interview / GET OUT! MAGAZINE >> GETOUTMAG.COM
Phi Phi O’Hara BY EILEEN SHAPIRO
CELEBRITY CORRESPONDENT
‘RUPAUL’S ALL-STARS’ THURSDAYS AT 8 P.M. ON LOGO AND VH1 PHI PHI O'HARA (AKA JAREMI CAREY), THE EXCEPTIONALLY TALENTED AND BEAUTIFUL “RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE” SEASON FOUR RUNNER-UP, IS ONCE AGAIN SHOWCASING HER SPECIAL ARTISTRY, THIS TIME ON “RUPAUL'S ALL-STARS.” IT'S BEEN A TREMENDOUS YEAR FOR HER AS SHE NOT ONLY BECAME ENGAGED TO HER HANDSOME BOYFRIEND MICHAEL AND LAUNCHED HER "365 DAYS OF DRAG," BUT SHE IS ALSO IN THE MIDST OF RECORDING A NEW ALBUM. GET OUT! LITERALLY "DRAGGED" HER AWAY FROM HER CRAZY TV AND TOURING SCHEDULE FOR A LITTLE HEART TO HEART.
How are you?
It’s very hot in New York now! Yes, I live there too. I’m so excited for you!
I’m excited for me.
Explain what exactly happens on “All-Stars.” Do you actually have to compete again?
Yeah. We’re jumping into the ring of fire one more time. It’s a chance to win another $100,000, and at the end of the episode is a twist. We get to send each other home, and the winner of the lip sync gets $10,000. It’s changed quite a bit, but it’s still the same.
So it’s up to the contestants to send the other contestant home?
It is! Ru knows what she’s doing. She’s very smart.
Phi Phi, you can’t be a bitch this season.
No! I’m not, really. I have heart showing! The response on Twitter is overwhelming. How did you get picked for the “All-Stars” show? Did you have to beg Ru or get voted on?
I had to beg Ru. No, they called me and said everybody from the set had been watching how each of us grew, how we changed over the years, so they asked if I’d want to be part of it.
You have real talent. I know first hand. Not to say that the others don’t.
I think we all have unique personality characters, which is cool. I think they picked the best for season two of “All-Stars,” and that is really great.
Yes, you have a good crowd. The show started last night?
Last night was the first episode. So do you wanna know what happened?
I do. Give us a recap.
So the first episode brought everyone back, and we all saw each other. Then we had to do a talent show. So each one of us did something that we felt confident in. It ended up being that Adore, myself and Coco were in the bottom, and Roxxxy and Tatianna won, so they had to do the lip sync. Roxxxy won the lip sync over Tatianna., but there was a twist at the end of this episode, which was really, really cool. RuPaul showed up on the screen and announced for Coco that it wasn’t over; she gets to have her revenge. It was amazing. We watched it with Coco, so it was cool to see the audience. Their response was, they were happy for her, which was cool. So you get to send each other home. Ru is smart.
We talked about it in the first episode, how
hard it is. Do we want to take the $10,000 to win and then get rid of a girl and crush their dreams, and maybe lose a friend? But we got to do it, so… I think it was really conflicting for a lot of us. On the first episode though, we kind of all agreed that if they got the worst critique from the judges that they should go home, and that was only fair. That’s true. It’s just sad, because everyone has a bad day.
Thank you, that means a lot.
So when I review the album, do I have to call you Jaremi?
Yes, it’s going to be by Jaremi Carey. The name of it is “Paper Heart.”
OMG, I did not. Congrats! I didn’t know, but I’m so happy for you. You know I love Michael.
I love the name.
Well, you know, the emotion that we have, it’s like a marriage and what not. I’m just love sick, and I can’t stop thinking about him. So we were trying to think of a cool, clever play on words, so we just came up with “Paper Heart,” which I love.
I’m very upset with you right now!
How could I have not known this? You proposed to him in front of millions?
Totally. I do feel sometimes that it may be a little hard on the person to be sent home, because you’re right, everybody does have a bad day. For Coco it was really hard, for what she does, but unfortunately she thought out of the box. When you do something like that, it either works out or it doesn’t, and unfortunately she didn’t do too well this time around.
I did. You can watch it on YouTube. I proposed to him at the end of RuPaul’s “Battle of the Seasons.” So I decided to write the album based on our relationship. Every song is about an aspect of our relationship, like if we got into a fight or anything like that.
Besides “All-Stars,” what have you been doing? The last we spoke, I think you were putting out a record or a video.
So when will you be getting married?
