people need to stop looking at every single thing Phi Phi says or does as something negative.
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Season 5 of RuPaul’s Drag race saw many a queen become well know and popular, but little did people know that being featured on only one episode would lead to so much. Nebraska Thunderf**k AKA Mackenzie Claude was Alaska’s drag sister and since the show aired, he now has his own shows in the clubs in Las Vegas, and is going from strength to strength on social media. I spent time talking to him on Skype from his Las Vegas home, and I learned a great deal about him, and what a genuine soul he is.
What was your reaction when you were approached by RuPaul’s Drag Race to take part in an episode?
Yes, of course , jumped at the chance to be on the show, However I had never watched the show before, so I didn’t exactly know what I was getting myself into. I just know that opportunities like that don’t happen every day, so I was very excited. As you clearly saw on the show, I’d never done drag before, so it was quite the experience.
How was the show for you? And what’s it like working with Alaska?
First off let me say, filming the show was a lot of fun, and it was very rewarding for me, personally and in my modelling career. However at the time we were filming the show, it was terrifying and very intimidating. Coming off a military assignment in Morocco a month earlier, which is a very testosterone driven environment into the Workroom of RuPaul’s Drag race… it couldn’t have been more polar opposites. I felt maybe I had made a mistake. I say that because I went there representing the military and I didn’t know how that was going to be portrayed in the final product.
They did a great job, but at the time I didn’t know that’s what it was going to be like and I was nervous what the people in my unit, or the people that I served with were going to think. Alaska was incredible to work with. She made me feel very comfortable. When we were talking and getting to know each other, I look over and see she has a fake pink AK-47 and I was like “What is that? Why do you have it, and how can we use it?” So she came up with the bank robbers theme and we spray painted them black, and got to walk the runway with guns. I felt right at home!
You were part of the former military personnel episode. What interesting experiences did you had while serving?
Well I enlisted under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, so I was open in my personal life, but when I joined the military I was advised to go back into the closet and I did. This was going to be a career that I was embarking on and I didn’t want anything to get in the way of my hard work and my commitment. With Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, if the wrong person found out that you were gay, or suspected you of being homosexual, they could present that to the chain of command and there would be an investigation that would take place. You could be discharged from the military simply for being homosexual. So imagine that not everyone is comfortable with homosexuality. I was completely in the closet for the first 2 years and it was very challenging because I would be in class or in the hall and I would hear conversations that would take place. All these people were from all over the United States, from all walks of life, brought together with a common goal, but they still have their opinions.
I remember one incident, there was this red-headed Raggedy Ann looking girl, speaking about gay people and how they are only gay because they can’t get someone of the opposite sex, and she was telling people like this was the truth. I’m a person who stands up for himself and what is right, but at the time I couldn’t say anything and that was very challenging and hurtful. After a couple of years serving with these people in the Marines I learned something, that the Marines don’t give a f*** if you’re gay or straight, they just care that you do your job right. I was a good medic, so eventually, I was able to open up to them. We have a lot of downtime in the military, so we pass it by sharing stories and they were fascinated by mine. They had so many questions and were so open and welcoming. The military was a very positive experience for me. But I’m not from a military family, I was in foster care, and that’s one of the reasons I wanted to join the military. I needed some sort of foundation, I needed direction, you know, those things that parents provide.
What sort of child were you, and where did you grow up?
I was well behaved, I was creative, I was resilient, and you have to be in that situation. My childhood was very sad and it’s still difficult for me to discuss. I’ve learned to take that sadness and anger that I felt and I’ve used that now to drive me towards success. I’ve tried to turn my negative into a positive. If anything, I’ve learned what not to do in life, and I’ve learned who not to be in life because I was surrounded by those types of people that you didn’t want to be, you didn’t want to be around. I feel that drives me to be successful, and be a good person. I hope that with my platform that I’m getting now, that I can encourage others to do the same who maybe come from a broken home like I did or from foster care like I was. There can be a lot of times where you don’t feel like there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, you feel trapped and despondent. I just want other people in that situation to know that THERE IS a light at the end of the tunnel, and if I can make it to that light, then they can as well. If I can be successful coming from those circumstances, they can and WILL as well.
