Cara Delevingne Can Finally Be Her Queer Self
By Chris Azzopardi
Photos: Hulu
On Zoom, where I recently met with Cara Delevingne, my ’90s-retro, rainbowspeckled button-down was, to my surprise, the first thing that came up.
“Nice shirt,” the model-actress told me, gushing when I mentioned picking it out of my closet in honor of just how queer “Planet Sex” is. The six-episode Hulu docuseries, which features Delevingne as sex-curious host, is still gayer than even the gayest rainbow shirt; within the first few minutes, Delevingne is judging a queer twerking contest. In fact, the entire series, dedicated to the “sexy queertastic people of the world,” is devoted to investigating various realms of queerness — and in doing so, illuminating parts of Delevingne’s own sexuality as a queer genderfluid person. Over the course of the series, she attends her first-ever Pride festival and, with the help of Gottmik, the first openly trans performer on “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” transforms into a butch drag king.
In our recent interview, Delevingne talked about how Hollywood affected her feelings on being queer, unlearning the shame around her sexuality, and why her identity now as a public figure is more authentic than ever.
How much did the current political climate right now play into just how queer and sex positive you made this show?
I think that’s how I wanted it to be. Because I think queer under the umbrella, it all can mean anything. It just means being different, however way. Everyone is different; we are not all the same. We wanna fit in, we wanna belong. But at the same time we wanna be individuals. So I wanted it to include everyone. And I think in that is queerness. And I love that, that’s my favorite thing in the world and I think leading with that, it brought me so much freedom. It brought me so much relief and love and, you know, it’s where I learned how to love myself.
So from the bottom of my heart, that’s what I wanted. I wish this kind of show existed when I was a kid. It would’ve made [it] so much easier. But I think the journey and the struggle and the adversity was something that made me who I am. But I just hope, especially in terms of people’s families or when people watch this, that they can have conversations that may be tricky. Because they can at least find the right wording or identify with a person
that they see.
Can you remember something — a film, a TV show — that you clung to that really made you feel more comfortable with being queer?
I don’t know. The thing is… I guess I sought a lot of, like, Elton John or musicians. But there weren’t a lot of female ones. It was men. And so that still kind of made me feel a little… less. I mean... [laughs] Billie Jean King? I met her.
I was 22, though. So, it was a bit late. But not really. I think a lot of the things I surrounded myself were like… I guess porn was the first time I saw two gay women. But it wasn’t good, and it was definitely… they weren’t gay. I got scared of it, because I probably liked it.
You are a big deal star. And this is important because of your platform. I thought you were about to say, “You’re a big gay.” I was like, thank you.
You are a big gay. A big ol’ gay.
As someone with a massive following, though, I was wondering what are your feelings on how you’ve seen yourself versus how the media has portrayed who you are when it comes to gender identity and sexuality?
I think a lot of the times in the media, I was playing a part, always. But I was comfortable doing that because it meant I could kind of keep my own life to myself. But then to be honest, I didn’t really ever process or actually deal with anything. Or see what I was going through as I was going through it because inside I felt just confused and very lost, and very… without an identity, almost, because my identity was work. My
identity was the parts I was given or the person I was meant to be or the brand I was working for. It wasn’t really ever me. It was a whole, big old mess, really. It didn’t really make sense. But then I think in the show, looking back on it, I realized how much I love being a woman. I am genderfluid, for sure, but I liked playing between masc and femme and all those things. And I just think the binary of gender was so constricted when I was younger. “Boys play with this and girls play with that.” And I didn’t like what girls played with. But that didn’t make me a boy. But I got confused within that because I just wanted the same opportunities. But again, I like to now decide when I really wanna be super femme or not. I like to be able to decide that because generally as a person I just like to be comfortable in what I look like and what I wear. But inside, I’m a woman and I’m sensitive. But I think it’s a lot deeper than that. I have a lot of masculine energy in me. We all have feminine and masculine energy, every human being. So I think that was a big thing for me, because I did question it a lot. I was like, “Am I non-binary? What am I?” But I’m not. But I love anyone being and feeling how they [are]. I do think that gender is too binary. But then, for me, I was very happy to have my pronouns.
