Oprah and RuPaul, together at last. Can I get an “Amen”? The two icons sat down together for an interview for the February issue of O Magazine. In keeping with the issue’s theme of “What Defines You?” the Emmy and Critics Choice Award-winning Ru chatted with the Queen of All Media about “life, liberty and the pursuit of fabulous” and it’s just as wonderful as you think a talk between Ru and Oprah would be.
Oprah confessed to Ru that she knew he was “my kind of human” when she first heard him utter his classic line “We’re born naked and the rest is drag.” When Oprah acknowledges that “Drag really applies to all of us. It’s whatever we put on after we get out of the shower, right?” Ru answers “Absolutely,” adding “If you have the power to control how people see and interpret you, why not use it?” Here are some additional highlights from the interview:
RuPaul on what defines him: At this moment? I’m everything and nothing at all. I’m black, I’m white, I’m male, female. To me, seeing all the facets of yourself is the next level of our evolution—understanding who we really are.
RuPaul on discovering drag: You know, I’m an opportunist and a show-off, so I knew show business would be my path. I didn’t know how it would work, but I kept an open mind. Then I was in bands in Atlanta, and drag sort of happened to us. It was very different from the kind I do now—it was punk rock, with combat boots and smeared lipstick. But I knew I had power in drag because of the reaction I got from people.
RuPaul on the belief that we’re all in drag, in some form or another: If you have the power to control how people see and interpret you, why not use it?
RuPaul on working on positivity: I work at it every day. All those inspirational things I say to contestants on the show, those pep talks, I’m actually saying them to myself. I also try to laugh as much as possible. There’s a scene in The Witches of Eastwick where all three women start levitating because of laughter. That’s the most powerful spell you can cast. The most difficult choice I make every day is to be engaged, choose love, and not succumb to darkness. Because it’s always in my peripheral vision.
RuPaul on why drag is resonating so strongly at the moment: It shows people that everything’s temporary. It’s just clothes, paint, powder. Drag is like fame: It doesn’t hide you. It reveals who you are. Drag can help you understand what you are, how amazing it is to have a human body, and what you can do with it.
Some video clips of Ru and Oprah’s interview are also on Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday page on YouTube, like this one, when Oprah tells Ru that she believes he doles out spiritual advice on Drag Race. He notes that “We set up the situation on this competition reality show where we challenged them [the contestants] to go beyond their own limited perception of themselves,” adding, “The real challenge is for them to be willing to die and become reborn.”
I don’t think I could love RuPaul any more. I’m glad that the mainstream is starting to catch on to what an amazing man he is. I think if we were ever to create a new Mount Rushmore, it should include CHER, Judge Judy, Oprah Winfrey and RuPaul. Who’s with me on this?
If you’ve been having “Ru-thdrawals” like I have, it’s only a few short weeks until the premiere of the third season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars, debuting on VH-1 on Thursday, January 25. Since I interviewed a lot of the queens, and became friends with a few of them over the years, I’m #teammorgan, because she does a better P!nk than P!nk (and is super sweet). I also wouldn’t mind Shangela and Ben DeLa Creme staying in the competition for as long as possible though. All I know is I cannot wait to see Ru on the small screen again.
Photos: Frank Terry/OWN, WENN.com
Chi Chi for the win!
Or Trixie. I do love Trixie.
I guess during the show my friend got to see Trixie was like “I’m not supposed to give anything away about the season – but I’m currently standing in a highschool in nova scotia – so you be the judge” which 100% could be a way to throw people off – but hilarious either way.
Rumour has it that AS3 is supposed to be Trixie’s redemption, in the same way Chad was always going to win AS1 and Alaska AS2.
I loooove Ru. I remember being about 8 or 10 and my mom was flipping channels on the tv. And RuPaul came on and I remember just being like “WHO IS THAT!?” in amazement. Whether he’s in drag or not – he’s such an absolutely magnetic personality. He can just draw you in.
I was watching Drag Race on netflix the other day before my husband got home from work. He walks in and sits down before going to shower and is just silent for a minute. Ru goes into his normal “And DON’T f–k it up!” and my husband just grins “I like this dude” and walks out of the room.
I’m also incredibly upset that there was a comedy event in Halifax NS this past weekend – “Laugh and a Half with Trixie Mattel” and I didn’t know about it until it was happening. But apparently it was a great show – so I’m kind of disappointed. They also brought Kim Chi, Alaska, and Katya out last summer for Halifax Pride week.
He (she? I feel like a jerk that I don’t know Ru’s preferred pronoun and I know I’ve read it) is amazing.
But that tiny little vulva on the black and orange jacket is a hoot.
Legend <3
That’s a great picture and interview, but no photograph of him with another person will ever top this:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BEJSpociysy/
Two centuries from now, after civilization crashes and is reborn, some historian will dust off old taped interviews of RuPaul and ignite a new movement. Nay, a new religion. The Gospel according to Ru will be born. And the world shall be a better place. And add so it has been written.
So mote it be!
Corey I would love to see more work from you on this site! I find you posts to be uplifting a fun, which is really nice!
Seconding the Corey love! I do like the tone of the articles; hope to see more. 🙂
Third. Wish Corey and Hecate posted more often!
Me three!
I need that blazer from the black and white suit RuPaul is wearing.
FABULOUS is too small of a word for him.
I ❤ Ru!
+1 Couldn’t agree more!!
Love him so much. A beautiful human, both inside and out.
Ru is my idol! Been watching Drag Race for years. What a compassionate, gorgeous, visionary human being! I know a woman who worked for him and she said he was the nicest person ever.
I also love him in movies. Just love him always.
I love Ru. I’ve watched all seasons of Drag Race several times- I just love what Ru brings to the world <3!
I’ve been a fan of RuPaul since Sashay Shante and his book in the 90s. I wish so much good for him. I swear he’s an angel made flesh.
I do love Ru – been following him for reals. I just wish he was more reflective on his transmisogyny.
Crown my sister Shangela!!!
I can’t tell you how excited I am for Drag Race to be back! I love seeing the flurry of RuPaul in advance of the premiere.
Sorry but RuPaul has been canceled for me for a long time. He has excused and even defended racist and bigoted behavior from judges and contestants on his show via Twitter. He himself has propagated colorism and the caricaturizing of dark skin black women. I don’t find him inspiring at all. He has a crap ton of internalized racism he needs to work out.
Not a fan of drag in general, because I think it perpetuates shallow stereotypes of women by people who then have the luxury of taking their dresses and makeup off and not dealing with misogyny and the physical vulnerability of being a woman. I know a lot of people don’t feel that way and would probably tell me I’m taking it too seriously, but whatever.
GreenTurtle, I like hearing your opinion on it. We need more variety in women’s voices, not homogenized agreement. Homogeneity is not progressive. Drag can often feel like “woman-face”. I welcome more critical discussion; I don’t think people take these kinds of conversations seriously *enough*. Any dissent is silenced through name-calling. That’s not freedom, that’s not valuing women.
Rupaul is a living legend!
My all time favourite is Raja. She’s hot in and out of drag!