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00:00Hello, my liquid lipsticks.
00:01Welcome to another episode of Whatcha Packin'?
00:09I am here with Miami's own Athena Dionne,
00:12mother of the House of Dionne.
00:14Yes, ma'am.
00:15I'm so excited to be here with you.
00:16It is so wonderful.
00:18The real mother, OK?
00:19We could be mothers together.
00:21We could be co-mothers, yes.
00:22Who came in the workroom first?
00:23I was the first queen in the workroom, period.
00:25So what is your feeling when Juicy walks through?
00:28It's kind of crazy.
00:29Like, first of all, surreal that I'm even on the show.
00:31You know, I've been auditioning for, like, a lot of years.
00:33So I'm here processing my feelings.
00:35How many?
00:35I've been doing drag for 16.
00:36I think I've auditioned 13 times consecutively.
00:39Listen, whatever, you don't stop.
00:40Don't give up.
00:42I love that.
00:42Truly, you know, became a ritual.
00:45Send it in, don't hear back, go about your life.
00:47Oh, that's so sad in theater.
00:48It is, when you think about it that way.
00:49But then, so when I got the call,
00:51I had to, like, break the glass.
00:52In case you get the call, break in case of emergency.
00:53What do I do now?
00:55So she walks in and, like, I'm processing being there.
00:58And then you see, like, somebody, like, my literal heartbeat,
01:01a part of me that just lives outside of my body, walk in.
01:04And then you get this whole other rush of feelings,
01:06like, mommy feelings, like, all this stuff.
01:08And then you remember, it's a competition.
01:09I was just going to say.
01:10No, it's so much.
01:11Where does Morphine love?
01:13Morphine love, Dionne, is my daughter.
01:15Isn't Juicy your daughter?
01:16Juicy, okay.
01:17Okay.
01:17God, we always have to go through this.
01:19It's so hard to explain myself.
01:20Okay, I knew it.
01:21So they like to use this G word.
01:22You know what I mean?
01:23Okay, gay?
01:23Yeah, like, grand, gone.
01:25Oh, okay, so you're the-
01:26She is Morphine's daughter.
01:27You see how I tiptoed around that?
01:29Yeah, so Juicy is Morphine's daughter.
01:31Morphine's your daughter.
01:31That just makes you the fabulous mother.
01:33The fabulous, the overall house mother.
01:35Yes.
01:36Morphine's going to repost this.
01:37She's going to be like, I'm the real mother!
01:39I love Morphine.
01:41Are you the most, how do I say it, the most seasoned queen?
01:44I thought I was.
01:46Who was?
01:46I thought I was going to be the long-
01:48I don't know if I've been doing drag the longest out of my season,
01:50but you know, the seasons have been pretty young lately, like younger.
01:53Who are you telling?
01:54Right, so I'm like, oh baby, I'm going to clear these hoes.
01:58And then I walk in and there's like 39-year-old, 38-year-olds, 35-year-olds.
02:02I'm 37.
02:03Uh-huh.
02:03And I'm like, what are all these old bitches doing here?
02:06I was supposed to clean sweep.
02:08I brought my best.
02:09I brought my A-game, so you know what I mean?
02:10You did, and you're super-
02:11You, out of this entire season, are the dragiest of all.
02:17You are the dragiest.
02:19I wear this like a badge of honor.
02:21You called me the draggiest drag queen that's ever dragged on the stage,
02:24and I was like, I could go.
02:26I'm good.
02:26I'm good.
02:27I love it.
02:27I kind of live for it.
02:28I love the way you do drag.
02:30I see, I am a sucker for an old-school drag queen who has really done the hard yards.
02:35There's something to be said about being raised in the back room of a smoky bar
02:40with queens that don't have cell phones and grabbing lash glue and shoving people over
02:44and hearing that kitty-ka-ka-ka.
02:45Like, that culture, that drag culture that is why drag is so famous and popular today,
02:50it's like, that's what raised me.
02:51That's like the school that I came from.
02:53Same.
02:53And I just feel like it's the magic of what we're all doing.
02:56But honestly, this is what it's going to take.
02:58Yeah.
02:59When you fail, that's how you get stronger and better.
03:02Totally.
03:02So if you're at a gig and it's not working, you forget the lyrics, the audience is not having it,
03:07that's how you learn to pick yourself up, figure out what you did wrong, get better, and do it again.
03:14And you're a sewer.
03:15Girl, so all these years I've been doing drag, I never sewed anything.
03:19And when I got the first call, I hired this lady three times a week to teach me how to
03:24sew.
03:24So thank you, thank you, thank you.
03:26And we did three patterns that I could, like, master.
03:29I managed to get two out.
03:31Do you feel confident now?
03:32I do.
03:32Good.
03:33I do.
