Exclusive: RuPaul, Drag Race season 12 cast give first interviews on twisted new season – Entertainment Weekly News

You can imagine it might be difficult to concentrate while sitting in a room filled with the echoing clack of high heels shuffling across the pavement of a New York City photo studio, a steady stream of cackling laughter rattling through the air, and the sound of makeup brushes crashing onto the floor among the general hoots and hollers of 13 excited drag queens preparing to shoot their patriotic cast photos for RuPauls Drag Race season 12 (Friday, Feb. 28 at 8 p.m. on VH1). But, theres a beauty, elegance, and grace to the chaos, a warm spirit of sisterhood that soothes the cacophony. You soon realize: This is a sweet family reunion, but one where each of the dazzling ladies many of whom are actually men in wigs want you to focus on her, and her alone, as she guns for $100,000 and the most coveted crown in reality television.

The best word to describe season 12 is OVANESS! Google it! host and executive producer RuPaul exclusively tells EW of the upcoming installment of the Emmy-winning reality competition series, the full cast for which the network announced Thursday in a Twitter livestream event that was viewed over 2 million times before reaching No. 2 on the worldwide trending charts. According to Urban Dictionary, OVANESS essentially means an effortless sharing of an entertainers truth that can only be attained by full realization of living. In other words, expect less walking children in nature and more contestants dog-walking each other on the front lines of this years lip-sync stage, which, judging by EWs first interviews with the new cast (below), is poised for a major stomping as the queens duke it out for the title.

Our producers have come up with twisted, outrageous challenges that raise the bar for all competition of reality, RuPaul adds. Our celebrity guest judges are truly legendary. And this cast of queens is, dare I say, the most talented weve ever had. Just when you think youve seen it all, a fresh crop of queens arrives and blows our minds all over again.

Read on for EWs first round of in-person interviews with the RuPauls Drag Race season 12 cast, during which they dish on themselves (throuples, lost wigs, and Adele play vital parts in their respective trajectories), the competition, and sticking together as a family as they sashay their way to superstardom.

Acworth, Ga.

In a room filled with drag queens in various stages of undress, squawking and hollering as a Carly Rae Jepsen song blares over nearby speakers, self-sufficient horror fan Aiden Zhane is making a loud impression by being the quietest one in the room. Its no surprise, given her backstory: Raised in the shadows of bumfGeorgia without a single gay bar in town, Zhane is proof that you can build a credible drag empire on your own, in solitude, without leaving your house. In fact, this spooky sister who paints like a cross between Marilyn Manson and Joan Crawford filmed her entire Drag Race audition tape (lip-syncs and all) from inside her bedroom.

Its been a process of doing whatever the f I want, because theres been nobody there to tell me it isnt right, she says of skirting traditional rules and evading the city queen scene, which, in her case, typically involves painting herself in the vein of a classic scary movie screen queens with occasional pops of colorful cartoon inspiration. When I perform, Im not a dancer, I love expression, and I like to emote.

Across her nine-year tenure as rural Georgias resident creep, shes also converted another famous drag queen to the dark side: Dragula season 3sSt. Lucia, whom she dated for five years: She got into it for me. We both shared the dream of making something of ourselves and getting on a show. Everybody says its weird, like it should be flipped shes prettier, so she should be on Drag Race, and [I] should be on Dragula!

New York City, N.Y.

Before most of her season 12 sisters have arrived, Brita is camera ready. As she approaches the couch for our interview, the Polynesian stunner flashes her impossibly white teeth as she tells me shes unable to sit down for our chat (understandably so, as shes wearing a $2,600 outfit crafted by three designers, covered in head-to-toe in hand-applied rhinestones). It could also be because the busy beauty is used to having little time to kick off her heels and relax on her own time as shes one of New York Citys most famous queens, performing seven nights a week on top of appearing on Fusion TVs Shade: Queens of NYC before performing on Saturday Night Live as a backup dancer for Katy Perry. And remember that time Adele and Jennifer Lawrence were filmed getting wild at a Manhattan drag bar? Yeah, they were there specifically to watch Brita.

They said that they came to see me, and then Adele asked me to do her birthday party. She also asked me to do Jennifers bachelorette party, but I couldnt because I was filming season 12! Brita says. Her next wedding, her next album release, Im there, Adele!

With that kind of celebrity endorsement, Brita headed into season 12 as one of the most seasoned queens on the runway, having also performed on theatrical stages namely a production of Cinderellathat launched her drag career: I was so sick of doing those basic ass white musicals about fing Oklahoma or the South Pacific. If I had to do that one more time as an actor they didnt write anything for queer people of color, so what better thing to create this persona as a queer person of color? Shes an actor who became a dragtress.

Brita warns that the warm personality shes known for mightve cracked (a bit) as cameras rolled for season 12, but she caught herself before it got ugly, and learned from her mistakes in what she hopes will register as human moments, much like the atmosphere she tries to create at her drag shows in the city: When I started drag, I felt like I didnt belong in my community and I wanted to make sure every show I did was that I made people feel welcome and everybody was allowed to be whoever they wanted to be at my show.

Springfield, Mo.

Some of her season 12 sisters have (playfully, affectionately, lovingly) warned: Crystal Methyd might have a mullet. Shes unorthodox, to say the least. But, the half-ready, wide-eyed queen wearing a pair of cozy, multi-colored socks and slippers that rest comfortably underneath a fully beaten mug (with cherry-red glitter in place of lipstick and eyelashes that jutt out from her face like peacock feathers) before she finishes dressing herself for the shoot gives off a warm, maternal midwestern charm that could put anyone at ease. With my name, its maybe inappropriate, or people think Im going to be nasty or gross. Meth is kind of an issue where I live, so I wanted to represent my hometown and bring awareness, but drag is just about taking care of each other and loving each other, she says. My humor isnt sexual, Ive never been one of those people who makes fun of the audience, and I just want everyone to feel like theyre included.

So, she started a recurring drag night, Get Dusted, in her hometown, but heres the gag: She loves hosting it at grungy, rock themed straight bars. It makes people feel less afraid to go in there for some reason. The fact that its a gay club, some people dont even want to step foot in there, she says. Its an all-ages show, parents bring their young teenagers in, and its fun to see support for all the community.

In essence, always expect the unexpected when stepping into the world of Crystal Methyd: I really love color and glitter, Im not really worried about looking like a woman. Ive always been so feminine, so Im going to bring that into whatever Im wearing. I like to be a monster or cartoon character, I want people to not really understand whats happening, she muses with a light twang in her voice. One look that I really liked, I just painted myself white with white tights that I put pillow stuffing in, and I was this weird blob. When I posted it online I asked, What am I? and the comments were so funny. [People thought I was], um, jz. You know? No, we dont. But were on board for the ride, wherever shes taking us.

Los Angeles, Calif.

Dahlia Sin knows shes hot. She is, after all, perhaps the first queen in Drag Race history to pose nude atop a floating donut (a since-deleted Instagram photo proved as much). Im more of a sex queen, or, known as a sex worker. I just call myself a sex queen. I give full-on sex when Im on stage, explains Sin. Ive always felt like a sexual person, not meaning I like to have sex, Ive always been very sensual as a boy, so I transitioned it into my drag.

How does one hone such skills as a self-described sexy, banjee, c whos perfect, gorgeous, and looks like Linda Evangelista? She got it from her mama, of course: She put me in drag the first time seven years ago, Sin says of her drag mother, All-Stars 3alum and rising rap star Aja. I was a club kid for two years, then I transitioned into doing more drag. Back then, it was more creepy. I think I just stuck to the creepy stuff because I didnt know how to paint myself, so I did whatever on my face until I learned what I wanted to do.

Now, she focuses on performing beautiful burlesque numbers, rap sets, and posting stunning editorials to her Instagram page, where shes already followed by nearly 60,000 people. In my head, I was thinking I [couldnt] let my fans down, so it was a lot of pressure for that reason, she says of the stress of heading into Drag Race with a pre-established following, but she doesnt want to be boxed into the category of look queen, either. Im not a comedy queen, but Im super funny. I cant come up with jokes, but Im funny in my own dorky way.

Case in point? The way she describes seeing the season 12 queens for the first time: My first impression when I walked into the Werk Room was ew to a lot of queens, she remembers, laughing. I wont say who. Remember when Ru said meh [on season 11]? Thats what I thought.

