The Drag Race winner also spilled the tea about an upcoming EP during an interview with Out.
Bernardo SimIn so many ways, Bob the Drag Queen is the absolute definition of “booked and busy.”
Between comedy and standup, appearing as The Pit Stop host for RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 7, co-hosting the Sibling Rivalry podcast with Monét X Change, creating lots of content for platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, releasing original music, and touring the world, this multihyphenate is also one of the hosts of the Emmy award-winning HBO series We’re Here, which is coming back for a third season on November 25.
During an interview with Out, Bob spilled the tea on We’re Here, her sisterhood bond with Shangela and Eureka O’Hara, and even revealed new details about her upcoming EP. After releasing “B*tch Like Me” as the lead single for this new project, Bob is now gearing up to release a new song titled “Black.”
Out: You are back to music with ‘Bitch Like Me.’ What has been the response from the public to your new single?
Bob: It’s been pretty good. I’m really excited that I’m actually doing music again. I’ve always loved writing songs and doing music, so it feels really nice to get back in the swing of things. It’s been really amazing. I’m on tour right now and people have been coming to my shows singing my song which always feels amazing.
I liked that the video was inspired by TikTok transitions. What was the idea behind that?
Well, I just love social media… I love TikTok probably more than I should quite frankly. I always have fun scrolling through there and making TikToks. So I said, ‘What if I make a whole video that was dedicated to this whole TikTok style?’
You’re currently in the middle of the Sibling Rivalry Tour. How’s the tour with Monét going?
Oh, it’s going wonderfully. We’re having a lot of fun. We’re with House of Juicy Couture who won season three of Legendary, and they’re just so amazing. They’re really brilliant, these performers.
How are the audiences responding to the show and the songs you’re performing and the choreography you’re serving? I think some people expected that it’d just be like a podcast show, but it turned out to be actually a full production.
Well, there’s a podcast component to it as well. We do know that we are known for our podcast, but we’re also known for individual careers and our music and our comedy. So you get a little bit of [everything]. You get a drag show and you get a podcast right in the middle of it. Give us all a chance to cool down, then we’re into something really high energy. We’ve been getting, honestly, amazing responses. A lot of people are saying that this was their favorite show they’ve seen, which means a lot.
You also recently announced a solo tour starting at the end of October. What can we expect from those shows?
That’s where I do my standup comedy. Normally, when I do my solo shows, I do pretty much strictly standup comedy, which is how I start started my drag.
I love We’re Here and I’m very excited about season three. Did you already film the entire season?
Oh yeah, the whole season is done. It is in the can and they are ready to show episodes on November 25, which I’m really excited about. This season is so good. I’m telling y’all, we work so hard on this show. Not just on the drag… but meeting people, the story producers, the makeup artists, the hair stylists, the costume designers. Everyone in the show, the camera crew. We work so hard on this show, filming it literally from sea to shining sea, capturing really remarkable stories.
We really see the hard work you put into We’re Here and also the things you have to put up with in certain cities, which is sometimes shocking.
Yeah. It gets tough in some of these towns. There are some places where a lot of the folks do not want us. They do not want us around, honey, but we still do what we got to do.
Some episodes are just wild! I keep thinking to myself, how are they still going?
Yeah, barely is the answer to that question. [Laughs]
You were never featured with Shangela and Eureka on RuPaul’s Drag Race, but the three of you created a sisterly bond on We’re Here. How has your relationship with them grown over the course of these three seasons?
I definitely gained a lot of respect for them as mentors outside of their artistry of drag. I’ve always respected their artistry of drag, and now I’m able to see how they shine as mentors for other people. A big part of what makes our show work so well is that we’re also able to all do our own thing. We get compared to Queer Eye a lot, and we’re not completely unlike that. But on Queer Eye, they’re all helping out one person. On We’re Here, we get to help individual people, which helps us shine in our individuality.
We’re Here has now won two Emmy awards as of 2022. How does that feel?
It’s amazing. It feels amazing to be able to celebrate a lot of these artists. A lot of them are drag artists. People like Laila McQueen, who competed with me on season eight of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Domino, who’s been my costume designer for years now. Diego Montoya, Patrick Howell, Casey Caldwell, Lushious Massacr, 6. A lot of these remarkable artists who me, Shangela, and Eureka have known for years. It’s amazing to see them up there holding those trophies on stage. It was an emotional night.
