Speaker 1: It's in the news today, but it was actually on
Speaker 1: TV Reload the podcast past weep.
Speaker 2: They might welcome back guys to TV Reload. My name
Speaker 2: is Benjamin Norris and this is your podcast to get
Speaker 2: all the insight goss all the popular TV shows you
Speaker 2: may be watching from around the world Underniably, our TV
Speaker 2: sets are a major part of our home entertainment, and
Speaker 2: yet very little is known about how our favorite shows
Speaker 2: get made. So each episode I've been finding guests they
Speaker 2: want to dive just a little bit deeper to the
Speaker 2: shows they're currently making, so that you can hear all
Speaker 2: their exclusive stories and gain access to the biggest names
Speaker 2: in Australian television. I want to thank you for downloading
Speaker 2: or subscribing to this podcast however you found me. I
Speaker 2: love hearing your feedback, so make sure you leave a
Speaker 2: review or a comment on.
Speaker 3: Your chosen podcast platform.
Speaker 2: This chat, I'm joined by the wonderfully entertaining comedian Rhys
Speaker 2: Nicholson and the first eliminated queen from RuPaul's Drag Race
Speaker 2: down Under, which has its third season premiering this weekend
Speaker 2: on STAN Australia. Reys Nicholson is an Australian born comedian
Speaker 2: writer and actor who has been lucky enough to feature
Speaker 2: in the Australian version of RuPaul's Drag Race as a
Speaker 2: judge since it first began in twenty twenty one. I
Speaker 2: honestly have been really looking forward to catching up with
Speaker 2: Rees to get some insights on the latest series and
Speaker 2: ask some pretty huge questions that I've had plaguing my
Speaker 2: mind since the original series began well over a decade ago.
Speaker 2: Then I will get a debris from the first eliminated queen.
Speaker 2: As mentioned, I'm not going to mention their name now
Speaker 2: at this point of the podcast, as you may not
Speaker 2: have seen the first episode and I want to give
Speaker 2: you that chance to catch up on Stan Australia, but
Speaker 2: stick around after Nicholson to hear that part of the
Speaker 2: podcast if you like. I will find out how hard
Speaker 2: it is to get onto RuPaul's Drag Race in Australia
Speaker 2: and what makes down Under different to the overseas editions.
Speaker 2: Reese will lift the lid on the runway and will
Speaker 2: share how many times the Queen's actually walk down that
Speaker 2: runway and why. I will also get to the bottom
Speaker 2: of how much time ruined Michelle are actually on set
Speaker 2: and if Reese has made a proper friendship with them
Speaker 2: during the last three seasons. Plus, we will get plenty
Speaker 2: of exclusives from behind the scenes of RuPaul's Drag Race
Speaker 2: down Under, which is now available to watch the first
Speaker 2: episode on stant Australia. Now, anyway, let's bring reason to
Speaker 2: the podcast and guys, I really hope you'll enjoy this
Speaker 2: really special look at RuPaul's drag Race. Yeah, just so
Speaker 2: you know, I'm in Warburton. That's why this isn't a
Speaker 2: fake background. This is actually real.
Speaker 1: I've all got a place in Dale fin It's a
Speaker 1: hovel and it's going to be financially ruinous. It needs
Speaker 1: to be like re stumped to the whole fucking nightmare.
Speaker 2: I love that you're starting off really positive to start. No,
Speaker 2: it's good to be able to get out into the
Speaker 2: country after COVID. You kind of can do that because
Speaker 2: we've worked out that we can do more away from
Speaker 2: being locked.
Speaker 1: Yeah, stuff like this, I'm in.
Speaker 2: My underpants, which I was wondering, are you often in
Speaker 2: your underpants? But like good from the top up when
Speaker 2: you're doing rupe Paul.
Speaker 1: No, because we and I think everyone has these like
Speaker 1: fantasies that were like youth readers or something, and like
Speaker 1: and say that, you know, the whole thing that like
Speaker 1: Ruth not even in drag most of the time. It's
Speaker 1: like not true. And also like sometimes yeah, but no,
Speaker 1: we always we might get more comfortable, Like if I'm
Speaker 1: wearing uncomfortable shoes, I might take them off because we
Speaker 1: have to do the runway and then you've got to
Speaker 1: kind of take photos of it. It's like I wish,
Speaker 1: I wish it was just from here up all the time. Like, yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm wearing track pants right now, and I'm not wearing
Speaker 1: any shoes. And because it's the only thing we do
Speaker 1: is I'm lucky because I'm in a suit. Michelle will
Speaker 1: sometimes put on slippers or something because it is so
Speaker 1: cold in the studio, but Ruers often stays in a
Speaker 1: lot of the more uncomfortable stuff, like she might take
Speaker 1: the shoes off and stuff. But you know, there's this
Speaker 1: whole like conspiracy theory that she's like barely in drag
Speaker 1: or anything. And I gotta say she's in more drag
Speaker 1: than I would be if I had been doing drag
Speaker 1: for as long as her. I don't want to talk
Speaker 1: out of school, but you know, the lady is in
Speaker 1: her sixties and if finched for the gods and he's
Speaker 1: sitting there for eight hours, it's fine.
Speaker 2: I just thought it's a really fun place to start.
Speaker 2: I didn't mean to ask you whether or not you're
Speaker 2: but you've given me some really good tea.
Speaker 3: There.
Speaker 2: People be like, oh my gosh, Ben, you didn't ask
Speaker 2: anything and you've got.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, I'm an open book. I'm happy to talk
Speaker 1: about anything other than the same usual four questions like it.
Speaker 2: Oh do you know what's so weird is that people
Speaker 2: ask the same questions and like, I don't think they
Speaker 2: all know, because the look on their face when they
Speaker 2: approach you on the street to ask you that question
Speaker 2: looks like it might be brand new information or a
Speaker 2: brand new question, or they're the new Oprah Winfrey asking
Speaker 2: you this one.
Speaker 1: So sometimes you get shocking. When I was in I
Speaker 1: went to London Pride a few weeks ago, and a woman,
Speaker 1: a very drunk lady and I don't know if she
Speaker 1: was just drunk or maybe she was under the influence
Speaker 1: of other things, came up to me and was like
Speaker 1: very passionate to tell me that she loves me. On
Speaker 1: drag race and because I'm just an asshole and I'm
Speaker 1: just myself on that show. Those are exact words, and
Speaker 1: I was like, Oh, I'm not aware that was.
Speaker 3: My How about your drink lanscation?
Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, like just like because you're just You're
Speaker 1: just an asshole and you're just you. You're just you
Speaker 1: on there, and I was like, Oh, I thought I
Speaker 1: was the polar abdull of the group.
Speaker 2: I think it's very strange though, because like I did
Speaker 2: Big Brother ten years ago, and people still come up
Speaker 2: to me and say I'm the bitch in my friendship
Speaker 2: circle and I'm like and I'm I'm like what, I'm like,
Speaker 2: it's not who you think you are. But isn't that
Speaker 2: funny that the interpretation of you on television can be
Speaker 2: taken anywhere someone's watching it and relating to you because
Speaker 2: they think they're.
Speaker 3: Like you, or an actual fact, they're nothing like you.
Speaker 1: Yeah, they just have red hair. I think they've just
Speaker 1: confused the shape of their head.
Speaker 2: I saw you and Joel last year at your Christmas
Speaker 2: Special and I honestly laughed for days. It was my
Speaker 2: first time that I've ever seen you live, and I've
Speaker 2: never laughed so much. And I honestly say, you are
Speaker 2: the funniest comedian that I've seen live, and I haven't
Speaker 2: seen a lot because I'm actually like a comedian, I
Speaker 2: find not all comedians. I get like I have a
Speaker 2: lot of friends. Again, they asked me to come along
Speaker 2: to watch it, and then there's that moment where they
Speaker 2: look at you and you're not laughing, and then I'm like, oh.
Speaker 1: God, well, it's like it's hard as well. I think
Speaker 1: also if you work in the kind of if you
Speaker 1: work in the media and stuff, nothing really shocked this
Speaker 1: c anymore either, and so like, and as a comedian,
Speaker 1: I don't laugh very much in comedies anymore. If I'm
Speaker 1: laughing in a stand up show, it means it's like
Speaker 1: it's really you've gotten me. It's very nice of you
Speaker 1: to say. I'm always glad when people remember that I'm
Speaker 1: a comedian because of like you know, I've been compeding
Speaker 1: for fifteen years and something very strange has been happening
Speaker 1: where because of drag race, and I welcome it and
Speaker 1: it's great, But they do not know I'm a comedian.
