“If you don’t like me, it’s one of two things; I’m either not your cup of tea or you’re an idiot,” says Bianca Del Rio.
While Bianca Del Rio may have come to the attention of the national public as the season six winner on RuPaul’s Drag Race, she gained worldwide acclaim for her hilarious stand up comedy, with her “Not Today Satan” and “Rolodex of Hate” comedy tours. As Bianca rolls into New Jersey for her “Not Today Satan” show on Jersey Pride weekend she sat down with me for a chat on everything from the political climate and how it relates to comedy, to her online battle with a former “View co-host” to what this raucously hilarious lady wants to accomplish next!
You are coming to Red Bank, N.J. to the Count Basie Theatre on Saturday, June 3rd for the Out In Jersey sponsored show. Do you think a New Jersey crowd is ready for Bianca Del Rio?
BD: I hope so! This is my second leg of the U.S. madness, I did 27 or so shows late last year, and then they added on some additional dates. I have now completed 55 shows and I have 12 left, then I am done with this tour. I am already plotting and planning the next one of course, and then I start all over again in another part of the world. That’s how it works!
What do you think about the ladies on RuPaul’s Drag Race Season Nine?
BD: I’ve only gotten to watch a couple episodes. I try not to watch too much because people think that if I say I like one particular girl that I have some sort of inside information or something. I like to just sit back and eat popcorn and watch everyone fuck themselves, really. Not just the girls, but social media, everyone is talking about who is going to win, who is their favorite, and then when they lose, that’s my favorite part.
(Season six finalists) Courtney Act and Adore Delano and I laugh about this all the time; they were actually much bigger fans of the show themselves more than I was. Unless it’s a marathon, I do love a marathon. Then I can watch them back to back; I’m not good week to week. Also, some of the places I have been traveling, well they did not have VH1 or they definitely didn’t have Logo! I haven’t caught up yet, but I did catch up on one a couple week ago.
How did the publicity from Drag Race help your career?
The environment is very polarizing in the country today, and as a stand up comedian, its up to you to help everyone find some humor in the everyday. Is that even harder with how divisive things have become?
BD: You know, I think in fairness I have always dealt with that, not so much on a global level, but I think as a gay man and doing drag people had those ideas, looked down on you, or would say you couldn’t say this or say that. I think with me, I am just so grateful that I am the age that I am. With that, it’s like I just don’t fucking care. There is some group, some twitter account, some keyboard warrior, I just don’t truly care. It’s either for you or it’s not. Its like, if i was going to go see someone I wouldn’t go blow up their page and tell them how horrible they were. I would just say to myself, “well, that’s 60 bucks I wasted.”
I think that what is fascinating right now, is that everyone thinks that his or her opinion matters. Now it may matter to you and to your friends, but it doesn’t matter to me. So don’t waste your time putting it on my page or sending me an email giving me your thoughts; I don’t care. I don’t think Kim Kardashian is worthy of anything, but I’m not blowing up her page telling her what I think.
Even more so now, it’s younger people who think it’s their duty and right to be completely awful on social media; I’m like “Say it to my face”! Ninety percent of what you type, you would never say to my face. I mean, quite honestly, they’re going to die eventually anyway, at some point, so I don’t care. I don’t follow those rules and participate that way, so I don’t care enough. I look at it this way; it’s one of two things; if you don’t get it, it’s either not your cup of tea or you’re an idiot.
You are coming to Red Bank, New Jersey to the Count Basie on what is our New Jersey Pride weekend! Out In Jersey magazine is sponsoring your show. There could not be a better time to come see you!
BD: That’s perfect, I love the homes!
Everyone wants to make Pride a very political statement this year, changing festivals to marches. What is it it like from your perspective?
BD: Well, I think this current administration is making people more than a little nervous, but I think it is brilliant what is happening, I think it’s putting a fire under people and they are finally paying attention to things that we may have taken for granted before. Not necessarily gay rights, but I mean these town hall meetings that you see on Facebook and Facebook Live are genius. These politicians that are robbing people blind are getting attacked, and it’s brilliant; I think that’s how it should be.
