ELIMINATED QUEENS Week 4 - RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE DOWN UNDER - Reality TV Contestant

It's in the news today, but it was actually on TV Reload the podcast last week. Anby Welcome back guys to TV Reload. As you may know, my name is Benjamin Norris and this is your podcast to get all the inside goss on the popular TV shows you may be watching from around the world. Undeniably, our TV sets are a major part of our home entertainment, and yet very little is known about how our favorite shows get made.

I'm good? How are you Benjamin?

I am so excited about talking to you. You know, last night we went to go and get some Chinese food and both of us dropped the Riata menu joke at the same time. So you're you're in the vernacular.

Oh, I love it.

Thank you. How are you going post your elimination? But by the way, I also loved your Kylie runway. Look, I actually think it was one of the best, so just they have that okay that.

I know I'm doing really good. I've enjoyed every second of it, and I feel like it's been very positive from the perspective of like the viewers, and I'm been in such like awe of everything, and I have enjoyed every single second and every moment.

I love that, Joe. It's so such a shame is where you also are wearing an outfit that someone else has chosen to wear, but like we're at week four, had you and Ashley not sort of compared notes and realized you had the same outfit and thought maybe you could try and rustle up something else, like what happens in that situation.

Well, I remember unpacking and seeing the same dress and we both looked at it come and I'm like, okay, but I did see it. Hers was very on point with the runway where I wanted to do something a little bit different, So I felt like mine sort of a little bit more and I think it was just as long as you can sell it.

On the runway. Then that was the like I tried to.

Embody the whole I had, like you know, in my hood, my glasses, the microphone, and I made sure I did that and served it.

Yeah, I feel like any other week, everyone would have been like, that's amazing because you were you look phenomenal, and you did get that really nice comment from Michelle as well. She sort of made a comment about some of the choices, which I thought was really nice as well. Does that make you like Michelle Visage a little bit more?

A little a little, a little bit more after that comment about the Shrek thing?

No, and you know what of all the Kylie Minogue songs that they got you guys to lip sync to. I mean, I am a Kylie's dan. You know, I'm a big fan, and so's my partner. And I don't think we knew that song either.

I wanted because you know, right now, it would have been a great opportunity to do that.

Seriously, it was like it was like sitting in my face the Padam song, I'm like get Away, get Away, and I was like it needed to be Padam or can't get you out of My head? I don't know it seemed like a really strange song.

Was very odd, very odd.

You know. I was also going to ask you what happened? And when you get eliminated? Is there a bit of a process that you know, once you've been eliminated, you have to go through a few checkpoints or do you just find yourself somehow on the side of the New Zealand Highway somewhere.

So you have to like film your mirror message and then do an exit interview. So I remember doing that. I felt like after the runway. You know, I was very emotional after the getting eliminated, But it wasn't more because I was upset that I'm going home. It was more upset because I'm proud of what I did. I proud of the journey that I was on, and felt like everyone will be so proud of.

Me once I come home.

But yeah, after all that process pretty much forlled my boyfriend and said come pick me up.

But let's go back to own Wilton.

What's your post elimination food that you go to? This sounds like a strange question to ask people, but it is always rather telling. What was your go to meal after being eliminated?

Well, it was quite late and a lot of places weren't open, so I had to just get McDonald's on the way home.

But it was a good McDonald's. Take you that.

Oh my god. A friend of mine she's just separated from her husband and she hooked up with a guy for the first time on like a dating app. And she was like, you know, she didn't eat for three days knowing that she was going to hook up with this guy on the app. And she said, she went around. She said, the sex is terrible, she said, but the best thing that happened to me was the big Mac. She said. She went into the McDonald's and ate it in there. She was like, that's heaven. So I love that.

It was. We got and a cheeseburger.

That's my go to meal.

Yeah, it's so good.

That's my go to meal. Anyway, people really like, shut up, be and no one cares about what you order at McDonald's. The Queen's, I was going to say, the Queen's feeling are feeling a little bit more relaxed by episode four, do you reckon? That's because you've all established who you are and the dynamic that you're kind of playing amongst each other. Or is it just that it's less noise because it's less people.

I would say less noise because less people.

It was definitely very boisterous at the start and a lot of people, a lot of big personalities, and then slowly filtering through them.

It did get a little bit more.

Quiet and somewhat comfortable women the competition, but like not comfortable to the point.

Because you know, there's it's getting less and less people.

Yeah, kind of The first episode to me reminded me of the very first time I went to Chinese New Year in the city in the Melbourne CBD. And that's got nothing to do with the culture of it at all. It was just to do with the color and the noise and the spectacle of the whole thing. And it did make us struggle a little bit to get to know everyone as much as we probably should.

Was a lot happening. For sure, I.

Would have been there handing out ADHD medication to everyone you served. You seemed a little reserved a little bit in this episode, more so than some of the others, and I didn't think you were going to get eliminated, even though it was the third time lip syncing what had happened at that point for you? What was going on in your mind throughout this episode.

I think I struggled the most because I only had two options for snatch game, and Rue didn't make any of those two. So then I was in my head China won poll to give a character that I.

Didn't bring three, I wasn't prepared for it whatsoever.

I was prepared with the other two characters, but for this one, I was like, no, and I should have actually stuck to what I knew, not listen to roop or and.

You know, just go for it, which I was.

You know, I think in that moment, I knew I was already in the bottom twice and the only way for me to get out was to listen to the critiques.

And yeah, I.

Just really want to see the mister Bean, and people, this is a podcast, this is audio, so people can't watch a mister Bean because mister Bean doesn't talk. But I need to see it for myself and I'll grade it out of like maybe a five. Can you give me any kind of mister Bean. It's hard because you know what I try, and I used to do a mister Bean impersonation and to do it, you have to really relax your mouth and not laugh. So anyway, that's all I could say.

And then I had like a little titty bear like his titty amazing.

It was a choice, I'll say that, That's all I could say.

Yeah, it was definitely a choice. I'm going to talk about Snatch game in a minute, but I just wanted to say, as well, are the pid Crew challenge that you got? You know, it's really revealing and it's on brand because it's a bit sexy and we get to see them take off their underpants. You know, I'm assuming they take you out of the work room one by one, so you all had to leave and come back in and do it. Yes, And then that challenge, it seems to me that it's really based on a luck challenge,

That's a good question, I think, Well, of course it could have gone like anyway for anyone to win it, So I would have.

Loved to win somewhat of the challenge, but yeah, it was. It was a choice, but it was definitely a choice.

I mean great, I mean we got to see them take their underpants off, and I'm here for that. But I just wonder because I'm always thinking of the competition, like I'm thinking of you guys, I'm thinking of the people in the competition, and I know what it's like when you're desperate to stay in something, and you know, I always feel like it happens in Mastership. They'll be like, smell these smells or pick these colors on the wall that goes with the food, and it isn't necessarily about

Oh? I think I three would have killed it.

If I'm being honest, I believe she was doing like Ali Wong for her Snatch game, what's your auditioned with? And the little peaks that I've seen her like post some stories and there it was hilarious, So I thought.

That she would have killed it.

Okay, I'm going to look forward to that that maybe we'll get that in years to come. Wheneverone revealed their looks their Snatch Game characters to RuPaul, a lot of them didn't seem that exciting. I still going back to mister Bean, I'm here for it, But I just think recognizable characters that people all know but probably don't know everything about is what works throughout the history of this competition.

I think they kind of like coincides with what I was planning to do with like Kate Shepherd. A lot of people didn't know Kate Shepherd and one She's dead and Jesus True. I think for me it was I felt more comfortable choosing a character that no other people would know because you could play on that and make it a character.

So I have a feeling like a lot of people didn't probably.

Feel the same way for characters that weren't as no one compared to some others.

I know, but I still think that the smart move is to pick someone that everyone knows. But then just like what that character would do if that had absence or something, do you know what I mean? Like, you know, you just make them do you know, really bizarre shit and then that makes people laugh. You know.

Yeah, I think I was nervous if I was to do mister Bean, because he is such a character himself and people know him, and if I don't do it right, then I would get rid for that.

No, I reckon, I saw a little bit of it before. It's good. It's gold, you know. And also this, I actually think it's more of a physical comedy. You know, you might not be able to say as much like Michelle said, but there is a lot of you know, mister Bean was hilarious because of what he did with his face gestures, and you know, you're very expressive. So I still think it's anyway, I'm here for your reader menu.

Thank you.

Do you think people are going to be upset about Jesus Christ? I mean it was so offensive and I think, you know, actually about asthetic great job. Do you think people are going to be offended or is that just proof that maybe the people who might be offended or watching the wrong show.

Yeah, I don't think people should get offended by it. I believe we were talking about it because it was you know, it's Christianity.

It's a religion. It's really hard to play on that.

But I think she did it in a really good way that kind of just as you say, like literally took it to the highest piece could.

Go and just made it like completely hilarious.

Yeah, people who find a defensive watch another show.

You can watch Passions of the Christ. Actually I've never seen that movie, so maybe that's culturally inappropriate. I don't know what did the experience of being able to stand with RuPaul and be on their show, What did that experience teach you?

I saw every opportunity as a learning curve for me, So being one invited to Rupa's drap race is a huge accomplishment, especially being so young and so new into the scene itself. Of course we're a nervous at the start, but then I felt like I kind of knew and found myself within that. So yeah, I take on every critique compliment and make sure I run with that.

And trial new things.

And I learned that from RuPaul, Michelle, the other judges, and my peers as well. So I found this as like the best experience I could have ever asked for.

Felt like a laugh.

The loger did I expect it as well, So yeah, it's I loved every second of it.

