Slide over, Snooki, a new resident of the Jersey Shore has arrived on MTV, winning hearts across the Garden State and beyond. Asbury Park’s Crystal Envy, a drag queen with unprecedented confidence and veracity, hit the main stage on this newest season of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
In a gay bar surrounded by fellow New Jerseyans, we roared with applause watching one of our own slay the runway week after week. From masterclass fashion looks and impressive turnouts in design challenges to a hilarious stint as a free-flying tumbleweed during a comedy sketch, Crystal solidified herself as one to watch.
Without further ado, entering The Werk Room with Out In Jersey magazine (with charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent) is the fabulously fun Crystal Envy!
(Spoilers for Season 17 of Drag Race.)
Congratulations on everything you’ve accomplished so far. You’re representing New Jersey in so many incredible ways, especially by being on RuPaul’s Drag Race. Can you tell me when you began your drag journey and how you landed on the name Crystal Envy?
Crystal Envy: So, we’re gonna have to rewind the clock. I started doing drag when I was 13, which was 2011. I came out of the closet really young and then I just got into makeup. I started wearing my sister’s clothes; she was younger than me and they definitely did not fit. Then I started buying little eBay wigs and that’s when I became, you know, a little drag baby queen in my bedroom.
I took a little drag hiatus, then came back in 2020, and that’s when I started working professionally. From there, she just kind of flourished. I came up with Crystal Envy when I was 14. I wanted something sparkly as my name. I ended up going with Crystal because I like how it’s a play on my out-of-drag name: Chris. It just phonetically sounds pleasing to me. Chris, Crystal. I don’t know. I just love the name. It’s beautiful to me.
Tell me how you got to Envy?
CE: I chose Envy because it’s one of the seven deadly sins. Of course, it’s about others who envy me because I’m so beautiful and gorgeous. It’s also thinking about confidence. It’s a good thing if people envy you. That means you’re doing something well, calling on who you are, and putting a good foot forward into the world. People are like, “Yeah, I envy her. She is doing what I want to do.” To me, that’s inspirational. I look at myself in the mirror, and I say, “Yeah, someone’s going to envy me because I’m going to push myself for something greater today.” Sometimes people just think envy, like I’m a vain bitch, which I am, but there are also thoughts behind there.
That’s a great mindset. On your YouTube, I saw and loved your reaction video to your drag from years ago. How is it to reflect on then, seeing where you are now?
CE: Thank you so much. I used to literally do drag in high school for digital media class projects. I would film it in drag to be presented in front of an entire class, which was just crazy for me. I’d be sitting in the classroom out of drag, and they’d be watching the screen and be like, “Who’s that?” That’s me! The digital teacher loved it cause I was putting in the effort.
This is definitely a New Jersey question, but would you rather start your day with a bagel by the beach or a night partying in Atlantic City?
CE: A pork roll, egg, and cheese with a hash brown on it. Salt, pepper, ketchup on an everything bagel right by the beach. That has me hungry. Is it pork roll or Taylor ham?
Truly it’s up to the people. I don’t want to declare one or the other because then we’d start a war.
CE: It’s funny to me that it’s different depending on if you’re North or South Jersey.
I hope it’s okay to turn to a bit more serious question. We’re seeing drag queens vilified for absolutely no reason by certain people in government. Can you talk about the joy you feel when you can express yourself and perform at your fullest?
CE: Oh, I mean, the political climate right now is just absolutely heinous. It feels like we’re turning clocks back, and I don’t know if you’ve ever watched The Handmaid’s Tale, but it’s feeling very much like Gilead. It’s scary. I think as queer people and as a drag entertainer right now, especially on national television, I have to continue doing what I’m doing. To bring hope to those who need it. A little queer joy and art so that people know that we’re here. We’re not going anywhere. We’re constantly going to be here. We are constantly going to be fighting the good fight. Drag queens have always been at the forefront of political change when it comes to LGBTQ rights.
That’s never going to change. Now more than ever, we just have to be even more politically aware. More on top of the shit that’s going on. I just recommend reaching out to someone and getting some knowledge. Knowledge is power and is key when it comes to things like this. And, of course, drag like saves the world literally.
Couldn’t agree more about that last part. What artist or music inspires you?
CE: Britney Spears’ discography can play on random shuffle, and I will be ready to turn it out. Listen, my queen, I hope she’s doing well. I adore her, and I love her. She is someone that I truly draw a lot of inspiration from. There’s her early 2000s performances for how I like to carry myself on stage and perform. A lot of my dance moves are very inspired by her. I mean, definitely not my tumbleweed. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her do my tumbleweed roll. But a lot of my dance moves are from her movements. When I was younger, she was embedded in my brain. Queer brain!