Is there anything that young people, or anyone for that matter can do to really pull together as a community?
BD: I think first and foremost, in our community is that people don’t do the research like they should, people don’t shut the fuck up when they should, and people don’t speak up when they should. You have to be careful what you talk about. For instance, in my show, I talk about Trump briefly, but it’s not about his politics, it’s about his general grossness and his looks.
We simply need more Not Today Bianca, your limited series that aired on Logo last year. John Hill and Marissa Jaret Winokur could not have talked about you more, both in press and in interviews with me.
BD: I thought Marissa was the best, I was a huge fan of hers before from Hairspray and John and I had so many mutual friends. They mentioned wanting to do it before, and when I initially met John, he mentioned that we had met on Andy Cohen’s show and started putting two and two together. He totally gets my sense of humor. I did not realize he was so close with Marissa, and it became this great chain of events. The head of Logo who was in charge of Viacom and MTV is great and he saw me at the season seven Drag Race finale where I did the pre-show and he said he wanted to do something with me. Logo wanted to give me a pilot episode and we would figure it out. Luckily, the brilliant Tom Campbell, one of the bigwigs at Drag Race and World of Wonder got together and created this madness.
Since we are waiting for you to break the glass ceiling and be the first drag queen on The View I have a few hot topics to toss your way. Any thoughts on Caitlyn Jenner?
BD: I have a “Caitlyn section” in my show so you’ll have to wait and see what I say, but I am not against anyone who chooses to live their life as they do. I simply don’t think of her as a role model of a community. I know many trans people. It’s such a gray area of something that could be very black and white. I do have some Caitlyn jokes though; c’mon she deserves it!
Speaking of The View has Candace Cameron thanked you for the wonderful publicity you brought to her social media page after she posted herself sporting a “Not Today Satan” shirt?
BD: Oh that one! You know what was so funny about it, and what I find hysterical is that everyone saw the picture and sent it to me, and I was laughing hysterically at it. I think then I posted it and wrote something like “if this homophobic bitch only knew.” I didn’t say I claimed the title or owned the words, I was saying if she only realized that if she had one hundred people looking at that picture, fifty would say “great this is for Jesus” and another fifty that were gay were saying “GIRL”! That is what I was laughing at.
It was quite fascinating to see the turn of events. You had people from her page onto my page commenting to. Then, she, like an ASSHOLE starts responding to these people. I did not care for her when she was on The View and I don’t care about her now. She then starts complaining about me sending these people to her page. I didn’t tag her in the photo or send anyone to her page. Maybe she should take some responsibility for her Christian homophobic bullshit that she said for a year on The View and consider that that is why people hate her; not because of me. Half the people on my page said, “Who is she?”
What have you wanted to do that you have not done?
BD: I like to work. I am up for anything; I have never been much of a dreamer. It’s funny RuPaul asked me that once. You never know if drag is going to be mainstream enough where you would be mainstream enough to be something like, a talk show host or, something like Dame Edna and RuPaul had their own talk shows. I don’t know if I would want to do that, I think that has been used to death. I am grateful for what I have been doing and I would like to keep doing it and on a large scale, that would be amazing and great. I have never been a firm believer in saying what I want and it happens. I have always known what I did not want.
After 21 years of working in bars, and bathrooms and bar mitzvas, anything new and exciting I am not opposed. What about I host the Academy Awards, that would be a fucking hoot?! I don’t know if they could take it though, everyone is so sensitive nowadays.
Is BDR happy?
BD: Completely. Even if something in my real life isn’t going so well, you realize how lucky you are that you get to do what you do. You did every shitty gig possible, but that led to me doing what I do now. Even in the middle of the madness or if I am tired from flying here, and people are so exited to see me, and I get to go on stage and do my thing, none of that other stuff matters. The group of people that I have surrounding me don’t let me think i am grand either, they still make me carry my own suitcase and look me in the eye. (Laughs).
I live a pretty normal existence, and it really could be so much worse. I could be flying on United, right?
Bianca Del Rio performs at the Count Basie Theatre on June 3rd, 2017.
