Bob The Drag Queen on the ‘intersectionality of being Black and queer and Southern’ in ‘We’re Here’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
“I’ve said before and I’ll continue to say it; ‘We’re Here’ has the best drag on television! It really is the best drag on television,” declares “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 8 winner Bob The Drag Queen about his HBO Max reality series “We’re Here.” For our recent webchat he adds, “We have amazing artists putting us together, amazing visionaries and some great models,” he says with a knowing smile. Watch our exclusive video interview above.
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In the Emmy-winning “We’re Here,” a trio of superstar drag queens travel across the country to recruit small-town residents to participate in one-night-only drag shows. Bob The Drag Queen (the drag and stage name for performer Christopher Caldwell) hosts alongside fellow “RuPaul’s Drag Race” alums Shangela and Eureka O’Hara, with the reality series about to premiere its third season later this month.
Ever since becoming America’s Next Drag Superstar on “Drag Race” back in 2000, Bob The Drag Queen has become one of the most well-known and beloved drag performers in the country. “It’s never lost on me. Sometimes, I have an emotional moment on stage where people are cheering and applauding,” he admits. “I used to do this at Barracuda Lounge or Hardware in New York City for five people. Now, there’s like thousands of people, millions of people who know who I am and I’m like, oh my God! That’s so wild to me that all these people not only are aware of who I am but like are fans of me and support my work. So it’s never lost on me, and I’m often very humbled by it, but also very proud of myself too.”
One of the highlight episodes from last season of the show took place in the historical of Selma, Alabama, in which the drag trio bring their charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent to a Deep South town where the queer community remains hidden despite its historical significance to the civil rights movement. As the trio help a recently transitioned young Black trans woman find the confidence to live life beyond closed doors, we see another side of Bob himself, who has a heartbreaking on-screen reckoning with the dark past of his home state. “I used to live in Alabama. My father’s from Alabama. I have a lot of family in Alabama,” he explains. “It really shows the intersectionality of being Black and queer and Southern. I’ve never seen a picture of it quite like this on television ever, especially because it’s true. It’s a real story of a real person, happening in real time. It’s not fictionalized. It’s not dramatized. It’s not overdone. It’s just the real happenings of a Black trans woman living in Selma, Alabama.”
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