03:33I even top place, uh, place top, top place.
03:36Either or.
03:37Either or.
03:37Just your top.
03:37I'm not.
03:40You're a verse sewer.
03:41I'm a verse sewer.
03:43So I did.
03:44I was really proud of my sewing skills.
03:46And I don't know, it worked out great.
03:47So like, now I'm like a real full-fledged drag queen.
03:49I can sew.
03:49I also love that you wear your Greek heritage.
03:52Very proudly.
03:53How important is that to you?
03:54It's extremely important to me.
03:55Like, I grew up in a military family.
03:57So we moved around to Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, like the southern states,
04:02Germany, England.
04:03Germany and England.
04:03Germany, England.
04:05There's base, there's military bases.
04:06How old were you there?
04:07I was, uh, eight years old.
04:09Around eight, seven, eight.
04:10How cool is that?
04:11Yeah.
04:11Did you pick anything up when you were over there?
04:13I used to speak German.
04:14I think I can count to ten in German, actually.
04:16Do you speak Greek?
04:17I speak Greek.
04:17I speak Spanish because I live in Miami.
04:19I speak English.
04:20All right, polyglot.
04:21Yeah, polyglot.
04:22Honey, this mouth is talented, baby.
04:23Yes, she's multilingual.
04:24But the Greek thing was always the constant in my life.
04:27So it was very important to have that, especially my drag.
04:29My name, Athena.
04:30And I just always wanted to represent a country that I love so much and a beautiful country
04:34with rich history and bring it through everything I do.
04:37It's like my most, it's my badge of honor.
04:38It's my pride.
04:39How often do you get back to the motherland?
04:41I go every summer.
04:41I work in Mykonos every summer.
04:43Do you?
04:43I have a residency, yes.
04:44Drag?
04:45Drag.
04:45And I brought Juicy with me the last three years.
04:47I've been doing it for eight years now.
04:49And I'm singing Mamma Mia and ABBA songs on a Greek island all summer.
04:53I'm like, what more could you ask for?
04:54You waited 13?
04:5613 tries to get on the show.
04:57What was your favorite part of doing the competition?
04:59Just being there in general.
05:00I remember walking into the workroom and we were doing something for a mini challenge.
05:03And I looked up, I saw RuPaul's picture.
05:05And I don't know, I got this wave of emotion.
05:07It was like fear, happiness, excitement, joy.
05:10And I was just like, this is it.
05:13You're here.
05:13We're here.
05:14We're here, bitch.
05:14It was so, it was a slap in the face.
05:17It took a few days to kind of get over it.
05:19But I don't think I ever will.
05:20It was amazing.
05:21And you shouldn't.
05:22It's a moment in time.
05:23But you were always very special because you give me such mother energy.
05:27Like when we did the singing stuff together and the acting together.
05:30First of all, you remind me a lot of my mom.
05:32My mom, 80s, you guys are in about the same generation.
05:35Her signature look was big curly black hair.
05:37You know, I mimic that a lot in my drag.
05:39She's the first drag queen I ever knew was my mother.
05:41Oh, I love her already.
05:42And you guys are so similar.
05:44So seeing you was also like a warm hug.
05:46And you were so mommy and those things.
05:47And it was just what I needed at the times I needed it.
05:51You know what I mean?
05:52Because Ru, you know, you're starstruck when you see RuPaul.
05:54And she's just such a presence and like everything you want to be.
05:57And then you were just like, thank you.
05:59Oh, thank you.
06:01Yeah, you're awesome. It's so good.
06:02That's very kind. I appreciate that.
06:03You went home in Beige Against the Machine.
06:07I did.
06:07I was wearing a plant on my head.
06:09It was.
06:10Yes, you were.
06:11I was wearing a pot and it was flowers.
06:12It was pretty cool what you did.
06:14There was a lot going on.
06:15Oh, my wheat tits.
06:16But yes, listen, can't beat that.
06:18I think it was a moment for all of us.
06:20And we felt that for you to have to lip sync against your granddaughter.
06:24Yeah.
06:24Daughter.
06:25She's my best friend.
06:26I mean, she has a lot of titles in my life, to be honest with you.
06:29And we're 14 years apart.
06:30You know, I know I look about the same age as her.
06:32But she's been there for me and I've been there for her.
06:37We have a very special bond going into it.
06:40And we were kind of navigating those waters through the whole season.
06:42Like if you had to.
06:43Well, yeah, of course.
06:44Because you know at the end there's only one winner.
06:45So no matter what, one of us was either going to make it or not.
06:48You know, that's just how it works.
06:50But to be there, you know what I mean?
06:52Looking at somebody you like love so much, then looking at where you wanted to be for so long.
06:56Of course.
06:56It's quite a conundrum to be in.