Los Angeles, CA

Gigi Goode gets so into her craft, even Mother Nature is trying to sabotage her. Like that time a particularly strong gust of wind (combined with an epic hair flip) once sent her wig flying over the side of a Los Angeles skyscraper during a rooftop performance. I didnt notice until the end of my number, but, bitch, the wig flew, she says. And, given the way shes dressed as we converse tall, lanky, in a textured outfit with a cape that reads as if she leapt from the pages of a 1960s superhero comic youd believe her if she told you she jumped off the side of the building after it. She is a slave to fashion, hair, and makeup, after all, given her mother rearing her on her talents as a theatrical costume designer and interior designer, which inspired Goodes transformation into a life-sized drag doll at the age of 15.

My female idols werent Britney or Beyonc. My women icons were the illustrations on clothing patterns, those disproportionate women in these insane poses wearing the most incredible things. I stretch my ankles in a way where I can pose them like that, and its definitely not good for me, but its that unrealistic beauty I try to hard to reach, she explains. While shes both horny for and a slut for a runway (and has ambitions of working them from Paris to Milan), her live performances deliberately rail against the rigidity of fashion poise.

I love getting out onstage as a pretty fashion girl and striking a pose, but as soon as the song starts, my jaw is on the floor, my eyes are as wide as they can be, Im shaking and grooving. like a giant spaghetti noodle in fashion, Goode says. I dont care if I look a fool. A lot of queens have a tendency to be careful with what they do so they dont mess anything up, she finishes, pausing briefly. F that!

Ramseur, N.C.

Heidi N Closet only has one eyelash on. It makes the usually unnoticeable, natural human tic of blinking an unmissable piece of facial performance art (hello, Gia Gunn), as her monolithic, singular lash bounces up and down, brushing her cheek while she throws her head back to laugh at her own (hilarious) observations, all before she can get back to finishing her makeup. But her irresistible personality makes up for the other eyes (momentary) lack of lash-based enhancement, and its immediately clear that Heidi isnt your average pageant girl.

Not everything has to be rhinestoned out the ass. I kind of walk the line of old-school pageant line with new school flair, the semi-trained dancer (who was once judged on the circuit by Drag Race legend Stacy Layne Matthews) says, though she doesnt buy into the cutthroat stigma thats long followed pageants. I help other girls, because if Im going to win, I want you to be at your best, too, so I can say I whooped your ass when you were at your best.

When I ask about Blessed and highly favored, a phrase (and hashtag) she frequently uses, she tells me its helped give her the confidence required to overcome her past as a closeted child raised in a Southern Baptist household. I have a strong background of churchgoing, so its a way of saying if youre feeling amazing about yourself and everything is going well, youre feeling very blessed by the Lord and favored because he keeps giving it to you, she says. I grew up feeling like everything I was doing and feeling was wrong, so it took a toll on me. Like, why am I like this? Why am I being taught that everything Im feeling is wrong and that Im going to go to hell for being who I am? I have an older sibling, shes a trans woman, and she was a gateway for me to understand things about myself and see the other side of what I am.

Thus, the performer jumped out, and she hasnt looked back since. As for the season ahead, she hints that her larger-than-life attitude reared on the pageant circuit may or may not come out to play: I would never be troubled. Im a good, Christian southern belle. Shes a darling, honey, Heidi chirps with a smirk. The group is such a lovely group of girls who are all so different. We care for each other and always want each other to be our best [so] I wouldnt say no drama. I would never start drama, she concludes, but I finish drama. *Blinks*

New York City, N.Y.

Shes in full face, clad in a super cozy ensemble that can best be described as a fun, gay onesie fit for luxuriating around the house on a Sunday afternoon. Shes clearly in the early stages of putting on a full look, but Jackie Coxs commitment to narrative and improvising in the moment is apparent from the start. I picked this out for you, she jokes, referencing the ensemble. She has a penchant for making people laugh, even when it comes to spinning a backstory about her no-innuendos-here-at-all stage name. Or so she says.

I dont think I realized it had innuendo until like four years in. My mind just wasnt there, Cox says. Shes a character, a Broadway girl. I thought of her as that, not as a slut. I guess it is kind of a slutty name. I would offer hand jobs, but theyre covered in powder.

She hopes that comedic nature reared as a self-described nerdy kid obsessed with Star Trek and I Dream of Jeannie (two shows she often channels in her drag) can help heal divides both on and off the show. Some people see [drag queens] as the clowns of the community, but I see us as spiritual guides. Were here to help heal the divisions, and comedy is a great way to do that, says Cox, who caught the eye of Andy Cohen after a few appearances (once as a drag version of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Lisa Rinna) on Watch What Happens Live!, which later allowed her to book a gig on the Bravo float at Pride. I guess I have her blessing in the sense that she always reposts everything [I do as her], and shes commented in interviews that she thinks its fun.

Cox also promises the real season 12 money shot isnt all about comic distraction. We do talk about politics this season as well, but the focus is on us and our stories and our drag, she remembers. In seasons past, theres been a lot of, I wont say frivolous drama, but its less about that for us. If and when drama may or may not arise, its coming out of the drag, its not just I dont like you.'

Milwaukee, Wis.

If you feel like, today, you want to be the Grinch, then, baby be the Grinch. Drag is all about expression. Whatever Im feeling, I just let it out in drag.

Such is the drag philosophy of Jaida Essence Hall, who combines a dazzling mix of spooky character creations with classic pageant beauty to create a hybrid queen who can do it all.

Clearly, Im very much trade. I do live for the transformation. Theres something so sickening about the art. Drag is the embodiment of being who you want to be, she says of balancing her masculine energy with the feminine art. People would never expect me to be like this glamorous doll that loves beautiful things in a rich fantasy. I think Im the one percent, even though I have no money to pay my rent at the end of this month. Its not just [a physical] transformation of myself to Jaida, but an emotional shift when I get in drag. I stand up a little bit better, I feel more sexy. I move more snakey and slithery and slinky!

Shes also sharpened her fangs on the pageant circuit, but doesnt like to be known as a pageant girl, per se. Ive been doing drag for 10 years, and Ive done two pageants in the last two years, but in the grand scheme Ive maybe won about 12 beautiful titles, she says, laughing at the implication that shell gladly take the titles, but not the label. I did a lot of competitions and lost a lot of competitions, but eventually I realized that just doing pageants is not enough. You have to learn how to be a good performer and interact with a crowd, and that made me better as a performer. Being a showgirl and entertainer is more important than just competition!

New York City, N.Y.

Born from the metaphorical loins of season 9s Alexis Michelle, her drag mother, New York Citys Jan Sport yes, shes named after a backpack has showgirl excellence in her drag DNA. Enough that she went toe-to-toe with Simon Cowell as part of her performative trio Stephanies Child on season 14 of Americas Got Talent,when the hot-tempered judge infamously likened the groups vocals to screaming. That didnt go over well with Sport, who refused to roll over and quickly fired back at Cowell.

I have no idea what went on with him. When I look back at the tape Im like, Im not screaming I will always get to say that Simon Cowell told me that I was screaming. Thats great, I can accept that! she remembers. That attitude could come in handy as she steps into the notoriously contentious Drag Race Werk Room, but, for now, shes into the idea of bonding with her sisters versus overshadowing them. I love the Frock Destroyers, she says of the beloved girl group formed on season 1 of Drag Race UK. I would love to reach out to the girls for a [Stephanies Child] collaboration. We could be Little Mix 2.0!

New York City, N.Y.

Fashion muse Nicky Doll (very knowingly) boasts a severe exterior: Shes a doll lost between Shibuya in Tokyo and any Red Light district, so shes an anime prostitute, the France native says. She likes to paint like very 90s, Linda Evangelista, Mugler, but with a little twist of villains from anime. Sometimes people think Im a bitch, but thats just the way I paint. Im sweet under this, I promise!

That juxtaposition of look and attitude is where Doll draws most of her performative power.

She can be very pretty or very urban and have her ass out. She can dance. Shell surprise you by being so poised, but when you see her on stage, youre like, oh, shes a hoe, she jokes. As soon as I open my mouth, people realize Im not just a stuck-up bitch. Thats already debunking. Being a look queen [used to be] a forte, but now youre going to be even more attacked because theyre looking for something else. I have the confidence to go outside of my comfort zone and not just be a beauty queen.

