‘Drag Race UK’s Scaredy Kat on sexuality and why it’s time for cis female queens to compete
"The short story is I'll go out with anyone - I'll f**k anything!"
By Will Stroude
RuPaul’s Drag Race UK bid adieu to another queen on Thursday (10 October) as Scaredy Kat was sent home to lick her wounds.
The show’s 20-year-old baby queen became the second contestant to sashay away from the workroom in episode two after failing to impress in the team acting challenge and losing out in the lipsync to a triple-breasted Blu Hydrangea.
Scaredy’s time on the show saw her not only become the youngest queen in Drag Race her-story, but also the first to have a girlfriend at the time in the form of her drag partner in crime Pussy Kat – proving just how far Gen Z has come when it comes to people of all backgrounds exploring and subverting gender through art.
We caught up with Scaredy following her elimination to talk about whether she thought her exit was fair and just, the fan response to her sexuality, and whether it’s time for cisgender female queens like Pussy to start competing on the series.
How are you feeling having seen the episode back?
It’s obviously very overwhelming, but overall I’m very positive about it. I think it’s great, I think it’s fun, and I think I’m ready to show the world what me and Pussy do as artists rather than necessarily [as] drag queens.
Were you surprised to be elminated at this stage of the competition given the performances you’d put in so far?
I was and I wasn’t. I thought I had a chance because of my look and because of what Maisie [Williams] was saying, which was crazy; I couldn’t believe she actually liked it! But then I felt vibes on set. I thought ‘Yeah, I’m gonna leave today’. Was it the right decision? We’ll let the fans decide.
What were the vibes you were feeling?
Just about how sh*t my make-up was. Because obviously what you see is an edited version of what was said. Normally it’s like a 10-minute berating about how crap you are! [laughs] So I kind of got vibes from that really.
Watching it back it didn’t seem like you got the worst critique of all the queens on stage, including those in the winning team. Do you feel it was fair you went or do you feel like the team format worked against you?
I didn’t like how the other team were completely safe: I’m not sure that’s necessarily fair. But then life isn’t. Like I said before you have to let the fans decide whether it’s fair or not. I would have liked to have stayed but I’m happy with what I did. And if I’d stayed another day I might have passed out to be honest, I was so stressed! It’s a lot to handle.
How did you feel about The Vivienne putting you at the bottom of the list of people she saw as a threat in the competition in the mini-task?
I mean, you give me any big placard with ‘bottom’ written on it and I’m fine [laughs]. It’s good, it creates more interest, and I like when there’s a bit more electricity in the room, even if it’s negative. It’s fun isn’t it? I’m fine with that.
The lipsync was your first ever onstage musical performance. Just what was running through your mind at the time?
Well it’s a good place for your first time, it was good fun. But I was thinking ‘Don’t fall off the stage; don’t pass out; don’t vomit; don’t look at RuPaul; stay calm; throw yourself around and see what happens’.
You’re known as a look queen but are you looking to perform more now you’ve left the show?
I haven’t done anything since the show! I’ve recorded some songs and we’ve got music video coming out but apart from that, no, I haven’t actually performed. Like I said, we’re more artists, so we create things and let our things perform for us. Then again, we’re going on tour in just over a month so I should probably brush-up a little bit!
We saw Gothy go last week and you go this week – do you think that the younger queens have been at a disadvantage because you’re not as experienced?
Erm, yes and no. I think it definitely makes for a more interesting watch when someone has no f**king clue what they’re doing, but yeah, when it comes to the acting challenges, sewing stuff, if you haven’t done it before it’s obviously going to be trickier. That’s definitely something I’ve learnt.
A big part of your story arc on the show was your sexuality, and you said as you left you were happy to show you don’t have to identify as gay to be a drag queen. Is that something you felt like the other queens understood or did you sometimes feel like a bit of an outsider?
I think a lot of them completely got it. I think a lot of them were like ‘Oh my God what the f**k is that’, but I was surprised; I thought they were all going to hate me but actually it was okay. I think they’ve probably been through a lot in their lives and they’re drag queens so most of them were quite accepting people. Obviously not all of the time, but most of the time!
What about reactions from fans? Society is definitely moving forward when it comes to understanding fluid sexualities, but is it something you often feel you have to explain or justify to people?
I mean, I don’t mind, you can call me whatever you want to call me. But obviously I have to justify it sometimes. The short story is I’ll go out with anyone – I’ll f**k anything!” But the fans’ reactions have been amazing. People say ‘I’m bi’, or ‘I’m a girl’, or ‘I’m straight and I didn’t realise I could do drag, and now I can’, and it’s amazing you can help someone do that. I never went in thinking that could be a possibility.
Your girlfriend Pussy Kat is a drag queen, a bio queen, and she got you into drag. How did that originally happen?
I mean we used to watch Drag Race together and then we were like ‘Should we do it?’ because we both do art so it made sense a bit. And we came up with the whole style together; she taught me some make-up stuff, I taught her some stuff, and now eveything we do is completely together. Every look you see has gone through her, every decision made with either of us is always a joint effort. We’re a duo, we don’t just come as one.
Do you think there’s place for bio queens on Drag Race?
Oh my God, definitely. They should have all sorts of fun and exciting, different kinds of queens on there, for sure. I think it would liven it up and it would truly represent what’s actually out there.
So we could see Pussy Kat on series two maybe?
Maybe. I think she’s more the sit at home and cry and smoke pot kind of girl than get on stage and go crazy!
You’re still so early into your drag career, where do you see yourself going in the next five or ten years?
Wow, five or ten years, I love that question. I think we’ll start with music videos, show what we can do, and then we’ll get our art exhibition – which is a big surreal Banksy-meets-Grayson Perry kind of thing – going. That would be amazing. And make art a bit more interesting for people and not as sh*t as it is now. We’d love to do loads of things: we’ve got animation in our music video, we’d love to make an aminated movie, maybe do a little web series. I don’t know, next step Hollwyood – let’s just go there and see what happens!
On a final note, what’s the biggest thing you’ve learnt from your time on Drag Race?
I think two things: don’t say you’re going to win all the time, because it doesn’t mean it’s going to necessarily come true. And blend your contour alittle bit at the top [laughs].
RuPaul’s Drag Race continues next Thursday 17 October at 8pm on BBC Three.