06:58And you helped create that monster.
07:00Yeah.
07:00Like she is.
07:02That's my baby girl.
07:02Oh, we want to talk about lip syncing.
07:05I mean, I didn't teach her any of her dance moves, to be honest with you.
07:07But as far as drag is concerned, I could take some credit for it.
07:10Yes.
07:10And just personality.
07:12And she's such a quick learner and she wants to be the best.
07:15She takes what you teach her well and she applies it immediately.
07:18And she's so smart and so brilliant.
07:20And I wanted to be so proud of her.
07:21And I just was.
07:22You know what I mean?
07:23And you could see that.
07:24Yeah.
07:24And that's what a true mother slash gay mother does.
07:28I hope the people get that too.
07:29Because I feel like it is a message for gay families.
07:31You know what I mean?
07:32Like you know how important the gay family can be when you don't necessarily have the support at home.
07:36Like we are very important to each other.
07:39And I just hope that that was a message to America, to the world of like how important it is
07:43to have your chosen family.
07:44And what you can be for each other.
07:46What about your given family?
07:47Are they supportive of what you do?
07:48Very supportive of me.
07:49I'm going to make you laugh right now.
07:50So I'm the oldest of three.
07:52My younger brother is a monk.
07:54A Greek Orthodox monk.
07:55He lives in a monastery in Greece.
07:58And women are not allowed there.
08:00You can look it up.
08:01It's in Mount Athos.
08:02So I asked my mom, I'm like, which drugs were you doing when you were pregnant with both of us?
08:06Let's talk about these gorgeous looks that you brought for us.
08:09First of all, under the lights, that is a stunner.
08:12Yeah, I mean, come on.
08:14It's fully encrusted in rhinestones, that nude color.
08:17It's one of my faves.
08:18I love a shiny dress and the silhouette is gorgeous.
08:21Who made it?
08:21You didn't.
08:22This is from Yaya Torres in Brazil.
08:24Okay.
08:25She reached out to me and said, do you need any designers for anything coming up?
08:27And I was like, I do.
08:29Uh-huh.
08:29I sure do.
08:30She made this too.
08:32The lamb?
08:32The lamb.
08:33Okay.
08:33The sheep, the fetishy sheep, honey.
08:35And on the butt it says, shave me.
08:38I'm so excited to wear that one.
08:39You're naughty.
08:40Girl, you have nothing, honey.
08:42Listen, you can still wear that one.
08:44Who says I haven't already?
08:45Okay.
08:46And the middle one with the flames?
08:48This is made by a designer named Beck in New York City.
08:51He made like a lot of Susie Toots costumes on her season.
08:54And when the wind picks this up, it completely ignites in flames.
08:58So I wanted to do something different because I'm like a gown queen.
09:01I like my gown silhouette.
09:03So I kind of want to do some body suits in there and not be so predictable on the runway.
09:06So this was one of those.
09:07What is your goal?
09:08What is your hope to get out of this?
09:09Like, why did you want to do this so desperately?
09:12You know, I'm a Leo, so I love just being in the center of attention.
09:15Fair.
09:15I want to be on TV.
09:16I want to travel the world.
09:17I want to host television shows.
09:19I want to be like you.
09:20Oh, I love it.
09:21You are like, you are the epitome of like what Athena Dion would love to be one day.
09:25Like you are everything.
09:26I don't, I say that truly from my heart and like your career path.
09:29It's similar to what I would like to do, you know, a personality out there and just
09:33speaking to people and kind of just making change in the right way.
09:37Aww.
09:37So I just, I like that this gives a platform to have that, that opportunity that could happen.
09:42It 100% can happen and I believe it 100% will happen in my life.
09:46You have been so much fun and so strong.
09:49I saw so much pride in you, not just in what you do, but then again with, you know,
09:54a little juicy out there.
09:55It was really tough to watch that lip sync, but I think you handled it the way a true mother
10:01would handle it.
10:02It was powerful and beautiful.
10:04So thank you for sharing and for giving all you got this season.
10:08I had nothing else to give.
10:09You had a great run.
10:10I did.
10:10I did.
10:11I had a wonderful time.
10:12I would do it again in a heartbeat.
10:13It was fab.
10:14And thank you to everybody that made it possible.
10:16I'm sure you will do it again, so.
10:19You heard it here first.
10:20There you go.
10:21And thank you all for joining us for another episode of Whatcha Packing.
10:23We'll see you next time.
10:25Mwah.
10:26I see the sun shining bright.
10:28Ain't a cloud in the sky.
10:30Yeah, it's a good day.
10:31Do you cook?
10:32I have an air fryer that is fierce.
10:34That's a no.
10:36Fierce air fryer.
10:37Honey, I can air fry anything, girl.
10:39Hilarious.
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