Speaker 1: They just think I'm a professional drag judge. And I
Speaker 1: always wonder, like, what do you.
Speaker 2: They've just got you in a box, ready to get
Speaker 2: you out, Ready to be a drag judge.
Speaker 3: That's all you do all year.
Speaker 1: I was doing it in Refringed last year and in Scotland,
Speaker 1: and Karen from Finances on them in the same venue
Speaker 1: as me after me, and so I would walk past
Speaker 1: her audience every night, and so I would do my
Speaker 1: show and they were selling quite well. I was having
Speaker 1: fun and I'd walk past her audience and every night
Speaker 1: someone would say, oh my god. Recent because they play
Speaker 1: drag Race down Under on BBC over there, so it's
Speaker 1: like free too wear, so a lot of people watch it.
Speaker 1: Sometimes I find myself a little bit more famous in
Speaker 1: the UK to a specific group than in Australia. But
Speaker 1: the every night someone would say to me, oh what
Speaker 1: do you do? Are you here to see Karen? And
Speaker 1: I'll go, oh no, I just did my show. And
Speaker 1: every night someone would be perplexed what I do? I'm like, well,
Speaker 1: what do you do on stage? On a stand up?
Speaker 1: Like what do you think? How do you think I became.
Speaker 3: Petry of the penis? What do you think after the show?
Speaker 1: But like, what do you think? I went to like
Speaker 1: drag law school and became a drag lawyer and then
Speaker 1: worked my way up and had to become a judge.
Speaker 1: Like what do you I'm hoping to get on the
Speaker 1: drag Supreme Court the next year.
Speaker 3: It's crazy. It's crazy.
Speaker 2: I mean, I just thought it was funny because I
Speaker 2: went along to see the show and I'd met you
Speaker 2: once before, and I think you might have been like
Speaker 2: not in your best mood, and so I was like, oh, okay.
Speaker 3: And then when I saw you do it.
Speaker 1: I think we met at a bar, right, I think.
Speaker 3: Yeah, Joel might have introduced us.
Speaker 1: But two am I think from memory it was like
Speaker 1: quite late.
Speaker 3: Yeah, we both fewt like this.
Speaker 1: Yeah yeah, and I think we're in the smoking area
Speaker 1: of a buck.
Speaker 3: Yeah, there we go.
Speaker 2: But you remember, I was thinking, I'm going to bring
Speaker 2: this up anyway. I went to go and see the
Speaker 2: comedy show and I saw Joel. I think Joel's funny,
Speaker 2: you know, you know, he's a mutual friend of ours.
Speaker 2: But then when you came on, I laughed so hard.
Speaker 2: And then Joel texted me afterwards and said, what did
Speaker 2: you think of the show?
Speaker 3: And I wrote back and said, was so funny.
Speaker 2: And then I realized that I always come across like
Speaker 2: I'm a bitch like you comparing two people, but I just, well, I.
Speaker 1: Remember watching you ten years ago, I'm big brother and
Speaker 1: going I'm the bitch in my friendship group.
Speaker 2: Oh well, I'll tie my hair red and we'll just
Speaker 2: have it. We'll have a love of I just I
Speaker 2: don't know. For some reason, I feel like I'm the
Speaker 2: Simon Cow of comedians and I just go along and
Speaker 2: I'm just like really cranky where this is a good
Speaker 2: plug just for your shows, because I've never laughed so hard.
Speaker 2: And then I went home and was like repeating your
Speaker 2: jokes to my partner, who didn't laugh because I didn't
Speaker 2: have the skill set of being funny like that.
Speaker 3: Do you know what I mean?
Speaker 1: Like comedy is like stand up with very hard to
Speaker 1: repeat as well. But I'm glad you like those shows
Speaker 1: like we're doing We're gonna do we haven't announced the
Speaker 1: dates yet, but with Joel and I are doing another.
Speaker 1: I can't wait christmath Tuur because we love hanging out
Speaker 1: like it and it's a really we're both like we've
Speaker 1: been best friends for like ten years and it's it's
Speaker 1: a way for us to hang out because we're both
Speaker 1: are busy now, like we were just literally texting yesterday
Speaker 1: trying to make a dinner happen, and we're both like,
Speaker 1: and it's very it's a nice booked and left, but
Speaker 1: try to make it happen. So we book in shows
Speaker 1: so we can we have dinner, we go and do
Speaker 1: the show, and then we go for a drink afterwards,
Speaker 1: and it's a way and often like you would have
Speaker 1: seen in the show, we're catching up on stage.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's what I liked about it, though it was
Speaker 2: kind of conversational. I mean, you do in that show
Speaker 2: very cleverly, get to have your monologues or whatever you
Speaker 2: call it, when you kill and you do your bit,
Speaker 2: but the bits in between didn't seem like they were
Speaker 2: all pre rehearsed. Like you watch to listen to a
Speaker 2: lot of radio these days, and radio producers are like,
Speaker 2: be you didn't know that we pre planned everything, and
Speaker 2: you're like.
Speaker 3: Oh, it did sound like yeah, I did know that.
Speaker 3: I did know that.
Speaker 2: But with you guys, it seemed like that we were
Speaker 2: allowed to be a fly on the wall with some
Speaker 2: real friendship going on, which I thought was really clever.
Speaker 1: Anyway, Yeah, yeah, no, that was the dream.
Speaker 2: Thanks well, and now we're here sorry, welcome back to
Speaker 2: another series of Roupulse drag Races.
Speaker 3: B Oh the way we should talk about this?
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, Like it's very exciting to be doing a
Speaker 1: third one. It's nice. You know, you never know what's
Speaker 1: going to happen, and I'm glad that we're doing a third.
Speaker 2: When you first signed up for the series, though, did
Speaker 2: you have any idea that was it was going to
Speaker 2: be an ongoing get Do they say to you, look,
Speaker 2: we're going to try it in Australia and see how
Speaker 2: it goes, or were they or did you think you
Speaker 2: were joining like this franchise that it is now?
Speaker 1: I mean I think you hope, like you hope it's
Speaker 1: going to be a franchise, like and you know, but
Speaker 1: I didn't. You never know, like I was on a
Speaker 1: on a year to year thing, like it's not they
Speaker 1: don't and it's beside it every year what's going to
Speaker 1: happen with it? And I hope I wasn't going to
Speaker 1: be santinoed.
Speaker 2: You'd imagine with these sorts of things, you'd be like, well,
Speaker 2: there's so many gay comedians now, I mean even cheap.
Speaker 3: It's not that.
Speaker 2: But it's good that you can keep coming back on
Speaker 2: the show. I really appreciate it as well.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, it is like and it's it's nice to like,
Speaker 1: I definitely feel part of the furniture now, kind of
Speaker 1: part of the family like it. You know, we we
Speaker 1: all kind of get on really well. And it's also
Speaker 1: what was what's really exciting about this year is like
Speaker 1: the amount of guest judges we have proper like that
Speaker 1: the weight was a little bit off Michelle and my
Speaker 1: shoulders this year because we have the likes of Adam
Speaker 1: Lambert and Maria Fatill and like some wild Amy Taylor
Speaker 1: from Amel and the Sniffer is like sitting with us
Speaker 1: and so you know, usually at the chats end when
Speaker 1: I finished talking and now we get to listen to
Speaker 1: someone else talk.
Speaker 3: It's fun.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean that's the thing is like I think
Speaker 2: when it was through COVID, there was so many things.
Speaker 2: I mean, you did have big names, like you think
Speaker 2: you're Kylie and Danny in the first series, but yeah
Speaker 2: they're on zoom and so that's not fun. You want
Speaker 2: to be there next to them to be like hi, yeah.
Speaker 1: And I never got to be like, you know, I
Speaker 1: didn't get to meet Tiger because he met the Queens
Speaker 1: and I wasn't there that day because it was in
Speaker 1: a runway day.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I forget that you wouldn't be there for those
Speaker 2: those sorts of bits.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 3: I want to ask you about this. How you got
Speaker 3: started on this. I heard a.