It was recently brought to my attention that two of my gay friends who have never seen RuPaul’s Drag Race have started watching We’re Here and they absolutely fell in love with Bob the Drag Queen on the show. And it was really interesting to hear their adoration for you and for Bob the Drag Queen, the drag persona, specifically from just We’re Here. I’m wondering if that’s been a recurring theme in your career as of late. Are you getting this surge of new fans who perhaps don’t even know you from Drag Race at all?
Well, it’s funny. I have a lot of fans who don’t know me from Drag Race but they know me as the guy from TikTok… which is funny because I don’t really do drag a whole lot on TikTok. I like my TikTok to be fun and in the moment. The other day, someone delivered a pizza to my hotel room and she goes, ‘Oh my God, you’re the guy from TikTok.’ I had never been called ‘the guy from TikTok’ before, that was so interesting.
It makes sense since I was on Drag Race seven years ago. It was a while back when I was on RuPaul’s Drag Race and I’ve done a lot since then between my podcast and We’re Here and my music and all that stuff. My sisters on We’re Here both did Drag Race three times. I did Drag Race one time, I have only done it that one time. I’m really grateful that I’m able to still have this remarkable career, because a lot of the contestants they go on so many times and it does keep boosting your career. I’m really proud to be able to say that I’m one of the girls who still has the career even after doing it just one time.
Speaking of your sisters from We’re Here, Shangela is currently competing on Dancing With the Stars. Have you seen Shangie on the show yet? What are your thoughts?
I’ve not gone because I’m on tour right now, but hopefully she stays in the competition. When I get back to LA, I can actually go see her dance across that shiny floor.
[Update: Bob and Eureka have since appeared as Shangela’s guests on Dancing With the Stars.]
Have you been watching this season of Dancing With the Stars? What are your thoughts so far?
I have. I’ve been following it online. I’m rooting for Shangela and Wayne Brady. Wayne is also a friend of mine as well. No shade to Teresa Giudice and the lady from TikTok. I’m sure they’re remarkable.
HBO and HBO Max are under new leadership and some LGBTQ-inclusive shows and movies have been canceled. Many fans are hoping that shows like We’re Here and Legendary are safe on the streaming service and can keep going for many seasons. Do you have any thoughts or updates on that situation?
Well, We’re Here is not an HBO Max show, it’s an HBO show, which I know it sounds a bit not different, but there is actually a difference. Legendary is an HBO Max show and We’re Here is an HBO show. HBO, I’m pretty sure was purchased by Discovery and I know a lot of shows got [canceled], but I don’t think that it affects We’re Here in the same way that it affects other shows that are on the HBO Max platform specifically. Although, we are also available on HBO Max. It's all quite complicated, even I don’t understand all of it to be honest.
But as far as you’re concerned, everything is looking good for season three of We’re Here and it’s definitely coming out as scheduled?
Season three is definitely coming out. We filmed the whole thing and I know that there are some people who said, ‘I heard rumors that some shows were getting canceled mid-season’ or while they were filming, which sounds tough. I also heard that some shows were fully filmed but then they weren’t going to come out because of this acquisition… but rest assured that We’re Here absolutely will be coming out November 25 on HBO and HBO Max.
Thank goodness. You are one of the most popular and most successful LGBTQ+ comedians of our time, and we’re now living through a time when we’re getting high-profile gay rom-coms like Fire Island and Bros. How do you feel about this new landscape for mainstream gay comedies?
I think it’s really fierce. I remember, back in the day, all the gay comedies were so niche, they were so hard to find. You had to scour through a DVD bin to even get your hands on a copy of Girls Will Be Girls or Another Gay Movie. It was hard to find these things and now they’re available right here on these streaming platforms, which is absolutely amazing. I’m just so glad that queer people can finally see representations of themselves in the movies.
And do you have any plans or projects in the works related to joining or even writing a feature film?
Well, me and Monét were talking about writing a Sibling Rivalry film. We’re still working on that, we have a lot to get through. We’re both trying to get through our EPs and this tour. Maybe after that we’ll revisit our film.
I assume that ‘B*tch Like Me’ is the lead single of your upcoming EP. When do you plan on releasing the full project?
The EP is going to be coming out in the new year but I do have another song coming out on November 3. My song ‘Black’ will be coming out on November 3 with another great music video. I’m really proud of this and I hope everyone tunes in when it comes out. So check out my YouTube page for my brand-new video of ‘Black’ featuring Ocean Kelly and Basit who are two really remarkable artists that I just am so happy to work with.
We’re Here season three premieres November 25 on HBO and HBO Max. For more information about the Sibling Rivalry Tour, visit the tour’s official website.
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