You moved from military service to modelling. How did that come about?
Well I’ve always wanted to be a model since I was little and I’ve always been very tall. Most people have parents who tell you you can be whatever you want to be, I had a social worker who said “find and keep a job, and make money and survive”, so modelling didn’t seem very practical to me. It ended up becoming a dream put on the back burner. I didn’t know if I was ever going to get to that, and that’s why the military became my number one priority. Through the military they provided me with financial stability and a foundation to pursue my dreams. I was able to take what I had saved with the military and move to LA and try out modelling. I guess one of the blessings of being a foster child, and not having a family as such, is not having anyone to answer to. You can truly make decisions and just go with them, there’s no strings attached. I simply packed my stuff in my car and went out to see if I could become a model. It wasn’t smooth sailing I hit a lot of dead ends in LA. Nothing ever works out how we plan, right? I ended up going to Vegas and that is where everything fell into place, and I’ve been so blessed and thankful
Your modelling portfolio is extensive! What photo shoots or catwalk shows have been most fun to work on?
Recently I opened a runway show during LA Fashion Week for the designer Perry Meek, who is Lady Gaga’s costume designer. I opened and closed his show which as a model is a very big deal, I was like “Check that off my bucket list”. Working for Marco Marco was an honour, because he includes a lot of Drag Queens, but I got to walk as a male model. My favourite photo shoot I did was for the cover of Las Vegas Weekly, which is one of the biggest publications in Las Vegas. It’s in every hotel, and Casino which was exciting. Around the same time I did a billboard campaign for the AFAN black and white party which was on seven digital billboards around Las Vegas and on the strip. Talk about a dream becoming reality. When I was younger, I would never have thought these things were possible, and now here I am looking up at myself on a billboard in Sin City.
What persuaded you to continue with Nebraska Thunderf**k after Drag Race?
There was a number of factors, one being my partner Derrick Barry. We did Drag Con in May where he was one of the special guests. He had a booth set up and I was helping work the line, I was telling people about some of his merchandise that was for sale, and there were a lot of people that were asking “Where have I seen you before?…Oh my god it’s Nebraska”. Derrick and I were shocked because I wasn’t in drag, and I hadn’t done drag since Drag Race, which was the one and only time. So based off of the reaction at Drag Con, Derrick encouraged me to pursue it. He has helped me immensely with developing my character. It has also been such a shock to me with the references to Pamela Anderson, and every performance there’s people who come up to me and say I should do this look of Pamela or that look of Pamela, which is the coolest compliment. We’ve been putting together different ideas and concepts of looks that she’s done and I’ve just started debuting some of those. We want to do Barb Wire and Baywatch, there’s a lot of fun things that are coming up. One of the other factors was the fans. After the show I wasn’t expecting that kind of online response. For the past two years I have received messages and tweets from fans of the show asking to see Nebraska again. It’s surreal to go from the first half of my life feeling unloved and unwanted to having love from people all over the world.
How much of yourself is in Nebraska? Does your military background make her a bit of a bad ass?
Absolutely it does. I definitely think Nebraska is one part Alaska, one part Derrick Barry and the rest is all my personality. It’s been fun taking parts of my experiences, and my personality and infusing that into Nebraska. I like that I get to make her pretty, but I’m not afraid to get dirty. That’s the military in me, you get dirty. I feel there’s a lot of drag queens that look beautiful, but they won’t don’t dance and they don’t sweat. I’m not afraid to do those things. I love incorporating my military background because it is such a profound part of my life. That’s a theme you’re going to see consistently throughout. I am enjoying the fans reaction to the evolution. It’s fun when people repost the photos or leave comments. It makes me so happy reading that stuff, it makes me happy to have a positive impact on other people’s lives.
What do you love about doing drag?
I think that I like drag because it’s helped me find my creativity again. RuPaul’s Drag Race helped me rediscover this creativity that was robbed from me as a child. Let me explain something to you. As a child being creative got me attention, and attention got me consequences. So you learn to blend in, to not stand out. It’s a lesson that becomes ingrained that stays with you, and it’s hard to break, but doing Rupaul’s Drag Race, and being around such creative individuals completely left a positive impression on me. I think with Nebraska and creating that character, it helped me find my creativity again that I lost a long time ago
Not many people may know, that you’re actually in what you affectionately call “a trouple” with Britney Spears impersonator and drag queen, Derrick Barry and artist Nick San Pedro. What would you say to people who question this or who are new to the idea?
Well knowledge is power, so I’d love to encourage people to get information before they cast judgement. My partners and I are in a committed trinogamous relationship, and what that means is there’s three of us. There’s never a forth, it’s not an open relationship, it’s just like any other traditional relationship except there’s an extra person. We’ve been together now for almost 4 years, Derrick and Nick have been together for almost 9. So just like any other relationship, we’re a team, we live together, we are interdependent, we sleep in the same bed. I think with this kind of equation, people have misconceptions like we have an open relationship or we invite a fourth and that’s not the case, that’s not our reality. Honestly, I’m too territorial for that. Most of the people that we know are 100% supportive, they know us together, they see how it works, they understand it. If they didn’t at first, being around us now they love it, they see we’re like Ying, Yang and…Yang. But if someone has a problem with it, it being my happiness, that doesn’t bother me. They should take a look at their own situation and focus their energy on their own happiness and their own relationships. At the end of the day I only answer to two people and their names are Derrick and Nick. As I said, I spent the first part of my life feeling unloved and unwanted, I went to sleep like that and I woke up like that. Now I’m at a point in my life where I wake up and I have double the love and affection. It’s like life is making up for lost time.
Any advice for aspiring models or drag queens you can offer?
Absolutely, if this is something they really want to do, they need to commit 110%. What I mean by that is I wanted to become a model so I packed everything I owned into my car, tied up all my loose ends and drove to LA and made it happen. I didn’t just half ass it, I dived in 110%. I feel like when there is risk there is a reward, so I would encourage them to commit to their craft entirely. If you want to be a model, move somewhere there’s a lot of agencies, print your photos and physically walk them into agencies and ask to be seen. I got a lot of being told no at first but then I got told yes, and it leads to billboards and then magazine covers. If you want to be a drag queen, make friends with one of your local queens. Watch them get ready, watch the process, ask them questions, watch their performances and learn everything that you can from that queen, because there is so much work that goes into it. If you don’t have a local queen watch YouTube tutorials!
What is your life’s motto?
“Ride or Die”. I feel that everything I commit to I’m ride or die about, so for example with the military that was my number one priority, my number one commitment, and I gave everything. That’s what I did with modelling and now that’s what I am doing with Nebraska now. I value respect, loyalty and committing 110%.
Who are your role models?
One of them is Janet Jackson, I grew up watching her. During my tumultuous childhood, her music was an escape for me. The Velvet Rope in particular, helped me through a lot of sad days and nights. I admire that she was always so sweet to people and so nice when she spoke to the fans and I really love that about her. She always changed up her look which fascinated me. She always pushed the envelope and she danced. I try to incorporate those elements to Nebraska. Another role model I have is Janice Dickinson. I read her book No Lifeguard on Duty and connected with her story. She came from a very challenging childhood and I related to that. It’s encouraging to see that through those circumstances she was still able to find success. That has stayed with me, and that is a story I look up to.
What does the future hold for you? Do you plan to continue both modelling and Nebraska?
The future holds both for me. I want to merge Nebraska with my modelling career. I see a way to do it, I’m visualising it and it’s just a matter of making it happen. You know, I actually got my first magazine cover because of Drag Race. It was Qvegas Magazine and the headline was “Mackenzie Claude, RuPaul’s Stallion Soldier”. So in a way, the show has already helped launch my modelling career just from that cameo. Now I am ready to take it to the next level.
Would you apply to do Season 9 of Drag Race?
If I feel that I am ready, then, of course, I would apply for the show. I’m extremely competitive, it’s the military in me. I’ve always been a fighter. I started with nothing and have fought for EVERYTHING that I have today. I’m very passionate about life, so if anyone were to stand in my way between where I am and what I want, I’m not afraid to move them.
Mackenzie’s final thought
Through my journey, I want to encourage and uplift others. I want all the people out there reading this that is going through a difficult time, or trapped in that broken home, or navigating foster care to be empowered. They need to hear that it WILL GET BETTER. When I was in that situation I needed so badly for someone to say that to me and unfortunately, I never heard it. So you know what, I am going to be that voice for somebody else because I know first hand how important it is.
Kelly Mantle is probably one of the most famous of all the Drag Race queens, because before her time in the Race, she was a bonafide TV star in her own right, having appeared in countless shows and films.
It’s the eve of Thanksgiving and Kelly and Jake Hook settle in to talk about Drag, Bacon and talking on those pesky keyboard hating warriors.
JH: Are you going out or are you cooking? Are you putting on a big spread?
KM: Well, I don’t cook. I like to keep it strictly alcohol and weed. It’s 80 degrees, so we’re going to literally just spend Thanksgiving around the pool.
JH: I saw you were on Feast of Fools Cooking With Drag Queens? How was it?
KM: Milk and I were both on it together. Yeah, we actually were in their kitchen making toast, different kinds of toast, so I didn’t have to actually cook anything. I just got to put things on toast and feed it to Milk. Some of it was very good. We ended up making use of most of it just by putting it on Milk’s face and calling it makeup, as she does.
JH: We know that bacon and you might be a sore point, because of what Michelle Visage said your dress looked like on the show… But tell me, have you heard they’ve started selling bacon-smelling underwear?
KM: Now, that’s a new one. I think I’ve heard everything bacon under the sun since my appearance on Drag Race, but no, that is a new one. Bacon-smelling underwear?
JH: I got the press release today. I was like, “Who the f*ck wants their underwear to smell like bacon, really?”
KM: No, like bacon? Wow. You’ve got to be a real pig to wear those.
JH: You should get onto their marketing team. You could be the face of bacon underwear.
KM: Well, let me tell you, I think I’ve been the face of bacon for the past two years. I think I’ve helped them more than they know. We’re in the middle of November right now where no one wants to shave their pubes anymore, so we’re talking a hairy bacon bush, is really what we’re talking about here. I might have to try those.
JH: I’ll send you the link. I’ll put it on your Facebook later.
KM: Thank you for that. I love when people pollute my Facebook with things about bacon. Wonderful. The gift that never stops giving, really.
JH: Did you ever think that your name would be synonymous with pork products?
KM: Never in a million years. I told Michelle Visage, and they cut this part out of the show, but when she said it looked like bacon, I looked down and I said, “Well, I actually thought they looked more like dirty maxi pads, quite frankly.” My name could have been synonymous with dirty maxi pads instead of bacon, I guess.
JH: I thought it was like lilies, like lilies of the valley or something. We see what we want to see in these things, don’t we sometimes? Tell me what you’re up to at the moment?
KM: Well, at the very moment, I am sitting here lounging by my pool on this gorgeous day with a little mimosa in hand, but I guess you mean in the bigger picture. I’m recording music. I just released a single, as you know, Keyboard Courage, with the video. Now I’m in the studio working on what will be technically my forth studio album to release.
JH: Will it be a full album or will it be an EP?
KM: It’s looking more like an EP at this point. I just don’t … I think we’re going to keep it EP at this point, about 6-8 numbers on it.
JH: Will all be in this anti-bullying message or will you go back to being sassy and comic?
KM: What do you mean, “going back to being sassy and a comic?” I thought that Keyboard Courage was being sassy and being a comic. See, a lot of people are taking it too literal. Everything I do is tongue in cheek. I mean everything. I don’t take myself seriously at all. This is about a serious epidemic, mind you, which I never even knew existed before I got on Drag Race, but obviously it does exist. Anything I do over a heavy topic I like to keep it light and fun. It’s not to be taken literal by any means.