It sounds like you learned a lot about yourself through making this show, and maybe got to the truth of who you are? Yeah. I guess especially in terms of relationships and kind of abolishing the shame. Which I didn’t really have, but it made me realize how much I used to have
and how much I hadn’t dealt with it. And how much I just kind of brushed it aside when actually I was like, “What am I really looking at here?” But the narrative I had wasn’t my own; it was other people’s. So that shame wasn’t really mine to hold and I had to give it back to the people who put it on me.
You say in the show that growing up famous can stunt a person’s growth, even when it comes to sexuality. I’m wondering specifically about Hollywood, because some people might think, “Oh Hollywood, it’s so queer. It’s a great place to immerse yourself if you’re queer, to be accepted.” How did that affect your journey to discovering your sexuality? It was not like that for me at all. One of my first experiences with it was actually Harvey Weinstein who said to me, “You cannot be with a woman.” He was just like, “We need to find you a beard.” And I was like, “Who is this fucking stupid fat man?” He wasn’t nice. He was just a horrible man. Obviously we know that now. But he was like, “You’ll never work. No one will believe you as a straight character.” And I was like, “Oh, fuck. That’s bad.” So there was just stuff like that, especially I think as a model no one cared either way. But they weren’t gonna celebrate it. I think it just stunts your growth a lot as in you don’t have time to be yourself. Or at least I did not. I felt like everything that was happening in my life, emotions and things, I just had to shove it down and keep going. Which is no one else’s fault but my own. I just… it was an easy way to run away from my stuff.
What was the most valuable takeaway for you from the whole experience of immersing yourself in queerdom through “Planet Sex”?
I think how much community and support is important. How much we can’t do this alone, anyone. Life, I’m talking about, generally. That through community and through connection, we can do the things that were not possible to do alone. And loving that and appreciating that. But also being vulnerable in that. I think a lot of times I would just show up kind of giving a surface experience [of] myself and it wasn’t real. Because I was just so scared of being rejected and so scared of people leaving, I guess. But I love myself. I’m me. Messy, done up, all the things. It just makes me who I am. And if I love that then that’s the most important thing. I think a lot of this is more to do with self-love. I was just in a place of complete discovery. I was like, “Oh, what do I believe about relationships? What do I believe about all of these things?”
Sometimes it’s OK not to know either. It’s OK not to know; it’s OK to keep discovering. It’s OK to question and wanna change. There were so many moments where I thought I had it all figured out or I wanted to so badly have it figured out because I was like, “Then I’ll feel safe.” But the problem is it doesn’t work like that. And sometimes you end up running into a dead end when you think you know it and you just don’t. And it’s OK.
Aside from “Planet Sex,” there’s your part in “Only Murders in the Building,” where you play artist and gallerist Alice Banks, the love interest of Mabel Mora, played by Selena Gomez. Both shows feature queer representation, but “Only Murders” reaches people who may not see queer representation, or may not seek it out.
That’s why shows like that are so brilliant because it’s not a gay show where people go, “Oh this, I know, it’s ‘The L Word.’ We know what we’re getting here.” I think that’s why mainstream media and mainstream shows should do that more often where it’s not the main two characters or the whole story is based around queerness. It’s like, queerness is everywhere. So that’s how a show should be. It should be slipped in and it should be a conversation and it should be a part of it. When we wanna make queer content and we push it very hard, it’s gonna reach just other queer people and not what we want
it to be: more normalized. So that’s why I was so grateful for that show and I think it was such an incredible way to do it.
What’s it like to bring that sort of representation to the screen with one of your closest and dearest friends, Selena Gomez?
I mean, it’s an easy day of work, isn’t it? It’s great. Especially when you love each other and I respect her so much as an actress and as a person. So it was just fun. It was great. And that show in general. Steve [Martin] and Martin [Short], everyone. It was just brilliant. I was basically playing myself too. Apart from I’m not that evil. I’m not a psycho.
Will we see you in the next season?
No, I wish. The lesbian went too overboard. I think people had complicated feelings about that relationship in that last season. Yeah, they did. It happens. I get it. Alice Banks is a nutcase.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
Chris Azzopardi is the Editorial Director of Pride Source Media Group and Q Syndicate, the national LGBTQ+ wire service. He has interviewed a multitude of superstars, including Cher, Meryl Streep, Mariah Carey and Beyoncé. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, GQ and Billboard. Reach him via Twitter @ chrisazzopardi.