I am. I’m doing a boy album, which I’m really excited about, since it’s going to be about Jaremi. There’s no drag in it, and it’s a little more personal. It’s about me, myself, and it’s coming out soon. I’m really proud
good for you.
of it. The album is called “Paper Heart,” and I actually wrote it about mine and Michael’s relationship. I’m sure you know Michael and I got engaged?
I do too. What else have you been doing?
I have my “365 Days of Drag” project, which I’m tired of. I wanna go to bed. I can’t wait for this year to end. It’s too much! I got really cocky. I should have done 30 days. So I think like I’m on 220 right now. We’re almost done.
Jaremi, you don’t fight.
Oh no, we fight. It’s like WWIII.
We will probably get married in September of next year. “AllStars” is going to be very busy for me, so I’m going to go ahead and ride the train, and when it slows down a little, I’ll plan the wedding. I’m really glad, because you’re a great couple, and he’s really
Phi Phi O’Hara
(Season Four) New York, NY
Is there anything else that you want to promote or say?
Just so that the fans know, “All-Stars” is every Thursday on Logo and VH1 at 8 p.m.
Congratulations on everything, and good luck!
@PhiPhiOhara @phiphiohara
interview / GET OUT! MAGAZINE >> GETOUTMAG.COM
Adore Delano AN AUTHENTICALLY AWESOME ALL-STAR BY EILEEN SHAPIRO
CELEBRITY CORRESPONDENT
ADORE DELANO—SINGER, MUSICIAN, DRAG QUEEN AND “RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE” SEASON SIX RUNNER UP—IS PROBABLY THE QUEEN I KNOW THE LEAST ABOUT; HOWEVER, BY THE TIME I FINISHED SPEAKING TO HER, I WISHED THAT SHE WAS THE QUEEN I KNEW THE MOST ABOUT! WITH HER HIGH-SPIRITED, EFFERVESCENT PERSONALITY AND HER RIVETINGLY HILARIOUS ANSWERS, I FELL INSTANTLY IN LOVE WITH HER. ADORE DELANO (AKA DANIEL ANTHONY "DANNY" NORIEGA), FIRST APPEARED ON TELEVISION AS A CONTESTANT ON “AMERICAN IDOL” IN 2008 AS DANNY NORIEGA, MAKING IT INTO THE SEMIFINALS. FOLLOWING “AMERICAN IDOL,” AND AN INVITATION FROM BOTH ROSIE AND ELLEN TO PERFORM FOR THEIR VENUES, ADORE BECAME A CONTESTANT ON SEASON SIX OF “RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE” AND WAS THE CO-RUNNER-UP TO BIANCA DEL RIO. SHE HAS ALSO RELEASED TWO STUDIO ALBUMS: "TILL DEATH DO US PARTY" AND "AFTER THE PARTY." CONSTANTLY TOURING ALL OVER THE WORLD, SHE BECAME ONE OF THE QUEENS FOR THIS SEASON'S “RUPAUL'S ALL-STARS.”
Y
ou can really sing! You are also a fabulous drag queen. I’m wondering which came first: your singing or your queendom?
Well, I’ve been singing all my life. My mother has videos of me singing in 1991, which is always entertaining for the family. So, I was always getting into her makeup as well. It was very interesting as a child. When I was 13 and started performing in makeup, kind of Pete Burns inspired, I kind of meshed them together in my preteen years. A 13-year-old drag queen—how cute.
Literally! They used to call me RuPaul in my middle school. I used to get so mad, but now I’m like “Good!”
How do you compare the way you felt about being summoned to do the “All-Stars” and being called to be in season six of “Drag Race”?
Well, it’s less exciting, because you already know what to expect, kind of. It’s more like nerve-racking, because you know all of the girls regardless of who they are, because we don’t know who they are until you go into the work room. I was nervous about that, because I didn’t want to fight with anybody I already knew, but I don’t mind fighting with a bitch that’s a stranger.
How do you feel about the possibility of sending one of your sisters home?
It sucks! It really does. I tell my friends that it’s a good thing I’m not that close to any of them. No, it’s just that we all work together, and we’re all really close knit. It’s definitely
a weird feeling, sending one of your friends that you work with home. It was pretty shitty. Aside from “Drag Race” and “All-Stars,” what have you been doing?
I’ve just been nonstop touring. I’ve just been working around the world. I’ve been out of America more than I’ve been in America this year. It’s cool. I’m forever grateful. I’m constantly working on new music. I’m constantly meeting people around the world. It’s great, so I really can’t complain.
Do you have a favorite country that you like to visit?
I love Canada. I really do. I like the U.K. as well; I love Manchester. But I love Canada. There are just nice people there.
There are a lot of baby drag queens just starting out. Can you give them some advice?
Yeah. I think you should build off your inspirations as a kid: what inspired you, what was your definition of beauty, what do you think is beautiful, not what Raven thinks is beautiful or Michelle. It’s important to go to the core of your school, and the core of your heart, and figure out what makes your character. I’m looking in my living room right now, and I have a vinyl of Amy Winehouse, and Tab Hunter hanging on my wall, and I can actually say that I’m inspired by both of those artists. I really think it’s important for kids to implement that, because it’s OK to be inspired, but it’s not OK to imitate. I see a lot of people trying to imitate Raven or Pearl. That’s
not how these girls got on the show. It’s because of their definitions of beauty and how they represent it. So you are a new addition to a crayon box. What color are you?
Where do you live? We’re gonna get a drink. I like you already. My first season of the show, I said I was a glittery crayon. I remember when I was a kid, there were always these crayons, something like that little glittery crayon that came in the special edition. You are! You’re a superhero; what’s your power?
I want to be invisible! I’m a big ass pervert, so that would be awesome!
I love you, and we are going to have a drink! So now pick two celebrities to be your parents.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.
Good choices. Now, are you working on any new projects at the moment, or do you have any in mind?
Of course, especially with the management I work with, which I’m forever grateful for. There’s a lot of projects. There is one in particular that I’m super
excited about, and it has nothing to do with music or drag, but I can’t say anything about it yet. It’s in early development. I’m so passionate and excited about it. Call me back when you can discuss; I’d love to know! Your music and the songs on your albums are really creative. Do you write those songs?
Yes, every song I co-write with a woman named Ashley, and she is amazing. She is super comfortable to work with. Do you have a “besty” in “All-Star” this season?
I don’t. Alaska is kind of like the smartest one. It’s a totally a different kind of vibe. I loved Tatiana as soon as I walked in. I gravitated towards her. Every time I work with her, we are just like peas in a pod. I love her so much. Alaska is awesome. All of you guys are awesome. There
isn’t one in the bunch that I would throw off! When you’re touring, you probably don’t have a second to breathe. How do you maintain any kind of normalcy in life?
You don’t. I told the girls from season seven this. I told Violet this, that once you do the show, your life will never be the same. You are never going to have a normal life, unless you have a formula developed. Right now I’m touring, and if I wanted to I could tour every day of my life, but I have to have the holidays off. So what I do is I work every single day, and take the holidays off, and I’ll take about three months off, because I can afford that. With this job and the show, you will always have work. Hopefully you have a boyfriend. Do you have a boyfriend?
Hell, I can’t trust nobody.
My type of girl! If you could say anything to your fans, what would it be?
I would just say to surround yourself with your own tribe, and high school is not real life—it’s kind of like a preppy point for Apple that you have to deal with. Do whatever makes you happy, and don’t listen to anybody, including your parents.
Adore Delano
I can’t wait till this prints. If you could do anything in life and as much of it, what would it be?
I would want to become a successful entrepreneur, take care of my family and have about two houses. I think that will probably happen within the next four years.
I bet you’re almost there.
I always say this year coming up is going to be a cool year, but it’s not gonna be the year that’s like, “Oh my God, I did it.” I think in a year or two, it’s going to be pretty fucking crazy.
How did you choose your name?
That’s a funny story. My brother’s friend was a gangster. I’m from a Mexican family, so my brother has gangster friends. His friend’s name was Adore, and she used to write it on walls. I just saw it one day, and I said, “I’m stealing that name.” He said, “You better not.” I entered this competition, and my name was Adore. Did she fight you?
No, I would beat her ass! Any last words?
My makeup may be flaking, but the show must go on!
@AdoreDelano @adoredelano (Season Six) Azusa, CA
interview / GET OUT! MAGAZINE >> GETOUTMAG.COM
Ginger Minj ALL-STAR’S’ COMEDY QUEEN OF THE SOUTH BY EILEEN SHAPIRO
CELEBRITY CORRESPONDENT
GINGER MINJ—MISS GAY UNITED STATES 2013, MISS NATIONAL COMEDY QUEEN 2012 AND "RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE" SEASON 7 RUNNER UP—IS ONE OF THE MOST WELL-SPOKEN, VIVACIOUS QUEENS THAT I HAVE EVER HAD THE HONOR TO SPEAK WITH. GINGER MINJ (AKA JOSHUA EADS-BROWN) HAILS FROM THE TINY TOWN OF LEESBURG, FLORIDA, BUT NOW RESIDES IN ORLANDO. SHE CAN SING, ACT, DANCE AND MAKE PEOPLE LAUGH. WITH THE PERSONALITY OF AN ANGEL, SHE TOLD GET OUT! SOME VERY INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT HER DRAG HISTORY AND HER UPCOMING PROJECTS.