JH: Oh! I thought you were really sticking up for Madonna.
KM: Well, you know. I do love her. She was my childhood idol, absolutely, She’ll post a picture on Instagram and you’ll read the comments. Ageism is something I’ve just never understood. I can wrap my head around racism. I can wrap my head around homophobia because it comes out of fear, of not knowing whatever. People don’t like something that’s different than them and chances are, they may never become that thing that they’re not liking. Ageism is so strange to me because we’re all going to get old.
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JH: Are you more geared to the up tempo number or is there a torch singer there inside you somewhere?
KM: Definitely my heart lies in the dark, haunting torch songs. I love a good ballad, yes. I always laugh and say that I’m like the Tori Amos of drag when it comes to music, when it comes to my real music. That’s where my soul lives. I love that. I realize that there’s a time and place for that music to live and be performed, especially in the drag world. I’m certainly not going to show up to a drag nightclub for a midnight performance and sing some sad, gloomy song. I like to keep my reper-twat full of all types of material.
JH: Did you just say reper-twat for Repetoire?
KM: I did.
JH: Love it. Amazing.
KM: I like to dig deep down into my repe-twat and pull out what’s ever necessary for the gig, whether it be a song about my pussy that’s funny or whether it be a funeral dirge on my piano. It depends on the gig. The wig depends upon the gig, I should say.
JH: What inspired you to write about online bullying, then?
KM: It’s something I wasn’t even really aware of until I got on Drag Race and then all the sudden, I started getting all these tweets saying, “I hate you, I can’t stand you, I wish you would go kill yourself.” I’m like, “Oh, my goodness. Wow. These people feel really strongly about this.”
JH: You actually had people tweeting that they wanted you to die?
KM: Oh, yeah. After they saw me on Drag Race, most certainly. I had lots of tweets like that. I had a lot of great ones, too. I have a lot of fans and supporters that just send wonderful, beautiful, gorgeous tweets about they think I was robbed, “You should have stayed on longer, I love your style of drag, I love your music.” I have a really thick skin so I can laugh it off and to me it’s funny. In meeting a lot of the younger fans out on the road and at meet and greets a lot of them would send me messages online, they started telling me these stories about how they have to deal with it and it’s like some of them, even suicidal. I thought, “This is a really big epidemic that’s going on right now that I would love to address in a song.” That’s really why I wrote it, was more for them, just to give them an anthem to sing to, to dance to, to be able to shrug it off and not take it that serious.
JH: The look in the video, you were really channeling Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman there, with the straight hair. You’ve got quite a number of wigs. Why do you have so many different looks? Some drag queens, they just choose the one hairpiece and then that’s it. Is there any particular reason for that?
KM: Well, because I’m a glutton for punishment, really. That’s really what it comes down to. One of my dearest friends is Coco, Coco Peru.
JH: Exactly what I had in mind. She’s very famous with just having that one look.
KM: Exactly, and I laugh with her about that all the time. I’m like, “Why did I not go down this route? Why did I not think of that? That was so genius of you.” I just love to just … It’s like what I just said; actually, “The wig depends upon the gig.” I grew up on Madonna and one of the things I loved so much about her was that her look was constantly evolving. It was ever-changing. I even do that with my own out-of-drag, personal look. One minute I’ll have black hair and the next minute I’ll bleach it out. I love changing my look all the time.
JH: When you were growing up, did you have experience of real life bullying, or were you one of the crowd?
KM: I was very fortunate. I did not deal with it at all. I grew up in a really small town in Oklahoma and my daddy was the high school football coach and my brother was the all-star athlete. Then there was me. My uncle is Mickey Mantle, the New York Yankees legend; so I think that helped, in some way, protect me in my own school. When you’re the football coach’s family in a small Oklahoma town, you’re treated like royalty.
JH: He could literally make or break the careers of jocks in your school?
