Speaker 1: It's in the news today, but it was actually on
Speaker 1: TV Reload, the podcast.
Speaker 2: Last week they light Welcome back to TV Reload. My
Speaker 2: name is Benjamin Norris, and on this podcast I go
Speaker 2: behind the scenes with the biggest players in television. Each
Speaker 2: episode you will get a front row seat with content
Speaker 2: makers like executive producers, writers, editors, and casting agents, plus
Speaker 2: the talent that we see on our screens. TV Reload
Speaker 2: reloads the shows that you are currently watching and gives
Speaker 2: you a better insight into our television industry and our
Speaker 2: streaming services. This week on the podcast, I have the
Speaker 2: winner of RuPaul's Drag Race down Under season two. It
Speaker 2: is Spanky Jackson and while we have had to wait
Speaker 2: a little longer than I expected, I can tell you
Speaker 2: this this chat was worth the wait. Spanky was my
Speaker 2: favorite towards the end, and I absolutely adore the type
Speaker 2: of person she was on every episode. Funny, talented, warm.
Speaker 3: And massively unpolished.
Speaker 2: There is something unique and brilliant with every strut Spanky takes.
Speaker 2: I love the most of the fans didn't see her
Speaker 2: as the favorite, and I also love how supportive Hannah
Speaker 2: and Queen have been to Spanky's win. We will talk
Speaker 2: about her nerves going into the competition, if being a
Speaker 2: winner helps you get shagged, what she thinks of the
Speaker 2: franchise and what it needs to change, and a few
Speaker 2: life lessons along the way that I think that you
Speaker 2: guys are going to get a lot out of. However,
Speaker 2: let's get started with today's guest. I'd like to welcome
Speaker 2: Spanky Jackson from RuPaul's Drag Race down Under season two
Speaker 2: to TV Reload.
Speaker 1: I nearly pulled out a week and a half before
Speaker 1: because I didn't want to embarrass myself.
Speaker 3: Look who's here, Spanky Jackson.
Speaker 1: I was resound to the fact. I was like, Okay,
Speaker 1: I'm not going to win down Under. His next drag
Speaker 1: superstar needs the charisma of a Kiwi I'm looking for it,
Speaker 1: not even a relationship or anything. It's the connections condragulations
Speaker 1: from making it to the grandminale a Rubol's Drag Race
Speaker 1: down Under. I think time that the format changed.
Speaker 2: The winner Ruba's Drag Race down Under Spanky Jackson.
Speaker 1: And I feel like we're missing out on the entertainment
Speaker 1: that those queens could totally bring to the party.
Speaker 3: Hi, Spanky Jackson, how the hell are you?
Speaker 1: Oh? I'm so good. How are you, babes?
Speaker 2: Good morning, Yeah, it's a good morning. And I have
Speaker 2: to say congragulations on your win. You are the winner
Speaker 2: of RuPaul's Drag Race down Under season two.
Speaker 1: I know it's crazy, right, Like it's so bizarre and
Speaker 1: it's still like sets in like it still feels kind
Speaker 1: of unreal. It just feels kind of like it was
Speaker 1: a dream in some kind of way. Okay, the bank
Speaker 1: account looks different, so you know that's great, but yeah,
Speaker 1: it still feels quite surreal. Yeah, it's just it's been incredible.
Speaker 2: What does it feel like to not only be a
Speaker 2: rue girl but to be the winner?
Speaker 1: I think, like winning isn't everything, Like it really isn't.
Speaker 1: I think even making it to the end is still
Speaker 1: like winning in a way, and being a rue girl.
Speaker 1: I mean, there's so many of us now, but it
Speaker 1: just means that you're at that level. We have something
Speaker 1: to offer and it shows that I was on the
Speaker 1: right path and I'm supposed to be doing what I'm doing.
Speaker 1: And I think it's just that validation of that I've
Speaker 1: always been on the right track. You know that That's
Speaker 1: what it really comes down to at the end of
Speaker 1: the day. It just kind of says to yourself, I
Speaker 1: know you're in the right place, You're doing the right thing.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 2: Well, I thought it was interesting because out of the
Speaker 2: three chats that I did with the three finalists, you
Speaker 2: were the most unconfident about winning.
Speaker 1: I know. I know people say this to me all
Speaker 1: the time. They're like, oh, you had to know that
Speaker 1: you were going to win, And it was like, I think,
Speaker 1: as a fan of the show, I have those same expectations.
Speaker 1: I suppose of like drag queens. Now is that it?
Speaker 1: You know, it has morphed, it has changed, it has
Speaker 1: you know, the game changed very quickly. And I was
Speaker 1: never going to be that drag queen. Like I'm just
Speaker 1: not that drag queen. I never have. I'm never going
Speaker 1: to be. All through my life of drag you know,
Speaker 1: people are like, oh, you need bigger clothes, and you
Speaker 1: need here, and you need a bit of you know,
Speaker 1: you need sequence, and you need jewelry. And of course
Speaker 1: I'm that person that is just like, if you're going
Speaker 1: to tell me I'm going to do something, I'm going
Speaker 1: to do the opposite. So I'm going to be like,
Speaker 1: I'm going to do what I'm going to do, and
Speaker 1: you do what you want to do. I think that
Speaker 1: there was that expectation from me as well, is that
Speaker 1: that's what they were looking for, you know, they were
Speaker 1: looking for the polish and the clothes, and that I
Speaker 1: just think that it wasn't the package I was expecting,
Speaker 1: and that's why I was so unconfident about it.
Speaker 2: What do you think kind of changed though? For everyone
Speaker 2: believing that it was going to be Queen Kong like
Speaker 2: as in everyone was like, it's Queen Kong's like, you know,
Speaker 2: and through the competition a lot of people said it was,
Speaker 2: you know, Hannah's to lose. You know, what do you
Speaker 2: think really changed in those last moments that brought you
Speaker 2: forward and made rupick you.
Speaker 1: I definitely have some other quality that you know, maybe
Speaker 1: the other two girls didn't have. And I think that
Speaker 1: that's just a me thing. And I think that, you know,
Speaker 1: at the end of the day, those girls have that
Speaker 1: me thing too, but it's individual to them. And I
Speaker 1: think that I'm just I think I relate with all people,
Speaker 1: and I think that that is really what got me
Speaker 1: over the line, was that there's a relatability of you know,
Speaker 1: a relatability, a relatability Oh my god, I'm too hungover
Speaker 1: to even open my mouth. I'm not unattainable, like I'm believable,
Speaker 1: you know me. You know, I'm part of your family,
Speaker 1: and that's who I think spanking and me is, you
Speaker 1: know what I mean, And I think that that was
Speaker 1: really what got it over the line. To be fair,
Speaker 1: at the end of the day.
Speaker 2: I think you're one of my favorite currency of television,
Speaker 2: and that is that you are aspirational. You know, I
Speaker 2: think people want there's an element of me that wants
Speaker 2: to be you. You know, I think we all want
Speaker 2: to succeed. And so watching you put your balls to
Speaker 2: the floor or whatever that saying is, I'm sure that's
Speaker 2: not what it is and probably not what you say.
Speaker 3: To a dragon.
Speaker 1: Balls to the wall or balls to the wall.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you all I can think about is balls, and
Speaker 2: so I've lost my trade report. But you know what
Speaker 2: I'm talking about.
Speaker 1: You know what I mean, I do know what you mean. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: I think that that's there was no other option. Yeah,
Speaker 1: well there was no other option. It was like you know,
Speaker 1: like I was saying, I nearly pulled out a week
Speaker 1: and a half before because I didn't want to embarrass
Speaker 1: myself and because I knew the level that was expected.
Speaker 1: You know that going in there you have to be
Speaker 1: realistic about that. But there was also something aside of
Speaker 1: me that was like, well, I'm never going to have
Speaker 1: this opportunity again, and if I only make it through
Speaker 1: one episode, well then that that's that's my time, you know.
Speaker 1: But I'm going to do this and I'm going to,
Speaker 1: you know, apply what I've always applied through the rest
Speaker 1: of my life, which is that go out there and
Speaker 1: smash it in the dick. And that's exactly what I did.
Speaker 1: You know, I went out there and just delivered me
Speaker 1: at all times one hundred and ten percent. And I
Speaker 1: think that that's really the key for everybody. You know,
Speaker 1: it doesn't matter what the field is. It doesn't have
Speaker 1: to be performance. It's it's delivering your product, knowing what
Speaker 1: you're good at and serving it. You know, whether that's
Speaker 1: in a corporate job, or whether that's it the fish
Speaker 1: and chip shop, or you know, whether that's at the
Speaker 1: local dairy, it's exactly the same thing. Like it's like,
Speaker 1: if you want that goal, go and do you and
Speaker 1: do it your way and do the best that you can,
Speaker 1: you know, and I think that that's I'm living proof
Speaker 1: of it. I mean, it's still so surreal to me that,
Speaker 1: like my whole for years, I've sat and ate food
Speaker 1: with my friends and we've laughed about what it would
Speaker 1: be like to be on the show and what you
Speaker 1: would do and what you'd say, and then to come
Speaker 1: out the other end of it with a crown and
Speaker 1: no pants. I mean, it's just fucked.
Speaker 2: I kind of you know, when you watch Rupeaul's like,
Speaker 2: it's the you know, we talked about this last time.
Speaker 2: You know, there's been so many different seasons of it,
Speaker 2: but you can sort of break it apart, and when
Speaker 2: you go back and look at seasons, there's always a
Speaker 2: tasty morsel in the first episode for the person who's
Speaker 2: going to win, and for me when I rewatched the season,
Speaker 2: because obviously I've got no life, so I've rewatched it
Speaker 2: all again. Your breakup more that summed you up was
Speaker 2: the bit where you're talking down the run You know,
Speaker 2: you're like, why am I talking like this?
Speaker 3: You know, when I turn around, who there's Oh.
Speaker 1: My god, can I stop sounding like a fucking nhatched teenager?
Speaker 1: Like I'm walking down the runway, fucking feeling the South.
Speaker 1: Fuck it, it was that's true, though.
Speaker 2: It was nobody was great because it was like, as
Speaker 2: you said, you know, you've been talking about doing the
Speaker 2: show for so long, so you've kind of been in
Speaker 2: your head on you know, this is the moment where
Speaker 2: I'm doing my little bit about what's going on, and
Speaker 2: then you sort of broke that down and just were like,
Speaker 2: what the hell am I sounding like this like? And
Speaker 2: that was the that was the breakout Spanky Jackson moment.
Speaker 1: I mean, it was just surreal to even like the
Speaker 1: whole first episode was just you know, you like from
Speaker 1: walking into singing RuPaul to then getting that bloody challenge,
Speaker 1: it was just every all at once. It was joy,
Speaker 1: it was nervousness, excitement, but you're there, so you just
Speaker 1: have to go for it, you know, and I am
Speaker 1: that person. It's like I'm so real that it's just
Speaker 1: not even funny, Like I just talk about my life
Speaker 1: like it's normal, because it's everybody is normal, Like everybody
Speaker 1: goes through stuff. It's like people who poo themselves or
Speaker 1: like you know, everybody has done that. Everybody's throwing up
Speaker 1: somewhere or you know, it's like we we see these
Speaker 1: things as like, oh, you shouldn't talk about it, but
Speaker 1: it's like, this is real life. This is what happens
Speaker 1: to humans. This is what you know we do, and
Speaker 1: everybody does it. Like people are like, oh, you know, God,
Speaker 1: they knows so far in the air, and it's like
Speaker 1: your shit thinks just as much as mine does. Mabes
Speaker 1: like it's no different. You do it, and I know
Speaker 1: you do it because I do it, and it's part
Speaker 1: of our lives. So that's kind of like the realness
Speaker 1: of life. And I think that's what's missing. Everything's so
Speaker 1: manufactured now, and you know, even in the Instagram world,
Speaker 1: the social media world, it's like even people's profiles and
Speaker 1: manufactured for the life that they want to be seen
Speaker 1: to be living. But the reality is is that that's
Speaker 1: not true, Like it's just not and it's the stuff
Speaker 1: that they're not showing that it's relatable. It's the stuff
Speaker 1: that's real, you know, and we need more of that,
Speaker 1: Like let it all hang.
Speaker 2: Out as we're doing right now. You are hungover in bed,
Speaker 2: I'm propped up hungover. I've got a beanie on. You
Speaker 2: should have a beanie on.
Speaker 1: I did have a beanie on before, but I was like,
Speaker 1: I better put a hat on. I was like, I
Speaker 1: haven't even done with bloody here.
Speaker 2: This is the people want, though, They want to have
Speaker 2: a real experience when you listening to people. They want
Speaker 2: to feel like, you know, they're a fly on the
Speaker 2: wall and they get to hear what you really think.
Speaker 2: I mean, all that was really left because it was
Speaker 2: such a visceral experience for you for this season for
Speaker 2: us as an audience was what is what does Rue
Speaker 2: Paul smell?
Speaker 1: Like?
Speaker 3: That's the only question we got left, you.
Speaker 1: Know, was she smell amazing at all times and was
Speaker 1: so fucking clean and put together like I never see
Speaker 1: her it look terrible ever, And and the shocking thing
Speaker 1: for me, like, you know, like you're seeing RuPaul on
Speaker 1: TV and you think like and Drag and you think,
Speaker 1: oh yeah, like you know, I know what Drag's like,
Speaker 1: and we can see the edges, you know, but she
Speaker 1: is so finished, like it's like you can't even clock it.
Speaker 1: You couldn't even clock a hairline, you know. Like the
Speaker 1: way she looks on TV is the way she looks
Speaker 1: in real life. And honestly, all of us girls would
Speaker 1: literally just be an awe, Like we would sit there
Speaker 1: and try and look for the edge or you know,
Speaker 1: we try and look for that wonky lash or you know,
Speaker 1: all of that, and it just doesn't exist. It just
Speaker 1: doesn't exist. She's so just incredible, an amazing person and such.
Speaker 1: I'm just really honored that I got the time to
Speaker 1: spend with her that I did and to hear the
Speaker 1: wisdom that she passed on to me. And ye, it's
Speaker 1: something you just can't replace. But she always smells fresh.
Speaker 1: That's always a good start, because she smelled terrible.
Speaker 2: I mean, has there been any communication so you've won?
Speaker 2: Has she sent you a text? Does she slid into
Speaker 2: your damns? Is there an email that's come through anything?
Speaker 3: Nothing?
Speaker 1: No, she didn't. I did send her. I did send
Speaker 1: her a video message. Should have just sent her a
Speaker 1: pack of by ass. She probably would have appreciated it.
Speaker 1: But yeah, right, she would have been like literally she
Speaker 1: would have been. I know that. Yeah. She I sent
Speaker 1: her a video message actually just to say thank you,
Speaker 1: like on the day that it happened. And I didn't
Speaker 1: expect to reply, but I wanted to send you a
Speaker 1: message to say thank you. But I did get a
Speaker 1: lovely message from Michelle. She sent me a beautiful voice
Speaker 1: message to congratulate me and of course. The thing is
Speaker 1: just like I think for them at the time, we're
Speaker 1: so separate, so they don't get to see behind the scenes,
Speaker 1: you know, they don't get to see what happens before
Speaker 1: the runway or any of that. So they watch it
Speaker 1: all back and I think it was refreshing for them
Speaker 1: as well to see that, you know, the spanking that
Speaker 1: they saw on stage, there was a whole lot more
Speaker 1: to Spanky Jackson behind the scenes, and she did. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it was honestly really touching that she'd sent me a message.
Speaker 1: And I've saved that message and I will save it
Speaker 1: for the rest of my life because it just meant
Speaker 1: the world.
Speaker 2: Can you tell us what the message is? Is that
Speaker 2: prying too much? Is that a private moment between you?
Speaker 1: And it was just like it was just like how
Speaker 1: proud Well basically she was just like, I was really
Speaker 1: proud of you, Spanky, and like you just showed that
Speaker 1: you're just such a beautiful person. And the love that
Speaker 1: was in the message, it was the tone of the message.
Speaker 1: I mean, it was a voice message, so it was
Speaker 1: you heard it. There was love in it, and it
Speaker 1: wasn't just some false message for the sake of sending
Speaker 1: a message it was it was set with love and yeah,
Speaker 1: she just congratulated me and said that she was really
Speaker 1: proud of me. So I mean it's special enough for me.
Speaker 2: What I mean, we saw a video on Instagram of
Speaker 2: you with the girls waiting for the announcement to happen,
Speaker 2: and then the announcement, you know, we got to see that.
Speaker 2: But what was it like sitting there waiting to find
Speaker 2: out with those two others, well, with everyone watching you
Speaker 2: like that, what was that moment?
Speaker 1: Like? I think it's been the hardest part. Like when
Speaker 1: I was in New Zealand, before I went into the
Speaker 1: solo tour, I hadn't done any viewing parties or anything.
Speaker 1: And then of course I did one viewing party and
Speaker 1: that was the first time I was kind of watching
Speaker 1: an episode with just a bunch of fucking strangers. There
Speaker 1: was a horrible experience for me because I had the
Speaker 1: luxury of sitting on my couch just eating food with
Speaker 1: my friends and watching the show like a normal person,
Speaker 1: you know, but to watch it with a whole bunch
Speaker 1: of fans. And that was a particularly emotional episode as well.
Speaker 1: There was where I was talking about my dad. I
Speaker 1: think it was a makeover challenge and watching that is
Speaker 1: really difficult to watch with a bunch of people. And
Speaker 1: then to get to the finale, it was like I'm
Speaker 1: in a room of all these you know, these people
Speaker 1: who were just you know, super fans, and you know,
Speaker 1: every drag queen and his bloody dog was there, and
Speaker 1: you know that your peers, they you're you know, you're
Speaker 1: in a room full of people who are at the
Speaker 1: top of their game. They are, And I mean the
Speaker 1: three of us had the best time, Like we all
Speaker 1: had our families and stuff here, and we all had drinks.
Speaker 1: We were even late to the finale because we were
Speaker 1: just having too much fun with all of our families meeting,
Speaker 1: and we were all in one hotel room having you know,
Speaker 1: caught it all talks and all of our moms just
Speaker 1: got together and suddenly happened to just end up all
Speaker 1: wearing denim jackets out like just so you know, weird.
Speaker 1: But the three of us absolutely love and adore each other.
Speaker 1: So we sat there and just watched it with pride.
Speaker 1: But I think when it comes to that finale moment,
Speaker 1: like my stomach just dropped, like oh I was resound
Speaker 1: to the fact I was like, okay, I'm not going
Speaker 1: to win, like I'm just not and I was okay
Speaker 1: with that, but I also just felt like sick at
Speaker 1: the same time, like I keep saying to the girls,
Speaker 1: I think I'm gonna throw up, Like I was just like,
Speaker 1: just get to the fucking end of this bloody episode,
Speaker 1: like hurry up, like I can't, I can't take this.
Speaker 1: And then of course, because we're on the stage as well,
Speaker 1: it's like all the eyes are behind our back and
Speaker 1: it's just it felt like, yeah, it felt like people
Speaker 1: were looking through you in a way, and you're just
Speaker 1: like trying to keep it together. But then you're like,
Speaker 1: oh my god, I really just want to like lie
Speaker 1: on my couch and watch this. I don't want to
Speaker 1: like be with all these people and then winning as well.
Speaker 1: I mean, in that moment, like my heart just broke
Speaker 1: for the two girls, Like that was my first initial
Speaker 1: reaction was shock a but my heart just broke for
Speaker 1: them because it's like we all wanted it so much
Speaker 1: and they are just so incredible, and I mean I'm
Speaker 1: incredible too. I'm starting to realize this, but just in
Speaker 1: very different ways. And I think it's those expectations, but
Speaker 1: it was unreal to be in a room full of
Speaker 1: people and we got to sit there and support each
Speaker 1: other and love each other, and they were so graceful
Speaker 1: and gracious, and they just made it that much more special.
Speaker 1: I mean, the girls have been sharing the photos with
Speaker 1: me at the moment and they are horrendous. Here's me
Speaker 1: like crying, like I'm like, oh god, and these two
Speaker 1: girls are like living their best lives and they keep
Speaker 1: sharing them to me just cracks me up. So they
Speaker 1: were so kind.
Speaker 2: And how long did you celebrate for? Did you manage
Speaker 2: to stay out late or did you try and get
Speaker 2: to bed? Was it an all line or what happened?
Speaker 1: No, it became quite od. No, Actually, yeah, I got
Speaker 1: home when the sun was rising. I think I even
Speaker 1: did an interview before I went to bed, like so
Speaker 1: that's how like early it was. And then I slept
Speaker 1: like for oh god, it felt like it was like
Speaker 1: eight hours. It wasn't. It was probably only five hours.
Speaker 1: But yeah, I really needed the rest and the sleep.
Speaker 1: But no, I had a good time last night. I
Speaker 1: probably celebrated a little bit more of that actual feeling
Speaker 1: of winning because it was just still a rollercoaster, like
Speaker 1: I'm just on autopilot. At the moment, like I just
Speaker 1: have to keep going, keep going. And now I'm on
Speaker 1: tour as well, so it's like just got to keep going,
Speaker 1: keep going, keep going, so hopefully I'll get a break soon.
Speaker 2: Has this experience or do you think this experience, you know,
Speaker 2: has it changed your life? I mean, do you think
Speaker 2: that you'll pick up more blokes or what? Do you
Speaker 2: think has this experience changed your life?
Speaker 1: Well, I'm still single, so there's that.
Speaker 2: You Like, no winner of RuPaul's drag race Shags is
Speaker 2: that what we're going to call it?
Speaker 1: I mean, this is the girls are like trying to
Speaker 1: give me the shag, like everything that moves, and I'm
Speaker 1: just like, I think I'm at that point like I've
Speaker 1: been an absolute slat in my twenties. I've done that,
Speaker 1: you know, I've lived that life, and I'm at that
Speaker 1: point where it's like I need more than just guy
Speaker 1: to just have sex with or whatever. I'm looking for.
Speaker 1: It not even a relationship or anything. It's the connection.
Speaker 1: It's like I need the X factor about them for
Speaker 1: me to be interested, and I need them to know
Speaker 1: who they are because I know who I am and
Speaker 1: I can't take that shit on, Like I just can't.
Speaker 1: I'm looking for it, not even a relationship or anything.
Speaker 1: It's the connections. And I know it sounds stupid, like
Speaker 1: it's just so weird, like i don't know how I
Speaker 1: got here, but I've just set that point in life
Speaker 1: where it's like it's just not worth it, Like I'm
Speaker 1: actually looking for something decent and something for more. So
Speaker 1: if a husband is out there and wants to go
Speaker 1: out for a meal instead of just trying to root
Speaker 1: me in the.
Speaker 2: Hall, the best thing is the camera froze there for
Speaker 2: a minute, and let me tell you that face was amazing.
Speaker 1: Oh god, I mean honestly, if you can see half
Speaker 1: the faces may happen to me. And then because of
Speaker 1: course New Zealand and it is so crap that when
Speaker 1: I talk to the girls, I'm always on reconnect, so
Speaker 1: it's always ends up freezing as like a reconnection, So
Speaker 1: they end up screenshotting them and just keep sending them
Speaker 1: to me and they're horrendous, like everything is terrible, like horrenders.
Speaker 2: Do you think the winning changes what you will do
Speaker 2: with the experience of being on the show, Because there
Speaker 2: was a lot of people saying, oh, Queen Kong could win,
Speaker 2: because I think Queen Kong would do a lot with it,
Speaker 2: And I'm like, we not lose these shows. You should
Speaker 2: still take this experience and do something.
Speaker 3: With it, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: It's again it's that thing of like that's other people's
Speaker 1: expectations of that, Like I went on a show to compete,
Speaker 1: to prove to myself that I still had it that end.
Speaker 1: But also I mean for me, like I completely understand
Speaker 1: what they're saying, you know it. You know, Queen represents
Speaker 1: her community so fiercely and proudly, you know, and she
Speaker 1: would have used that platform for that, you know. For me,
Speaker 1: it's like my platform is literally I just want to
Speaker 1: spread some joy and love and the very thing that
Speaker 1: I want to be doing with my life is to
Speaker 1: entertain and to just be that light for people, and
Speaker 1: not only that, it prove to other people that they
Speaker 1: can do it too. And I just want to go
Speaker 1: around the world and inspire people. You know, I'm not
Speaker 1: all for one message or all for these people, for everybody,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean, I don't give a fuck,
Speaker 1: Like we need to stop putting labels and barriers and
Speaker 1: things on them. It's like, just do it, do it,
Speaker 1: live it, be it, breathe it, and if I can
Speaker 1: be that light, that's all I ever wanted to do,
Speaker 1: and that's what I want to use from this, is
Speaker 1: to be able to stand on that stage and turn
Speaker 1: the party every night.
