Humbling, Endearing, Amazing, Remarkable: The Legendary Michelle Visage Visits CANADA’S DRAG RACE

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede The day Michelle Visage arrived on the set of CANADA’S DRAG RACE, a sense of excitement and awe was apparent in everyone’s eyes – from the competing queens, to the judges, to the directors and producers, to the crew. The episode in which the legendary Visage appears as a guest host airs this week, Thursday at 9 p.m. ET on Crave. In between takes, Visage – a frequent collaborator of RuPaul, and a permanent judge on RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE, RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE ALL STARS, and RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE UK – took the time to speak with The Lede on a wide variety of topics. Q: People lose it – in a good way! – when they see you. Do you get tired of that? MICHELLE VISAGE: “Well, first of all, thank you. Second of all, I think it would be really gross! It’s the only word I can think of to ever get sick of hearing I love you, or whatever the compliment is. It’s the most humbling thing in the world when this little girl from New Jersey can affect somebody’s life to cause some kind of an emotion, for better or for worse. There are plenty of people who will roll their eyes and say, ‘I hate her, she’s mean, she’s tough.’ Those are usually the people who don’t understand what I do, and why I do what I do. But when I walk somewhere and people want to take a picture, or just say thank you, it’s humbling, endearing, amazing, remarkable.” Q: But I’m sure you elicit more heartfelt and emotional reactions than an average famous person. Have you ever been really taken aback? MICHELLE VISAGE: “Many times. I’m the mother of a queer child and when I meet other parents who will thank me for being open about my relationship with my daughters, or being on a show that promotes positivity and queer culture, to see a parent with their gay, trans, bi, whatever child, and they’re standing by their side, I’m always taken aback. Yes, I love the child, but sometimes it’s more about thanking the parent for not giving up on their kid because of who they are. It’s like, yeah, we’re affecting change in this world, in the right direction.” Q: That must be a great feeling. (At this moment, Visage notices that someone else in the room is crying, because of the power of her message.) MICHELLE VISAGE: “She’s sobbing over there! But it is a great feeling! Being a mother, and seeing what we can do, you know, I was that kid, I was my daughter’s age when I first entered into the gay community, as it were. And being a teenager and not having a place where I fit in, and then being accepted into the gay community in New York, it was like I had found my family without even knowing I was looking. So I think DRAG RACE offers that to a lot of kids, and not all of them are gay. But I was a 13-year-old girl once, too, who was bullied and made fun of, boys didn’t like me because I wasn’t pretty enough, and I wasn’t cool enough to hang out with the girls. So where did I go? Well, I went to my room and cried, and had eating disorders, and listened to musical theatre, and stayed by myself. But now those kids have DRAG RACE to look at, and they can say, there are other people like me – and it might be a 13-year-old straight cisgender girl who isn’t a drag queen, so to speak. But she can still look and say, ‘They were different, they were weird, and look at them now, so I can do that, too.’ ” Q: So you’re saying this show is largely about acceptance? MICHELLE VISAGE: “Well, it’s about acceptance in OUR community. The rest of the world has to be open enough to hear that acceptance.” Q: Don’t you think that’s changing a bit? MICHELLE VISAGE: “Slowly. Slowly. When people try to say this show is mainstream, I think they’re way off the mark, because, you know, this isn’t mainstream. We are still a queer show, made by queer people, for queer people. But the fact that it has gone worldwide, and resonates with so many people who maybe aren’t in our rainbow brigade, but can identify with it, just shows you that we all need love, and it comes from different places.” Q: Speaking of the show going worldwide, do you ever have moments where you ask yourself, “How the heck did this happen?” MICHELLE VISAGE: “No.” Q: Because you knew? MICHELLE VISAGE: “Yeah, I did. I’ve known Ru since I was 17 and I’ve known what he embodies and I know, and knew, his potential – as did he in me. He has always stood by me. No matter what job he has, he always tries to get me on it somehow. This is the best job in the world. I am so in love with the art of drag. Back in New York City in the ’80s, drag queens were really a joke, but I’ve always known it to be an art form. I would sit there in awe. The fact that it has come this far is just so rewarding, in and of itself. So for me to be able to sit here and judge it, watch it, and be entertained by it, I’d do it every day in every country.” billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv