The wider world can be traced back to Peppermint, when it defeated the competition in its ninth season. RuPaul’s Drag Race. But if there’s one thing Miss Pep is going to do, it’s remind you that she always has been and always will be— Moment,
Where to start? Everything Peppermint Had Acting Roles to erect To SNL To fire island, On stage, she has made her story as the first trans woman to land a Broadway role in the Go-Gos musical. On the head He has continued to leave BOP after BOP, including his ambitious R&B trilogy project, letter to my lovers, And, somehow, she still finds time to be an outspoken trans activist, LGBTQ rights advocate, and veritable meme queen.
RELATED: Peppermint Delivers All the Stuff at “Broken Home” Music Video Premiere
And this November, she will co-lead a one-of-a-kind tour with drag race The mainstay jujubi. As they travel around the country, Pep promises that their “Letters Live” show will be “something completely different” with live vocals, a live band, and more. Too many R&B goodness. She sees the tour as an opportunity to show off her talent, proving that drag entertainers have a lot more to offer than just “lip-sync.” [to] A Whitney Houston or Cher song.”
But, before it hit the road, peppermint graced qwerty With her appearance as the latest celebrity guest of our rapid-fire Q&A series, Dishin It. In our hilarious and enlightening conversation, the star touches on everything from her go-to roadtrip snack to the Prince-Janet Jackson jukebox musical of her dreams, unused drag race Look she is still haunting the back of her closet. But is this fashion? Well, depends who you ask…
Is there any pop-culture – whether a movie, TV series, book, album, etc… – that you consider to be a big part of your upcoming journey? Why is this special to you?
Being trans, I had the opportunity to come out for myself — like, big life comers — more than once. as was the first time [someone] who likes boys. The second time was in the form of a trans. So, a book that was really useful, helpful, helpful to me transgender history by Susan Stryker. There’s just so many great quotes to pull from that book, and for me it was really the book that was like, “Well, basically, trans people are nothing new. We’ve been together for a long time, And even though that history isn’t really well recorded, here are some connections for you.” And that was really helpful – it’s very important.
In November, you will begin your “Letters Live” tour as you travel across the US. What is your go-to airport/rest stop snack and why?
Oh it’s Gummi Bear! And not just any brand—I just wouldn’t eat gummy bears. I only eat one brand of gummy bear: Haribo. If you bring me anything else, I’ll know right away, and I’m not interested. [Laughs.]
If I have been reincarnated from a previous life, I believe I was a Fruit Bat. Because I love fruits! I could just stay away from fruits all day, every day. So, apparently, I love fruit flavored candy, too. There’s something about those Haribo gummi bears; They really do taste like the fruits they are saying they are!
And of course it’s only a joint tour with Jujubi—which makes JuJu a perfect tour-companion? The two of you have known each other for a few years—what can you tell us about Jujubi that might surprise his fans?
I haven’t toured with JuJu yet, but apparently we’ve worked together many, many times over the years. We’re both East Coast gals, and it’s a very special vibe. That’s why we hit it with a surprise every time—so famous. we often book together [shows,] Then we’re in each other’s hotel rooms, eating together, playing cards, and hanging out. And that part of our relationship is so fiery, so I’m excited to hang out with JuJu on those tour buses.
But JuJu has such great writing, beautiful music, and their albums are critically acclaimed! The vibe of her music is like pop-R&B, whereas I’m going straight for R&B jugglers, so the music sits really well next to each other. As R&B is a total vibe, it has a feeling – you can relax a bit, you can get into the groove, you can hear the words, and understand the music; It’s not just about sound effects.
It’s about being able to show people: this is what quirky entertainers can and do, without any regrets. Yes, it’s great if you want to hear all your hottest remixes-non queer-icon, but if you want to support queer artists in a way that doesn’t see us doing just a number at gay bars, come to our show!
You originated the role of Pythio in the Broadway musical headlong, which was based on the music of The Go-Gos. If you could build a piece of music around another artist’s catalog, who would it be and why?
Well, it will be a very, very, very intense tug of war between Prince and Janet Jackson.
Well, I guess we can spin it and tell both their stories in one musical, right?
i mean they Huh Both are associated with Minneapolis. Janet is clearly not from Minneapolis, but her rebirth as a solo artist actually derives from the Minneapolis sound – linked by two of her most popular producers: Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, from Morris Day’s band, The Time was part of it. , And that was a subset group for Prince, which also helped produce for those guys. so are janet and prince very are linked. And I just really worked, huh? [Laughs.] There is definitely a story there.
latest in you letter to my lovers The trilogy is called a “moment of weakness” – what is a moment in your career that you would say you probably felt weak or vulnerable and how did you overcome it?
Once I was helping a popular LGBT charity group raise money for an auction. He asked to host, which meant I would have to go out in front of an audience, talk to celebrities and all the donors in the room. There was a lot of money involved – like thousands and thousands of dollars that were going to be generated and floating around.
But I remember that I did not have enough money to attend the program. I didn’t have enough money for a taxi, I didn’t even have enough money for a bus. And, on top of that, these allegations of transphobia were leveled with this organization. And so it didn’t feel great knowing I was literally taking my last few dollars—I had to dig into the couch to find some real coins to take down the subway. [venue.]
it was the fact that I was using my last money to help them make more than His last penny—especially for a corporation that was being accused of transphobia…it seemed the exact opposite of what I needed to do. And it certainly didn’t feel like I was taking care of myself. I was feeling very weak and powerless at that moment.
but! I will never do that again. Lesson learned, baby!
You always bring visuals into your music videos, so—with that in mind—what would you say in a low-rated music video that everyone should stop and watch now? What makes it so great?
I will say that for this I have to go back to my past- just watching these music videos impressed me a lot. Actually, I have three…
Certainly Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”, which has no reason to explain. I was a kid at the time, and I was really intimidated by that music video. I loved watching it with my family, but there was a time when my midwife [pretended to] When we saw the video she turned into a zombie and she was following me around the house. all i remember is i was so scared [Laughs.] Now that I think about it, it was really cruel to him! But, no, that video was major,
Next I must say, of course, is Missy Elliot’s “The Rain.” That was her first big music video with the garbage bag she’s wearing where she’s filled with all the air. I don’t know what it’s like to be on acid, but I think it’s probably pretty much the same.
And then the last thing I’m going to say is more sad, and it’s got some controversy online. But, as a kid, watching the music video for Pearl Jam’s song “Jeremy” had a really profound effect on me. Obviously this is very violent. But to do that play in what I consider to be an artistic way really shook me to my core.
Who is the one queer artist/performer/producer you think is doing really good work right now? Why is he someone we should all pay attention to?
Obviously, Saucy Santana is the one. I mean, there are so many—I’m almost at a loss for words! In terms of indie people, I love Michael Bloom-check them out. I did a guest feature with Shia Cooley on a remix of one of his songs called “Ru Mad”, which is fire.
And there’s another person named become steadwell-Oh my god, please watch a video of him. The way they make music is amazing. An amazing cast, and they sound like they’re on their own – they’re almost like a queer, black version of Klaus Nomi. It’s such a masterpiece, and it’s rare to see a queer person do that and, you know, singing about anal sex, or whatever. it is So cold.
have you got any gifts from your time drag race—a specific outfit you wore, something from the work room, etc…- why is it sentimental to you?
Surprisingly, I still have half the clothes I wore on the show, although most of them no longer fit.
But the one thing I should probably get rid of is a dress I never actually wear! This is a dress that Kim Kardashian wore to the Met Gala when she was pregnant. And I’m not a fashion girl, but, darling, this was not something I would recommend. [Laughs.] And so I made that dress, but I didn’t even wear it. Instead, Shia Coulee wore it on our season when we did a skit where she had to be a pregnant man.
And the other thing I still have that I should probably get rid of — because it’s not even really a costume — is my promo dress. She was like a long turquoise thing. It’s not really a costume because there’s no opening. And you can’t put it on unless you have a team of people sewing it in. So maybe I should get rid of it. [Laughs.] But I like; It’s very special for me.
See Peppermint’s Latest Views for “Broken House”—Off the Moment of Weakness: Letters to My Lovers Album – Below. And you can visit his site for tickets and more information on the “Letters Live” tour.