Who’s Courageous Enough To Be Vulnerable? That’s What Judge Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman is Looking For on CANADA’S DRAG RACE

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede What’s the main thing that judge Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman wants to see from the queens on CANADA’S DRAG RACE? “Authenticity,” he replied bluntly. And how does that manifest itself? “In vulnerability,” he said, with equal certainty. Bowyer-Chapman is an Edmonton-born actor, model, and activist whose frequent guest-judge appearances on RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE paved the way for his selection as a resident judge on CANADA’S DRAG RACE, alongside Brooke Lynn Hytes and Stacey McKenzie. In fact, Bowyer-Chapman believes the DRAG RACE franchise is a TV rarity in that it welcomes the honesty of vulnerability, rather than trying to suppress it. Bowyer-Chapman talked about why he believes that, and much more, as CANADA’S DRAG RACE fast approaches, debuting July 2 on Crave: Q: Can you further explain your thoughts on why the DRAG RACE franchise is unique? JEFFREY BOWYER-CHAPMAN: “On other shows, the contestants are encouraged to be a caricature of themselves, to present a facade, to be something bigger than what they are naturally. And they’re celebrated for it. On this show, it’s the opposite. Ru has made it abundantly clear over the years that drag doesn’t change who you are, it reveals who you are. So as long as I see that these queens are being courageous enough to be vulnerable, and to show me their true heart and soul, that’s what I fall in love with. I’m drawn to it immediately.” Q: And it’s something you can sense? JEFFREY BOWYER-CHAPMAN: “One thing I know I’m really good at is reading people’s energies. I can tell very quickly when somebody is pretending to be something they’re not, in order to hide something that they’re ashamed of, or to impress others. I’ve done so much work on myself over the years, and I think it all goes back to Ru’s message of, if you can’t love yourself, how the hell are you going to love somebody else?” Q: You sound as if you have quite a philosophical approach, but how are you handling the instances when you simply have to deliver bad news? JEFFREY BOWYER-CHAPMAN: “It hurts to give harsh critique and send the queens home week by week. But as cliche as it may sound, they’re all winners. I mean, from a very literal sense, from a very superficial perspective, their social media followings are going to quadruple, their appearance fees and club-date bookings are going to be amplified by a thousand. So I have to keep that in mind. I also have to remember it’s a TV show. We’re not sending someone home to their demise, to their doom. We send them home, and then the TV show airs, and they’re all going to be extraordinarily famous. So they’re fine.” Q: You have many things on your resume, but what comes first? Judge? Actor? Model? Activist? JEFFREY BOWYER-CHAPMAN: “Not to sound totally cheesy or esoterically spiritual, but I’m a human first, I really am. It’s most important to me that I know myself and like myself, so that I can bring my best self to whatever I do. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in this facade of who the world wants us to be, putting on a show. So first and foremost, I would say, I’m JBC, personality, activist, actor, but at the end of the day, it’s me first. People get lost in this industry when they start putting the actor or the performer first. You really need a strong sense of self.” Q: But is that harder than ever these days, with technology encouraging everyone to live their lives so publicly? JEFFREY BOWYER-CHAPMAN: “Sure, but it’s all a choice, right? It’s about the people you choose to surround yourself with, and what you choose to focus on. If you’re only focusing on the superficiality and unsustainability of that whole system we’ve set up in this world, I feel like you’re going down a wrong path. Where your attention goes, energy flows.” Click here to read an interview with Brooke Lynn Hytes, and check back with The Lede later this week to see what Stacey McKenzie has to say!  billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv