KANA FORD - RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE - STAN AUSTRALIA

It's in the news today, but it was actually on TV Reload, the podcast.

Last Leave the Light.

Hey guys, welcome back to TV Reload. I want to thank you for clicking and downloading on today's episode with Carnifford, who was the second eliminated queen from RuPaul's Drag Race down Under. I always feel for.

The queens that go home early, as.

There is so much preparation and excitement in the lead up to doing these sorts of reality shows. I could hear today when I was talking to cantor Afford that she wasn't ready to leave the competition, and I'm kind of wondering if you will pick up on that too. Cartifford will share that she applied for the previous series and we'll talk about the reasons why it felt like it was her destiny to be held off until this year.

Are you all right done so well? How are you doing?

I'm good, Like I'm can I just say I'm really feeling this season of RuPaul's Drag Race. I feel like it's coming into its own Do you feel like that this show now sort of feels like it has its own flavor and it knows what it's doing.

Yeah.

I think that us season four girls had something to prove. I mean, like, I love all of the other contestants from the first three seasons, but I.

Don't think we were getting the love that we deserved.

Us coming into season four, I personally was like, Okay, we need something to prove. We need all of the world to like appreciate the drag that is here done Under like that is finally happening, which is good.

I feel like the expectation or the understanding of what it is has really come along, so it's like, you know what you're tuning in for. And then the quality of queens this year overall from a viewer's perspective, just feels like it's leveled up.

Yeah, definitely. I think me personally, coming onto this season, I didn't expect the queens to be this talented, So I think from the get go I was definitely like taking aback with how talented these girls were.

You were looking for some Season three queens say it, I want to ask you about this audition process, which there something that you felt like you did the cut through made you stand out above maybe the other queens that were applying.

I think it wasn't necessarily like something that I did in the audition tape, but I think it was more of like all the experiences opportunities that I got that I got to tell in my audition tape that really pushed me over Because I did audition for season three and I was like so set on being on season three, but I obviously didn't make it on. But I think

It always feels like right time, right place for me, Like maybe I needed to go and gather more stories to be there. Is that how you felt?

That's exactly like exactly what I was thinking, Like they just like right time, right place.

Everything happens for a reason.

There was like all these things that I did, Like I was on a I was in Jess Give Outbay his music video before I got on, And I also did this competition, a drug competition which I won where I won like ten thousand dollars. Like all of these things that I did after not getting on the first time like helped me get on the next time. So yeah, it's definitely a right time, right place kind of moment for me.

You know, I actually had my makeup done once. I'm not a drag queen, but I was going to the Arias and Channel I organized for me to have my makeup done and I got to have my makeup done next to Jessica Melboy. How divine is that?

So much? She's incredible, one of the sweetest people in the world.

Yeah, I was there and her brother was there as well, so like I got to meet some of the family and I just remember walking away from that whole experience and thinking, man, Jessica Melboy is not only really talented, but she's really sweet.

Literally, is that an influence?

Like do you have have you picked up influences along the way? Like for me, if I watched TV shows, I find that I start being those people. But then I actually realized that it's actually a kind of a compliment to the people that I've met along the way, because I borrow things from them.

I do say that she leads her whole life with like love, and you can see that in her, so I guess I would say that doing that is probably something that I would take away from home.

I think this is a question you're going to get a lot today, and that is that you found yourself in the bottom two in week one, and I want to know whether or not you thought you were going to go home, Like what was your interpretation of that? Do you think think that if there had to be a cut that it would have been you for.

Me personally, the both times that I was on the bottom, I didn't think I was going to be in the bottom. But I'm kind of glad that I was in the bottom because the lip sync song that we got rushed was like a song that has a little bit of

But yeah, I'm glad that it.

Was a double save for us both because as soon as I heard this Sinner's name first, like my heart sank and I felt my like world was turned upside down just for that split second.

So the Snatch Game. Everyone talks about the Snatch Game. Everyone loves the Snatch Game. Is that a lot of pressure, because I think because it's so iconic and it is in every series, is that the most that you get inside your head because it's so because the pressure is so strong.

Yes, it's exactly that.

You're obviously like the Snatch game itself, like you have to think about all the things you have to do, like you have to answer a question while being in a character and then having to volley off the other girls and Michelle. It's just like a lot to think about, and it's hard to almost like live in the moment a bit because you kind of like you're like doing

I don't know whether or not you realized it, but they kept kind of played you as one note with just your catchphrase with Eddie Murphy. Did you fear that that's what was going to happen? Did you fear that that's all you prepared and that's all you gave, or what happened with that?

Yeah, I think that's what happens.

When I kind of like lost my train of thought, I was like, Okay, just go back to the how you doing, which is like.

I mean it's good, don't get me wrong, I mean it was good. Like every time you said it, I was like, because I grew up with Eddie Murphy and I grew up with the Natti Professor, so like, I was like, this is good, but I was like, because they broke the teams into two and there was seemingly less screen time for everybody, it kind of felt like that's all you'd prepared, And I wanted to ask you today, did you have more than that?

Like this character that I've done for Snatch Game was like a character that I always used to pretend to be growing up, Like me and my family always used to watch the movie, and me and my cousins would always pretend to be that character. And even with my friends now, like I pretend to be the character, and I would like just even make myself like pissed, laughing, like doing it so like I couldn't see myself doing anyone else. But in terms of I think that's the problem.

I guess, did you think that there could be something else? Like did you have something else in your back pocket?

I didn't.

I thought I was confident in my character enough I could just like be the character. I didn't prepare another character unfortunately.

