- Hey, it's Ru, and I am here at BuzzFeed
to answer your burning questions.
Now, you've gotta know there is an ointment for that.
We'll just get that out of the way now.
(smooth music)
"Would you ever wanna do a reboot of Drag U
"or create another drag-based reality series?"
Trust me, we have cut this potato so many different ways.
We have French fried it, we have au gratin-ed it,
we have eaten it raw,
and we are continuing to find new ways
to chop this potato up, this Drag Race potato,
and serve it up in many different ways for you.
In fact, we're about to start
doing something new with the potato
I think you're gonna like a lot.
So, yes, the answer is yes, yes, and yes,
and bon appetit.
"Do you have to be a drag queen or gay to call you mother?"
No.
I won't answer you, but you can call me whatever you want.
"Is there anyone you would be nervous to interview
"on your new talk show?"
I'm glad you mentioned my new talk show!
Nervous to interview anyone, probably not.
I've been around for a while.
Whenever I go on stage, I think,
okay, Ru, you're going into mama's living room.
I would perform for my mother in the living room.
I could do no wrong there.
She would love whatever I did
as long as I showed up and did it,
so I've kept that philosophy my whole life,
so I don't get nervous for that stuff.
What makes me nervous?
Probably being in a room with a lot of people
and not being in charge would make me nervous.
I'm actually an introvert masquerading as an extrovert.
How am I doing?
"On average, how long does it take you to get into drag?"
300 years.
"Do you have any wild or surprising stories
"from the early years of the pride movement?"
Uh, yes and yes,
and probably none that I could tell here.
I will say that my first gay pride parade was 1982
in Atlanta, Georgia.
There were probably only 75 people there.
It was a very tiny affair, just right after World War II.
That's a joke.
"Can you tell us how your Cattitude collaboration
"with Miley Cyrus came to be?"
She asked me.
She said,
"We have to turn the album,
"or the EP in on Monday,
"so you have tomorrow to record your bits."
I said, "Okay."
I did it, and now it's out.
"Do you have a favorite meme of yourself
"that has come from Drag Race?"
I don't have a favorite one.
The ones where I look gorgeous, those are my favorite ones.
"What club in New York
"was your favorite to perform at and why?"
I like the Pyramid Club.
I think it still may be there.
Pyramid Club, is the Pyramid Club still there
on Avenue A between 6th and 7th?
It was like our,
it was literally like a club
where all of us outsiders would come and meet up,
I mean, in the afternoon at a bar.
I think it's the only bar
I've ever really been at in the afternoon.
Now, I was
there in 1984,
and I was there until I got famous.
I got famous in 1992,
so when I moved up here in '84, the first time,
because the city spit me out
and sent me back home to Atlanta
after about six months,
but in '84 when I moved up here,
I was sleeping on people's couches,
just sleeping in the park and
on the piers.
I would keep my belongings
in the basement of the Pyramid Club,
and it was safe there.
I couldn't sleep there, but I could keep my stuff there.
And the pyramid was magical.
I used to go-go dance on the bar at the Pyramid Club
and make a lot of money.
I had this angle to get a lot of money from the people,
'cause I would talk to them and I would say,
"Hey, what's your name, heah?
"Got some money for me?"
I could get a lot of money
dancing on the bar at the Pyramid Club.
And you know, everybody was there.
This was 1984.
Everybody was there.
Uptown, downtown, black, white, gay, straight, everybody.
You know, I remember coming down
the spiral staircase from the stage,
and I came out sweating in some outfit, some crazy outfit,
and down there in our dressing room
was Madonna holding court.
But the Pyramid Club, the best, and I did 'em all.
Back in those days,
you could go and party at
six clubs a night.
Six clubs a night, seven nights a week,
and guess what I did?
(chuckling) I did exactly that.
"You're an inspiration," blah, blah, blah,
I think I'm gonna pass that one up.
That was funny, you guys can laugh, you know.
(audience laughing)
Rotten.
"Do you ever replay or rewatch a lip-synch
"before making a final decision?"
No, it's very obvious when you see it the first time.
"If you could steal one look from any queen on Drag Race,
"what look would you steal?"
None, I have my own,
and they're more fabulous than anybody's, honestly.
I'm being for real
at the same time as being tongue-in-cheek.
Yeah, my looks are better than anyone's.
"Have you stopped doing drag outside of Drag Race?
"Will we ever see you in drag on the talk show?"
First of all, when I do drag,
I'm getting paid a lot.
I won't do it for free.
If you wanna see me in drag,
I'm doing this one show for, like, 11 years in drag.
You can always see me in drag.
I mean, what more do you want from me, people?
But I'd never say never about the drag on the talk show.
I did a talk show about 300 years ago on VH1
where I was in drag all the time,
and you could probably see that on
♪ YouTube ♪
"Hi, Ru.
"In Snatch Game, who would you be?"
La Toya Jackson.
I wouldn't do it very well,
um, and she's a friend of mine, (giggling) and, um,
I would lose, I'm sure.
"Can you give us any hints
"about special segments or games from the new talk show?"
The only hint I'll give you is it's really fun.
I was born to do a talk show.
I grew up watching television.
I used to practice having my own talk show
in Mama's living room, you know, with the couch,
and my reluctant sister would be my only guest.
This show, the talk show, is me being of service,
me being a mentor to not only young people,
but people who find the 21st century
tough.
Life is tough, and there's no way around that,
but you can arm yourself with knowledge.
Nothing's new under the sun,
and the future belongs to those who can remember the past.
Lucky for you, I remember the past, mama!
I remember! (laughing)
Hey guys, you can watch my new talk show, RuPaul,
on Fox television stations starting June 10th.
Check your local listings.
Thanks, BuzzFeed!
(rock music)