C
ongrats on “AllStars.” Are you so excited?
I am so excited! It doesn’t feel as much like a competition this time, because it’s like, “Oh, I know all of you.”
Well then how is it going to feel when you have to send someone home?
Exactly! It’s like a good southern family reunion. It starts off with fun and games, and then one by one you fight each other to the death. Only this time it’s over $100,000 and not mashed potatoes or chicken. I read somewhere that you were actually a child star.
I wouldn’t call me a star, but I certainly was a theater baby. I grew up in the theater from the time I was six months old. There’s not a time where I can remember not performing. Eventually that kind of led me into me doing Christian movies, like VHS movies based on Bible tales. That’s where my fame and fortune came from.
If you had to do a Bible tale now, what would it be called?
I’d probably transition from Paul “On the Road to Damascus” to “The Life and Times of Mary Magdalene.” How did you begin doing drag?
I kind of fell into it, because of the theater. I got cast going on 13 years at a murder mystery dinner company in Orlando. I’m still there whenever I can be. They require the boys to play men and women, sometimes in the same show. I kind of took to it, more so than the other men. The owner pushed me more into drag. She said, “You’re good. You need to do more, to branch out and do real
drag, not just come back as a man and investigate your own death.” That’s an original way to have started drag.
It certainly was a different experience. It has benefited me in certain ways, because I didn’t really have expectations going into it. It kind of fell into my lap, and I took it as it came.
Aside from yourself, who’s your favorite “Drag Race” queen?
Well, Katya is my best friend. From the moment we both walked into the work room on season seven, we’ve been BFF. I spill my guts to her on a daily basis, and she does the same. Even when we don’t see each other for months at a time, it feels like no time passes. She’s a great queen. She’s got a great story, and she’s an even better person underneath it.
When you first got into drag, were you inspired by any of the queens around?
Well, of course Divine. She’s the ultimate queen to me. She is the original drag superstar. She’s still a superstar today, even though she’s been dead since 1988. I think personally that within the drag community, she’s our Marilyn Monroe, because you can’t go to a single drag event without seeing some kind of Divine statue or lunchbox or T-shirt or keychain somewhere. She still is kicking.
She is. There’s not a person that doesn’t know that name.
That name was so perfect for her. You know, Divine really kind of saved my life.
How so? I want to hear that story.
I grew up in Leesburg Florida, an hour north of Orlando, but it’s super Southern, super country, lots of farms. We threw a parade when we got a McDonald’s. The parade was around the drivethrough about three times, and that was it. I had no idea what drag was. I had no idea what being gay was, and I knew that I was really, really different than everybody else that was around me. So I just kind of stayed in the background. I was told never really to speak up or to draw attention to myself. It caused severe depression with me, to the point where I just wanted to die when I was younger. I went with my grandmother to run some errands, and we stopped at the video store, which was also a gas station. They had “Pink Flamingos.” I didn’t know what it was, but there was a picture of Divine right on the front. So I convinced my grandmother that it was a children’s movie, and I rented it, and I watched it about three or four times on a loop, sitting there, not knowing what the hell I was seeing. But it just opened me up to the fact that there were people like me out there, that there are people that are different. She took that and turned it into success. Of course I had to go back to the video store and get “Hairspray” and every movie that I could get my hands on with Divine. It totally changed my life. It made me come out of my shell and not feel like I had to sit there and not talk. I love that story. So what is your expertise?
I’m certainly an actor/ singer before anything else. I’ll never be a fashion girl. I’ll never be the prettiest one in the bunch.
Never say never. I think that you are very pretty.
I don’t think I’ll ever be the “pretty” one, like conventionally. But Divine is my inspiration, so I don’t have to be pretty to be beautiful.
You have the best eyes.
People always say, “I love your eyes.” I say, “Thank you. That is the only natural part left of me.” If I had to put myself into a neat little box, it would be as a performer. I am definitely an actor/singer first. Besides “All-Stars” and touring, what other projects are you working on?
I’ve got some great stuff coming up. I have my album, which is coming out in a couple of weeks. It’s coming out in mid-September.
What’s the name of it?
