Kendall Gender returned to Canada’s Drag Race to take on dolls from all over the world as she joined Canada’s Drag Race: Canada’s Drag Race vs The World. While she has departed the competition, Gender is taking her latest opportunity in stride, and has big plans for world domination. I sat down to chat with her about her latest turn on the runway, being the thirst trap of her cast, and what it’s been like working with some true Drag Race legends up close and personal.
MC: So were you surprised to go back to the Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs. The World werkroom after your season of Canada’s Drag Race?
Kendall Gender: I definitely didn’t think that I would do All Stars so quickly. It’s also one of those things though, when opportunity knocks how can you say no to this incredible opportunity? I think I took maybe a day or so to think about it, I didnt say no, I just wanted to think about it to make sure it was what I wanted to do. Then I said “absolutely lets do it”. It’s way better to do the show regardless of the outcome, then to not to do it at all.
MC: What do you think has changed the most for you since the competition and what are you bringing into the competition that you didn’t bring the first time around?
KD: I think the biggest change that has changed a lot has been work in general. I feel like I’ve gotten so many opportunities to do drag since my season that it has in turn, made me better at drag. The more you practice on something, you’re bound to get better! The huge platform that I was catapulted onto has really changed my life so much. To go in this time, I felt like I was so much more confident as a person and as a performer, and I was excited to show that off.
MC: You’ve toured and performed a great deal with your United Stated Drag Race sisters. From your perspective, what do you think the most marked differences are between the Canada and US Drag Race franchises?
KG: As far as the differences between the two franchises, I think that maybe having RuPaul as a host or the franchise as a whole being so hugely popular, this huge phenomenon. I think the personalities are also so big on and off the stage too, which is so cool. That was one of the first things that I noticed around Silky (Nutmeg Ganache) and Ra’Jah (O’Hara) is that whether the cameras or rolling or not, they are genuinely like that. It’s really cool to see and be around that energy and to learn from that. I think that is one of the biggest differences that learned with the American girls right away.
MC: When did you realize that drag was not going to be just a hobby and would be your career and passion to follow?
KG: For me, I was actually in school just before the calls for my season of Drag Race went out. So I actually dropped out of school to film Drag Race, I was in the middle of getting my bachelor’s degree. My family wasn’t super excited, but it was one of those things where I was going to take a leap of faith and fortunately, it has worked out. Drag is such a part of my DNA in so many different ways, so to genuinely have my dreams come to fruition in this way, it is beyond words really. That would be the moment. I thought I was going to go back to school in the fall part time, then the show aired and then it took on another world. I haven’t looked back and my family is happy now (laughs)!
MC: During your season of Drag Race and during this season, you got a great deal of attention as the unofficial thirst trap of the cast. How does that feel?
KG: I’ll take it, thanks (laughs)! I genuinely did not see that happening going into the season, but it has been super flattering. Sometimes my fiancé’ will read through the comments and we like it together, we love it. It’s super flattering.
MC: You have an elevated platform in front of you with Canada’s Drag Race vs The World, so what do you think you want to do with it this time around?
KG: For me, I think the coolest part about this show is that a lot more eyes are on it than ever before. I am excited to take my drag outside of Canada. I am getting opportunities in the states right now, I’m going to the UK in January. That I feel is the trajectory right now, to take it to the next level.
MC: You have gotten the chance to perform with girls from other franchises and countries on tour, and it has been great watching the camradarie build online.
KG: I love them. When you meet these humungous superstars, you aren’t real sure. I get confused that they know my name half the time to be honest with you (laughs). They have been so embracing and have been so nice, Ra’Jah, Willam, Trinity the Tuck, they are so nice to me in person, it is so incredible and so validating really.
MC: Drag doesn’t hide you, it reveals you. After going through the Drag Race journey twice, what do you think your drag reveals about you?
KG: I think it genuinely shows that I will always stick to my guns as who I am as a a person,. Love it or hate it, I feel like I genuinely always want to be authentically who I am. I feel like that is something that I am happy about this past season, watching it I was 100 percent who I was and I hope it inspires people to stay authentic. That is the best part about drag it is supposed to be an expression of yourself, it is not supposed to be a mask or a falsified creation. It is supposed to be a continuation of a person that lives within you. I hope that is what I do in drag and I hope that people can take from that.
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