Speaker 2: I just think, if you want to be a Kardashian,
Speaker 2: be a Kardashian. You don't need just to go out
Speaker 2: and do it. If it makes you feel good to
Speaker 2: mimic what those Kardashians are wearing, because that makes you
Speaker 2: feel important, do it, you know what I mean. And
Speaker 2: they're like, oh but I don't have the followers or
Speaker 2: you know, I don't have the exact look.
Speaker 3: It's like, I know it's in here.
Speaker 1: It is.
Speaker 3: Think you're a Kardashian. I mean well, I mean like.
Speaker 1: I mean, people give them shit, Like, let's be fair.
Speaker 1: What I mean. Okay, it wasn't them. It's bloody Christiana,
Speaker 1: so let's be fair. But she's a marketing genius, you know,
Speaker 1: so who's the stupid one? They turned it into a fortune,
Speaker 1: So you know who's to say that we were? You know,
Speaker 1: we all give them a hard time. Okay, yeah, they
Speaker 1: could be quite superficial and stuff, but they're fucking smart,
Speaker 1: very smart.
Speaker 2: And this is what I thought was really interesting. Was
Speaker 2: someone who knew Chris told me this story, and now
Speaker 2: I feel like I've made it up. But Chris was
Speaker 2: going to dinner parties with some amazing people, like was
Speaker 2: going to dinner parties with the best brand ambassador and
Speaker 2: was the wife sitting there at the table. But she
Speaker 2: took notes over years and years and years. You know,
Speaker 2: she just happened to be at the table with Michael Jackson.
Speaker 2: She happened to be at the table with the press
Speaker 2: to the next president. She was around people who went
Speaker 2: on to achieve amazing things, and she took notes, you know,
Speaker 2: And I thought, no, that.
Speaker 3: Is really smart. But this isn't a podcast about the
Speaker 3: Kadashian so we should really.
Speaker 1: But that's also a message for life, do you know
Speaker 1: what I mean? Like what you've just said there is
Speaker 1: like through life you have these experiences. And that's exactly
Speaker 1: what I've done with my life too. It's like, you know,
Speaker 1: same with RuPaul. You pack up those notes that like
Speaker 1: nuggets and if you can't see it, you're just not
Speaker 1: the you're just not getting it. And it's life is
Speaker 1: full of them. It's full of them. It may be
Speaker 1: that guy you just had dinner with for ten minutes.
Speaker 1: You've never met them before, but they said something that
Speaker 1: you were like, Okay, I get it, pick it up,
Speaker 1: put it down, you know, put it in there, retain it.
Speaker 1: You know. That's really a message for life, like it is.
Speaker 1: Be smart, you know, listen to it. It's all around
Speaker 1: you constantly. You just have to listen properly and pick
Speaker 1: it up.
Speaker 2: I feel inspired listening to you tell tell this. I
Speaker 2: mean today it'll be an to order pizza Hut and
Speaker 2: eat that in bed.
Speaker 1: Hey, byes, I'm about half a minute away from that
Speaker 1: myself order the family pack. Do it, guys. Me and
Speaker 1: my drag sister I was talking about this some of
Speaker 1: the other day. Well you say the like the pizza appened,
Speaker 1: and well you say, have one saved in there and
Speaker 1: it was called the Fatty Special. And we used to
Speaker 1: watch drag race and order the Fetty Special, which was
Speaker 1: like a massive, like you know, a messive deal with
Speaker 1: everything as well on the side. And yeah, that just
Speaker 1: reminds me of that story. That was our aspiration.
Speaker 3: Feel inspired. People that are listening to this, go out there.
Speaker 1: I love it. Yeah, do it, guys, eat it.
Speaker 2: What would you like to see with the series three.
Speaker 2: I mean, we you always gotta be really careful when
Speaker 2: you're part of a global franchise like RuPaul's. You know,
Speaker 2: we can't give away too much or comment too much
Speaker 2: on it. But you know, for you personally, after living
Speaker 2: this experience, what could they do to the next series
Speaker 2: to make it better?
Speaker 1: I think, I mean for the franchise personally, I think
Speaker 1: it's time that the format changed. I think that like
Speaker 1: the format just hasn't had enough of it a change up,
Speaker 1: Like they've tried different things with all stars and you know,
Speaker 1: all of that, but it's still the same. So and
Speaker 1: that's getting tired and it's getting predictable. So I think
Speaker 1: for me, that's that's one thing I would change. But
Speaker 1: the second thing is that I would like to see
Speaker 1: a season of older queens, Like I'd actually like to
Speaker 1: see people who are over, you know, over the age
Speaker 1: of thirty and a whole cast of them, you know,
Speaker 1: even forty or fifty or sixty. There's some bloody, funny,
Speaker 1: hilarious drag queens. And they had the drag queens like
Speaker 1: me and Minnie who or Minnie and I sorry, we
Speaker 1: come from a different era of drag and I feel
Speaker 1: like we're missing out on the entertainment that those queens
Speaker 1: could totally bring to the party. And I think if
Speaker 1: we just let the world, say, even if we just
Speaker 1: had one bloody series, you know, just one series of
Speaker 1: all the old you know, just going hand man and
Speaker 1: giving it a go, I just think it would be
Speaker 1: thoroughly entertaining. And I think, you know, we always talk
Speaker 1: about in the world. You know, I was always taught,
Speaker 1: you know, respect your elders, you know, respect you know
Speaker 1: the people who came before you, you know, your parents,
Speaker 1: respect Janana and granddad, you know, the other beginning of
Speaker 1: this family. And we just don't do enough of that.
Speaker 1: And TV or media. It's kind of like you get
Speaker 1: to a certain age point and you're like, you're done,
Speaker 1: You're useless. You know, you're not pretty enough for You're
Speaker 1: not Oh, nobody's going to buy that because you're obviously
Speaker 1: two bloody old. This is a load of shit, Like
Speaker 1: I'm not dead, and these girls aren't dead either, And
Speaker 1: it's like that still in the club, working their asses off,
Speaker 1: you know, beer, min and and money. But these are
Speaker 1: the people who've been doing it for you know, twenty
Speaker 1: you know, twenty five years thirty years. The experience that
Speaker 1: they bring is something that I find would be very,
Speaker 1: very refreshing.
Speaker 2: And I do not forget the drama, you know, Mini Cooper,
Speaker 2: oh the time that there's old queens bring. They are
Speaker 2: a whole bag of crazy that we're missing.
Speaker 1: Out one hundred percent. And the thing is, it's like, yeah,
Speaker 1: Mini's batshit, but at the same time, it comes from
Speaker 1: a place of that's who Mini's character is like. And
Speaker 1: these girls are fully realized characters. They're not trying to
Speaker 1: find their place. They're not trying to discover themselves. They
Speaker 1: know who they are and they've been delivering it for
Speaker 1: years and I think that that's in some way that's
Speaker 1: what helped me as well. It's like, I know who
Speaker 1: I am, you know what I mean. I didn't come
Speaker 1: here to find myself. I came here to deliver myself.
Speaker 2: Interestingly enough, Minnie Cooper is one of my favorite contestants ever.
Speaker 2: If you watch the show and you don't hear about
Speaker 2: all the backstage drama that was happening while it was
Speaker 2: being filmed and all that sort of stuff gets thrown out,
Speaker 2: and you watch her contribution to the series as it
Speaker 2: is brilliant brilliant. It was great television always, like you know,
Speaker 2: I mean it kind of looked like it was her
Speaker 2: time to go when she went. But you know, had
Speaker 2: she not have had a down day that day, I
Speaker 2: think that she could have been there standing next to you.
Speaker 2: I mean, you are my favorite. I'll just say that
Speaker 2: right now. I wanted you to meet. I take her,
Speaker 2: but I just thought Minni Cooper has a lot to offer.
Speaker 2: And I'm talking to Minnie Cooper after the show as
Speaker 2: a person is another experience altogether, Like there's a lot
Speaker 2: more there.
Speaker 1: She's such an incredible talent, and I mean she is
Speaker 1: a legend. She's an icon, you know, like I remember
Speaker 1: when I first started drag, I used to see like
Speaker 1: if you think back to when New Zealand used to
Speaker 1: have the Hero Parade and like Marti Grara and stuff,
Speaker 1: and when you're a young gay teenager, that's kind of
Speaker 1: really the only like exposure I really ever had was
Speaker 1: like you know, seeing the Hero Parade or Marty gra
Speaker 1: on TV and these were the people, you know, these
Speaker 1: are the people that were in the gay magazine or
Speaker 1: having articles about them. And I mean even I have
Speaker 1: a book at home which is called The Baby the
Speaker 1: Baby Drag Queen Name Book and it sits on my
Speaker 1: coffee table and her fucking in it, do you know
Speaker 1: what I mean? Like, she's in this book and for
Speaker 1: me personally, you know, I look at that name in
Speaker 1: that book and I got to meet that legend and
Speaker 1: that icon. You know, She's just as much of an
Speaker 1: icon as RuPaul is.
Speaker 3: They are are preach.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 2: A good question to ask you before we finish up
Speaker 2: is do you think that we could have filmed the
Speaker 2: series in Australia and not New Zealand? And does where
Speaker 2: it gets filmed? Does down Under? And where it gets filmed?
Speaker 3: Does that matter?
Speaker 1: I think there's positives and negatives. I think that if
Speaker 1: Australia did it, it would probably have a very different feel.