I’m gonna rewatch your scenes on Drag Race and try to catch the Britney influence because I’m sure that I can. Maybe in the dance of the tumbleweed, like you mentioned.
CE: Yeah, that’s the Crystal Envy flair.
I want to applaud you for every look you turned out in this competition. Can you tell me about which looks you’re most proud of?
CE: Oh my God. Definitely the Sea Sickening Eleganza outfit because that was a full evening gown. Made entirely of recycled ocean plastic! There’s horsehair as a sewing material that we use, and I had wiring everywhere. My number-one favorite look I brought to the show with me was my quilted runway. The giant coat with the red sequined catsuit underneath. That was made by an amazing designer, Casey Caldwell. When I tell you that thing weighs 50 pounds, that coat, it is heavy. Then, even to my little campy moments, with my Coppertone baby and the life-size dog on my booty cheeks.
They were incredible. And I love that you continue sharing the outfits we may not see on Drag Race on your Twitter, which has been so interesting.
CE: I love the art of drag. It’s fun to be doing something meeting at the intersection of camp, high fashion, glamour, beauty, and looks, which are the best parts of drag. Stay up to date with all my socials because I will be continuing to post all the unseen looks that would have been showcased. Some of the best looks have yet to come and be seen. I’m excited for all these great shoots that I prepared for the world to see what could have been.
We’re excited too! There were so many viral and iconic moments. Joella’s mattress face hole, your tumbleweed in the background, was cracking me up. Were there any moments you saw unfolding that you knew would make for great TV when you saw it happen?
CE: So many. Oh my God, so many things happened. Joella’s mattress was iconic. I didn’t think my tumbleweed would be as big of a moment as it was. That was just a thing that I was like, “This is going to be fun. Let’s do it.” It became such a big moment in that episode, and I was so proud. I was at Roscoe’s in Chicago watching it live. I was cracking up.
I also knew that every moment while we were on Untucked would be iconic because the new format let us really, like Loosey LaDuca says, “Let loose!” We were just having fun with those House of Love cocktails in there. I also knew that Onya Nerve versus Lexi Love for the ball would be a moment while it was happening because it was loud. It was crazy. Honestly, I thought my elimination was going to be gaggy, and it was.
Yeah, your lip sync was stunning and you put on such a fierce performance. I’m wondering what else fans may expect from your upcoming shows?
CE: I mean, well, “If it’s fierce, it’s fierce, like my sister Jewels Sparkles says. When you come to a Crystal Envy show, always expect production-level experiences. I like to gag the audience. I will always be serving you a look; that’s kind of the standard for Crystal Envy. Now, she’s just always going to be serving a sickening look. Not only am I obviously touring and doing so many great shows everywhere, but there are so many fun things to come outside of that. For just the person that Crystal Envy is, I have a lot of fun things planned. A new YouTube series that is launching, upcoming endeavors that I don’t want to speak too much on yet but will be coming out soon. So lots of fun things.
Definitely keep us updated, and we’ll keep our readers in the loop too. One final question: I’d love it if you could shout out any organizations or charities you support. Maybe fans can donate to them in your name to do some good.
CE: There’s so many charities that are important to me. I’m constantly working with several in New Jersey. I like to work with local community groups because that’s where I can, you know, make a real impact. I do work with Garden State Equality. They are an amazing organization here and we’re constantly fighting for LGBTQ rights around New Jersey. Anything that supports marginalized communities, make sure you’re looking out for folks who need it. This includes immigrants or undocumented people in these complicated times.
You are a star, making New Jersey shine even brighter. We can’t wait to see what you do in the future.
CE: Thank you so much. I appreciate you.
While we may have been robbed of seeing more of this queen on our tv screens, there’s no doubt that Crystal Envy’s only growing and glowing. We’re going to see her at Paradise on an upcoming Friday, where she hosts viewing (or shall I say, Ru-ing) parties of the competition.
Hearing RuPaul joke about how Asbury Park sounds like “Ass-berry Park” made my New Jersey heart so joyful. Our state is home to the best bagels, beaches, and beautiful drag queens! We’re so lucky to have a superstar on the rise like Crystal Envy to give Jersey the spotlight it deserves.
Here is the “gaggy” elimination that had Gay Twitter ready to riot:
