“I can’t promise I’ll be hilarious or amazing. I might not even be charming,” Bob the Drag Queen insists over Zoom, before diving bald-headfirst into our 50 Questions, “but I’ll be truthful, how about that?” With a name like Bob the Drag Queen, one would probably expect a ‘what you see is what you get’ kind of deal, and Bob is every ounce as authentic, lively, contemplative and self-assured as when she first graced our television screens for RuPaul’s Drag Race in 2016 – only to return to New York with the title of America’s Next Drag Superstar, $100,000 dollars richer (pre-tax, of course). Now living in Los Angeles, a host of HBO’s We’re Here, podcasts, with a make-up line, two GLAAD Awards, a Peabody, various acting credits and soon to be the supporting act on Madonna’s sell-out world tour, it’s safe to say Bob the Drag Queen’s star isn’t losing its lustre anytime soon.
Behind all that razzle-dazzle is a hypersensitivity, too. Bob is steadfast in his morals, speaking with remarkable purpose, a wry wit, an emotional resonance that’s spurred her to mobilise her platform as a vehicle for activism. The cover art of her EP Gay Barz, released earlier this year, is a polaroid image of her arrest in 2010 after blocking the streets near Times Square. She was holding a sign in full drag that read ‘New York Demands Marriage Equality Now.’ Track five in particular, Black, a red-hot ode to “fag shit, dyke shit, trans shit, fight shit,” boils down to her community, uplifting those who need it most: “music for my people and you ain't gotta like shit.”
Now with the upcoming release of her new standup comedy special Woke Man In A Dress, streaming on Patreon, and the recent unveiling of Bob and Monét X Change’s joint make-up venture, Bomo Beauty, now is the perfect time to fire 50 prying questions at the drag juggernaut – from Madonna, religion, to why Britain has the worst cuisine on the planet.
1. You’ve won GLAAD awards, a Peabody, Drag Race. You do make-up, you act, sing, perform comedy, you’ve spoken at MoMA, and you’re going to be supporting Madonna on her world tour. What can’t you do successfully? I can’t tell the difference between a lowercase ‘d’ and a lowercase ‘b’. It really trips me up. I have to spell out my name with my hands to differentiate.
2. Are you at home right now? I’m in New York in a hotel. I live in Los Angeles. Imagine if my home was decorated like this – jeez. You think I would have these hideous curtains in a home I live in?
3. Sorry! What’s your personal beauty manifesto? I can either do the work it takes to have the body that I think is beautiful, or I can do the mental work that it takes to shift my thinking to accept my body – and I decided to do neither. They’re both a lot of work. I don’t want to go to the gym and I don’t want to work my brain.
4. What’s the gap in the market that you’re hoping to fill with Bomo? I think that somewhere in the mix of make-up, the camp of glamour got lost – we’re hoping to bring that back, for sure.
5. Might you be bringing out sponges? For make-up … just for make-up. We will not be doing any dish sponges.
6. Can you remember your first time doing your own makeup, and how did it look? I was in college, and it was for Professor Steven Graver’s class. We did what he was calling ‘opposite sex makeup’. I had long hair that I did half-up-half-down, this big feather boa – I think I might have been 19 years old – that was my first time.
7. What’s the fastest you can get into drag? If I really have to, I can do it in 30 minutes. I really don’t like to. It won’t be my best ever, but it will be acceptable.
8. What do you think about when you’re putting on your makeup? I usually listen to a podcast – I’m usually listening to Ira Glass from This American Life. But sometimes I end up listening to a sad episode and I’m like, ‘Oh my god, this is depressing, now I have to go tell jokes.’
9. Do you see your drag persona as an extension of yourself, or a different person entirely? I don’t even know that I would call it an extension, it’s just me wearing different clothes. I always think of ‘Bob’ as my nickname, and my drag is my work clothes, but I really don’t feel like I take on a new persona.
10. When you first met Monét X Change, did you ever think that you’d be getting into business with her? I thought that we’d maybe be working on a club or a party together, which we did for years. But no, not in this capacity.
Which city has the best nightlife in the world? “New York City has the best nightlife in the world. The city is made for the night. There are entire neighbourhoods I’ve never seen in the daytime” – Bob the Drag Queen
11. And how has she been? Monét is lovely. She is also my antithesis and my demise, but she’s also my inspiration and my best friend.
12. What do you think the effect of social media has been on drag? I think it’s positive, you know. There are a lot of people getting into drag which is helping the art form evolve even faster. We’re moving through a lot of trends. I think that social media has helped a lot of drag performers who do activism with their work spread that information, spread the joy and the power of drag, and how you can really be a community leader.
13. Speaking of trends, what drag trend do you think needs to disappear? I don’t love the flat human hair wigs. Everyone thinks they need a human hair wig and I’m like, ’Girl, okay, pop off.’ The trend is like: how long can my hair be? Who got the longest hair? And it’s like … all right … I mean, I guess.
14. Which city has the best nightlife in the world? You know the answer to that question, you don’t even need me to say it. New York City has the best nightlife in the world. The city is made for the night. In fact, there are entire neighbourhoods I’ve never seen in the daytime.
15. Which city has the best drag in the world? New York City! What makes New York drag so great is that a lot of people who move here are performers before they ever do drag, so they didn’t have to hone their performance skills to drag – they were already seasoned performers and they became drag queens.
16. What’s your favourite thing about British culture? The food. [Laughs]. I’m kidding. I do love the way y’alls drag is, I love how camp it is, and I love the sense of humour. I love how brave it is. Those girls will sing even if they can’t carry a fucking tune, they will grab that mic and then they will sing a song. Also, I will say I do love Nando’s.
17. What’s your least favourite thing about British culture? I know you all get this from Americans all the time, but the food there is really just … why are the peas mushy? What’s up with pasties? Why is Tesco’s meal deal the pinnacle of …? Like, it is just wild. Beans on toast? What’s happening? We wonder why British guys are so skinny – it’s the food! Maybe Americans are fat because we have great food.
18. Over in the States the anti-drag movement has been escalating, particularly when it comes to children and so-called ‘drag queen storytimes’. What’s the impression you’ve left on young people? I don’t really perform for children. I’ve performed at a few venues where children are allowed in, but for the most part I work in nightclubs or work in comedy clubs. I don’t have a big audience of children. But it’s really weird because now the Conservatives are trying to make it seem like I’m doing Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, when the truth is I’m at a gay bar telling dick jokes. I feel like the Conservatives are making it seem like that’s the angle of drag these days; to get on the Disney Channel or to make our way onto Nickelodeon or to get on PBS on a Sunday morning.
19. Can you name something that’s a greater threat than a drag queen reading a story to a room of children? We could spend the entire rest of this interview naming things that are a greater threat. Peanuts. I don’t think there are any children allergic to drag queens, but a peanut for certain children – it’d be their last peanut butter jelly sandwich. Going to church is more dangerous for children. Going to school. Crossing the street. Getting snacks from a vending machine is more dangerous than going to a drag show for a child.
20. What are your musings on religion? Religious people who support drag: super. But I don’t support religion. I’m glad you support drag, but that doesn’t change my opinions on religion being one of the most oppressive things in the world. Imagine being a good person for the sake of being a good person, not for getting a reward at the end. It’s like going to a restaurant: the waiter doesn’t love you, the waiter doesn’t think your jokes are funny, the waiter’s laughing at your jokes and tolerating your annoying children because they are supposed to – because they want the reward at the end, they want you to give them money. So if you’re appeasing God because you’re afraid of him, or because you want something from him, do you really love him?
21. Who is the greatest musician to lip-sync to? I really love Ella Fitzgerald.
22. There’s great meaning in some of the lyrics in your latest EP Gay Barz, especially when it comes to black and trans people. Do you feel optimistic about the future? I definitely think that things have gotten better. I mean, from where they were. Baby we were a long way away, but we’re not there yet. We may not all see it in our lifetime, but that doesn’t mean that we will not get a chance to enjoy it. It’s like the old saying goes, “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
23. If you could participate in a competition reality show you’ve not been on before, what would it be? I feel like I’m done competing these days, but I would love to do Celebrity Pyramid with Monét X Change, and I wouldn’t be against doing Dancing with the Stars, but it seems like a lot of work.
24. What would it take for you to return for an All Winner’s season of RuPaul’s Drag Race? I think that ship has sailed. I probably would have done the seventh [season] if I was available and they had asked me, but I just do not know that I want to do that. I don’t think it’s gonna like ... give.
25. Not even for a boatload of money? Maybe a boatload, but an actual boatload. A real boatload.
26. Who do you think is going to win RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars season 8? Probably Jimbo or Kandy Muse, but I think Jimbo has a big target on her back. If she ends up in the bottom they’re going to get rid of her. I would.