KM: Well, exactly. (Laughs) I wish I would have known the power that I held at the time, because I would have been utilizing that a lot more in the locker room. They actually embraced me for my differences and the fact that I was so different than everyone else around me rather than punish me for it. I had two best friends in high school. One was the head cheerleader. The other was the quarterback of the football team. We’re still friends to this day.
JH: Not much is known about you in your personal life. Is that done on purpose? Do you like to keep your private life very separate from Kelly?
KM: Yes. Very much so.
JH: Is it difficult to let people in, and do people in your real life know about “Kelly Mantle”?
KM: People in my… You mean, “about Kelly?”
JH: For instance, picking up someone in a bar or something like that, do they know that it’s you?
KM: Oh, well, I don’t pick up people in bars anymore, none of that. I’m assuming that they would know it’s me. I don’t know. Yeah. I have a very small, close-knit type group of very close personal friends and all of them are in the business. I think we’re all very … I think it’s not a conscious thing, really, but I just think we’re all just very private about our personal lives.
JH: Before Drag Race, you were on TV and you were doing films in your own right, which is why, I suppose, you can have that level of privacy.
KM: Exactly.
JH: When it’s a wrap, it’s a wrap, and it’s done. When you’re going on something like a reality show like Drag Race, was it a bit of a shock to have that privacy taken away from you?
KM: It was, and I won’t say “shock” because of course, I knew that that was going to be part of it. But you can’t imagine going through it until you’re actually there. I’ll just put it this way, I think that I could tell very early, and that they could tell very early, the minute I got there, that this isn’t going to work out.
JH: Really?
KM: Yeah, and I think it was a mutual, unspoken agreement between us both. When you’re as private as I am, you are certainly not a good candidate for reality television. You have this camera on you 24/7. I think that was a big, I won’t say shock, but it was certainly a big component in, “Oh, wow, this is not for me.”
JH: Would you do more reality TV?
KM: No, never ever. When they say, “Don’t ever say ‘never,’” I can say “never.”
JH: You can’t confirm or deny the rumors of All-Stars, then?
KM: I cannot confirm nor deny any rumors about All-Stars, no.
JH: Would you like to do it? I suppose that’s just more reality TV.
KM: I love to be in more control. I love being an actor; I’ll just put it that way. That’s when I’m good on camera, is when I am in doing my craft of acting.
JH: How did your name come about?
KM: Well, Kelly Mantle is my birth given name.
JH: Oh, is it? Okay…
KM: There’s a few of us, there’s me, there’s Charles Bush, there’s RuPaul. RuPaul uses his real name. Willem’s another one. Yeah, there’s a few of us that stayed true to our real names. For me, early on when I got out of college and moved to Chicago and was acting and especially when I moved to LA and started doing film and TV, I was doing so many roles both in and out of drag that it was easier just to keep it.
I had a drag name for a hot minute when I first moved here. I was in a band called Sex With Lurch and I went by Brandy Warhol. That was fun, but it just never stuck because I’d be out and people would be like, “Brandy, Brandy,” and I’m like, “Who is that person yelling at?”
JH: In all the films and TV that you have appeared in before Drag Race, did you appear as yourself or did you appear as Kelly Mantle, the drag queen?
KM: It was a mixture. I’d get cast. I do both. I’ve performed in male roles. I’ve performed in drag roles. I’ve performed in transgender roles. I’ve even performed in a few projects, which are always my favorite, where I get to actually be portrayed as both. You get to see the character in and out of drag or something like that. Those are always the best because then you get to see both.
JH:Does it confuse people, the fact that your name is your boy name and also your girl name? Do people sometimes go, “Who are? What? How are you?” Is that ever an issue?
KM: When you have the same name as both in and out of drag, sometimes it’s harder for people to see the difference between the two. They can’t really say, “Oh, well she’s being Kelly now,” because they’re like, “But he is also being Kelly over here.”