Speaker 2: Rumor that RuPaul was watching you on Conan O'Brien all
Speaker 2: one of those up laid shows and saw you doing
Speaker 2: one of your sets, and that they reached out to you.
Speaker 3: This way, Have I made this a Netflix?
Speaker 1: I have a Netflix special and I think he's seen
Speaker 1: because he tweeted out of the Blue my special on
Speaker 1: Netflix and just said hilarious and I had an aneurysm.
Speaker 3: Because that was never been the same again.
Speaker 1: It was bonkers, and and yeah, so we did that,
Speaker 1: and then yeah, I got it. I knew there was
Speaker 1: kind of names being floated around, and I knew that
Speaker 1: I was on the long list, and then yeah, I
Speaker 1: got a call on a Sunday to say that it
Speaker 1: was happening. And yeah, I think because he is. I
Speaker 1: think he's so much more involved than people think. And
Speaker 1: I think that was part of it, Like there was
Speaker 1: some bigger names, but I think he likes to have
Speaker 1: people that we have a similar sense of human There
Speaker 1: was a particular story in and you know, he's very
Speaker 1: open about this that he's had. He's done a lot
Speaker 1: of drugs in his life. He's a sober person now.
Speaker 1: But there's a story in my Netflix special about taking
Speaker 1: ketamine accidentally for the first time. I think he told
Speaker 1: me once that that was a joke that really did.
Speaker 1: That clinched it for him. He was like, you explained
Speaker 1: ketamine perfectly, and that's how I wanted you on the show.
Speaker 2: It's the only time in the world where you're going
Speaker 2: for a job that your recollection of doing ketamine gets
Speaker 2: your job.
Speaker 1: You know your weaknesses. I've done drugs, Great, we'll take
Speaker 1: You've got the job.
Speaker 3: Oh my god, it's crazy. It's crazy.
Speaker 2: That's fantastic and I love that for you. You know,
Speaker 2: the show's produced in New Zealand, which requires you to
Speaker 2: pack up and relocate. I've got two questions for how
Speaker 2: long do you have to move to New Zealand?
Speaker 3: Four?
Speaker 2: And do you get to hang out with Michelle Veasage
Speaker 2: and RuPaul, you know on the off days, like to
Speaker 2: go to subway?
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, and get a roll together?
Speaker 1: Yeah? Yeah, we go get we go get subway together.
Speaker 1: That's exactly what we do. No, we we do hang out.
Speaker 1: We're usually there. I think it's like close to a month,
Speaker 1: like usually it kind of depends on like COVID. COVID
Speaker 1: was different. It's not as long as the like the
Speaker 1: American ones, I know is longer. When I've met American queens,
Speaker 1: they're like.
Speaker 3: Were we were there for six years?
Speaker 1: Yeah? And I think also because we have a Sometimes
Speaker 1: the American show has like eighty queens on a season
Speaker 1: and they have to like get them, but you know,
Speaker 1: we've got ten. Yeah, we do hang out. Michelle and
Speaker 1: I we both like males, were like going to a
Speaker 1: male and like we live near each other, Like we
Speaker 1: go for luncheon and stuff, like we're not unless we
Speaker 1: have other work to do. We're kind of because I
Speaker 1: had a bit more work to do this year, usually
Speaker 1: in the first year because I'd be on every kind
Speaker 1: of second day because that's when a runway day is spoiler.
Speaker 1: I do a little bit more kind of I get
Speaker 1: to do some challenges and stuff this year. Okay, great, yeah,
Speaker 1: and what else and yeah, But Michelle and I we
Speaker 1: both like seafood and so we tend to every couple
Speaker 1: of days go somewhere like we're just there to feel
Speaker 1: when we're not working, we're kind of fill in time.
Speaker 1: I'm just starting to picture to bend out padems.
Speaker 2: I'm picturing you both in like these Valua sort of
Speaker 2: Julie Cooper Nickel from the OC track suits together walking
Speaker 2: through News, Yeah, walking through Target and walking through Target
Speaker 2: in big w.
Speaker 1: Like her and her hair guy Craig, who does her incredible,
Speaker 1: like I think he does her in the UK as well.
Speaker 1: We tend to kind of yeah, we all just kind
Speaker 1: of hang out, go to It's interesting. They're also much
Speaker 1: healthier than me, like like they're all like vegans and
Speaker 1: don't drink and all that, and like Michelle's got a
Speaker 1: kind of immuno stuff that she eats particular things, and
Speaker 1: so I'm always just like eating a burger and like
Speaker 1: drinking a beer and they're just like eating like like
Speaker 1: you know, delicious food but not not food for me.
Speaker 1: But they're fun. Like I remember when we with Michelle
Speaker 1: and I were going to this is last year. We
Speaker 1: were going to go to a restaurant, Like there was
Speaker 1: this nicely food restaurant we wanted to try, and I
Speaker 1: was like, yeah, this one's a good one, I think,
Speaker 1: and she said, I we should invite a couple of
Speaker 1: the production crew as well. We did that, and then
Speaker 1: it got even more, like more people started coming, more people,
Speaker 1: and then Rue just turned up on the day. So
Speaker 1: I'd picked this restaurant and the first thing Ruth said
Speaker 1: when he sat down was like, so who picked this restaurant?
Speaker 1: And everyone just pointed at me, And now I'm in
Speaker 1: charge of like what it was very stressful.
Speaker 3: To get a critique? Was it?
Speaker 1: Like?
Speaker 3: You know the show?
Speaker 1: Did he? Yeah? I did get a chante you stay,
Speaker 1: that was lucky.
Speaker 3: The food was okay.
Speaker 1: You know, things like Adam Lambert was on this year
Speaker 1: and he took us out for dinner afterwards, Like it
Speaker 1: is kind of amazing to see how excited people are
Speaker 1: to be on the show. Like I'm so excited to
Speaker 1: meet Adam Lambert, but then Adam Lambert, it is excited
Speaker 1: to be on the show and meet off and we
Speaker 1: all want this incredible sushi restaurant afterwards, and like partied
Speaker 1: and talked about how we're all against a zempic.
Speaker 2: I need a zempickctually. No, that's not a plug for that.
Speaker 2: I would never do it, but I've definitely been watching.
Speaker 1: We'd never do it, but if it was more known,
Speaker 1: it would absolutely do it. Like if there was more
Speaker 1: known about it, I would absolutely do it, but if
Speaker 1: there was more anyway.
Speaker 2: I keep thinking about all the people that I've assumed
Speaker 2: that are doing it, And as soon as I assume
Speaker 2: it because I've seen a picture of them on Instagram,
Speaker 2: they say that they haven't done it. The next day
Speaker 2: and I haven't said anything, I haven't written to them,
Speaker 2: but I'm like, Oh, Kyle Richard's from Real Housewives of
Speaker 2: Beverly Hills, definitely ombic. And then like the next day,
Speaker 2: I am not on ozembic. I'm like she in my mind,
Speaker 2: I don't ever what is going on. And I was like,
Speaker 2: Kyle and jack yoh, Jackie Ohnderson, She's definitely on it.
Speaker 2: And then she was on radio the next day. No,
Speaker 2: so maybe my house is plugged. Michelle, though, was interesting
Speaker 2: because I interviewed a person who was on one of
Speaker 2: the shows, not Rue Paul's, but a different one and
Speaker 2: said that she was very intimidating and they found it
Speaker 2: really hard to get along with her. And then I'd
Speaker 2: heard off the grapevine that you two had gotten along
Speaker 2: quite well, so I was wondering, you know, was she
Speaker 2: a little bit intimidated to start with, or maybe you're
Speaker 2: both intimidating to each other and it just worked out.
Speaker 1: I can confidently say I was not intimidating to her.
Speaker 1: Someone could be holding a machete to her neck and
Speaker 1: they would be intimidated by her. Now she's not. She's
Speaker 1: not intimidating at all. And I think she actually puts
Speaker 1: work in to make sure that she's not my publicist
Speaker 1: and are actually just talking about this off air that
Speaker 1: like she's this incredible person who wants everyone to be comfortable.
Speaker 1: I think there's this idea of what she is and
Speaker 1: Rude's the same. Rue is like so fucking funny, and
Speaker 1: Michelle is so funny, like the you know, like when
Speaker 1: they're walking down the run way, like for the work reason,
Speaker 1: but when they're walking down the run way and we're
Speaker 1: doing all our dumb puns, those are off Michelle's dome.
Speaker 1: Like she's just and she's so fast and so witty
Speaker 1: and funny, and she's just an incredible person to hang
Speaker 1: out with. For that, Like, I think there's a generation
Speaker 1: of perfon queer people and also kind of people that
Speaker 1: have floated around the queer community that are just they
Speaker 1: kind of have to be that funny to have existed,
Speaker 1: like to you know, whether it be survived or gone
Speaker 1: through the Eighth Crisis or like just when things were
Speaker 1: a lot harder. You have to be you know. Rue
Speaker 1: constantly says it on the show, like, you know, not
Speaker 1: to take life too seriously. And I think they're both
Speaker 1: really good examples of that, Like they're not intimidating people.
Speaker 1: Every time you hear stories about Rubing, like intimidating on
Speaker 1: set or something like that, I say, no, I think
Speaker 1: what you're witnessing is someone being professional on set and
Speaker 1: someone who is maybe a bit of an introvert who's
Speaker 1: trying not to use all their energy chatting in between
Speaker 1: shots like it's a really long day on set anyways.
Speaker 1: And I think Michelle is the same. She's not an
Speaker 1: intimidating person. And I'd be very interested to know who
Speaker 1: said that she was.
Speaker 2: Oh well, well we'll take that offline, but I'll definitely
Speaker 2: tell you that one because I was really surprised because
Speaker 2: I actually only had an interaction with her before and
Speaker 2: after she was on a series of Big Brother in
Speaker 2: the UK. Oh yeah, yeah and so and yeah. I
Speaker 2: just remember thinking she was incredibly warm and and she
Speaker 2: takes no bullshit.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's one thing, like she won't she won't bullshit
Speaker 1: around with someone. No, like she won't talk about something
Speaker 1: if she doesn't want to talk about something.
Speaker 2: But I don't just remember like then as well, there
Speaker 2: was like an All Stars season where Ador Delano came
Speaker 2: back and we saw this scene and then left, and
Speaker 2: we saw this interaction between those two, and I loved that.
Speaker 2: We don't normally get to see them in the car park,
Speaker 2: do you know what I mean? Like we only see
Speaker 2: them on the things. So I found that super duper interesting.
Speaker 2: And I just I take that kind of tough love
Speaker 2: or that kind of honesty really well and I do
Speaker 2: that to my friends, but other people can get really
Speaker 2: turned off by it. So I think it's just one
Speaker 2: of those things where you know, some personalities like that
Speaker 2: can grade on others, where others it's like, thank.
Speaker 3: You for being honest, you know, thank you for being here.
Speaker 3: I would get so stressed.
Speaker 2: I often think about it because, like when you're in
Speaker 2: the industry for so long, you think, what would I
Speaker 2: do if I'm rectacles And in this I would think
Speaker 2: is there a lot of pressure on what your critiques
Speaker 2: are during those runway looks, and is there an opportunity
Speaker 2: to be able to to revoice something later on in
Speaker 2: like post production and a pickup because or does it
Speaker 2: just have to happen there all the time?
Speaker 1: It just has to happen then on the time. We
Speaker 1: record pretty much what you see if how we record it,
Speaker 1: like the turnaround, Like I remember my very first day
Speaker 1: on set. I was shocked and gagged gooped by how
Speaker 1: quick it was in terms of you know, there's a
Speaker 1: bit of waiting around in terms of like getting the
Speaker 1: camera set up to you know, when we do deliberate,
Speaker 1: like little dumb things like that, like and the Queens
Speaker 1: go back to when they go to do go on
Speaker 1: untuck and the what do they used to call it
Speaker 1: on the old show, the Illusions Lounge?
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, change it.
Speaker 1: But when they go and go on untuck, we do
Speaker 1: our deliberations and there's like a ten minute turn around
Speaker 1: to do that. But in terms of like the runway
Speaker 1: and everything, it is snappy. And so the way that
Speaker 1: we do the puns is they walk down the wrong
Speaker 1: way and this is all common nose people walk down
Speaker 1: the run way once with music and it's very loud.
Speaker 1: Rel likes it very loud, like kind of clubby, and
Speaker 1: we see them and then they walk down with no music,
Speaker 1: and that's when we say and it is straight away.
Speaker 1: So my first day, I remember's bad.
Speaker 2: You've just like one of the most like thought of
Speaker 2: I've never missed a series of Rue pouls. Don't watch
Speaker 2: all the international ones, but essentially all the mainstream ones.
Speaker 2: And also I will say I'm enjoying Australia these days
Speaker 2: more than the US one.
Speaker 3: So it's nice.
Speaker 2: I've obviously not read enough on the Internet to not
Speaker 2: know the answer to that, or I've been waiting for
Speaker 2: you to tell.
Speaker 1: Me I can like and you know, I don't think
Speaker 1: this is tea but like there's no writers on set.
Speaker 1: There's no like teleprompters on set. Rue has an earpiece in,
Speaker 1: but only to talk in the same way that you
Speaker 1: know every.
Speaker 3: Like Scotty Cam would have that on the block.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, exactly, Like so the producers can tell you
Speaker 1: something's gonna happen. Everything is his decision, like it kind
Speaker 1: of my experience of it, at least, it sometimes annoys me.
Speaker 1: Like you know, the biggest conspiracy that Ru's not there.
Speaker 1: Of course Rus there. But the thing of like, you know,
Speaker 1: how rigged it must be. There's much what triggery is
Speaker 1: Every reality television show have like and I think we
Speaker 1: accept that in other shows and we do not accept that,
Speaker 1: like there's of course things have to be fixed, like
Speaker 1: I don't know, what's an example, like they missed a
Speaker 1: shot so they have to get someone to ask a
Speaker 1: question again, Like there's that sort of.
Speaker 3: Thing, Reza I's going to say.
Speaker 2: The thing that's funny about these shows is that there
Speaker 2: is this I'm going to use your word riggory in
Speaker 2: all reality shows. But the more popular they are, the
Speaker 2: more scrutinized they are. And then you've got all of
Speaker 2: these extra voices that are watching it and interpreting it
Speaker 2: a certain way and thinking, oh, I think I know
Speaker 2: what's going on. And then what we do on social
Speaker 2: media these days is we write what we think is
Speaker 2: an opinion as a fact, and then people then just
Speaker 2: it spreads like wildfire, you know what I mean? Anyway,
Speaker 2: how secretive is the set? How stressful is it due
Speaker 2: to sign a contract saying you'll never say anything to anyone?
Speaker 2: I mean, is it quite stressful? Do they have to
Speaker 2: like put you in a van with blacked out windows.
Speaker 2: What sort of lengths are they going?
Speaker 1: The queens are probably treated a little bit differently than than.
Speaker 2: I am in the morning and snuffle you in a
Speaker 2: bag and drag you out of the room.
Speaker 1: Like I know that, like and I think this happens
Speaker 1: in all the franchises. They stay in their hotel rooms
Speaker 1: and like they can't they don't have their phones and
Speaker 1: all that kind of stuff. But that's pretty regular of
Speaker 1: all reality television programs. They don't have phones on Survivor,
Speaker 1: for example, it would have made it a lot easier
Speaker 1: just order a pizza. But the no, it's like there's
Speaker 1: not too much. The first season there was like we're
Speaker 1: filming in the studio in Auckland and there's a car
Speaker 1: park and before I was announced, they you know I wasn't.
Speaker 1: But no, like now that we're going, you know, it's
Speaker 1: not like there's deep paparazzi kind of there is like
Speaker 1: a little bit like there's a there's an apartment block
Speaker 1: across from our studio and sometimes you'll see some kind
Speaker 1: of luky lose if you've kind of seen me.
Speaker 2: Just like that's in every apartment it depends on in
Speaker 2: the car park.
Speaker 1: The but yeah, there's not too much secrecy really, Like
Speaker 1: I get to work every day and get told what
Speaker 1: happened the night before and that sort of thing. But
Speaker 1: you know, it's not this kind of like, oh, no
Speaker 1: one can know, like because I think we're getting to
Speaker 1: the point where with all the franchises, people want to
Speaker 1: keep it a little bit of a fun secret to understand.
