Drag superstar Latrice Royale—who appeared on the fourth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race as well as the first and fourth seasons of All Stars—speaks exclusively with The Queer Review’s editor James Kleinmann about what drag means to her, why she wanted to join the fourth season of HBO’s Emmy, Peabody, and GLAAD award-winning unscripted series We’re Here as a host in the Oklahoma set final three episodes alongside Sasha Velour and Priyanka, working with her “drag kid” Randy on the show, and her admiration for RuPaul.
James Kleinmann, The Queer Review: what has drag meant to you in your life?
Latrice Royale: “I would not be here without drag. Drag literally has saved my life. It has restored and rejuvenated and helped me grow as a person. I regained my power through drag. So will I fight, I will stand, I will defend it to the nth degree. I will die for it. That’s how powerful it is and how much it means to me.”
When the idea of you being part of this season of We’re Here came up, what were your thoughts and why did you want to be involved?
“My whole mission in life has been to inspire and help people to be their best and most authentic selves and I’ve always been one to stand up and try to make change happen. I’ve always been a leader in the community as far as trying to move legislation, whether it was marriage equality, getting permits for drag queens to perform on the street, or whatever the case may be. I’ve always been for what’s right. So this was just an extension of what I do on a much bigger scale. It felt correct.”
What was it like sharing the experience with Sasha and with Priyanka?
“It was lovely because I love those two so much. I’ve toured with them on different occasions so we know each other intimately. We’ve been on the bus smelling each other’s farts! But working with them in this capacity was wonderful because we all have something different and unique to offer that keeps things balanced. We all have different experiences. Priyanka is so inquisitive and wants to ask a lot of good questions. And then we get bad answers. Then because Sasha’s cerebral, she hits them with the hardcore facts and you watch their minds melt. Then I come in to be the rationale in the whole situation. So it’s a great combination. We work well together.”
We see some of the dynamic that you’re describing play out in the meeting that you have with Charity, a conservative political advisor.
“Absolutely, it’s very that.”
We read a lot about the kind of opinions that she puts forward, but what was it like coming face-to-face with that misinformation about our community?
“What I want to do most is have sit-down meetings like that because I want to understand and get to the core and root of where that fear and misinformation is coming from. To ask, ‘Why is this the way you think?’ When we combat that with actual facts that challenge their thought process, people are not willing to let that go. It is hard. It’s like you’re challenging their whole belief system. They’re like, ‘My mother taught me this and her mother’s mother taught me this’. But you’re not of Christ, that’s not what Christ is.”
What was it like being in the public park in Bartlesville for the meet and greet with Sasha and Priyanka where there was a lot of support but also some hateful protests about you being there in drag?
“You could hear that guy ranting on his megaphone which was unsettling, but my whole thing is that I want to have a conversation. I want to know if you’re just here to be hateful, or if you’re really trying to gain some perspective. He was just there to be hateful and to spew his beliefs. But then it’s not okay for us to celebrate what we believe? That is the hypocrisy that is going on. Then they try to leverage that with the Bible and that is where it all goes south for me. You’re not going to do any of this, it’s not going to work, because I come from faith. I know the Bible. I know God. So we’re going to stop there. All this other nonsense is just foolishness because it’s not true, you’re making it up. It’s wild that we had to witness it, but I’m glad the world is getting to see that this is what’s happening outside of our own bubble.”
As you mentioned, you’re a person of faith, and we see you attend the inclusive independent Catholic church of St. Jerome in Tulsa in drag and watch as you hear Father Joshua speak his celebratory message of acceptance. What was that experience like?
“Oh, that was a transformative moment for me. It was a healing moment for me. I didn’t know that that was going to happen and I was dealing with my own demons prior to walking into that church in drag. Voices were coming into my head saying that I was making a mockery of church and God, but that’s the furthest thing from what I would ever do. After I shouted those voices down and walked in, I felt this overwhelming feeling of relief and welcome and comfort. Then to hear him say all of those affirming words—having heard the opposite of all that for my entire life—moved me to tears because I never thought I would see the day when I would hear that come from someone of faith. So it was really powerful for me to be in there in that moment and y’all could see that I was really shook. I’m glad that that happened. We do this for others—we’re trying to help heal the world and to make other people feel good—but I didn’t expect to have something like that heal me through this process. That was wonderful.”
Not only was his message one of inclusion, but Father Joshua spoke about the ministry of drag didn’t he?
“The fact that he used those words specifically, that’s what hit me so hard because that’s exactly how I refer to my job, as a ministry. So he nailed it and he really got me.”
What was it like to work with your drag kid Randy?
“Randy is a sweetheart. He has a gentle soul and he’s a bit of a superstar in his community. People know who he is and they love Randy. They know who is husband is too and he’s well liked. Working with Randy was a treat. He sings, so he has some entertainment background, but he’d never done any drag before. We were able to get him to be a little sassy and get his message across. He didn’t realize that by doing this he was being an activist, standing up for his community. I was like, ‘You’re leading the charge in your community. Welcome to it.’ He didn’t realize the gravity of it until I told him that.”
Last questions, what’s your favourite piece of LGBTQ+ culture or a person who identifies as LGBTQ+; someone or something that’s had an impact on you and resonated with you?
“RuPaul has had the most influence over my entire career. He’s changed the world of drag. We wouldn’t be having these conversations if we weren’t so in everybody’s face and mainstream. It’s because of RuPaul and RuPaul’s Drag Race. It’s worldwide. As hosts on We’re Here we are all from the franchise too, so it’s influenced this show in some way. It’s amazing what drag is doing and how it’s taken over and is really empowering people to be their best authentic selves.”
By James Kleinmann
All six episodes of We’re Here season four are now steaming on Max.
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