27. What’s your favourite film? The Colour Purple.
28. Who would you want to play you in a movie of your life? I’m not old enough to have a movie about my life. The person who’s going to play me in a movie of my life is probably still in elementary school. The real question is, who do I get to play in a movie of their life? Let’s ask that question.
29. Hey, who would you want to play in a movie of their life? I’m so glad you asked. I would love to play either William Dorsey Swann, who was America’s first drag queen, or Sylvester.
30. Have you ever been in a physical fight? Yeah, the last time I got into a physical fight was probably 2017, and it’s on the internet if you want to watch it. This guy jumped up at a show and grabbed me, so I threw him to the ground.
What do you do when a joke doesn’t land? “Wouldn’t know. That’s a question for Lady Bunny” – Bob the Drag Queen
31. What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever eaten? I’m not terribly adventurous when it comes to food. I may or may not have the palette of a ten year old. I love Kool Aid Pickles. You take a pickle, and then you take the vinegar, and then you make Kool Aid out of it, then you put the pickles back in and let it sit for two weeks.
32. What’s your comfort food? Chicken wings or pizza – so American.
33. Are you superstitious? I’m not superstitious, I’m not religious and I’m not spiritual. I believe in circumstance.
34. What’s the best way to exact revenge? It depends how petty you want to be. I think I’m supposed to say ’living well is the best revenge’ or ’being fierce is the best revenge’ but it depends on the offence. You should wait until the person has completely forgotten about it, and then you exact your revenge and you don’t tell them why.
35. What three things could you not live without? Oxygen, food, water.
36. What’s the best drag show you’ve ever seen? Werq The World does one of the best drag shows around. They really do a good job.
37. Who’s the most underrated drag performer? I saw Cher at the Philly Arena. Final answer: Cher at the Here We Go Again Tour. No, I’d have to say my drag daughter, her name is AkeeLah Blu, she’s my drag daughter on We’re Here season two – a really phenomenal performer.
38. How did you first meet Madonna? I hosted Madonna’s pride show last June. She called me up herself actually, roughly a year ago.
39. Does she live up to her diva reputation? Madonna is everything you expect and I’m never disappointed.
40. What’s been your favourite interaction with Madonna? There’s a great picture on my Instagram of Madonna just sitting in my lap at a party. And I love that, I think about that picture a lot.
41. What does she smell like? It depends on the time of day – I mean pretty great, but after the show or before the show?
42. Who are you most thankful for? I’m really thankful that my mum is still alive and with me. I talk to her a lot, she’s a really wonderful force in my life. Shout out to Martha Caldwell.
43. How do you handle negative comments or criticism about you and your drag? I obsess over it, and I talk to my friends about it, and if I think critique is valid, then I work on it.
44. What do you do when a joke doesn’t land? Wouldn’t know. That’s a question for Lady Bunny, she’ll be able to give you a lot of information on that one.
45. Can you tell me about a memorable interaction you’ve had with a fan? I mean, I’ve had everything from pizza to sex with a fan, depending on where the night led to. I remember in Austin everyone was asking for selfies, and one fan was like, “Can I buy you a slice of pizza? Right across the street does the best pizza in Austin.” We walked across the street, ate pizza, chatted for a bit, we didn’t take a photo, and I went back to my hotel room. I think about it all the time.
46. Do you think it’s important to stay humble? No, no, no, no, no. When people say to stay humble, they’re wanting you to stay on their level. And I’m like, the level that I perceive myself at isn’t necessarily a level that you see me.
47. What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received? Donnika Dobson in 11th grade turned around in Miss Baker’s drama class and said “you are the funniest person I’ve ever met” and I think we’re that all the time. Now here we are. If you’re wondering who to blame for me running around telling jokes, it’s Donnika Dobson.
48. What do people assume about you that might be incorrect? They’re always thinking that I’m going to read them, and I’m like, I probably won’t even talk to you. I’m not just in the streets reading strangers.
49. What are you doing after this interview? Shower, I might have a nosh, and then go to rehearsal for the Celebration tour. You should come to see me, I decided to bring my friend Madonna on tour. I wanted to do her a favour because I like to help smaller, up-and-coming artists. Her name’s Madonna Ciccone. She’s an artist, been in the business a long time, but you guys might be really impressed with her.
50. I’ll look her up, thanks! Do you have any final words? The best advice I can give you is this: When anyone gives you advice, consider the source.
