Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
Eight years later, shes getting closer to the mainstream than ever.
She was recently included among thelegion of Black queer creatorssampled on BeyoncesRenaissance, appearing on the song Cozy.
Shes been a recurring judge onRuPauls Drag Race.
I read for everybodys role in the room, and then I didnt hear anything.
Well you got cast in it.
And I said, Wait, wait, you mean likeJurassic Park?Jurassic World?
Okay, Im in!
How did the role change when you came on?The role changed a lot.
There were a few things that were changed until they got the tone right for me.
If youre familiar with Ts Madison, you know that Ts Madison, honey, shes a hurricane.
In this, I couldnt come in as a hurricane I was a bit of a tropical storm.
And its okay to be a tropical storm sometimes.
Even though our communities are together, we still are so separate.
Im like, Well, honey, what do I do all June?
Sometimes our voices are not loud enough to create a table.
Billy created a table.
Thats how its supposed to happen.
For me, yes, that would come up.
If Black trans women are at home watching it … Im just gonna be honest.
I have a background in a Christianity and was raised in the church.
Im not against it now, but I still …
I have to question it.
It would definitely be a comedy, because you have to laugh.
I identified myself as a gay man at one point in my life!
For asmall, very tinypoint.Thatwould most definitely be a Ts Madison movie.
Now we have the pen.
You have to sit out here and you have to watch yourself.
Well do what youve done to us.
How does it feel?
How does it feel, honey?
We could read you girls for filth if we want to.
One person who I think had to have heard that was Judd Apatow.
So he can be like,Youre right, I did that.
So let me turn it around and let you do it to me.
Thats what a roasting is, thats what comedy is.
So instead of it being so transphobic or homophobic, now it becomes a roast.
We have the knife, we have the fork, and we about to eat you up, honey.
You said recentlythat you feel like youre growing into a RuPaul status.
Shes been in the business for almost 40 years now thats a long time.
There are so many aspects of so many pieces of her that I find in me.
Ive never had an experience with RuPaul that was unpleasant.
She sent me a happy birthday from around the world last year.
She makes space for me.
She doesnt block anything for me to receive.
She could have easily told the World of Wonder, Honey, dont let that bitch in here.
And for me, she is a key component to the Ts Madison experience.
She sees pieces of herself in me, just like I see me in her.
Shes always given me the best advice.
I love her and I appreciate her existence.
Those are the pieces of her in the Ts Madison experience.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
