“Point blank, period.
We created history.”
“It was such a tight-run ship, and I never felt unsafe.
VH1
I felt safer there in a pandemic…. than being in my house!”
RuPaulnoted that the queens competed “safely and fiercely” across new episodes.
“Everyone needs something to cheer them up.
VH1
Read on for EW’s exclusive interviews with the new cast.
So, I decided to pick the gayest one!”
“I started when I was 5, and I skated every year for the rest of my life.
Gottmik.VH1
When I found drag, it was so adjacent.
The art forms are so similar: Dramatic, sparkly, performative!”
“Drag in itself is so political, in being such an outright rebellious art form.
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“I’m going to put that through my drag and express myself.”
2020, you’ve officially been iced.
ELLIOTT WITH 2 TS
Elliott with 2 Tsis never not performing.
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“I’m putting on a show!”
she squeals shortly after our Zoom link activates.
“When I was 12, I did a national Broadway tour withJoseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
Kandy Muse.VH1
I was in the children’s chorus.
Another look she proudly wears?Britney Spears.
And she’s well aware that performing to Britney onDerrick Barry’s home turf is dangerous territory.
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“But, it’s other reasons, apparently!”
“I just tapped it and [screamed].
I was living my life,” he says.
Olivia Lux.VH1
For Gottmik, “more” means, well,morethan it does to any other competitor.
“This is my third time trying out.
If I got on before this time, I literally would’ve been depressed,” he says.
Rosé.VH1
I was living for it, like, I love this!
I wouldn’t go out unless I was in head to toe drag,” he remembers.
“The trans guys I saw [in media before this] weren’t me.
Symone.VH1
Too masculine, too straight….
When I realized that, it was game over.
“I can play with this, and now it’s the best thing in the world.”
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You also won’t catch Jay letting her guard down long enough for foes to land a blow.
“If you look atPink, she’s [an inspiration].
“I like having those options, I like pushing boundaries.
Tina Burner’s ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ season 13 promotional look.VH1
When I started doing drag, there were a lot of drag rules.
I was like, you know what, f— these rules.
“You’re going to see a show.”
VH1
Her equally impressive out-of-drag looks could soon earn her the distinction of beingthetrade of season 13, too.
When he told his mother, she frankly explained that Miss Matthews was in fact his former childhood babysitter.
“Desiree was like, ‘I’m so sorry for everything I’ve said to you.
I love you,'” Jay remembers.
“I want [my presence to say], ‘Hey sissies, it gets better.
Slay in your Ariana Grande sweatshirts when you cross the street,'” Jay explains.
she jokes) you might tellKahmora Hallis beauty personified.
After all, she’s got the essence flowing through her chosen-family blood.
Well, and kindness, too.
“We just had a really great drag mother.
The first thing she taught us was to be sweet and humble to everybody you meet.
Kindness takes you everywhere!”
Hall explains, crediting the group’s leader, Chicago legendTajma Hall, for producing excellence across the board.
“), and she later committed to the art as a freshman in college.
“I’m not the key in of queen to be doing kicks and splits and death drops.
That’s not me.
“I do power ballads, connect to the lyrics, I’m a very emotive person.
That’s how I grasp everyone’s attention.
It’s called stage presence, honey.
You’ve got to be born with it!”
together” with the global coronavirus pandemic behind us.
As for Dahlia, the first-eliminated queen back on season 12?
“She was telling me, ‘Keep it in the family, go first!’
as a joke!”
I’m very body positive.
I came to play, baby!”
But Muse knows and accepts that her boldness is a double-edged sword.
“I think that I have a certain star quality!
I’m fine with either one.
It’s not my job to make people like me.
I’m not going to kindly everyone,” says Muse with a playful grin.
Now I’m unstoppable.
I can’t shut up, talking about myself!”
I kind of was raised under all of these… “And it was one of my best shows ever.Ifelt like Beyonce up on the stage.”
