As part of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 17, Los Angeles-based queen Joella quickly became what can only be described as an “absolute sensation”. While her run on RuPaul’s Drag Race has concluded, her scorching charisma and strong self-confidence has etched Joella a place in Drag Race herstory. I sat down to catch up with Joella post-elimination and we chatted about her Drag Race experience, how Katy Perry has impacted her career & life, and she gave me some inside tea on that final and now iconic ‘Quilted’ runway!
Michael Cook: I am honored to be talking to the icon and the legend of Los Angeles! You have become an absolute sensation and your self-appointed legendary status in Los Angeles has made you exactly that! What was going through your mind when you uttered those now famous words?
Joella: I don’t even remember what was going through my mind, I was having a genuine mental breakdown. In local drag in LA, I mean I was talking about local drag, I’m not talking about drag as a whole because even that is a whole community with such big names. Girl, I am definitely not comparing myself to Kim Chi (laughs)! I am talking about local drag, I am definitely well known in local drag and I was very booked. I guess I was talked about within local drag, but I would just like to reiterate that. It was about local drag, not about LA as a whole or even drag as a whole!
MC: Well, you have now talked it into existence because it seems you have talked your legendary status into existence. On Sibling Rivalry for example, Bob The Drag Queen and Monét X Change are officially Joella stans!
J: Are they?! (Laughs ). Oh My God!
MC: How do you look back on the entire RuPaul’s Drag Race experience?
J: I look back on it and a couple of months ago it didn’t feel real, but I will say, it feels so fucking real right now. I just feel like for a long time ,I was worried with the placing that I got, I got in a few fights, especially with people that were fan favorites; I thought I definitely would not do well. I’ve seen the light though and I have run towards the light & I am on the other side and I am just so grateful.
MC: There is something about you that is absolutely lovable and a large part of it his that you are truly one of your own biggest fans. I mean, no one in Drag Race herstory has walked onto the runway in a full quilted mattress/pop tart hybrid with a hole cut out and had the fans think that they would actually still eat the lip sync!
J: Yes! (Laughs)! Exactly!
MC: Speaking of this now herstoric costume for the ‘Quilted’ runway, give me a little background on your thoughts about bringing that specific runway to RuPaul’s Drag Race?
J: Actually that runway was turned into me very very late and I had commissioned it weeks before I left. It ended up coming to me literally the day of at eleven am! I was actually really upset because the back of it was not supposed to be just a pure airbrushed picture of RuPaul, it was supposed to be different pieces of fabric looking like a quilt airbrushed solid pieces of fabric quilted to look like Ru’s face. Also the hardware of the outfit was supposed to be completely different also; it was just a mess. I don’t even know what to say about it.
MC: I don’t think that there is anything for you to say; you are now part of Drag Race and by proxy, pop culture herstory. With that in mind, what are your rose and thorn of your Drag Race experience?
J: I would say that my rose is definitely my entrance look and my Paula Abdul lip sync. I will say that the thorn would probably be my talent show and also my Quilted runway that ultimately got me sent the fuck home!
MC: I would not agree that your talent show was a negative, I thought it really showcased who you were as a performer.
J: I would only say that because of the reaction that I got from the fans. It really put a sour feel on the experience for me. I don’t like watching my talent show back anymore…the fans reaction really…I mean, I know people say to ignore and don’t read the comments and that’s what I tell myself, that it should not matter to me. But seeing all of those comments…it really does something to you girl…
MC: As a certified Katy Cat, what was it like having Katy Perry in the Werk Room and judging the very first runway for this season?
J: It was insane because I met her so many times. When I met her for the first time, it was a dream come true. I had been a fan for so many years and it had been a dream to meet her. I kept meeting her and it kept coming true, then she kept remembering my name, then she kept calling me by my name. I even got to perform with her on stage twice, and it was an insane amount for a fan to handle. I was living though, I was like “Yes, my dreams have come true”!
When Drag Race happened, that was a dream that I had been chasing for five years and when that came true, it was insane, I could not wrap my mind around it, I was feeling just so blessed. When I found out that Katy Perry was going to be there?-my mind just couldn’t take it. I was on overload, I was so gagged, it was like “Wait, these two things that are such a big part of my life are coming together. I am about to see RuPaul and Katy Perry together; what?!
MC: I think that the moment you become emotionally overcome in the Werk Room really showed a human side of you thought.
J: Oh yeah. I was so gagged.
MC: Now that you have had all of these dreams come true, what could be the next dream you want to accomplish?
J: The two things that I am looking forward to and want to do the most, I want to release music. And I want to do another reality show or go back on this show. I just want to do more, I want more! I would love to do a show like Slaycation, I would love do an All Stars too. I would love to go back and compete in drag again, but I would also like a show where I could just get dressed up and just talk shit. I feel like a lot of girls are good at the drag part, but where I really shine is that personality and reality tv. Put me on one of those shows, I promise you that is going to be the show to watch (laughs)!
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