She is Brigitte Bidet, hostess, emcee, and newly crowned winner of Atlanta All Star 2023. DAVID caught up with the showgirl extraordinaire to talk about her win, gigs, and what’s next for Brigitte.
You recently won the Atlanta All Star pageant, which was an eight-week long competition run. Tell us about that whole journey.
Originally, I entered the contest as a way to challenge myself creatively. When you do drag 5-7 nights a week, it can sometimes feel like you plateau or start to “phone it in”, so I needed some kind of incentive to prove to myself that I am just as creative now as I was when I first got into this business. The process was kind of grueling but luckily, I had the time and resources to feel prepared for every challenge. There were some really high highs and some very frustrating lows, but it all seemed to work out in the end.
What is about you that is very ‘Brigitte Bidet’ and made you stand out as the winner?
There are so many factors that can make you the winner in situations like this. Anyone who does pageants knows that it often comes down to minor details and close margins. What I do know is that I stayed true to myself the entire time, pushed myself to come up with new concepts and also used it as a chance to revamp some of my favorite performances. Being Brigitte Bidet means not giving a f*ck about what anyone else thinks and doing it 100% for myself.
Luckily, people are interested in what I do on stage, and the support of my friends and community is what really made me feel like a winner.
The title also came with a nice chunk of cash. What are you going to do with the money? Spend it on a RuPaul’s Drag Race audition package?
I’m going to save it! Not enough drag artists think about the long game. There will be a day when Brigitte can’t do splits off the bar, and I need to make sure I’m putting some cash towards my future. And as far as RuPaul
goes... I can make 200K on my own (just kidding, please cast me!!).
But seriously, would you consider being part of the RuPaul franchise? Yes, but it is up to them at this point. I have auditioned an embarrassing number of times, so now I just live in a fantasy world where that show doesn’t exist, and I have to forge my own career, my own path.
Competition shows aside, tell us where Atlantans can see you perform?
I host Wednesday and Thursday nights at Lips, Fridays at Future, and Sundays I do Drag Bingo at Colony Square. I am also involved with Wussy and can be seen at many of their events. If you want to see me, it’s booking@brigittebidet. com. And yes, I do house calls, birthdays, and bar mitzvahs!
How has it been to ‘come of age’ as a drag superstar in Atlanta? It feels like a dream, and I know what a huge blessing it is. Being a full-time drag queen is not for the faint of heart, but every day I am gagged that this is my career, and I can support myself as an artist and entertainer. It was a very gradual progression but I’m loving this current chapter of my life.
Your year has already been crazy –what’s next for Brigitte? More gigs! More opportunities! More creativity. I like to let things unfold, ride the wave, and see where this all takes me. They say if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans. So, I say no plans, just vibes!
Anything else you’d like to add? SUPPORT LOCAL DRAG! I would be nothing without the support of friends and audiences. There are a lot more stars on the rise, so make sure you’re gassing us up now and not just after a big break.
By Mikkel Hyldebrandt
Showgirl Extraordinaire
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Dining
BARS
BARS not on map
M I DT OWN
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Ave NE fitness 14 Urban Body Fitness 500 Amsterdam Ave NE spa /bath 15 F lex S p a 76 4th S t N W
2 Blake's 227 10 th S t
1 FUTURE ATLANTA 50 Lower Alabama St. SW Suite 180 3 Bulldo g s 893 Peachtree S t NE 4 Fr iend s 736 Ponce De Leon Ave NE 6 My Sister’s Room66 12 th S t NE 7 X Midtown 990 Piedmont
9 10th& P iedmon t 991 Piedmont Ave NE 10 Camp ag nolo 980 Piedmont Ave NE 20 Guac y Margys 502 Amsterdam Ave NE 16 G’s M id t o w n 219 10 th S t NE 17 Henr y ’s 132 10 th S t NE 19 L a H acienda 900 Monroe Dr NE
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20 B J Roo s t er s 20 43 Cheshire Bridge Rd 22 Tr ipp s 1931 Piedmont Cir NE Dining 24 L as M ar g ar i t as Closed Temporarily 18 42 Cheshire Bridge Rd Retail 26 B ar k ing L e a t her 1510 Piedmont Ave Suite A 27 S ou t her n Nig h t s 2205 Cheshire Bridge Rd clu bs 28 Her e t ic 2069 Cheshire Bridge Rd 29 Tok yo Valen t ino 1739 Cheshire Bridge Rd Fitness 30 Gr avi t ee F i t ne s s 2201 Faulkner Rd NE
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ARS
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BLAKE’S ON THE PARK blakesontheparkatlanta.com
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736 Ponce De Leon Ave NE
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THE T modeltatlanta.com
465 Boulevard SE
CHESHIRE
HERETIC hereticatlanta.com
2069 Cheshire Bridge Road
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Ruby Redd’s Birdcage Bingo
@ Atlanta Eagle | April 5, 8 pm
Ruby Redd’s legendary Birdcage Bingo is every Wednesday at the Atlanta Eagle! Free to play, fantastic entertainment, and all tips go to charity.
