With a personality as vibrant and vivid as her flame-colored tresses, it is no surprise that RuPaul’s Drag Race UK’s Copper Topp was instantly a favorite, despite Copper recent elimination. I caught up with the self-proclaimed “Feel Good Ginger” of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Season 4 to chat about her Drag Race experience, working with Cheddar Gorgeous during her final challenge, and being proud of “who you are & the skin you’re in”.
Michael Cook: Your lip sync against Black Peppa is one of the most scorching that RuPaul’s Drag Race UK has seen! What was that experience like?
Copper Topp: Oh my goodness. Firstly, slightly frightened being against Peppa, but performing is what I love to do. I turned it, considering she had a cape on, one that got caught in her legs every time she moved (laughed)!
MC: Seeing you teamed up with Cheddar Gorgeous in the challenge was an intriguing pairing, and your aesthetic certainly seemed to meld together gorgeously. Was that a surprise to you?
CT: Not at all actually. The one thing that I love about Cheddar is that Cheddar appreciates all drag. Cheddar got me, they understood where I was coming from and why I did drag and the sort of drag that I enjoyed, and why I did that drag style. They also understood that I turn it on when I need to when it comes to performance. Actually, the beauty of that is that I am a big fan of Cheddar and what Cheddar does. It was a really good marriage, I loved working with them and I think that we did a really gorgeous presentation.
MC: When you look back on your Drag Race UK experience, what is your general vibe and perspective on the entire experience?
CT: The whole experience is life-changing! All of a sudden you are on a celebrity platform and life changes in a beautiful way. The one thing that I will always be grateful for is that I am now on a platform where I can use this for good. Everything that I do in drag has always been political and been about giving people entertainment and a good time. Let’s face it, the world is not great; a lot of people are separate with bad mental health, work is stressful, money is low, or politics is strange. They reach out to drag shows to sort of lighten the load for them and now I get to do that on a much bigger scale.
MC: Based on that mega-watt smile, I get the impression that it you are absolutely thrilled to take part in the art of drag and to be able to provide so much joy for people.
CT: Oh I love it. I came to drag mid-life, I am thirty-eight turning thirty nine soon. Cool stuff can happen later on. I am really excited to see what it going to happen when I am mid-forties, mid-fifties and mid-sixties, because cool stuff can happen. There is no pressure to achieve something in a certain amount of time. It is about taking your time, taking your strides and enjoying the rides.
MC: How did your own drag career lead you to Drag Race? What was the moment that you knew that it would be much more than a passing fancy?
CT: I turned to drag as a hobby, it was something that I turned to as something that scared me. I had a big operation ages ago and realized I had to do more things that scared me and I chose drag. It was a hobby, painting my face in the bedroom and going to a tree gig or a competition. Very quickly I met my tribe, my drag family. I have a huge beautiful drag family and we all did competitions together. I think it was then that I realized that I was good at it and I wanted to keep going at it. I worked really hard and I got myself some lovely residencies and worked hard to hone my craft and find out who Copper was and what kind of material she would produce.
I auditioned for Drag Race the first time and didn’t get on, I thought I was absolutely sickening, but I clearly wasn’t when I watched the tape (laughs). My second tape I was really proud of and I worked really hard on it, so it was really nice when I got the call. This is unreal, I can actually do this as a career. Even without Drag Race, I was actually working full time as a queen. We owe a lot to Drag Race, it has opened up the queer world and allowed queer people to enjoy this craft. We are going into a mainstream place that has its positives and negatives, but it is all around life changing .
MC: What do you think your rose and thorn are from your Drag Race UK experience?
CT: My rose would be the sisterhood that I have now made. My sisterhood is now extended somewhat, and there are some friends for life there definitely. The thorn is not be able to show myself full, what I do is acting and comedy and I didn’t get to show any of that. Then Ru announces an improv challenge and rubs some salt in the wound and it’s like “Noooo” (Laughs)! I would love to go back and show those things, so never say never.
MC: You now have a global platform, so what kind of goodness do you want to spread out into the world?
CT: Well I am making music, and I want all of my music to be a statement. There are charities that I really want to work with, I am currently working with an elderly LGBTQ+ organization, and it is so beautiful. To hear their stories it is unreal, I am really loving that. I also have plans for television stuff, I have plans for a drag comedy sketch show and I am gong to be working with some amazing drag performers and put that together myself. We will put it on YouTube, but I am looking for the tv channels to commission it please, that would be nice. What ever I do, I am looking for it to have a strong statement behind it and that we are constantly addressing the current state of the world through the comedy sense and bringing lightness and joy into people’s lives.
MC: What do you think your own drag reveals about you as a person?
CT: I think as a person what it reveals is that I am not complete in this journey. It has taken me a long time to accept my queerness and define what that is. I made a joke “I guess a top can bottom” when I left the competition, but actually it is about being versatile. Staying versatile and spontaneous is the best way to be. I hope that I will do more of that. I think it also reveals to be proud of who you are and the skin you are in. We are all born and dealt different cards; understand your privilege and understand where you fit in the world. Understand injustices and how you can do better; I think Copper Top is about being the best human that you can be.
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