It’s rare that a queen presents a custom & deliciously scary teddy bear on the RuPaul’s Drag Race UK runway, but that is exactly what Viola did on the episode that coincidentally, lead to hear elimination. While this violin-playing dynamo has departed the competition, her final runway and unique talents will keep fans buzzing about her long after her departure. I sat down with Viola to chat about her final runway look, her experience on Drag Race UK, and what villainous role we could see her stepping into in the future..
Michael Cook: Your final runway look was one of the most out of the box and clever looks to ever be seen on the RuPaul’s Drag Race UK runway. What was it like to get that kind of reaction for those ferocious teddy bear that you presented?
Viola: Well call me the delusional queen (#QueenofDelusion), but I really thought that I was going to be at the top; honestly, I thought that I would be safe that week. I thought that my performance and my look were safe. So when it was announced, I was like “Am I in the top or in the bottom”? They got to my critiques and they were like “Viola, you sounded amazing, you were fantastic, when you had moments you shined”! Then RuPaul was like “You faded into the background, and the teddy bear, it’s not draggy enough”. Then it was like “Oh-I’m lip syncing”. It was a big shock, I was feeling so good that day.
Doing that performance, I loved the performance and that was the first time that I was ready before we needed to be ready. I clearly had chilled out and gotten into the groove of Drag Race. It felt like the first day that I had properly relaxed into the show, and I was kicked off. The reaction from the other girls, they loved it. I didn’t hear from every single one of them, but the general consensus was that it was absolutely crazy, but it was fab.
MC: What was the entirety of the RuPaul’s Drag Race UK experience like for you?
V: The overwhelming feeling is just pride. It doesn’t happen that often that a queen gets a whole discussion going on Twitter; my teddy bear is making the rounds! There are equal amounts of positive and negative and I am so glad that it is just being talked about. That’s all I wanted to do, I wanted to start a conversation and be provocative, not just in my confessionals. I wanted to challenge people’s views on what drag is. My spider was crap (laughs), but the bear was costume-y. It was in the same vain, a bit spooky and costume-y; drag is costume, what’s wrong with that? My overall experience was Episode 1, fun. Episode 2, horrible. Episode 3 great; I loved Episode 3; until I got that critique and it was like, “I really have to win this lip sync to stay”! It was just not my song, you know?
MC: The question remains; is the Teddy Bear costume the LaBuBu of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Season 7?
V: Yes! I mean, no one is going to forget that! I’ve got merch coming out…
MC: What do you think the rose and thorn are of your Drag Race experience?
V: My best moment was recording with Nadine (Coyle), that was easily my best. My proudest moment was receiving that critique about the teddy bear, I was like “Oh the fans are going to disagree”! When Michelle (Visage) and Ru gave me that critique, I was really disappointed that they didn’t like it, but nothing they say was going to make me change. I’m very self assured in what my drag is; it’s very pretty and girlie lots of the time, but there is no denying that there is also this kind of villainous drama behind Viola and sometimes that comes out in spooky and gothic.
My thorn was being voted the Most Annoying, I would think maybe an hour after I was actually voted the Most Annoying. I had gotten into this headspace where I was going to “show these girls that I do look really good” and that even if I am really annoying, I can win a design challenge. There were a few hours into the design challenge that I realize I had let my head get the best of me.
MC: It was in good fun, but hearing you are the “most annoying” definitely must still no matter what.
V: Yes. I am also the type of person who really relies on their friends to hear from. I’ve got my aesthetic down and I know what I can do, but I am the type of person who loves our friends to just reassure me when I’m feeling down.
MC: What do you think you want to do with the platform that RuPaul’s Drag Race UK has provided?
V: Well I have “Pluck It Up” out now, you can listen anywhere you download music; it’s all about the violin! What I want to do now is performance theater, I really want to get into acting and character work. I want to channel my boy self through Viola and then create dimensions of Viola to perform in productions. I’d love to be the Evil Queen in Snow White or Cinderella, that would be my dream. That’s for the next couple of years at least, five to ten years time I would love to be a recording artist. a textile artist, I would love to be producing tours and shows…I am going to focus on the next couple of years and see what we get!
Follow Viola on Instagram