It’s a very creative name. I worked very hard on it. It’s called “Ginger Minj, the Album.” We went back and forth with a bunch of names that I thought were great, but it’s such an eclectic album—it kind of tells the story of my life—that one title just didn’t seem to fit everything. So I said, let’s just call it Ginger. I’m so proud of it. We were originally going to release it at the end of season seven, but there were certain tracks on there that I wasn’t happy with; there were certain songs that I felt were just filler. Then I got the call for “All-Stars,” and I said, we’re going to push this back. I don’t care how long it takes, we’re going to re-record it, and it really paid off. It’s a beautiful album. I’m so happy with it.
Ginger Minj
If you could say anything to your fans, what would it be?
I would like to tell both of them that I appreciate them. I love the fans in general, but I want them to realize that what they watch on “Drag Race” doesn’t encapsulate exactly what each one of us are as performers, people, as whatever. They are getting a 43-minute taste of a project we worked on together. Go and support every drag queen that you can. Support your local queen. Support drag, because if we don’t continue to support it... it’s great that we have this platform now with “Drag Race,” but it won’t last forever. We need drag to continue to get bigger and better.
Amen!
People also don’t realize that it has been around forever. There has always been drag in some form or another. There are some people that really celebrate the theater queens, but there are some that say, “Oh my God, not another theater queen.” Well, honey, that’s where drag really got its foundation: in theater with Shakespeare. Girls could not participate in the shows, so they had to get boys to dress up in female clothes, and that’s where it really got its start. Just any drag you see, support it! I also just shot a pilot for a new TV show called “House of Mayhem,” which is really funny and really cool, and it’s got an incredible cast. It’s a really important story that has never been told before. I think it can really help the gay community. The
(Season Seven) Orlando, FL
premise of it, the “Reader’s Digest” version of it is it’s all of these LGBTQ kids, who for some reason or another—they aren’t really inter-connected— have home-life problems, like a lot of us do. They end up on the street, and my character, Charlotte, is this aging, beautiful drag queen, and her best friend, they decide to open up their home for these kids. My character does not like children. She does not think it’s a good idea, but there is this one kid... Well, basically, the kid is me looking up to Divine. It softens up my heart, and I take him under my wing. So it’s really about finding a family. You are always able to go out there and find your tribe. Wow!
I think that it really—not opens the door, but kicks them right off the hinges. It lets people know that this is an issue that a lot of us in this community have to face. And it tells it in a very cute, funny way.
It’s an awesome message. I hope it gets out there.
Me too. I could use the work. Do you have any last words?
Buy my album when it comes out, ‘cause it’s good. And enjoy the season. It’s the best season of “Drag Race” ever, because it takes what you love about the series and turns it on its head. It just makes it 100 times better. If you think you got the game figured out, you don’t, because it continues to change.
@TheGingerMinj @gingerminj
interview / GET OUT! MAGAZINE >> GETOUTMAG.COM
Detox Icunt THE ALL-STARS FAMILY GIRL
BY EILEEN SHAPIRO
CELEBRITY CORRESPONDENT
IT'S FUNNY HOW YOU PERCEIVE SOMEONE, WHEN IN REALITY THEY TURN OUT TO BE NOTHING LIKE YOU THOUGHT THEY WERE. ALTHOUGH I'VE ALWAYS BEEN A FAN OF “RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE” SEASON FIVE CONTESTANT DETOX, AFTER SPEAKING WITH HER, I NOW HAVE A GREAT RESPECT FOR HER AS WELL. AFTER APPEARING IN MUSIC VIDEOS WITH KE$HA AND RIHANNA AS A PART OF CHAD MICHAEL'S "DREAMGIRLS REVUE," AND BEING IN THE BAND TRANZKUNTINENTAL WITH WILLAM, KELLY MANTLE, RHEA LITRE AND VICKY VOX, SHE BECAME A CONTESTANT ON “RUPAULS DRAG RACE” SEASON FIVE. DURING THE SHOW SHE SANG THE "WE ARE THE WORLD"-INSPIRED SONG "CAN I GET AN AMEN," WITH THE SONG'S PROCEEDS GOING TO THE LOS ANGELES GAY AND LESBIAN CENTER. NOW CHOSEN FOR “RUPAUL'S ALL-STARS,” SHE BEGINS AGAIN! DETOX IS AN AWESOME PERSON, THE CARETAKER OF THE OTHER CONTESTANTS AND A BIG FAMILY GIRL WHO IS BROUGHT TO TEARS JUST TALKING ABOUT THEM… SOMETHING NOT TOO MANY PEOPLE ARE AWARE OF.
H
ow are you?
I’m well. I’m exhausted. It’s just been a crazy, whirlwind week. How does it feel doing this competition all over again?
It’s pretty crazy. I wasn’t really expecting it to be so quick. But at the same time, I have a completely different mind set this time around. We all have a feel of how the game is played, so it’s a little easier going into it this time. We know each other. It’s not like we have to get to know a bunch of new girls, so it’s kind of familiar, but at same time it’s stressful and crazy. Which do you think is more nerve-racking, this time around or the original season five?
It’s a give or take honestly. The first time around you’re not really aware of what’s
going to happen. You don’t really know anything about the production, concepts, and you really don’t know who’s going to be there. This time around, we are all so comfortable around each other, but at the same time it’s a competition still, so we want to kick ass, and unfortunately friendships might come and go because of that. There is all those new dynamics on top of that. What is your take on the possibility that you might be sending a friend home?
It sucks! It’s really a scary situation. You want to do well, and you want to win the challenges, but you don’t want to send anyone home, because you don’t want to feel like a dick. But, it’s what has to happen. So you just have to put
all those feelings aside and hope that your friendships are strong enough to withhold all this extra bullshit. Who are you closest with on “All-Stars”?
I’m close with all of them. Obviously I’m very close with Roxxxy, I’m close with Alaska, I love Tatianna. I mean, we all travel the world together. Adore is like my little baby, so I’m very protective of her. I always attribute myself to being like the mother hen making sure everyone is taken care of. So it sucks, because we are all so close, and eventually we have to say goodbye.
If it weren’t for RuPaul and “Drag Race” and “All-Stars,” would you still be doing drag?
Oh, absolutely. I love it. I started doing drag when I was 15 years old, but I started
professionally doing it when I was around 17. So I’ve been doing it for 13, 14 years now. I’ve been doing it for half of my life now. Granted, the potential of “Drag Race” has opened up more doors now, but it’s something that I love so much, and I don’t see myself doing anything else that doesn’t have drag incorporated in it. It’s such a passion of mine. You also sing as well, correct?
I sing, I act, I do all kinds of stuff. I’m very crafty. Right now my sister and I are renovating a home together, which is really fun, because I’m very familial. I love being with my family, and she just bought a 5,600 squarefoot house in Chicago, so we’re renovating it right now, which is really fun. My sister and I used to own a store together. We used to do homeimprovement contracts and interior fashions, and it reminds me when we were young and doing all this kind of stuff.
How butch!
Yeah, you wouldn’t expect me to be a home improvement man. I’m kind of like the Martha Stewart of drag.
Besides renovating houses, touring and doing the “All-Stars,” what are you doing in your life?
That’s all I have time for. I’m touring constantly; I’m always on the road. I’m working on some new music. I just shot a new music video at the house in Chicago that we’re renovating. We are working on a bunch of secret projects, like to take the Detox brand and turn it into a lifestyle brand. I want to put my hands on everything and dominate everything.
Detox, how did you get your name?
By being a drunk. I started going out when I was
really young. I was 15 years old when I went out for the first time. Because I was so young and so drunk all of the time, walking around with 10-inch platform shoes, so I used to fall all over the place. I was a mess. I kind of loved it, and it sucked, but I couldn’t imagine myself being called anything else. Your biography has just come out. What is the name of it?
“Crack Is Back, the Memoirs of Detox.”
Who inspires you musically, besides Willam?
I don’t know if Willam inspires me, but I definitely worked with her. I’m a huge fan of Robin and Peaches, and Madonna is pretty much my favorite icon, but I’m not really sure if they inspire me. I think everyday life inspires me, whatever I’m doing with music right now, which unfortunately isn’t much. I haven’t had time to really be inspired by anything, because I’ve been traveling so much. So I’m really looking forward to the time when I can take a month or two off and go escape somewhere, and disappear, and get re-inspired, re-influenced with my surroundings. Right now I’m focused on renovating my house with my family. I have other projects, like I have a YouTube series with my mother called “Eat It Up With Detox,” which is basically my mom and I getting wine drunk and making my favorite childhood recipes and interviewing our favorite people. I have a cookbook coming out. I’m very family oriented, and any time I get a chance to do anything with my family, because I rarely get to see them, I try and make it a point to include them in my projects. We have such a crazy dynamic. We have been through so
much together. We are all a bunch of crazy characters. And my mom especially is a crazy character. She’s a fan girl. So anytime I get to involve her with anything “Drag Race” related, she gets so excited. I think that’s the cutest thing ever.
I do too. People don’t really know that about me, that I am very family oriented, but I am.
I would have never thought!
I know, I know! But they are the most important thing to me, so whenever I get a chance to be with them, I try to include them. That’s why we are working on so many things together. It’s really important to me that I get to spend time with the most important people in my life.
