When season 2 of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK premiered in January 2020, we had no idea about the year that was to come our way. Neither did the Queens, what’s deemed the most memorable season of the UK franchise; it gave comfort and a break from the reality going on outside. Halfway through filming, and with the severity of the COVID-19 outbreak production was halted. Upon the news, the cast went home to isolate with the rest of the country, and the rest of the season was unknown whether it was to go ahead. During that time, drag events also stopped, yet when the country slowly opened up, the season continued to shine and do what drag does best: fill us with hope, creativity, and the confidence to bring that positivity to our lives.
Veronica Green is a strong person who has persevered through it all, creating one of the most iconic looks for the Monster of the Ball challenge and proving that believing in your talent is power. Unfortunately, as filming restarted, Veronica tested positive for COVID-19 and had to leave the show. However, the invitation to return to season 3 was accepted, seeing her back in the race the following year. Since she departed from drag race, this theatre queen has appeared in adult pantos and performances across the UK.
Not only is she a seamstress and trained singer who can hit exceptional high notes and perform operatic numbers, but she’s also an avid gamer. Veronica knows how to make an impression, arriving on the Meet the Queen’s pink carpet as a real-life superhero racing a Mario Kart, which those in attendance went crazy for. I got to talk to this superhero about that entrance, her journey on both seasons, her love for gaming, and her growing community over Twitch.
Before we begin, we have to mention the Meet the Queen’s Pink Catwalk entrance from this morning. I’ve never seen anything like that before in my life. Everyone’s reaction was, ‘That is iconic.’ You caught everyone’s attention.
Veronica Green: Oh, well, that’s amazing, isn’t it? This should be something I’ve got a neck for. I always somehow manage to draw the eye. (laughs)
So, starting with our main question of the weekend, what did you want to be when you were younger? And what do you think, younger, you would think of what you do today?
Veronica Green: I always wanted to be a performer and an actor, as I love singing and I love to dance. Me and my brother, sister, and cousins would do dance routines at every family wedding and all of the different family functions, so I always wanted to entertain people. And then, like gender expression and gender identity, it was just a natural progression that I discovered myself, and the merging of those two different things was so unexpected.
So it gave you the confidence to carry on being drag full-time?
Veronica Green: Doing drag gave me more confidence than I ever had. Because the thing is, when you’re in drag, you can put on a mask, experiment, try out so many new things, and get away with it. Because you’re just playing a character, and you’d be mortified to play around with if you were a girl. And it’s just that it teaches you that, in fact, those things that I thought would embarrass me don’t; they empower you. So, as time goes on, my drag persona has started to blend and merge with who I really am as a person. And that whole persona side of it begins to fall away bit by bit as you become more confident in who you are.
And you discover yourself slowly, like look at you today on a race car. (laughing)
Veronica Green: (laughs) Right? Tell me about it. I don’t even have a driving licence.
I feel you, as I don’t either. (laughing)
Veronica Green: (laughs) Public liability insurance—who needs it? Don’t worry, I do actually have that.
Another question I have, kind of related to that, is, of all the things you’ve put on so many interviews over the years, what’s a story that you want to tell but never get a chance to tell?
Veronica Green: Oh, well, I come from an actual drag family. A real drag family as my brother is a drag queen as well!
I remember you mentioning it a little on the show. Does he do drag full-time as well now, or is it just dipping time in and out?
Veronica Green: He does; he works in television, and he’s been writing a TV show. And we actually pitched our TV show that he’d written for BBC3 when they had a slot open for an LGBT show, we pitched, and it turns out we lost it to Drag Race UK. (laughing)
Oh my god!
Veronica Green: (laughs) So there you go!
The irony!
Veronica Green: Right? But it was great, because then we knew what the next step was, and we were like, We have to get it right.
Looking back, when you realised it was Drag Race UK were you then like that’s a full circle moment.
Veronica Green: (laughs) Yes, well, we were never going to win it to Drag Race, come on now.
Do you think you’d be like, Oh, maybe I can apply and go from there?
Veronica Green: Well, I think it just goes to show that if you’ve got an idea, if you’ve got something you want to do, you can just put yourself out there. Because, we didn’t get the slot, but…
Look what happened now.
Veronica Green: (laughs) Right? Drag race. And now my brother is working on my booth for me; he’s even designed it. The whole design, the concept for Mario Karting, and the gaming theme. It was all designed by my brother.
Are you a big gamer?
Veronica Green: Well, I recently started Twitch streaming.
Oh, really?
Veronica Green: Yep, we’re coming up to the first anniversary in March. So I just decided retroactively to celebrate that.
So that’s something you are passionate about doing like this year?
Veronica Green: Yep, we’re coming up to the first anniversary in March. So I just decided retroactively to celebrate that.
Also going on to make your own opportunities
Veronica Green: Exactly that, and I was like, well, I don’t have the budget to do the music, videos, and other stuff that I wanted to do. So I was like, What can I do for free? So I thought, well, I love to play video games at home; why not just do it in drag? I set up the Twitch channel, and I’ve now got a beautiful community that watches me every single week, and they’ve come to DragCon to support me.
And what’s your Twitch channel?
Veronica Green: I believe it’s called Veronica Qween. Queen spelt the pretentious way, of course (laughs) Q-W-E-E-N.
Follow Veronica on Instagram and her Twitch channel Veronica Qween