I really want to see all of the audition videos for everyone that gets in every season. Like I'm the sort of person that you know if I stay over at your house, I'd probably go through your underpants draws, So that's just me. I want to know what people would do. Is there a thing in your contract that says you're not allowed to show your audition video or are you allowed to expose that at some point?

I don't think there is, because I have a feeling some of the other like American Queens, have posted theirs on that YouTube, so I don't think that is a clause in there.

I know from friends that have gotten in on shows, the tip that I've always been given by casting people is to use takes that are longer, where you're on camera longer, rather than a highly edited montage best of clip. What did you as well, what did you do?

It was very like raw edited. It was more just me in my living room and literally different points of the livingroom room as well, just kind of I didn't want to over edit it and make sure I showed my snowing in me, so there was like hardly any

This is mine.

I'm going to say what I want to say. And I think that's kind of where it got me and why it got me das because I put my heart and soul into it and literally just gave me.

I love that. I love that. I mean, it's really good advice. I think people be listening to this because people do go back and listen to a lot of the podcast chats throughout the seasons to get tips on how to get in, and I feel like there's not enough information in there for them. I even had this year, people say you talked to the Queen's last year. Make sure this year you ask about audition tapes and you know what works. So I think that's really that's really

I think we've all got individual group chats, we don't actually get one behind one, but like one person that definitely helped me from start to finish with this whole process, a Keda Kidding is just like the most sweetest person and has given me the best opportunities outside of drag Race and has been such a great help throughout the whole competition and was kind of my support person to go back to and if I had any questions in

So I love Keda for that.

That's so good. I mean, it's so good when you've got that community behind the scenes and people are willing to help you know with this season it seems quite different. It feels like we've got some flavors happening. Like the first season to me is like a flavor of the ice cream. The second series was a flavor of that. I asking the third one again something quite different. You know, if they do roll into a series four, what is

I think so.

I think a lot of people would enjoy seeing that because you know, they've paved the way for all of us to do what we want to do, so it's time to kind of give them their spotlight and shine on TV if they wanted to do that, So I think if there was a fourth season, go for it. There's amazing performers in New Zealand and Australia that you know we all look up to.

Is there someone that you think should do the show?

Are you?

I mean you're obviously surrounded by really talented drag queens, you know, throughout both Australia and New Zealand. Is there someone that you think that needs to be on the show, that you think needs to audition next year?

Yes, I would probably say like Buckwheat autisticle. Okay, yeah, yeah, amazing performers here in New Zealand have been doing it for a very long time and they still look Florence as ever, and.

They also say, you know, it's not it was funny. I was talking to a few of the queens from last year and Queen Kong's a really good example actually of this. When you go on RUP Paul's Win or Lose, it's what you do with your experience afterwards. Like this is just a jumping off point. What do you want to do with your RuPaul's experience? Like where do you want to take this from me?

I really want to travel, Like I've only actually ever been to Australia and that's it, So I really want to travel. Meet all the lovely fans have sent me like amazing messages and just.

Kind of as I've said interviews, is like splitting my kiddy throughout the whole world.

But yeah, I enjoy like all the love that I've been getting so far from everyone, and yeah, it's only up from here.

Go and do one of the other seasons, like go and do one of the Go and do one of the ones that no one from Australia has been in yet, going too, like the American one, or the English one, or like or maybe the Malation one.

The Philippines, the Philippines?

Is that what it is? Yet? You know, I've had such a great time chatting with you. The last question I'm going to ask you is the same thing that everyone gets on the podcast. What is something from behind the scenes, something that we might not necessarily see, Maybe just a bit of a funny story of something that happened to you while you were making the third season.

One thing I can like agree on, which I think other queens can. The food is like amazing, what the food, But like when they give you like lunches and dinners, when we're like after filming is the best?

You know what's so funny? And it sounds like I'm bringing up Master Chef a lot, but one of the people on Master Chef this year was like the food is disgusting. They were like the food in between and so hanging. This is like RuPaul's Drag Race. They're giving out good food and Master Chef bad food. I don't know.

There's been lots of talk from previous episodes, previous seasons the lunches weren't good, but like I was eating everything. A lot of the Australians didn't like the food, but you know, sorry about them.

I loved every they're giving you.

What was the food?

Just like really nice sandwiches and you've got like some fasta with one of them, and then another time you've got a nice brissol and it was so good.

Rita, thank you so much for chatting and I loved you on the series this year. I think you've done a fantastic job and I'll look forward to being in your audience and seeing where you take it.

Yes, for sure, I'll be in Australia actually next.

Week, So what do you Where are you going in Australia.

I'm going to see my sister Gabrielle. Were doing a viewing Friday and Saturday.

Next week in Sydney or Melbourne.

Melbourne, but I will be going to Broken Heel as well, which is above Sydney somewhere the second week September.

Well, I'm a Melbourne gay, so I will follow your Instagram and find out where you're going because I would love to watch you live. I think that sounds amazing.

Thank you,