In fact, she doesnt even see herself as traditionally beautiful, describing her drag application process as a deliciously monstrous undertaking: My favorite part of drag is to sketch, design, think about the look. I like to tell a story. To me, a look isnt just looking pretty, its art on its own. Between the time I sketch it to Im fully done, it takes two weeks to work on one look. The makeup? Two and a half hours. I play music and make a little drink, its a ritual. I erase my boy self and let the monster take over.

San Francisco, Calif.

You probably just pronounced Rock M. Sakuras name wrong. And thats okay. In fact, the San Francisco queen prefers it.

People say suh-kurr-a, which sounds more like suck, and I love self-deprecating, she says. I love when people mispronounce my name because I hate being alive.

After one look at Sakuras drag arsenal, however (which includes giant hair, anime-style paint, manga-inspired costumes, and aesthetic flair lifted from the best Japanese and Korean pop idols), its clear shes here to serve your life for days.

I always say that I was not raised by my parents, I was raised by television and video games, she describes, citing East Asian music (Utada Hikaru, Perfume) and fashion runways as key influencers. I used to dance at the bus stop to the Naruto opening, and I do J-Pop and K-Pop numbers [now]. More than anything, I want to be a J-Pop anime idol because of the joy they bring to peoples lives.

One such joy of Sakuras performance style which shes explored alongside Dragula season 2s Erika Klash, a friend and frequent collaborator is her willingness to get so explosive and messy that her live numbers sometimes require a tarp. I will ruin my drag for a good number. I do one to Utadas Simple and Clean, and I reveal sponges for my boobs and I start cleaning the audience. I spray them with Gatorade in a bottle, then I do a wig reveal and theres a mop on my head. I put it in a bucket and then I mop the floor.

Mont X Change, scrub your little sponge heart out.

New York City, N.Y.

Were all born naked and the rest is drag except for Sherry Pie, whose slice of life allegedly began after she shot out of her mothers vagina wearing kitten heels and glitter and into an upstate New York town where she molded her heinous early craft into a gilded career from within a (far less appealing) circle consisting of dudes in dresses. A course-correcting move to New York City (with a penchant for stage theatrics in tow) eventually saw her blossom into the Julie Taymor of drag as she concocted elaborate, unapologetically queer productions with full sets and costumes six nights per week.

You have to be good to be able to hold that spot, and I do a lot of high-production shows. I dont just stand up there and do a show, she explains, claiming that her numbers also serve a vital purpose as the only Manhattan sets that consistently raise money for various LGBTQIA causes. Drag shows have gotten away from being a community thing to raise up our community and to poke fun at our community. At a good drag show, you should laugh and cry, and [asking for donations] is our serious moment.

She also promises plenty of drama on her end this season, but thats all in the family, too: Family fights. And this season is family. Its amazing, because right now in our community we need to [remember] that we are family, were not separate.

Kansas City, Mo.

Shes a ratchet ass queen in high-class fashion, she looks like money, but talks like st, and shes fully prepared to set straight all who cross her. Just ask one particular ex-boyfriend of Widow VonDu a pageant beauty and recording artist who calls herself the original plus-sized Barbie as she bucks circuit traditions while snatching titles who didnt give her the respect she deserves.

He wasnt working. He was fing around on me, and he got real drunk and swung on me. I leaned back, and the next thing I know, the big ass dude underneath all this makeup came out! she recalls with a laugh, adding that, after struggles with drug abuse and romantic woes, shes the happiest shes ever been with Drag Race stardom looming and her blossoming rap career on the rise. Shes even made room for, well, two new men in her life. Im married to a wonderful man. Weve been together for three years, and I have a new boyfriend, we have a great throuple. I enjoy life. I work all the time. I get to see exciting things, and now Im going to see the world.

While her love life has entered a new phase of placidity, her music reflects the ups, downs, and struggles shes faced throughout her life, but she makes sure to spit her game like a ratchet ass queen in high-class fashion so you make no mistakes about her dedication to the craft: I dont f around. This is my life. Some people do this as a hobby, I do this as a career. All Ive done the last 10 years is drag I wouldnt cross me. They call me widow for a reason!

Exclusive: RuPaul, Drag Race season 12 cast give first interviews on twisted new season – Entertainment Weekly News

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