Gay&Night-ZiZo Augustus 2014

INTERVIEW Interview / Adore Delano
On August 8th, Drag Race fans will
be able to see you in the flesh, performing
in Amsterdam at Club NYX!
I love flesh! I’m so excited to come to Amsterdam!
What can we expect from
your show?
[in a sultry voice] Expect the unexpected!
[laughs] As soon as the lights are on and
I get that energy from the crowd, I’m on.
There are no limits. And everything’s legal in
Amsterdam, isn’t it?
Well, we have a lot of weed.
And a lot of men.
I can’t wait for weed and men! Definitely
more things are legal there than they are in
the States. I’m gonna be so fucking fun and
punk rock, and we’re gonna have fun!
We gave the readers of Gay.nl
and Gay.eu the opportunity to
ask you some questions as well,
so here they are!
Jeffry from Valkenburg asked:
“I would love to know whether your
character has changed during and
after RuPaul’s Drag Race? Have the
critiques helped make you stronger?”
Of course the critiques made me stronger
aesthetically. I know how to singe, I know
what I need to do. But I’m kind of like a
no-rules girl. I feel like there are no rules
in drag. For the most part, I learned how
to zhoosh it up a little more, and become a
more rounded queen.
And how do you write
‘zhoosh’, exactly?
[laughs loudly] I’m not sure! I actually tried
to write it on my phone, and it got autocorrected
to ‘shoosh’ or something stupid. I was
like, goddammit. [We looked it up and apparently
this is how you write zhoosh - ed.]
Did the show also change
you, character-wise?
I feel like every year, regardless of being
on Drag Race or not, a queen goes into a
different phase of their career. The show
definitely helped me, because I got to watch
myself back on TV and realize I shouldn’t say
certain things or act in certain ways.
Deagan from Rotterdam asked:
“Do you actually get to
date anyone?”
No, I haven’t really dated anybody. There’s a
lot of road-sex, but that has only happened
a couple of times.
Good for our readers to know!
Yeah, if any of them wants to come home
with me after the show, there’s gonna be a
party!
Damien from Maasland asked:
“Hey Adore, are you and Laganja
okay now after the show?”
I mean, of course it’s awkward as fuck. I just
saw her a few days ago and it was awkward.
It’s whatever. I don’t hate her. We’re not
best friends. We’re cordial.
That’s a very politically correct
answer. Anyway, Boef from
Noord-Brabant asked: “What does
a typical Adore Delano-day look like
now, after the show?”
Let me just give you an example: yesterday
I was in North-Carolina. I’m literally in a different
state every single day. So tonight I’m
in Houston, I perform here at 1am, I’m leaving
for the airport at 3:45, then go to San
Francisco. After San Francisco we’re going to
Australia for two and a half weeks. It’s really
bad. I sleep on the plane. That’s my day. My
day is literally spent sleeping on a plane.
Do you get any time off
in between?
Absolutely not. But you have to strike while
it’s hot. You’ve got to, or else the flame will
go out!
Sven from Nijmegen asked a rather
complicated question: “Do you think
drag can be used as a means of
coping with the marginalized position
homosexual men take up in society,
and if so: how do you think that
works?”
What was the question again? I dropped
out of school. I don’t get it? It sounds like a
really smart question. Hmmm.
I think he means: do you think that
RuPaul’s Drag Race and drag queens
getting a larger audience and platform,
helps the gay community?
I think so. I’m not just saying this to be
a douche, but I would watch Logo and
would see shows like The A-List, and it’s
kind of putting this stamp on gays, trying
to say “we’re human, too!”. Everybody
knows we’re human. We don’t have to act
straight for the straight people to accept
us. I think the show and the extra exposure
it has generated for drag performers is an
awesome chance to understand that we’re
not freaks, we’re not doing this for sexual
reasons, we’re fucking human beings, this
is what we choose to do as a career. We can
debate about this, but I think the feminine
part of the gay community is kind of like the
backbone to the gay community, because
we get all the backlash. We don’t blend in,
we’re naturally feminine. I got bullied all my
life, from second grade on. We don’t have
the choice to blend in. So … Yes! My answer
is yes!
After being on the show, doing the
album, making videos and touring,
do you have any idea of what you
want to do next?
We might be working on a new album in
November. I’m just gonna keep working. I’ve
been put on this planet to entertain.
Do you know anything about a
possible All-Stars season?
[in a very business-like tone] I know nothing.
[laughs]
That’s another very politically
correct answer.
I want world peace, goddammit!
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Text Martijn Tulp / Photography Magnus Hastings (p16) and Mathu Andersen (p18)