If somebody told you that you couldn’t do music or drag anymore, what would you do to be creative?
I would probably start doing something like interior design or set design, something like that. I just directed my first music video with my friend Gina Garen, and we came up with all the set concepts and all the styling. We tried to do something that still involved style and fashion. You are all over the place, girl!
I am all over the place! A drag of all trades.
If you could say anything to your fans, what would it be?
Just that I love them, and thank you for being so supportive of me and my career. I wouldn’t be doing this if it weren’t for them. I am very lucky to be able to have a career, and be an artist because of the support of all the fans in the “Drag Race” community, and all of the people who have followed
my career even before “Drag Race.” And my family, they have been so supportive of everything I do. I couldn’t be there without the support, so thank you everyone. I love that you love your family so much.
I get very teary-eyed every time I talk about them. They are so important to me. It’s so important to have a close connection with your family, because it’s very rare that gay people have that kind of connection. It took me a long time to have that. We have been through thick and thin. They have been constantly supportive, and I have to appreciate that. I’m very lucky.
Detox
Where are you from originally?
I’m from Orlando, Florida, but my father was in the State Department, so we moved quite a bit. We were in a different state like every two years. I spent a lot of time in Arizona, then my dad moved us to North Carolina. We stayed there for a while until my mom and I pretty much had enough. It was the first time I was ever called a faggot. It was crazy, because it was a complete 180 from Arizona. As soon as my mom found the opportunity, she was like, “We’re out of here.” What kind of advice would you give a new aspiring drag queen?
Don’t do it! On a serious note, I would
(Season Five) Los Angeles, CA
say, just be unapologetically and unabashedly yourself. Don’t try to be anyone else. Find out what kind of character and persona you have, and be that. Don’t be a cookie-cutter. Be your own person. It worked for me. Yes, it certainly did. Is there anything that you would like to promote for yourself?
“Eat It Up With Detox” is on YouTube. I have another YouTube series coming out really soon, but I can’t really talk about it. Also, my new single “Supersonic” is on iTunes and Amazon. The video is dropping later this week.
Any last words?
I love you guys.
@TheOnlyDetox @theonlydetox
THE FIERCEST QUEENS IN “RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE” HERSTORY RETURN FOR A SECOND SEASON OF “RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE ALL STARS”
THURSDAYS AT 8/7C ON LOGO AND VH1
Adore Delano, Alaska, Alyssa Edwards, Coco Montrese, Detox, Ginger Minj, Katya, Phi Phi O’Hara, Roxxxy Andrews and Tatianna will hit the runway for a second chance to snatch the crown and secure a place among “Drag Race” royalty. Todrick Hall, Carson Kressley and Michelle Visage will join RuPaul as judges.
interview / GET OUT! MAGAZINE >> GETOUTMAG.COM
asaf goren BY EILEEN SHAPIRO
CELEBRITY CORRESPONDENT
Israel-born dancer Asaf Goren appeared on season four of MTV's "Are You the One" and competed on season 12 of "So You Think You Can Dance." Having come to America with no money, no job and no place to live, the young, sexy breakdancer and model was determined to follow his dreams and his belief in himself. I spoke with Goren and found him courageous and adorable. Although the season is over, I can almost guarantee you that we will be seeing a lot more from Goren!
PHOTO BY
WAGNERLA
I
saw you on “So You Think You Can Dance,” and you are an amazing dancer! OMG, thank you.
Are you working on any new projects now that the season is over? Yes! I recently was blessed to have a role in Britney Spears “ Make Me” Newest Video and experienced a great amount of attention from that. My Fan base has grown from both shows and I Keep shooting music videos. Music a great passion of mine and I’m trying to combine motivational speaking together with my music. I’ve always wanted to be a motivational speaker, but my intention is to create whether its dancing, music or singing. I don’t like to preach, so I want to do this in a creative way, with Art. You’re from Israel? Yes Correct, I’m from Tel Aviv, which is a major city in Israel, the second-most populous city after Jerusalem. Why did you decide to come to the U.S.? I came to U.S a year and a half ago, to pursue my dreams of being known for my talent of being a break dancer and to be involved in the Entertainment Industry. I always say that my heart is in Israel, But here in the United States is a place where your dreams can come true. Anything is possible. I feel like I’ve earned it. You never had any formal dance lessons, did you? No, I don’t take any dance lessons. I make up my own dance, kind of. How old were you when you started dancing? I was 12. It’s funny, my mom is a dancing teacher. She doesn’t own a studio, so I used to see her build choreography in the living room. It was always there.