Before Drag Race, I pretty much was only doing acting on TV and film and theatre and performing music and doing stand-up comedy. A lot of times I would do that in my female form because I consider myself a two-spirited individual. I travel and live between both genders and that’s where I feel comfortable. A lot of times, when I show up to do a music gig, which is me and my guitar or piano, or I show up and do a stand-up comedy gig, I might be showing up in my female form, but I’m serving more just a girl showing up and doing her gig. I’m not trying to give you drag queen. I think there’s a lot of confusion there because a lot of times, you’ll hear, “Well, Honey, she’s just not giving me drag.”
A lot of times I’ll read that comment and my response to myself will be, “Well, I wasn’t really trying to at that moment. I was just trying to give you more ‘female doing a song’”. Yeah, it can be very confusing, especially when you’re using the same name for all of these different journeys, because if I had, let’s say the Brandy Warhol, if I were giving Brandy Warhol, then people would be able to specifically say, “Okay, now she’s giving us this drag character because she’s doing it as Brandy.”
JH: How do you describe, then, your gender? Do you have a particular identity that you like to be referred to, any pronoun that you like?
KM: I always jokingly say I’m a gay bisexual transgender lesbian. As much of a joke as that is, there’s a lot of truth to it because I have been one of those things at one moment in my life or another. I think that the easiest way for me to describe it, and it’s interesting because I actually am Native American, I’m from a heritage of Cherokee tribe, which is based in Oklahoma. There’s a Native American term that many have used, it’s called two-spirited, and it’s someone who possesses both genders. It’s someone who lives and travels and journeys between all
the spectrums of male and female. For me, when it comes to pronouns, if I am presenting as male at that very moment and I look like a boy to you, then call me “he.” If I’m presenting as female and I look like a girl to you, call me “she.” It’s pretty easy.
JH: Paint a picture.
KM: Since I’m a feminist, I always prefer “she” over “he,” any day. That just comes from me being a feminist, a hardcore feminist. I always encourage any writer who doesn’t know for sure to just use “she” because that’s what I usually use when I’m talking about myself. I say, “Oh, well she thinks she’s pretty, doesn’t she?”
JH: Tell me about the first time you did drag. Where were you? What happened?
KM: I grew up dressing up in my grandma’s clothes all the time, but I guess that really can’t be considered drag. The first time I ever did it, it was a high school talent competition and I dressed up as Cyndi Lauper. Everyone freaking loved it. They were like, “Oh, my God. This is so f**king fun.” That was my first time, and I just won people over.
JH: Did you sing “Time After Time”? You must have done.
KM: Was it “Time After Time”? No, I want to say it was later than that. It was “True Colors”.
JH: Ooh. Well, there you go. You LGBT activist, you.
KM: I was an activist before I even knew what an activist was.
JH: When you did that were your school, your town very accepting of that? There was no fall out from that, as there were?
KM: Oh, absolutely. They all loved it. I got a standing ovation. When you really embody your power and you don’t try to hide it or question it, I think it’s automatically going to be contagious to people. They can’t help but love it. At least, I guess, in my simple mind, that’s what I thought at the time and I still think that.
JH: How did your parents react? Were they quite supportive?
KM: My parents are like my best friends. They have been so supportive and are so amazing. That was the great thing about it, is people assume. They say, “Well, growing up in this small Oklahoma town, with this masculine football coach as your dad, he must have pressured you to play football.” Then, “Honey, he took me out on a football field once and threw the ball at me and I’m playing with my hair and just completely missed the ball.
JH: Do you think you got your sense of humour from your parents?
KM: Absolutely. Them and my Grandma, my Mom’s Mom. If you get a chance, go on YouTube and I think you can type in “Kelly Mantle playing his mother,” there’s a whole monologue from a one-person show that I did a couple of years ago where I play my mom and it’s her to a T. She’s hilarious and she has no idea she’s hilarious.
JH: What is your favorite colour?
KM: My favorite colour is chrome, actually.
JH: I love that.
KM: I love anything chrome, yes. It makes me feel very rich, which I am, but you know. It makes me feel richer than I really am. I do have to tell you.
Find out more about Kelly Mantle at her website http://www.kellymantle.com
This interview was taken from Issue 18 – download for free or subscribe now to never miss an issue.