You know what was really strange to me was about the Missus Claws scenario. Like I could understand Tuma Donald's, I would understand three Kylie's, maybe five Kylakus, but missus Claus it seemed like a really odd thing for two people to pick at the same time. Do you think that there's any chance that they were set up to bring those two things?

What I heard from the girls, like it was honestly like both their first choices, so like, it kind of did blow my mind to see that there were two Missus Clauses because it's such a niche character. So yeah, it's just crazy how those two were first, How those two their same character?

For sure?

Were you able to see each other's because there's two rounds, like you know, there's two sets of queens. Were you able to watch the other queens do their snatch game?

Yeah, we were, which was like really good. Once we finished our Goie Sudden a Little Room, we actually got to watch all of the queens do that snash game, which is really good. I got glad I got to watch it.

Did you have a favorite?

I definitely think that Brenda's character was incredible, Like me and the other girls were just pissing ourselves laughing at all the things that she was doing.

So that Brenda did really well for sure.

What advice would you give to people going into snatch game now that you've done it.

I think advice from my own experience would probably just be like, don't overthink it, just be more confident in your character.

I think by nature, can I just say this? By nature, you are sort of softly presented, and so I think that's who you are, and I think in some ways people might misread that as being maybe not as strong.

And I'm definitely more softly spoken in situations like this. I think I exerte all of my confidence and energy into my performance. Yeah, I would say that you're right in that I'm a lot more like selfly spoken.

I mean, I think that this competition, in particular Rupoul's drag race, makes you face your demons, and we got to see that with Max. You know, it was really interesting watching Max have that breakdown, but they did allude to there being more to that.

I didn't realize what was happening with Max until like the day of so it was kind of like it was very sad to see what happened with her. Obviously she had a moment with Vibe and they were talking, but I didn't want to interfere because like, obviously she was feeling some sort of way, and then hearing that it was because of her mother, like just like like on stage as well, Like it was like a bit of a shocking moment for me.

Definitely, this is going to sound really savage, but that particular storyline was quite compelling and it was quite emotional as a viewer. But I also wondered whether or not it actually helped her get through the competition to the next stage. Do you think that had Max not have had that emotional moment and that sort of storyline, that maybe Max could have gone home.

I think that having that happening to her and like the feelings that she was feeling, yeah, I could have definitely helped her.

But I think I also like the.

Like emotions that she probably was feeling, probably like is what made her kick her ass to like fighting that lip synco I guess as well.

I mean it's interesting. I mean, emotions play into these sorts of things and you can't help it. And I certainly don't think that she put that on to save herself. But I do think the more stripped back you can be, and the more raw you can be on and vulnerable, I think the more people can.

Connect to you get that.

Reyes Nicholson said something really weird. I'm gonna have to read it out. Don't worry, be happy, you know, which was like one of your critiques. When you're on the runway, can you hear the critiques that's been said by the judges. Could you hear what they were saying?

You definitely can hear what they're saying.

Like when I did the Runway the week before, like the shit genius, because I was wearing like long black latex gloves, it kind of looked like I was wearing fisting gloves and so like Michelle says a joke about fisting and so like, at the end of my runway, pretend that I'm like fisting someone.

The lip sync with three people gave me afters vibes. You know where you have the kick.

Ons, I do know what you mean.

Someone's house after you've been out of the club and then everyone's like, you know, they feel themselves they've overserved and everyone loves a bit of attention, And I was watching the three and I was like, I don't know if three people work on.

A show like this, It's definitely something that I wasn't expecting. But that's the thing about this show is that you've got to expect the unexpected.

Did you feel in the moment while you're dancing who's going to go home? Like? Were you? Like? Because I should just think about this all the time on this show. I'm always like I would just push someone out of the way. I mean, maybe that's just something about me. Maybe I'd be watching what the other people are doing. What was it like in the moment to be dancing up against two other people.

Honestly, Like, wasn't paying attention to them? Like I was obviously like had my bearings of like where they were. I felt like I gave my everything.

I didn't think you were going home. Spoiler alert for people. I don't know if I'm allowed to leave this in, but you know, I watched the episodes without seeing who goes home, So when I watched the episode, I was unsure, and then when I heard it was you, I was quite surprised. So, look, I thought you did a very good job. When it came to the lip syncing.

Thank you.

Yeah, yeah, I thought that I gave my all this well, but I guess that I'm the judge and going to leave it up to them.

Well, I always finished my podcast with and this is like I think this is episode five hundred, so thank you kind of forward. So it's a milestone for me. I'm sure that that's where it is. But look, I'll have to ask the people at iHeartRadio, but I always ask what is something from behind the scenes, And I understand with World of Wonder that we really can't peel back too much and really reveal too much of the

Well, like I said before, I won that competition right before I got on, which was like ten thousand dollars catty much like used most of that and even a bit more than what I had, like I had to pay people back when I got back. But yeah, I was probably I would probably say around eleven twelve. It was like my eleven twelve thousand was like my price of my package.

It's it's like it was destiny though, right, because that money was kind of not yours. It was one. I mean, you know it is yours, but I mean I always think with competition money, it's like you know, winning on the the casino, do you know what I mean? Like you don't treat that money the same way that you do with the money that you earn. So you kind of go, well, this is a gift and now I'm going to put it back into the universe and you can afford it.

I cannot. Well, I did not right now.

Not anymore countless scruples, you know. I just I really feel your warmth and your integrity, and I think you've done such a fantastic job on this show and you should be really proud. So I can't wait to see what you do with your whole Rugirl experience, because you know, it's a very short list of people that get to do this show, and what an amazing achievement to get picked.

Well, I think it's very kind of you to say that there's a pleasure meeting you as well, and you've been very kind and I'm very glad that I got to talk to you too,