As far as top two finalists in the RuPaul’s Drag Race stratosphere, you would be hard pressed to find two that adored each other on stage (and off) as RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs The World Season 2 finalists Hannah Conda and Tia Kofi did. While Kofi went on to be crowned the winner of UK vs The World Season 2, Conda was the one of the loudest voices cheering her on. I sat down post finale with both dynamic queens and we dished about their thoughts on the UK vs The World Season 2 that was, their favorite aspects of the competition, and who they are now as opposed to the competitors that walked into the werkroom.
Michael Cook: Condragulations to you both for being such amazing finalists on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs The World Season 2! With both of you in front of me, Hannah we’ll start with you. What do you think you got to learn the most from Tia Kofi this season?
Hannah Conda: That it’s important sometimes to brush your wigs (laughs)! I love Tia’s ability to find the humor in things and be naturally themselves and embrace the corniness; and I felt less alone. I feel like I am a little bit awkward and a little bit weird sometimes. To be there with someone that is equally the same as me just made me go “You know what, we’re special and we’re allowed to embrace this”. Honestly it was a joy to be with Tia, laugh have fun and make jokes; it has just been a dream honestly.
Tia Kofi: Not to sound unhumble, but Hannah taught me that I am great! Hannah thought I was hilarious, I thought she was hilarious, Hannah thought my looks were great, I thought her looks were great, we really mutually uplifted each other. Whatever insecurity I might have had in the first episode and a half, very much I would attribute it to Hannah Conda as to why it sort of dissolved away. She taught me that am such a fun girl!
Hannah: I walked in there and was like “There’s no time for this here, sorry”. Even up until this time when people have been hateful and bastards I was like…stop it. You’re Tia Kofi and who are they?-simply profiles. You’re Tia Kofi.
MC: Tia, you certainly did have a glow up for UK vs The World; your looks were consistent, eye catching and extremely fashion forward.
TK: Thank you! It’s amazing what time and money can achieve.
MC: Tia, what do you think you learned the most about your drag since RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Season 2?
TK: The thing that I learned the most about my drag is that conceptually I don’t think that there is anything wrong with it. You’re allowed to be silly and fun and actually one of the things that I exemplified that for me was that my drag daughter Victoria Scone was on Season 3 of Drag Race UK. The difference in the response from my looks versus hers, I was like “Ahh I understand the concept of polish now”. Conceptually dressing is an afternoon tea stand is as equally as ridiculous as dressing like an ice cream cone. That clued me into what that sort of meant and I hope people appreciate that I polished up, and have become my own version of the ‘Supermodel’ that RuPaul saw in me.
MC: Hannah, Kween Kong, Spankie Jackzon and yourself are still very close since RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under Season 2. What advice did they give you to come onto RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs The World?
HC: Well we were in tour when I got the call and I had to cut our tour short. i had to cut our tour short and I was a little scarde. Kween is the business mom, she is the “momager” of the group. I was so nervous to tell her that I had to take the last dates to film this thing. But there was no question they were just like “You have to do it, you have to go”. I could not have asked for better support from the two of them.
They are always in my corner, they are always championing me and we do the same thing for each other. Honestly, it was like “Kick it in the dick; go out there kick it in the dick and have a good time”. I think I learned to relax from them and just enjoy the process. I think that I would have crumbled if I didn’t have their support through the Down Under period. It was a brutal for me…without their love and support, I probably would have been in a different place. I’m really grateful for them.
MC: What is the challenge that you each got to participate in this time around where you truly think that you got your Rudemption?
TK Rudemption…I literally got it with Snatch Game. Did I win that Hannah?
HC: You did. We were both winners, but you won the lip sync.
TK: It was a Eurovision song and I famously love Eurovision so that was amazing. I think that was the biggest Rudemption moment when I had originally been sent home during Snatch Game, then managed to be in the top two for Snatch Game here and that’s why I got the badge, so that was a big Rudemption.
Personally, my favorite moment was the roast because I kind of ate! I am very proud of myself for making a very obscure British reference in my outfit that only about seven people understood and that was the point of it. I am very glad that I managed to bring some laughs, my having a trumpet for no reason and I’m am glad that I got to do really bad jokes and wordplay and have everyone find it really funny. And prove myself boots the house down mama!
HC: I think mine was an overall thing that I wanted to achieve. Just to be able to showcase my personality in all of it’s facets. I was glad that let my guard down and I think that it goes to show in that hens party getup that there are no fucks given in my world anymore. I just wanted to be me in it’s rawest form and I think I showed that in spades; that made me really proud.
TK: I am going to add to Hannahs answer even though she didn’t ask me to. I think Hannah’s most iconic moment was the ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ challenge. Everyone was wondering how everyone would keep up with Marina (Summers) who was the best dancer that ever lived and Hannah ate and slayed and was incredible. That was my favorite moment, watching her.
MC: Tia brings up an instantly epic moment from the series as a whole; the lip sync you and Marina did to Agnes’ “Release Me” is going to go down in herstory!
HC: It was a fun time, that was a pretty epic moment. I think I said in Down Under that I was a ‘Park and Bark’ girl and that seemed to mean “Hannah can’t dance, she has no rhythm”. So when people come to the show and they see me dance and move it’s like “Ooh you can dance”! So it was nice to show people that I can dance and I can keep up, I really enjoyed that. It’s really lovely because the fans are saying that I am the plus size representation that the fandom needs these days.
MC: How different are you each leaving RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs The World Season 2 as opposed to walking into RuPauls Drag Race UK Season 2 and RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under Season 2 respectively?
TK: Not even slightly and that is kind of the place that I wanted to be. I didn’t realize it until I watched Drag Race UK back, but the judges were ostensibly telling me that I had everything that it took to get to the end and potentially win the whole time. I just needed to know that own that and understand it and also not wear awful clothes. Going back into it and being able to watch the season back, I was like I am authentically exactly the same person that I have always been in and out of drag and that is kind of like, great to me. I am really happy about that. Being the person that I am and continuing to be that person just with shinier packaging.
HC: I think I just got out of my own way and this idea that I need to be perfect because i am perfectly imperfect. I think that is the charm of us and of humanity, we are all flawed in different ways but that is what makes us who we are. Not holding onto that anymore was just such a relief and it just made me see the joy in life again. I walked in there a million times more confident in myself which I kind of lost during the Down Under experience. And that is because I got to be with people like Tia who are are behind me and Kween and Spankie and all of these incredible people.
I’ve also learned that, not that I ever didn’t know this, but being able to champion each other without animosity or jealousy or anything like that, because we can all shine. You don’t need to dim someone else’s light in order for yours to shine brighter and I will forever stand behind that.
That goes out to the fandom as well. You dont have to shit on someone else in order to celebrate who your fave is. In actuality, we are all fans of of each other in that show. When I go in there and look at every single one of those girls, I am a fan of theirs and I love it. Were championing, positivity, kindness, and good people charging forward.
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