Werk Room drama is no match for a woman who can harness Mother Nature’s fury.
OLIVIA LUX
Give her a song, and Brooklyn’s ownOlivia Luxwill tear up the vocals.
I had no time to go to the fabric district,” Lux admits.
For most of her life, Lux has lived for those camera-ready moments.
The dramatics and divaness of it all, I love it.”
Getting to that point didn’t come without struggle.
As a self-professed band geek, Lux played the piccolo in high school.
“Pageantry is a moment.
The power she feels, rather, comes with the territory as a singer and drag queen.
When you think of art, you sing because you don’t have words left.
Automatically your voice is heightened, tenfold.”
Here’s hoping she turns it up to 11 on all fronts across season 13.
And also, I’m going to sweat,” promises Rose.
“If you’re sitting in the front row, you’re in the splash zone, baby.
The sweat is more apparent and more common than the vocals.”
“If you come to my show, you’re going to laugh.
That’s my number-one thing,” she says.
Still, her vocals are no joke.
“Jan learned to embrace the things that didn’t go as planned.
“Mine is more of a hip crack.
At 10, she immigrated to the United States from Scotland, where most of her immediate family resides.
That means “boy” Rose can absolutely work the homeland’s most iconic fashion: A kilt.
“I frown at the person who wears anything under a kilt,” she says.
“Unless it’s like, a sexy garter, like a little secret.
It should serve no supportive purpose whatsoever.”
Drag has taught me to embrace my feminine side,” she explains.
“But it’s more important to me to blur the lines of gender than fall into the illusion.
I’m also not the most feminine-looking woman you’re ever going to see, darling.
I’m the daughter of Brooke Shields, but she’s very into bodybuilding with a jaw implant.
But listen, it’s gorgeous.
I will be the first and last to tell you!”
SYMONE
Symoneknows she’s pretty.
“To me drag is not an escape,” Symone says.
“It’s everything.”
“I am stunning, gorgeous, beautiful!
But a lot of people tend to think that’s all I’m able to do.
You will definitely get the funnier, goofier side of Symone.
Journey, whatever, you know what I’m saying,” she says.
“Just put the words together.
It’s very much that.”
TAMISHA IMAN
Mother has arrived.
AndTamisha Imanis a matriarch like no otherDrag Racequeen before her.
A 30-year veteran of the southern pageant circuit, she’s this year’s most seasoned competitor.
Unlike most crowned leaders, however, Iman wasn’t born into a royal family.
“I showed all the misfits how to make a living,” Iman proudly declares.
The dynasty is still growing and I’m so proud of it.
As a pageant icon, bucking the norm wasn’t as well received.
“There’s an old saying that the old broom still sweeps,” Iman says.
“Drag is like sugar.
It goes great with everything.
Racism is out there, but guess what, bitch?
It’s good to have a great distraction.”
TINA BURNER
Tina Burneris the kind of comedy queen who can make anything into a bit.
“Does thatexciteyou?”
“I played ice hockey, but I wanted to be a figure skater.
I played flag football when I wanted to be a baton twirler.
I didn’t have those opportunities.
Now, it’s amazing to see the acceptance.
You see kids as young as nine or 10 saying ‘I’m a drag queen!’
Girl, if I tried that, I would’ve gotten hit, honey!”
“I love a good dad joke.
Most of the girls on the show called me ‘dad.’
Somebody had to be responsible,” says Burner.
“Drag gave me the opportunity to become this super monster.
I got balls,” Burner recounts.
Then, during the show, “she just shifted and turned at melike, ‘You!’
And I high-fived her….
I’d like to think I was the last person who touched Celine Dion.”
“But, I’m really not.”
“A typical Utica show is very ethereal, full of wonder.
“I’m a childlike queen, I cater to lots of kids, I do kids shows…. “I was a summer camp counselor for a hot minute, I love kids.
Any chance I can have fun, that’s the main focus,” she said.