She must be very proud of you. My Mother is super proud of all my accomplishments, that I’ve accomplished which motivates me to keep going. I want to make a better life for her and my family back in Israel. And you’re “street.” Yeah. You are also a model, correct? Yes, I also model and was recently with Wilhelmena LA. Im definitely trying to pursue any potential that god gave me. We call it a “God’s gift”. So you have to pursue it. Its like you get a ticket, and you’ve got to recognize it. It’s in your DNA. Thank you. Are you planning a trip to New York in the near future? I’m coming to New York this month for New York Fashion week to host a kids show for BBTC Nation by Susanna Paliotta. I wanna motivate kids to follow their dreams as I’m following mine. I feel New York City is the city of opportunity. I know that you’re very big on social media and that you have a lot of fans. What would you tell them? I would tell my fans and supporters something that no one ever told me, there is something great in everyone. Maybe they haven’t recognized it yet, but there is something in them that is supposed to help make the world a better place. I recommend you to do what you love and want to accomplish. You live only once in this life, and it’s important to find out what makes you happy. Well spoken. What was the feeling like when you auditioned for the and had such a grand response? It was very shocking. I kind of started crying. It was kind of shocking, because if I look back, aside from waiting from 4 a.m. to get into the studio, but also when I first came here. I had no place to stay. I lived in the back of my car. Now
I was in front of Jason Derulo and Paula Abdul, and in front of millions of people. As long as you believe it, things can happen. So you came to a foreign country with no job, no money and no place to stay? Yes, I just came here. That’s very courageous. My friends were never brave enough to go for something they believe, so I had to do it for myself. How old are you? I’m going to turn 25 on September 1. Happy almost birthday. Do you intend to go back and visit Israel? I just want to visit. I want to go back and just hug my family. I just want to tell them I think that I know what I’m doing. I want to tell them that everything will be OK, and that I do it for them as well.
asaf goren
Is there anything that I didn’t ask you that you want to tell me? I want to tell people that God believes in them. I know that God believes in me, and I believe that our purpose in this world is to make the world a better place though our experience. We have to fight for our goals and dreams, and I wish for everybody to do that. If I can help anyone to do that, then I’m happy to do that.
@Asafgoren1
PHOTO BY
WAGNERLA
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ASAF GOREN
PHOTO BY DAVID WAGNER WAGNERLA.COM
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stories
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1 Dick, 2 Dick, Big Dick, Blue Balls
PHOTO BY
STEVE BRENNAN
BY IAN-MICHAEL BERGERON
R
ight before I moved into the city, I met Z.
We talked briefly in Iowa, and I fell in lust with his sweet, Midwest charm—but I had a oneway ticket into the city. However, Z kept in touch with me—asked me how the move was, how I was acclimating to New York City. He called me Christopher Robin, a nickname from when I was younger, and sent me a vintage Winnie the Pooh stuffed animal when I was having a rough week. After finding an apartment, I convinced Z to fly out and visit me. Z always wanted to live in New York, so I knew it wouldn’t be hard. He came down for a weekend that summer; we met up and walked through the city. The more we walked around, talked about family, work, school, life, the more I felt like there could be something special between us. By the end of the day, as we took the L train to
my Ridgewood apartment, I decided to ask him to move in with me. Yes, I knew it was stupid. We barely knew each other. But I already had an apartment and a job: He could move in with me, apply for jobs, and if things didn’t work out between us, he could move out on his own and make his New York City dreams come true—just like I was. I decided that I’d ask him at the airport, but tell him not to answer until he’d thought about it. I live for the drama of it all. I was ready for our first night together, a jockstrap full of dreams under my pants and a bottle full of lube next to the bed. We’d exchanged a few risqué pictures, and he told me that sex had always been an issue with past boyfriends because he was too…endowed. I’d seen the pictures, and yeah, it was big, but I’m a trooper. Love conquers all, right? It was like being in a Dr. Seuss book. I tried this way and that way and
then upside down. In the end I fell off and gave up with a frown. Nothing worked. It wasn’t that it hurt—I physically couldn’t get him inside of me. Like trying to put a circular shape through a square hole, it simply wouldn’t go in, no matter how much lube was applied. We gave up, spending the rest of his weekend in awkward silences. When I took him to the airport, I didn’t ask him to move in with me, and I said goodbye. He’d deleted me on Facebook by the time I got home. Four years later—this month—I got a message from him that he’s doing well, and he’s finally moving to New York. He may not have been the right guy for me, but in this city…I’m sure he’ll find a circular hole that he can fit into.
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(646) 761-3325 mike@getoutmag.com