WONDER
@ The Slate Room | April 7, 7-11 pm
Travel down the rabbit hole with More To Love. Over-the-top decor, characters brought to life, hookah lounge, themed drinks, light refreshments, and incredible auction items. All proceeds go to the Lynn Barfield’s Bike Fund.
Back Room with Nita Aviance
@ The Heretic | April 7, 10 pm – 3 am
The official after party to Wonder by More to Love, Queen Butch presents Back Room: Good Friday with Nita Aviance (The Carry Nation) b2b William Francis (NYC) and Vicki Powell (Deep South ATL).
MANHOLE!
@ Noni’s | April 7, 9 pm
Mr. Elle Aye and House of ALXNDR present MANHOLE, Atlanta’s only all drag king show! Come out to see the boyz bring the heat to the stage.
Easter Drag Races with The Armorettes!
@ Heretic | April 8, 3-9 pm
The Easter Drag Races are back to celebrate 44 years with Baby D Galore, Kitty Love Antoinette, Ryeleigh St. James, Muffy VanBeaverHousen, Nurse Holly, Plenty Moore, and Alabama TP.
MARCIA MARCIA MARCIA
@ X Midtown | April 8, 8 pm
Experience Marcia Marcia Marcia form RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15 a. Meet & Greet at 8:45 pm before Marcia Marcia Marcia joins the cast of Diamond Divas.
Deep South ShEaster with Keenan Orr
@ Future Atlanta | April 8, 1, 10 pm – 3 am
Deep South is back for another ShEaster weekend. This years main event is in the UPSTAIRS LOFT at Future. The upstairs loft at Future has an upgraded sound and lighting system but the same Deep South Vibe.
A Very RIHANNA Drag Brunch!
@ ATL Comedy Theater | April 9, 2 pm
Celebrate Easter with champagne, drag, and Rihanna’s music!
The Big Hare Games
@ X Midtown | April 9, 4 pm
Come out for the revival of the Big Hare Games cohosted by the Socalizers Club. Lots of games and prizes, plus the chance to benefit AID Atlanta, For the Kid, and Lost-n-Found Youth.
Easter Drag Eggxtravaganza
@ Atlanta Eagle | April 9, 1 pm
Get ready for a fabulous Easter celebration at the Atlanta Eagle. Join Mr. Charlie Brown and Brigitte Bidet for the Easter Drag Eggxtravaganza with some of the best drag performances in town.
ShEASTER Sunday Service Revival
@ Sister Louisa’s Church | April 9, 6:30 – 11-45 pm Dance into the Spring season with Deep South’s Annual Easter Revival of fellowship and spirituals, featuring resident DJs Vicki Powell, Brian Rojas, and Alexis Curshé.
Gear Night Anniversary Party
@ The Hideaway | April 12, 8 pm
Holy Anniversary Good Boy – It’s been one year since the first Gear Night at The Hideaway. Come out and celebrate turning a year old.
We all have those moments of ‘wait, did they just say that?’ Lucky for you, we compile the best of the best right here on this page. Want to join in on the b*tch session? Submit your own nuggets to info@davidatlanta.com.
My exercise routine: doing diddly squats!
Spring is here, and if drinking on your porch counts, then, yes, I am outdoorsy.
Potatoes can make French fries, chips, and vodka. It’s like all other veggies just aren’t even trying.
No one made me queer. I am queer despite a world that did everything it could to stop me from being myself.
LGBTQ (Let’s Grab Beers Tonight Queen)
No, honey, you’re still cute. Just the way you swerved across all six lanes of I-85 in your Altima surprised me a little.
You know that when they call you a rockstar at work, they are severely underpaying you.
