- 2 days ago
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00:00Inspired by Good Morning Bitches, I wanted to ask,
00:03do you remember the first time you ever saw a drag queen, and who was it?
00:08I was at a Hamburger Mary's in Tampa, which does not exist anymore, Alexis Mateo.
00:14Yeah, she was the first queen I saw in person, and I was just a little closeted gay boy like,
00:20take my dollar.
00:21I went to Columbia College in Chicago, and my friends got us into Spin Nightclub,
00:27which is no longer there, and it was a drag show that night, and it was, I think it was
00:32Debbie Fox,
00:33was her name, and I made my friend, Hayley, hold my hand because I was so nervous and scared,
00:39and I was like, maybe they won't interact with me if they think I'm a straight man.
00:43And then they definitely do.
00:44And then the fact that that makes them want to interact with you more.
00:47My first rude girl that I ever saw was Shea Coulee at Oil Can Harry's in Austin when I was
00:53in college,
00:54so it was when I was first just learning about drag.
00:57Oh, this was very, very exciting.
00:59Darlene, you are one of the elite queens who've made it to the end without ever having to lip sync.
01:03Yes.
01:04What tricks can we expect from you in the finale?
01:06All of them.
01:08Name them.
01:09Name them.
01:09We got splits.
01:10We got kicks.
01:11We got, yeah.
01:12Can you name them?
01:13Name them.
01:14Yeah.
01:14I'm like, in fact, y'all name them.
01:17Oh, my gosh.
01:17But, yeah, it was such an amazing feeling to get to the end and realize that, you know,
01:23I'm like, oh, my gosh.
01:24I do remember, I do remember, I think you were also, had a little help from Mia.
01:29Mia was giving some choreography advice.
01:30Yes, yes, yes, yes.
01:31So, in that time in between, I literally was on the phone with me at FaceTime being like,
01:36girl, we got to get something together.
01:38We got to get something together.
01:40Mikey, you know, three wins in the row at the end is quite a feat.
01:45Did that make you feel a little bit of pressure going into the finale, or did it just give you
01:49that confidence boost you needed?
01:51I think it gave me the confidence boost for sure, yeah.
01:53I mean, I think I'm the only queen in the show's history to do the last three challenges
01:58in a row.
02:00So, yeah, I think I'm going to.
02:01Yeah, point.
02:04Track record.
02:06Well, yeah.
02:07Well, NeNe, icon icon, you know.
02:10On the flip side, you had to lip sync three times in a row to secure your spot in the
02:18finale.
02:19How did that prepare you to take on these two queens?
02:22You know, lip syncing is tough because, you know, you're in the bottom, but, I mean,
02:28Lip Sync Assassin.
02:29I have won four lip syncs on the season so far.
02:34Cardi, Chappell, Gaga, Ari, like, whatever the finale brings, I'm ready to do it.
02:40And, like, if lip syncing to the crown is part of the show, I'm down to do it.
02:45Like, I feel like that's one of my strengths, and Rue sees that in me as, like, a powerhouse
02:51performer.
02:51So, I'm going to lean into it.
02:54Yeah.
02:54Darlene, I was really touched when Rue showed some real vulnerability talking about your
02:59shared sobriety.
03:01A little bit about your sobriety.
03:02And I know firsthand how, how, when you take the time to live in your skin and to honor
03:13that, what can happen?
03:15How special was that moment to you?
03:17That moment, I will, like, I'll remember that conversation for the rest of my life.
03:22Like, and it went a little bit, like, deeper and longer, like, personal than what was aired.
03:30And so, like, that conversation we had, and I almost kind of, like, liked that, that it
03:35got to stay with just, like, it stayed in the room.
03:38Like, it just felt very present.
03:40And it just meant a lot to me to feel so seen and understood in that moment.
03:47Um, so, yeah, I'll remember that for sure for, like, the rest of my life.
03:52So sweet.
03:53And, uh, NeNe, you struggled to connect with some of the other queens this season.