Speaker 1: It's like, you know, they don't want to ruin everything.
Speaker 1: It is. It is always wild to me. I don't
Speaker 1: know how to use Reddit, but every time someone shows
Speaker 1: me something, how like I can't imagine who is leaking
Speaker 1: things on set. I don't think that, but sometimes you
Speaker 1: just fans, just especially the when they guess the lineups
Speaker 1: and that sort of thing, like they're terrifyingly accurate before
Speaker 1: queens are even confirmed. And I find that always really wild, terrifying.
Speaker 1: There's some like soothsayer, some twinkie soothsayer somewhere like throwing
Speaker 1: the ruins out and guessing who the queens are going
Speaker 1: to be, and then there's always one guess that's like
Speaker 1: and also Courtney Act is going to host this year,
Speaker 1: and you're like.
Speaker 2: Oh god, every note I don't think that's gonna happen.
Speaker 2: I've had I've had Courtney on the podcast, and I
Speaker 2: don't think that's happening.
Speaker 3: Just from some of the tea that she's built.
Speaker 1: It's like not getting involved in that. I'm not getting involved.
Speaker 3: In that, no neither of mine.
Speaker 2: Did you see me trying to look the other way
Speaker 2: to try and bring something else in. But it is
Speaker 2: like a lot of people these days are like they're
Speaker 2: they're like psychics, you know what I mean, Like they're
Speaker 2: not very good psychics, so theyre just to think, oh
Speaker 2: the psykicks. Yeah, yeah, great, I'm glad that we've got
Speaker 2: that clear.
Speaker 3: So psychics, that's what they're like.
Speaker 2: And then they write something we are running out of time,
Speaker 2: So I'm going to get into just some other things
Speaker 2: really quickly that I just can't not not ask you.
Speaker 2: But so we've been around the drag circuit of Melbourne
Speaker 2: for a long time, and you more so probably right
Speaker 2: around Australia. Is there a drag queen in Australia that
Speaker 2: you are surprised that we haven't seen yet?
Speaker 1: She doesn't work so much of the drag queen anymore.
Speaker 1: And this is more from my Sydney Partty Daves is
Speaker 1: a queen called Dallas Della Force. Oh is this wild?
Speaker 1: Like you got to look her up. She's incredible and
Speaker 1: she she's moved to Tasmania now and doesn't do as
Speaker 1: much drag anymore, but she and she does a lot
Speaker 1: of the costuming for has like people might remember speaking
Speaker 1: of courtneyc for earlier the Australia had the indigenous flag
Speaker 1: on it. Yeah, her season, Dallas delas Force made that.
Speaker 1: You know, I think in that same kind of world,
Speaker 1: I would love to see some more because I'm more
Speaker 1: my partying Dave and being at bars at three am
Speaker 1: were more Sydney based for me. And so there's this
Speaker 1: whole generation, like you know, Vanity is like a big
Speaker 1: one for me. There's a queen called Ruby Slipper in
Speaker 1: Melbourne who's like she leaves kind of more. She's a
Speaker 1: bio queen. I think that's the right way to word that.
Speaker 1: I never know what the right term for that is.
Speaker 1: She's a lady who also does drag. She she I
Speaker 1: did drag recently properly for the first time, and she
Speaker 1: did my faith and she's just this incredible queen. Who
Speaker 1: else who else.
Speaker 2: There's some Melbourne ones that I think of, and I'm
Speaker 2: thinking of like DTS because I'm not even DTS. I
Speaker 2: love Paris the drag queen, like Laura Gravity Paris.
Speaker 1: Oh my god, why did I think of Paris.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Like there's some ones that I'm like, I don't
Speaker 2: know whether they've been asked or they're too expensive or
Speaker 2: the too old, or their style of drag or their
Speaker 2: camaraderie is not going to be right fit.
Speaker 3: I don't know what it is.
Speaker 1: But yeah, there's a queen in Melbourne called Scarlet So
Speaker 1: Hung Sun and she's pretty incredible. Like, I think there's
Speaker 1: we're going through a fun transition in drag where yeah,
Speaker 1: there is that kind of and we saw in last
Speaker 1: season with like Minnie Cooper there can be clashes between
Speaker 1: those two like the kind of and it's you know,
Speaker 1: I think it happens in our community for a long time.
Speaker 1: It's it's the same in like the Vogue scene, Like
Speaker 1: there's the old style and the new style and within
Speaker 1: Drag as well. And I think that's like some of
Speaker 1: the exciting stuff to see because there's some young bitches
Speaker 1: that think they have nothing to learn, who have everything
Speaker 1: to learn and there's on the older side, there's that
Speaker 1: as well. Like I think everyone you know, no one's
Speaker 1: exactly right and no one's exactly wrong, and I think
Speaker 1: that's what's the exciting stuff to see.
Speaker 2: Mini Cooper was one of my favorite. I love Spanky
Speaker 2: as well, Like, but Mini Cooper and Spanky Jackson last year,
Speaker 2: like and the Queen Kong. I mean, the season the
Speaker 2: Girls last year was so good. I mean it was
Speaker 2: so amazing, Like I liked the conflict between people because
Speaker 2: it wasn't too much, it wasn't too toxic. I just
Speaker 2: I just really enjoyed the way that it all came together.
Speaker 2: I thought it was really amazing.
Speaker 1: This year will be really interesting because yeah, I can't
Speaker 1: reference to this earlier, but like there's less of a
Speaker 1: focus this year on drama. I think I haven't seen
Speaker 1: all the edits, okay, so don't blame it on the edit,
Speaker 1: but like there's not as many like you would have
Speaker 1: seen the list, there's not as many kind of like, oh,
Speaker 1: you're a famous queen that I know from social media
Speaker 1: type of thing. There's a bit more kind of I
Speaker 1: think the focus is more on the actual craft of
Speaker 1: drag this year, and I find that very nice and exciting.
Speaker 2: What do you think about Queen Kong's LOGI nomination considering
Speaker 2: that she didn't win, Spanky Jackson won and then now
Speaker 2: Queen Kong's getting all of these acknowledgments. Do you think
Speaker 2: that has anything to do with the fact that Spanky
Speaker 2: Jackson's from New Zealand or well?
Speaker 1: Yeah, probably.
Speaker 3: I want to know what your tea on that is, Well, I.
Speaker 1: Got note you like, I think Queen had an incredible
Speaker 1: and I don't know, maybe there is some sort of load.
Speaker 1: Do you have to be Australian to get nominated for
Speaker 1: LOGI Best Newcomer? I don't know, Like it's got to
Speaker 1: be best Australianalent probably the I think they like the
Speaker 1: three of them, Hannah, Queen and Spanky are like best
Speaker 1: as a friends. They still do a BABS and it's
Speaker 1: They are all perfect examples of Queens using drag Race
Speaker 1: as a launch pad and not as an end goal.
Speaker 1: And I think Queen had such an incredible journey on
Speaker 1: that show was a really good example of what is
Speaker 1: possible with Australian drag and what style of drag that
Speaker 1: we do and what to do after drag Race, Like
Speaker 1: She's I've known Queen for years, like she'd been making
Speaker 1: kind of no, I wouldn't call it experimental, but she
Speaker 1: makes incredible kind of queer theater as well and works
Speaker 1: you know, in the kind of dance space as well,
Speaker 1: and it's nice to see that being recognized by Like
Speaker 1: can you if she wins? And I hope she does.
Speaker 1: I think she's got a pretty good chance. Can you
Speaker 1: imagine the speech, like to see you on Australian main street,
Speaker 1: to see on Channel nine a queer man of color
Speaker 1: who's like six foot dressed as a lady accepting a
Speaker 1: Best new Comers.
Speaker 2: Because I mean, also what I appreciated from Queen Kong
Speaker 2: was the work that we've seen her do afterwards as well,
Speaker 2: Like I've seen important work done there afterwards. Anyway, so
Speaker 2: many questions to ask you, and people be so annoyed
Speaker 2: because I'm sure I've missed all the big questions, those
Speaker 2: top four questions that you've probably been asked by everyone,
Speaker 2: and I've forgotten to ask any of them. But maybe
Speaker 2: we've talked about things that are more interesting. I want
Speaker 2: to know about your book because I have already pre
Speaker 2: ordered that your book. I'm very excited about it. But
Speaker 2: I know nothing about it. I just saw that I
Speaker 2: saw your show last year, Obsessed, and then I saw
Speaker 2: you have a book, so I had to buy it
Speaker 2: because I love reading.
Speaker 3: What is it about? What am I in for?
Speaker 1: It's a book, It's a book of it. It's not
Speaker 1: really about like, it's a book of essays and there's
Speaker 1: like kind of some recipes in that. Like it's kind
Speaker 1: of a writ called David Sedaris that I'll be like
Speaker 1: and it's kind of meant to be like I would
Speaker 1: not compare myself to him, but it's like a similar style.
Speaker 1: Whether there's no I knew that I got a book deal,
Speaker 1: and I knew that I didn't want to do one
Speaker 1: of those like ten Steps to winning, Like I just
Speaker 1: wanted to write like what my show is, what my
Speaker 1: shows usually are is like a kind of jumble of
Speaker 1: my thoughts, and then by the end of it you
Speaker 1: kind of realize there's been kind of a theme. Like
Speaker 1: the book, yeahs a book of that's it behind me.
Speaker 1: It's a book of essays that each you can pick
Speaker 1: it up and read an essay and that's that'll be
Speaker 1: fine and funny, or you can read like all of
Speaker 1: them and it will still have a kind of theme
Speaker 1: and narrative to it, but there's no like, it's not
Speaker 1: about anything. It's just kind of my like, you know,
Speaker 1: there's about it's eighty two thousand words, so there's a
Speaker 1: bunch of stories in there, but it's not really like
Speaker 1: it's not gossipy. It's not like it's it's my stand
Speaker 1: up but in book form.
Speaker 3: But I love that.
Speaker 2: I mean, it's it's a little trip into your I
Speaker 2: love the idea that you're telling me about because it's
Speaker 2: just really going into your mind and finding out, Yeah,
Speaker 2: what's going on in there?
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's kind of it's it's a cathartic exercise for me,
Speaker 1: and I got paid a tiny bit of money for it.
Speaker 2: Is Anthony Hopkins in there at all? Is he referenced
Speaker 2: at all? She referenced she the dog that you met
Speaker 2: the actor.
Speaker 1: I was like, yeah, yeah, there's a couple of little
Speaker 1: Hopkins stories in there.
Speaker 3: I think, yeah, okay, yeah.
Speaker 2: So that's one of my favorite things is when you
Speaker 2: were talking about that, you were like, Anthony Hopkins, she
Speaker 2: is the dog. That's just the most bizarre dog mame ever, But.
Speaker 3: I love it. Well.
Speaker 1: She the Welsh Springer Spaniel the best.
Speaker 2: Just before you go, what is everyone gets this? What
Speaker 2: is something from behind the scenes, something that we as
Speaker 2: an audience won't see, but maybe like a behind the
Speaker 2: scenes secret or maybe an anecdote, something strange that might
Speaker 2: have happened to you. Whilst making the third series of
Speaker 2: down Under.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Aj from the Backstreet Boys turned up to set
Speaker 1: one day and we all went to see the Backstreet
Speaker 1: Boys together.
Speaker 3: Oh wow, it was like a wild.
Speaker 1: Me Michelle and Rue went to see the Backstreet Boys
Speaker 1: and the producer of the show.
Speaker 3: Did you do some dancing a little bit? Like?
Speaker 1: We all like it was very funny sitting there together,
Speaker 1: like and just I was sitting in between Ru and Michelle,
Speaker 1: It's just like what's in the back Street Boys? As
Speaker 1: you do, I get the feeling like that kind of
Speaker 1: I mean, that's kind of an anecdote.
Speaker 3: Sure, I love that. People will love that as well.
Speaker 1: It was such a long show, like it was a
Speaker 1: fun show to watch, but boy, howdy with it? They
Speaker 1: turned out the back three boys have a lot of thongs,
Speaker 1: and I get the feeling. The long whoever the long
Speaker 1: haired one is with the beard, I don't think he's
Speaker 1: allowed to talk on stage. Everyone else everyone else said
Speaker 1: something and he said nothing, and he said nothing. Everyone
Speaker 1: had this moment that's like Auckland, it's been ten years
Speaker 1: since we were here, blah blah, and then no talking
Speaker 1: from him, not.
Speaker 3: Even like the chewbaccer sound.
Speaker 1: People like, I think he's like maybe ultra religious or something,
Speaker 1: and maybe when he gets chatt and he might get
Speaker 1: a little preaching purity rings. Yeah, but yeah, sitting there
Speaker 1: with Ruin like because I kept thinking I got invited
Speaker 1: and like we're all going yeah. So AJ turns up
Speaker 1: on the set. It's the day that Adam Lambert is
Speaker 1: also there, and so I'm just like sitting at the
Speaker 1: panel just being like, what the fuck is going on?
Speaker 1: And then he said, yeah, ill hook you guys up
Speaker 1: with some tickets you come, and you just kind of think,
Speaker 1: I keep you know, ru goes to a lot of stuff.
Speaker 1: We do go yeah, like I said, We've got a
Speaker 1: restaurants and that sort of thing. But you always think
Speaker 1: in your head he's gonna decide he doesn't want to
Speaker 1: come at the last minute. And then now and you
Speaker 1: think is like, is like you know, almost seven foot
Speaker 1: RuPaul going to come to spark the Arena and like
Speaker 1: go to a big concert. But yeah, no, he turned up.
Speaker 1: He had a mask on, and no, it's amazing to me.
Speaker 1: You'll be standing there. This is wild as well. He's
Speaker 1: you know, he talks in interviews a lot about playing
Speaker 1: dirty charades, like he loves playing dirty charades. We play.
Speaker 1: It's true, he loves playing it. We've played it like
Speaker 1: four times of the years together. And on the street
Speaker 1: when we were waiting for someone to come and collect us,
Speaker 1: to take us in again another part of the universe
Speaker 1: that I've never seen before. Someone comes from the venue
Speaker 1: to take you into a little room and then we
Speaker 1: can take into our seats. I was like, this is
Speaker 1: the life. We played dirty charades and on the street
Speaker 1: with him with a mask on, so no one knew
Speaker 1: who is this seven foot man like acting out dirty things?
Speaker 1: And it was yeah, RuPaul Charles.
Speaker 3: I love that.
Speaker 2: You know, You've really given me an amazing snapshot today
Speaker 2: of all of these people in a way that I've
Speaker 2: always wanted to know, Like I think you know, it
Speaker 2: has been so amazing. I'm a huge fan. I am
Speaker 2: in your audience and will always be. Thank you so
Speaker 2: much for being so generous with your time and chatting
Speaker 2: with me it's amazing, and good luck with the third season.
Speaker 1: Thanks, I can't wait for people to see it. Good
Speaker 1: to see you.
Speaker 2: I absolutely love Reese, and I loved how chilled out
Speaker 2: he was and how much tea he was able to spill.
Speaker 2: I didn't really expect that anyway, here's a treasure. Now
Speaker 2: stick around for our first eliminated queen. Please switch off
Speaker 2: now if you don't want to know who has been eliminated,
Speaker 2: and you have pretty much drawn out to do so,
Speaker 2: because I'm going to welcome in right into the podcast.
Speaker 3: Now, Hi, Amil, how are you good?
Speaker 4: Crazy situation? Very well, how are you?
Speaker 2: I'm very excited to speak to you. I mean, you're
Speaker 2: the first queen coming out of down Under season three.
Speaker 2: I definitely did not see that coming as the show
Speaker 2: was going on, which is evidence to me that I
Speaker 2: would never be a good judge on this show.
Speaker 4: Well, you know, I feel like I also didn't see
Speaker 4: it coming, so you know, we're in the same boat together.
Speaker 4: I don't think I have a career in judging ahead
Speaker 4: of me either.
Speaker 2: You know, you were the only queen that I actually
Speaker 2: knew of before the show. So, like the groundswall of
Speaker 2: people talking about the show, and someone who I had
Speaker 2: known of. I feel like I jinxed you because I
Speaker 2: was like, oh, I can't wait to watch Amil knock
Speaker 2: this out of the park.
Speaker 4: Thank you. I'm glad. I'm glad that I've made an impact.
Speaker 4: Get to keep doing that as well.
Speaker 2: In reality is the pressure to perform in week one
Speaker 2: almost a little bit too much?
Speaker 4: Absolutely? You know, the pressure was insane and like the
Speaker 4: night before, I had been up in my hotel room
Speaker 4: until like three am doing the steps. Even though the
Speaker 4: pressure was a lot, it did't feel good as well.
Speaker 2: Well, I think, you know, it's luck, chance and circumstance,
Speaker 2: and I believe this across all reality TV shows since
Speaker 2: the beginning of them.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think it's it's definitely better to go at
Speaker 4: first rather than second. Or so I'm you know, sorry
Speaker 4: to the girls who are going to follow me, because
Speaker 4: I think, you know, first out you have, I think
Speaker 4: you're fresh and people's memories for a while and people
Speaker 4: feel sorry for you. So I think there are you know,
Speaker 4: a couple of good things that definitely come with it.
Speaker 2: Where did the name Amil come from? Is that a
Speaker 2: name that you've had since you started drag?
Speaker 4: Yeah, so initially When I started, my drag name was
Speaker 4: Amial Clooney because it was a joke about Amaal Clooney,
Speaker 4: George Clooney's wife and Amil substance. And I was like,
Speaker 4: my kind of sounds like Amil. That was my drag name.
Speaker 4: But no one got the joke. Too many people, I think.
Speaker 4: I think I think a lot more about human rights
Speaker 4: layers and than everyone else a little bit about the
Speaker 4: people do. So I said, you know what, we're driving
Speaker 4: the Clooney it's just Amil, and I feel like it
Speaker 4: stands well on its own.
Speaker 2: I think it's a great name. I mean, it's it's
Speaker 2: something that's kind of traded. It's something that I've remembered
Speaker 2: from hearing you doing drags, So I mean it's it's
Speaker 2: a good name to have. I wanted to ask you, though,
Speaker 2: do you know, and this is just a personal question,
Speaker 2: can you still buy Amil in Australia? Was that?
Speaker 3: Do they ban Ammil from being bought?
Speaker 4: I remember, correctly you can't buy it without a prescription,
Speaker 4: but you can if you go to you know, select
Speaker 4: sex stores by VCR or let the Cleaner.
Speaker 2: Still Wow, Okay, Because I really want I thought if
Speaker 2: anyone's going to know it's going to be you, And
Speaker 2: I'm just wondering, wonder what you go to the doctors
Speaker 2: for to say I need a prescription for amil.
Speaker 3: Like a sex, I believe you can't say it for
Speaker 3: gay sex.
Speaker 4: I believe. So that's that's sort of the I think
Speaker 4: it was the Therapeutic Goods Administration that like did this
Speaker 4: whole thing into it, and so yeah, I'm pretty sure
Speaker 4: that's that's why. So there you go.
Speaker 3: Well, I'm glad to clear that up.
Speaker 2: What makes Australia and New Zealand at this point in
Speaker 2: twenty twenty three, you know what makes our drag story
Speaker 2: interesting to tell?
Speaker 3: Do you think?
Speaker 4: I think it's exciting now because it is so much
Speaker 4: more diverse than it has been in the past. A
Speaker 4: season we had seven queens of color, which is insane
Speaker 4: for Australia and New Zealand especially, but even across the
Speaker 4: whole drag Race franchise, it's crazy. So that's really I
Speaker 4: think that's really special and really exciting because I think
Speaker 4: the face of drag here is changing. But I also
Speaker 4: think this season especially is great because we get to
Speaker 4: see so many different styles of drag as well. I
Speaker 4: think in the past couple of seasons, there's been one
Speaker 4: or two sort of quite clearly established types of drag,
Speaker 4: and this time around we've kind of got it all.
Speaker 2: Do you think we have our own flavor?
Speaker 4: Yes, I think I believe it was RuPaul who said,
Speaker 4: I think it was the Graham Norton Show that down
Speaker 4: Under drag is quote unquote a little bit more ratchet,
Speaker 4: which I don't know if I intrinsically agree with, but
Speaker 4: I think like we definitely are a little bit more
Speaker 4: sort of I guess, irreverent, and a bit more I
Speaker 4: think filthy for lack of a better word, which I
Speaker 4: think is a really important part of drag. Honestly. I think,
Speaker 4: I guess like the tradition that comes from like crost silicuity,
Speaker 4: the desert style of drag, it's definitely very different down here,
Speaker 4: and even though of course you know we're influenced by
Speaker 4: them and you know, things that are happening in other spheres,
Speaker 4: I think there is just like a very distinctly down
Speaker 4: Under taste to what we do here.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think. So.
Speaker 2: You know what's interesting about this third season different to
Speaker 2: season one and season two. I feel like the chemistry
Speaker 2: between all of the Girls is quite different. You know,
Speaker 2: last year there was a bit of conflict because we
Speaker 2: had Mini Cooper in there, who I love. But this
Speaker 2: year it seems like there's not as much conflict. What
Speaker 2: do you think Do you think conflict is good in
Speaker 2: reality shows or do you think people don't like it?
Speaker 4: I think it is a mix of both. I think
Speaker 4: when it's contrived, you can usually tell when it's not
Speaker 4: very entertaining. When it's legitimate, it's kind of quite funny
Speaker 4: and quite engaging. But I think conflict for the sake
Speaker 4: of conflict is kind of pointless, honestly, because I think
Speaker 4: people should be coming along to the ride based on
Speaker 4: the drag, not the not the fights that happened. Yeah,
Speaker 4: that said, you'll have to wait.
Speaker 3: And see because the more conflict to come.
Speaker 4: I think there might be a little bit of conflict
Speaker 4: to come.
Speaker 2: It's also like the very first episode of season two,
Speaker 2: you felt like you got some front runners, Like there's
Speaker 2: no clear front runner in my mind, that's sort of
Speaker 2: been set up at this point, and I feel like
Speaker 2: that we have seen the stronger personalities peering through the crowd.
Speaker 2: How did it feel while you were there? Could you
Speaker 2: see who the stronger coins were that were standing.
Speaker 4: Out in my mind. The people that I was immediately
Speaker 4: sort of drawn into were Law and Holly. Holly starting
Speaker 4: off that number, coming out with such confidence and his
Speaker 4: azz I was like, Wow, that's incredible. She's the one.
Speaker 4: And then Flaw. Everything that Floyd did that entire first
Speaker 4: episode made through cackle and she is just so like
Speaker 4: arresting as a character in my mind in that first episode.
Speaker 4: Those are the people who really stood out to me
Speaker 4: as potential front rowers.
Speaker 2: The challenge I thought this week were to me to
Speaker 2: get you all to perform in a group I thought
Speaker 2: was really hard and I could see that and I
Speaker 2: was watching you moving around on the dance floor. I
Speaker 2: was thinking, that's how I would be. That's that's exactly
Speaker 2: you were. You were literally physically being the version of
Speaker 2: myself that I would be if I had a Week
Speaker 2: one challenge where I had to do like a dance
Speaker 2: and singing gig I really related to.
Speaker 4: It was hard as well, just because everyone was in
Speaker 4: such big costumes and I was like, I don't want
Speaker 4: to knockover Reta in her big thing, or like, you know,
Speaker 4: get one of my eyes poked out by the feathers
Speaker 4: in floors, shoes that are like this high, or you know,
Speaker 4: there was so much going on or like to trip
Speaker 4: ivery over with a like train thing, do you know
Speaker 4: what I mean. So there was just so much to
Speaker 4: think about. And it's not a big stage either, so
Speaker 4: it was there was a lot going on.
Speaker 2: I couldn't tell you, Well, how hard is it to
Speaker 2: get onto this show as well? I mean now that
Speaker 2: RuPaul's Drag Race is what it is. I mean, it's
Speaker 2: this just this huge franchise all around the world, and
Speaker 2: it's kind of side all of these drag queens everywhere.
Speaker 3: What did you have to do to get there?
Speaker 4: Well, we all have to submit an audition tape. Of course,
Speaker 4: this is my first time auditioning to my own horn.