Speaker 1: And I think, you know, New Zealand gave you a
Speaker 1: different feel again, and I think that that's more of
Speaker 1: a reflection of the creative team behind it and where
Speaker 1: they come from. So yeah, I think that there would
Speaker 1: be differences. Definitely. I don't think it should matter because
Speaker 1: I think that at the end of the day, the
Speaker 1: people who are the contestants and the part of the show,
Speaker 1: they are representing the country because that's where they come from,
Speaker 1: you know. So I don't think in that respect that
Speaker 1: it would change anything. I think we all have a
Speaker 1: fair enough chance at it. But I do think that,
Speaker 1: you know, the production value might have been a lot
Speaker 1: higher if we're in Australia, to be fair, and we
Speaker 1: might not have been in.
Speaker 3: A shed, just saying I'd love to see that, love
Speaker 3: to see babes.
Speaker 1: Honestly, Like it was like so when we rocked up,
Speaker 1: I don't know if I'm allowed to talk about it,
Speaker 1: but I will. So when we roped up, like it
Speaker 1: was like it's like a shopping village. So it's like
Speaker 1: there's like a supermarket and there's like a minor ten
Speaker 1: and there's like some houses like apartment houses, and then
Speaker 1: there's like, you know, this bloody boutique, bougie fucking supermarket,
Speaker 1: you know, where a carrot costs you twenty eight bucks,
Speaker 1: and like, you know, like this it's just this like
Speaker 1: little shopping area, right, and then it is just this
Speaker 1: like random office building, just random and it's in there
Speaker 1: and you just would never know that that was what
Speaker 1: was happening. You would just from the outside you think
Speaker 1: it was just some corporate headquarters. To let you know,
Speaker 1: somebody selling them Nickers from there, you know what I mean,
Speaker 1: like a reality like it was it's our workroom and
Speaker 1: they do. They do lots of different shows through their
Speaker 1: building as well, so that you know it's multi use.
Speaker 1: But yeah, god it was. It was definitely eye opening.
Speaker 1: I mean I thought I was going to a studio,
Speaker 1: you know, fancy and you know, all of this kind
Speaker 1: of crept but no, I was wrong.
Speaker 2: People always think it's way more glamorous than it really is,
Speaker 2: which I always think really funny.
Speaker 3: Like people were like, what was the Big Brother?
Speaker 2: And I was like, I leant on a wall and
Speaker 2: a piece of the wall fell off, like it was
Speaker 2: someone had someone had used glue, like really cheap glue
Speaker 2: to hold the walls together. I was like horrendous, like
Speaker 2: as in, it was not what people expected. No, for
Speaker 2: the very first time in this podcast, I'm mixing this
Speaker 2: up because that is the best behind the scenes secret
Speaker 2: that I really have had from the season, is a
Speaker 2: look behind what the set of RuPaul's.
Speaker 3: Actually looks like.
Speaker 2: So I'm not even going to ask you my question
Speaker 2: of what is something from behind the scenes, because that
Speaker 2: is just a gem. But I'll finish up just by
Speaker 2: saying to you how amazing this chat has been for me.
Speaker 2: And I hope that people listening to this get something
Speaker 2: out of it as well.
Speaker 3: I hope they're gonna laugh. I hope they feel inspired.
Speaker 2: And you, my friend, We're going to be in your
Speaker 2: audience for a long time and I can't wait.
Speaker 1: Oh, thank you so much. I mean, we just smashed
Speaker 1: our first night of the like the drag Race tour
Speaker 1: last night here in Sydney at Hauned Pavilion, and I
Speaker 1: think we had like two five hundred people come. And like,
Speaker 1: I say that to me is the payoff and the
Speaker 1: fact that I like and I hope that I'm around,
Speaker 1: you know, for people, it's not all about being a
Speaker 1: celebrity to me, and I couldn't give a fuck. It's
Speaker 1: like people see me as a celebrity even in the street,
Speaker 1: you know. I'm like, they're like, I'm so sorry. Like
Speaker 1: I'm like, I'm literally nobody. I'm literally nobody. I'm literally
Speaker 1: a person who entered a competition. I won that in Yes,
Speaker 1: I will have a photo with you. I appreciate it.
Speaker 1: But if I just get to go out there and
Speaker 1: keep entertaining and to be able to do that is
Speaker 1: absolute when to me. So I just hope that I
Speaker 1: get to do that for the rest of my life,
Speaker 1: and I just hope people just want.
Speaker 2: To keep coming absolutely and still be that person if
Speaker 2: you want to be face down drunk at the end
Speaker 2: of the.
Speaker 1: Night, fights, face down our sup Yeah, face down our
Speaker 1: sub mate.
Speaker 3: I'm no celebrity and we'll see.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, I would love that. I'd love to
Speaker 1: be on like celebrity like Treasure Island or something like that,
Speaker 1: like or an amazing race like I think it'd be
Speaker 1: fucking hilarious, like so much fun.
Speaker 2: I would pay to see. I would pay to see
Speaker 2: you and Minnie Cooper on that show.
Speaker 1: To be fair, oh my god, we'd kill each other.
Speaker 1: We'd actually kill each.
Speaker 3: Other, rip both of you. I think.
Speaker 1: Oh, I don't know who would die first, to be fair,
Speaker 1: but I think it's probably Many.
Speaker 3: It's Mini, It's definitely Mini. Anyone playing along, it's Many.
Speaker 1: Fur