03:57I just was, like, I'm going home.
03:59And I feel like that was causing me to shrink into myself.
04:02And as the weeks went on, I did look around the room, and I was, like, is it me?
04:06Am I the one that's not doing the work to connect with these people?
04:09And I think the answer was yes.
04:11How has it been since the show wrapped?
04:13Have you been able to bond with your sisters?
04:15Yeah, um, I left the group chat.
04:17Yeah.
04:18Um, I think, I think a lot of that experience was my head was so in the competition and the
04:25fear of losing that opportunity to continue to be there and share and try all these challenges
04:31that it stopped me from fully connecting with all of, all of the girls.
04:37But now I'm, like, we talk all the time.
04:40We text every day.
04:41The group chat is on fire.
04:42Like, and we've all gotten to see each other as we're touring.
04:45And, like, that has been such a gift because I do feel like we got to share and experience
04:51the 14 of us that nobody else, like, everyone's gotten to have a piece of it.
04:55But the core of it and the, the really heartbreaking moments and the really, like, deep moments,
05:00like, we get to hold on to that.
05:01And that's never going to change.
05:03So it's like, we have been bonded as sisters through this process.
05:06Mikey, what do Jenny, Kyle, Trevor, and Evan make of your success on the show?
05:11I have a core group of best friends.
05:14Jenny, Kyle, Trevor, Evan.
05:16Been best friends since college for 12 years now.
05:19And we talk every single day.
05:20They were there from the first day I started drag to the day I left for the competition.
05:24Oh, my God.
05:26Shout out.
05:27Like, who are they?
05:28Fans.
05:29Oh, my God.
05:30Oh, that's such a sweet question.
05:32So those are my, like, four best friends.
05:34We met in college, oh, my God, 12 years ago at this point.
05:38Literally text every single day.
05:40I've had a group chat going for 12 years now.
05:42Wow.
05:43And they've been there since I started driving.
05:46I mean, I remember January 2019, I told them, I kind of want to do this.
05:50And they've been there every single step of the way, every single competition, outfit, stoning, all that good stuff.
05:57They've been in my numbers.
05:58They've helped me make stuff.
05:59So I, a lot of the time to help me get through these moments on the show was to say,
06:07like, I can't wait to tell them about this part.
06:09I can't wait for them to hear how it went.
06:12Or I could really use their voices right now.
06:14So they're just really special people.
06:17And I know I'm very lucky to have, like, a really good tight group friend, friend group.
06:21And Nene, you know, your partner on the Gay Rodeo Makeover Challenge, Jason, said in the workroom that you changed
06:28his life.
06:29How did that feel to hear that?
06:30And I know you paid him a visit recently.
06:32Yes.
06:32Yeah.
06:33So we've stayed in touch and we text.
06:35Like, even this week, he was like, if you need any help with the finale week, let me know.
06:41He, I think, so much of what he shared, he has lived a thousand lives.
06:45Looking back, I might have made slightly different choices just to really make sure, you know, he was fully comfortable
06:53and, like, maybe leave the bug thing down a bit.
06:57Like, maybe, maybe not make, maybe not make.
06:59Embrace it, babe.
07:00Embrace it.
07:00That's your game.
07:01That's your game.
07:03But, yeah, he's been, he's been so great.
07:06We live near each other.
07:07Well, and since you bring up the bugs, you know, Willem in Alaska has coined your drag from the House
07:12of Bugs and Buggery.
07:14Yes.
07:14You know, what is with the bugs?
07:16Girl, listen, the bugs, it's the bugs, the bugs.
07:21I think, I think it's so geometric and so, like, the colors and the shapes of bugs.
07:27We all have our special interests.
07:28You know what?
07:29We all have our special interests.
07:30That's true.
07:31I do think I've found so much inspiration in, I agree, it's like the color and the aesthetic,
07:37and also, I think they're just so cool and so interesting.
07:39Like, nature's so freaking cool.