Speaker 4: I know a lot of the other girls auditions several times,
Speaker 4: but not me. But yeah, I mean it's sort of
Speaker 4: you've got to put together a bunch of stuff about,
Speaker 4: you know, like the yeah, the Dad's and not an
Speaker 4: acting challenge and a new sewing thing and you know,
Speaker 4: all sorts of different things, and so putting all that
Speaker 4: together was I feel like kind of a little taste
Speaker 4: of what was to come. In a way, really, I
Speaker 4: feel like every every drag queen sort of like thinks
Speaker 4: or imagines what it might be like to one day
Speaker 4: be on drag Race. And so it wasn't like I
Speaker 4: was like doing drag to being on drag Race, but
Speaker 4: it was a sort of in the back of my
Speaker 4: mind as a sort of thing of like maybe one
Speaker 4: day this would be possible, and then here we are.
Speaker 2: And then did you have like a favorite queen from
Speaker 2: around the world? I mean, at certain times, maybe because
Speaker 2: I was drinking red wine while I was watching it,
Speaker 2: maybe I'm off the mark, but you kind of gave
Speaker 2: me some changel of vibes at some point. So I
Speaker 2: just was curious about which means had influence to you.
Speaker 4: I think my top two Drag Race queens ever in
Speaker 4: the world would be Alaska and Aquaria, who are quite different.
Speaker 4: But I feel like I think if I would like
Speaker 4: to be like the love child of those two, I
Speaker 4: would to be able to do both of those things.
Speaker 2: The conversation I was seeing in some of the forums
Speaker 2: yesterday was that we have a lot of younger queens
Speaker 2: in season three and less older queens. Do you think
Speaker 2: that that's being done on purpose? I mean, what's your
Speaker 2: thoughts on older queens versus younger queens.
Speaker 4: I have a feeling that it was relatively intentional because
Speaker 4: I think the last couple of seasons.
Speaker 2: The older queens created a lot of drama to deal with.
Speaker 4: Well, no, that is kind of true, actually, isn't it.
Speaker 4: But I think it kind of has skewed older in
Speaker 4: the past, and so I think this sort of I
Speaker 4: feel like this season was supposed to be fairly different
Speaker 4: in terms of, you know, diversity, in terms of age,
Speaker 4: in terms of drag style. All of those were intentional
Speaker 4: choices to I guess, you know, show that down to
Speaker 4: drag is not just you know, the Spanky Jackson's and
Speaker 4: Mini Coopers of the world.
Speaker 2: What was the most surprising thing? So you get onto
Speaker 2: Rupol's drag race and it's all very new, it's all
Speaker 2: very loud. But what for you was the most surprising
Speaker 2: thing about realizing this dream.
Speaker 4: It's really cold. It's really cold in there. They keep
Speaker 4: the main stage like freezing, and so I don't know
Speaker 4: how those like body girls do it every time, and
Speaker 4: they they walk out onto the runway wearing like a
Speaker 4: bra and a anty. I'm like, I would freeze to death.
Speaker 3: Race. Nicholson was just telling me.
Speaker 2: It was like people would be surprised at how cold
Speaker 2: it is in there and how loud RuPaul plays the music.
Speaker 3: He was like, it's like club level.
Speaker 4: Yeah, oh my god, it was. I was shocked. I
Speaker 4: completely lot about that. It was so loud. Yeah, jumped,
Speaker 4: yeah crazy.
Speaker 2: Did you work out if there's a Queen Bee status
Speaker 2: at this point? I always love asking right across all
Speaker 2: reality shows, like is there a person who's going to
Speaker 2: take charge of this series? Like, maybe not win, but
Speaker 2: you know, get that Queen Bee status going on?
Speaker 4: I think and I say this because I know her personally,
Speaker 4: not because of anything that she's done on the show
Speaker 4: so far. But I think Holly has such an air
Speaker 4: of confidence about that people I think often interpret is
Speaker 4: quite hostile, even though it's not necessarily that hostile, but
Speaker 4: I do think people interpret it as such. I think
Speaker 4: she sort of has that aura about her.
Speaker 2: Okay, I'll look out for that one. I'm excited about that.
Speaker 2: Would you have done anything differently at this point? Now
Speaker 2: that you're looking bad and it's you know, this was
Speaker 2: all sort of films a little while ago and it's
Speaker 2: now on television, you've had some time to think about it.
Speaker 2: Would you or have you thought about anything that you
Speaker 2: would have done differently.
Speaker 4: I would have put a different zipper in my entrance dress,
Speaker 4: I would have I think I would have walked in
Speaker 4: with a bit of an air of confidence that I
Speaker 4: don't think I had this time around. I say this
Speaker 4: time around. It makes it sound like I'm angling for
Speaker 4: All Stars already, doesn't it?
Speaker 2: And you should like I think you should. All Stars
Speaker 2: is definitely. I mean, I like Chandelo and I referenced
Speaker 2: you as Changelo, and I'm pretty sure that she's been
Speaker 2: on the show three times now, so maybe we will
Speaker 2: see am will come back for our first All Stars
Speaker 2: in Australia.
Speaker 4: Anything is possible, But yeah, I think being a bit
Speaker 4: more confident is something that would have done me quite
Speaker 4: a while. So if there is the next time, you
Speaker 4: can be sure that I'll be walking there with all
Speaker 4: the confidence in the world.
Speaker 2: Now that you've done the show as well, do you
Speaker 2: have an idea of what you'd like to see RuPaul do? Like,
Speaker 2: is there anything that they could do with this franchise,
Speaker 2: any different ways to up the ante, Like it's one
Speaker 2: thing to watch it on TV, but another to actually
Speaker 2: take on the challenge. I'm sure you'd be the right
Speaker 2: person to ask that question too.
Speaker 4: I mean, this is obviously I'm a little bit biased,
Speaker 4: but I think I would love to see more seasons
Speaker 4: when no one gets eliminated, because I just love seeing
Speaker 4: that everyone has to offer and being in the workroom
Speaker 4: and looking around there's so much that we won't get
Speaker 4: to see that it's just so good and so much talent.
Speaker 4: Sometimes I know that things can feel a little bit contrived,
Speaker 4: and I think it's probably a good thing to let
Speaker 4: things play out naturally, which might happen the season.
Speaker 2: I guess we'll see a little bit cryptic, but also
Speaker 2: a bit of a tease to what's to come.
Speaker 3: Who do you think is going to win now?
Speaker 2: Not what you know now, because you probably know a
Speaker 2: little bit more, but when you walked out of the competition,
Speaker 2: who did you think is going to take this out?
Speaker 4: Really? Yeah, well million percent. As soon as Holly won
Speaker 4: that first episode, I was like, it's.
Speaker 2: Hurt okay you on that one. We'll go with the
Speaker 2: betting Ons on this. And then my last question is
Speaker 2: something to ask everyone who joins the podcast. What is
Speaker 2: something from behind the scenes, something that we did not
Speaker 2: see that we won't see kind of like a behind
Speaker 2: the scenes secret or kind of like a funny anecdote
Speaker 2: or something that happened to you whilst you were in
Speaker 2: the RuPauls drag race machine.
Speaker 4: I think the most absurd and comical thing that happened
Speaker 4: is definitely for filming her meat the Queen's video. I
Speaker 4: have never seen anyone so funny in my life. She
Speaker 4: was sitting there and she was you know, they asked
Speaker 4: for a questions. She was like, I'm doing my makeup
Speaker 4: and I'm getting fucked. They can't do the make up
Speaker 4: because I'm getting fucked too, And the producers were like,
Speaker 4: what like getting fucked in? She was like, yeah, fuck's
Speaker 4: like drunk, and everyone was like, she is so funny.
Speaker 4: She is one of the funniest people that they've ever seen.
Speaker 4: So yeah, you'll get to see more of that, which
Speaker 4: I've said.
Speaker 2: About, some more filthy language, some more drinking, and some
Speaker 2: more hilarity.
Speaker 3: I can't wait. And well, thank you so much for.
Speaker 2: Chatting with me this morning. I think you did a
Speaker 2: fant plastic job on the first episode. You should be
Speaker 2: very proud.
Speaker 4: Thank you very much. I appreciate it.