Comedian, drag queen happy to be in spotlight
Bianca Del Rio has been around the world with her “It’s Jester Joke” tour this year, but she still has time to occasionally check in on American daytime television. The “RuPaul’s Drag Race” season six winner became a fan favorite after parodying TV’s Judge Judy Sheindlin on the reality competition show’s “Snatch Game” event and says she was surprised by what she saw on a recent episode of the courtroom hit “Judge Judy.”
“She’s got this new hairdo I would never approve of,” jokes the 44yearold drag queen and comedian, referring to “that colonial man hairdo pulled back in a ponytail . ... I don’t know what’s going on with Judy.”
The selfdescribed “clown in a gown” talked to The Chronicle ahead of her scheduled appearance at the Warfield in San Francisco on Friday, Nov. 15, which will be the latest stop
on a tour that’s also taken the Louisiana native — born Roy Haylock and named one of the 100 Most Powerful Drag Queens in America by New York magazine this year — to Carnegie Hall and Wembley Arena. She gives her thoughts on the comedy and drag scenes and why she’ll never have her own makeup line.
Q: “Drag Race” is going on 12 seasons, you’re on your fourth tour, RuPaul just bought a megamansion — is it a good time to be a drag queen?
A: First, if you look at theater and film history, we’ve always been there. Try to make a movie without a gay person, let’s be real! ... Drag has always been there in secret spaces, whether it is in a theater or cabaret space or in a gay bar. By having a television show in people’s living rooms, it humanizes what drag queens are, which is a perk, and it also showcases this other side where drag queens are pitiful and everyone’s got a problem, which is kind of insane.
Q: You’re doing a lot right now: The “Jester Joke” tour, your run in London in “Everyone’s Talking About Jamie,” your Bianca makeup remover brand — are you getting near the mansionpurchasing stage in your career?
A: I’m a 44yearold man who never thought I’d have these kinds of opportunities. I think the assumption that everyone who has their name on something is rich is ridiculous. I can tell you now, if Madonna is touring, that means that’s where you got to go (for the money).
I’m not going to throw my name on everything. I’m not going to have a makeup line, but I will have a makeup remover to wipe away all that other cheap s— these hookers are peddling. What I always wanted to do was perform in front of a live audience. The other stuff is a perk.
And let’s be honest, who’s going to buy makeup from me? They’ll buy a remover, that’s why I have one. If it can remove my uglyass mug, then they’ll buy it.
Q: Do the 2019 conversations around audience sensitivities change your approach to material at all?
A: Nope! Once you start backing yourself into a corner there’s always something that someone is going to be offended by. Always.
I’m a firm believer in context. Context is most important. If you’re at a show, what’s the setup? Who’s saying it? What does it mean? Don’t just pull a line out of it.
Q: What was your experience like in the musical “Everyone’s Talking About Jamie” in London playing Loco Chanel?
A: I come from a musical theater background, but it’s maybe 1 in every 8 shows I get excited about. Here it was, a musical I fell in love with.
My character is an older drag queen who had his heyday in the ’80s, who came from this little town in Sheffield, England, and then moved to London, became a big star. But things didn’t turn out well with life and boyfriends and drugs and madness, and then he ended up going back to his hometown and opening up a retail store that dealt in secondhand drag. Through that, a young boy comes in who’s interested in becoming a drag queen. He sort of guides his career in this small town where being a drag queen just isn’t possible. But he sees the fire in this young man and it brings the fire back out in him. I loved every minute of it.
Q: What do you think of San Francisco’s drag and comedy scenes?
A: San Francisco has always been amazing. After “Drag Race” I traveled a lot to San Francisco for club gigs, and they were always very receptive. Then I had the opportunity to work with Peaches Christ, and I’ve done my tour there every time.
It’s one of the few cities that understands gay culture, and it’s one of the few places outside of Key West (Fla.) or Provincetown (Mass.) where audiences are interested in what drag queens are doing. There really is a drag following there.
Q: What do you think the state of gay culture is?
A: It’s an interesting world. Drag queens are touring, “Drag Race” is winning Emmys, Pete Buttigieg is running for president — things are good.
You can find bad if you dissect it, but I think with any growth there’s always a step or two back. In our history, we’ve had 10 steps back when we weren’t even ahead.
There’s always room for improvement, but people say the same thing about my makeup.