07:42And, uh, I mean, nature's so cool, y'all.
07:46No, it's truly, it just has inspired me.
07:48And there's, there's so many things we can pull from to get inspiration.
07:53And, and, like, the animal world and insect world is definitely one of my, my big draws.
07:57Mikey, obviously one of your muses is Drew Barrymore.
08:00Oh, yes, she is.
08:03Actress, a TV show host, and America's favorite cool mom.
08:08I've never been kids, but I sure know how to pucker.
08:13What is the key to a great Drew Barrymore impression?
08:15Mmm, oh, oh, I had to do it to her face, so that was a little light coming on, too.
08:20Don't hate me, don't hate me.
08:21Um, well, the mannerisms are there.
08:23So, she talks out of the side of her mouth, and I'm kind of adding more of a lisp than
08:29she
08:29really does have, but she also, like, has those sarcastic, like, okay, kind of eyes.
08:34Like, yeah, well, yeah, she, she likes to get up in people's face and all that.
08:38And, um, she just has a sense of, like, comfortability and empathy, empathy?
08:46Empathy, yes, yes.
08:48Empathy?
08:49Empathy.
08:50Empathy.
08:50Um, that is just easy to channel, and I just, she's so endearing.
08:54It's just so fun.
08:55Yeah.
08:55It's so fun.
08:56And, um, what was it like to go on the Drew Barrymore show?
08:59It was amazing.
09:00It was amazing.
09:01Um, it was really fast.
09:02I had to come fully ready, 20 minutes there.
09:05Okay, you're on set, walk out.
09:06Oh, wow.
09:07There's Drew and Ross Matthews, and immediately she comes up to give a hug, and she's just
09:11grabbing me by the hand.
09:12She's just, like, just everything.
09:14She's exactly who you think she is and just as amazing as you think she is.
09:17She was getting real close, too.
09:18She was.
09:18She was getting in my mind.
09:20The thing about Drag Race is you should not see us for more than, like, two feet a day.
09:23No, and daytime lighting is not the same as a stage, so my makeup was a little wild, but,
09:29um, she was just so sweet, and she was, like, you could tell that she was loving the,
09:34uh, being honored in that way.
09:37And then I told her, I was like, you should, you need to be a judge on Drag Race.
09:40Yes.
09:40She's never been.
09:41And she was like, I know, I can't believe I've never done it.
09:44So maybe someday.
09:45Well, she, she knows a guy.
09:47She knows a guy.
09:48I know.
09:49Well, and sort of lastly, what's one thing you will take away from this experience that you'll carry on with
09:55you?
09:57Mm.
09:57For me, I think that lesson of just sort of, like, um, forgetting about the fear, forgetting about judgment,
10:05leaning into your joy and being present in the moment, and that lesson was learned in real time while filming,
10:13and, um, that is something that is just, like, sort of life changing for me.
10:18So I will, I will hold onto that one for sure.
10:21Yeah.
10:21I think the ultimate lesson is trusting my gut.
10:24Yeah.
10:24Just trust my gut.
10:25It got me to this point.
10:26It's gotten me this far in my career.
10:28And, uh, I may not have all the correct answers in the moment, but the intention's there.
10:33Seeing ourselves on screen, I think, has given me so much clarity about, like, how I am and how I
10:38can be perceived,
10:39and then how I can also, like, better interact with the world and better, like, continue to find new ways
10:45to connect with people
10:47and connect with, like, the things that really matter.
10:50And I think that was, like, the whole season has just given me clarity.
10:53Mm.
10:53And so, like, I'm taking that into everything that I do moving forward.
10:58It's a lifetime of therapy smashed into weeks.
11:01Literally.
11:01Smashed into weeks.
11:03Yes, yes.
11:04I don't know if I would recommend it, but it's very intensive therapy for sure.
11:08Ooh.
11:09And also sisterhood.
11:11Sisterhood!
11:12Sisterhood!
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