Let The Judgments Begin! ‘Queen of the North’ Brooke Lynn Hytes Is Keen to Get the Party Started on CANADA’S DRAG RACE

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede Is Brooke Lynn Hytes a natural judge? “Am I naturally judgmental?” she replied rhetorically, with a huge laugh that echoed around the room. “I’m VERY in touch with my judgmental side. I am a drag queen. It kind of comes with the territory.” Brooke Lynn Hytes, of course, is one of three permanent judges – alongside Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman and Stacey McKenzie – on CANADA’S DRAG RACE, which debuts July 2 on Crave. But having finished second in Season 11 of RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE, Brooke Lynn Hytes knows all too well what the queens are going through, and she admitted that she had to compartmentalize some of those emotions to be a judge on the Canadian version of this iconic show. So here’s how the “Queen of the North” breaks down the highly anticipated premiere of CANADA’S DRAG RACE: Q:  It’s one thing to be naturally judgmental, but it’s another thing to actually send competitors home. How difficult did you find that? BROOKE LYNN HYTES: “After the first episode, I cried. After the first elimination, I cried, because it was heartbreaking. Going home after being eliminated is the worst, because you’ve worked so hard, and put so much money into everything, some of these girls spent thousands and thousands of dollars to come and do this, and then you don’t make it past the first episode? But that’s the nature of the business. That’s the nature of the show. So you have to harden yourself to that a little bit. But I really feel for them, and I’m really proud of them, and I admire them for getting up there and doing the job that they’ve done.” Q: Are some of those feelings easier to live with if you’re confident you’ve made the right decision? BROOKE LYNN HYTES: “I trust myself; I think I have a good eye for things. But it’s also very hard, because I’m the only judge who has been where these girls are standing in this competition. So I have a wonderful view of both sides of the coin here. Watching them up there, second-guessing themselves, knowing that they screwed up that week, you can see it in their eyes. I’ve become better at being firm about things. You have to be honest, but you also have to give them a little hope, because they’re thinking that their world is over, and this is the end of everything. There’s always some little positive thing you can find.” Q: Is there anything that you wish the queens knew about judging? BROOKE LYNN HYTES: “Just how difficult it is! And how much we care. How much I care. I really care about these girls, because I know what the show can do, and how life-changing it can be, and how hard they’ve worked to get where they are. I really, really, really get it. So I always hope they know that I care about them, and I care about their careers, and what they’re doing on the show. I care about everything.” Q: So what do you look for? Poise? Humour? Style? Confidence? What cuts through your judge’s veneer the most?  BROOKE LYNN HYTES: “Well, there are so many things, that’s the thing with drag, you have to have so many elements. “Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve, and Talent,” what Ru always says. But I look for someone who has a real sense of self. You fall in love with these queens because they show you who they are. They show you their souls and their personalities. When we can see what they’re about, and they make us laugh, and they’re having fun, that’s the best thing. That immediately wins you over. If they look like they’re having a good time, and they believe in what they’re selling us, then it makes it easier for us to buy it.” Q: But how quickly can you sense it?  BROOKE LYNN HYTES: “They walk out and you just know. Especially in the first week, because that’s when they’re extra terrified. I remember! The adrenaline is going, and you step out on that stage, it’s extra terrifying, but in an exhilarating way. It’s such a high on that runway. But if you can walk out there in that first week, and just be like, BAM!, here I am, and not look as nervous as I know you are, then I’m like, ‘THERE’S an entertainer!’ ” Check back with The Lede this week for interviews with the other two judges on CANADA’S DRAG RACE, Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman and Stacey McKenzie!  billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv