- Well hello and halleloo, it's me, Shangela.
- Hi, everyone, my name is Bob The Drag Queen,
one of the hosts of "We're Here" on HBO.
- And I'm here with BuzzFeed for Burning Questions.
- Oh they're hot.
These questions are hot!
(upbeat music)
- How were you approached for "We're Here,"
and did you know
that there would be other drag queens involved?
I was actually called by Steve Warren
and Johnnie Ingram, the show creators.
And I remember this specifically,
because I was at opening night
of the Ariana Grande Sweetener Tour in Albany, New York.
I was backstage with my friend Frankie,
and we were about to see Ariana and say,
"Oh, my God, you are fabulous."
And right when she comes out,
my phone rings and it's Steve Warren.
And he had texted me earlier like,
"I'm gonna call you, it's very important."
I'm like, oh, my God, I'm so sorry!
I love you, hold on one second.
And I remember answering the phone and being like, yes?
And he's giving me the whole spiel about the show.
And honestly, I probably would have agreed to anything
because I was like, yes, of course, sounds lovely baby.
One second, Ariana, I gotta go baby, I gotta go.
I have pictures in black and white from that night
because it was just so amazing.
Oh, this is it, can you see it?
(piano playing)
Did I know that there were gonna be
other drag queens involved?
Maybe he said it on the phone,
but honestly I was so excited to go tell Ariana,
she had killed it in this show that I don't even remember.
But I do remember when they first invited us to their home
to pitch us the show.
I saw Bob and Eureka and I was just thrilled.
I already knew them from "Drag Race,"
and to be able to work with them in this capacity,
it just made sense,
because the show is about going to small conservative towns
across America, I grew up
in a small conservative town in America,
so I was like, baby, let's do it.
- I was approached by Stephen Warren,
who is one of the creators of "We're Here."
And he was like, "I have an idea for a show,
"but I can't tell you over the phone.
"I need you to come to meet me at this hotel,
"in this restaurant and we'll chat."
And then he pitched the idea to me
and I absolutely love it.
- Well, Stephen Warren calls me and he's like,
"Hey, is this Eureka?"
And I'm like, yes, this is Eureka.
And he was like, "Listen, huge fan,
"wanna meet you for lunch, I've got a show idea."
And the craziest thing is when I was going in,
I actually ran into Zachary Quinto,
whom is my drag daughter from a theme,
a makeup thing that I did,
where I put Zachary in drag as Noa Fence.
So, when I ran into him, I met with Steve and Johnnie,
but then when I was leaving,
I had a text from Zachary saying,
"Whatever the idea is for the show, do it.
"Stephen Warren's the greatest guy to be in contact with
"in the industry blah blah blah."
So I kind of have that reassurance.
I was like, okay, well, I guess I'm doing that.
I was immediately obsessed with the idea
of it being Bob and Shangela,
because I knew of who they were,
what they could bring to the table.
For me, it was like Bob the Drag Queen
is like such an activist
and has this way with a political culture
and being in the know and in the now,
but also being a beloved queen from the franchise.
And then Shangela being such a resourceful queen,
brings us professional, never knowing a stranger.
So good at communication.
It just made sense for her as well to me.
And then obviously I was the best for the job,
as far as who I am, at least in my eyes.
'Cause I was excited about this idea of what the show was.
That's the team.
- "We're Here" has as a lot of emotional moments.
Was there a moment you filmed that you had to stop filming
because you were crying too much?
In one of the towns, we were there for the 4th of July,
I actually kind of like ran away from the cameras
before they could film me.
And I was watching these fireworks on the 4th of July,
and I was having like a really emotional response
to celebrating the 4th of July in this town,
as a marginalized person.
And I was thinking about like indigenous people
and what it means to be an American
and who has rights here
and who doesn't have rights here, and missing people.
And in the moment it really overwhelmed me.
And I literally just like ran from the camera in full drag.
(Bob laughs)
It was actually really wild.
- Honestly not the biggest crier on the show.
I think the crier people goes from like,
Eureka cries the most, Bob is a close second,
and then there's me.
I mean, I do get very emotional and attached,
but I've just never been a big crying person.
I've been more like, okay, let's figure out the solution.
Let's just get through this.
Was there ever a moment they had to stop
because I was crying?
No, but maybe, because I was shedding tears
and I didn't want it going through my makeup.
So I was like, can we stop real quick?
So I can just touch up, please.
There are so many emotional moments on this show
that would make anybody cry.
There's gonna be laughs, it's gonna be fun,
but baby, bring the Kleenex.
- I am a crier, I'm an emotional person.
There's probably been a couple moments
where I was very emotional.
One specifically was Farmington, Mexico, with a DJ,
whom was the sibling that had committed suicide,
and their family, Jocelyn and Jasmine.
It was just so sweet, but also so emotional and sad.
Like I did have to kind of step away,
and have a few moments at different moments.
Like that was probably the hardest emotionally on me.
Was that story for sure.
- Next question, "We're Here" deals a lot with the topic
of living your life as your true authentic self.
What advice or words of encouragement
would you give to someone
who is struggling with coming out
or with their gender identity?
As you're figuring out who you are,
just continue to love yourself through the process.
And don't be afraid of owning
and loving all the parts of who you are,
'cause they actually are very beautiful.
- My words of encouragement for people
that are coming out or gender identity,
either one is kind of similar,
because it's like, to me I say,
take the time that you need, right?
The stipulations of society and other people's expectations
do not matter, it's about your comfort.
And that goes along with like, when?
That goes along with how you come out or how you identify?
Make sure that you're ready
and that you have people that you love
and that you know love you and return around you.
- You owe no one any answers or absolutes.
It is okay to explore your gender identity.
You don't have to be beholden to what you said last year,
last week, or a minute ago.
As you discover new things about yourself,
feel free to update people.
And that is your business to tell people.
You don't have to tell anyone
anything you don't wanna tell them.
It's about being comfortable with yourself
and making sure that you feel comfortable
around other people.
So just know that your journey is yours.
You don't have to follow a blueprint.
You have to do what feels good for you.
- Of the three of you, who is the biggest diva?
(Eureka laughs)
And who takes the longest to get ready?
That is Shangela, house boots down, kitty mamma, okay?
Shangela is such a diva,
but in like a loving, beautiful way.
And she takes the longest to get ready, period.
- Shangela is the biggest diva
and she takes the longest to get ready.
(Bob laughs)
That is a quick and easy answer.
Shangela's the biggest diva,
she takes the longest to get ready.
Hands down without a shadow of a doubt.
This is not even up for debate.
- Okay, if those girls say me,
you make sure you circle back to me and let me know, okay?
'Cause a lot of times they will say me,
I feel like they're gonna say me, but it is not me.
What is a diva, honestly?
If it's someone who is committed
to putting their best foot forward at most,
if not at all times,
then most definitely I can be considered a diva.
I mean, Beyonce said,
"A diva is the female version of a hustler,"
and I'm truly a hustler, ask any of my drag kids,
ask any of the people I work with.
Shangie comes to work, okay?
So if that's a diva, that might be me.
Who takes the longest to get ready?
It used to be me, but then when it was me,
I started like making a big effort to be first.
If I'm first, I go down with a bell
and I'm ringing it outside,
let it be known, Shangie was here first, holleloo.
- I'm glad she's working on it, it's a work in progress,
but it's not done Mary.
- If you could bring a fellow group girl,
to be a special guest star on an episode of "We're Here,"
who would it be, and why?
I think someone like Ginger Minj or Nina West,
someone like that
who has like very much the emotional capacity,
it would be fun.
I also think it'd be interesting
to bring people with cultural difference.
Like I would love to see like Jackie Cox,
maybe be a special guest for someone that's Muslim.
So basically a queen of difference,
be there to be kind of a coach to someone
that's had a similar lifestyle as them, that'd be cool.
- Monet X Change is my best friend
and one of my favorite drag queen of all time.
I just love spending time with her.
And I think that she has a really, she's really remarkable,
has a really great message.
Being from St. Lucia and from New York City,
she has a lot of experience to pull from,
for a lot of non-binary queer black people
and queer people in general.
- It has to be my drag mother, Alyssa Edwards,
not only is she Texan like me and has a big heart.
And she's also a show girl,
we love a good show and she knows what it's like
to be a coach and a positive spirit
and motivating spirit in someone's life.
So if we ever have a mothers and daughters episode,
trust the duchess, honey,
you might see me and Alyssa together.
What's the one challenge on "Drag Race" or "All Stars"
that you wish you could go back and redo?
Well, I think I did them all.
For "All Stars" I think we had a "Rudemption,"
I won that episode.
If there was any I'd go back and redo,
definitely wouldn't be any of the sewing challenges.
I would love to go back and redo my "Snatch Game"
in season three of "Drag Race."
I love Tina Turner, okay?
I love Miss Tina Turner.
In season three of "Drag Race,"
I did Tina for the "Snatch Game,"
but, for some reason I felt like my nostrils
looked smaller on TV,
so I wanted to increase them with black shadow.
So I did that thinking that was Tina Turner,
and I just kept going halleloo, ike, halelloo.
And I love Tina.
I know, so I could sing simply the best right now.
I could get you Tina,
I'll watch "What's Love Got To Do With It" 45 times,
I lived in Jennifer Lewis' basement,
who played Tina Turners mama,
if I can't get you Tina Turner at this point and win,
baby just pack me up back to the house.
Come on, if I come out the back,
that's Tina, that's Tina.
- So probably season 10, "The Farmer Rusical,"
I was in such a weird place, where I was in my head,
just terrified to go home
that I like it caused me to mess up.
I wish I could have went back
and gotten myself out of those nerves.
That's the one that almost sent me home,
episode two, of season 10.
Thank God, Ole Calorie Carbdashian didn't stand a chance
against these lip sync chops.
- I don't think that I have any redo.
I really did a good job and I won.
And that's not me being egotistical,
but like I genuinely couldn't ask for a better outcome.
You know what I mean?
Like everything really worked out for me.
So I would say that I wouldn't redo anything,
but there was some challenges where I wasn't my best,
but it ended up working out for me.
- So my next question is,
is it hard for you to go back and watch the younger version
of yourself compete on your original season/seasons
of "Drag Race?"
Hell yeah, it's cringy,
because you just, you see how young you are and silly,
you know what I mean?
And the things like you can see the gears
turning in your head
and the things that you were worried about
that aren't really necessary to worry about.
The more mature and the older you get.
I mean, I first got on "Drag Race" when I was 25 years old
and I'm 31 now, so it's six years ago.
And it's just crazy how much you grow in six years,
especially with this amount of fame and exposure.
'Cause it's like a little baby Eureka out there
and she's super country
and she's just, hi y'all boopa boopa boo,
and something else for sure.
- No, it is not hard, I always do it
with basically a warning label
for anyone who's watching it with me, like,
okay, y'all already know
that I don't like this no more, right?
So don't be trying to give me tips and stuff, right?
Based on this right here, 'cause baby, I don't look,
I don't do that no more.
When I see myself back then,
I'm like, ooh, look at little baby Shangie, oh Lord.
(Shangie laughs)
So it's not hard to watch,
but sometimes I do put my head down and go,
here she comes, here she comes.
'Cause you couldn't tell me I wasn't winning.
Delusion, the delusion of drag was very much in full effect,
even "All Stars Three,"
even though I didn't love the way that it ended, obviously.
I can still watch the season,
because it was a victory lap for me in a way,
it had been seven years since I've been on the show.
I knew that I had grown and evolved,
I have now seven years and the experience
of being a queen and putting things together myself,
even though I still couldn't sew.
It just was cool to go in there and be like,
I want to win, but even if I don't win,
I wanna be able to showcase who I am today.
So come on Shangie, let's put our best foot forward.
And I felt confident in doing that
'cause I knew that I could.
- No, I thought I did great, I did a really good job.
I think that if I didn't win,
I'd probably have a different story.
I wasn't particularly great at makeup or anything back then,
but I stand by a lot of what I did on that show.
I think I looked great, I think that I was funny,
I think that I was charming, I was myself,
I don't feel like I was being phony.
I'm really proud of the work I did on that show.
- All right you guys thank you so much
for having me on BuzzFeed for Burning Questions.
- Make sure that you tune into "We're Here"
now streaming on HBO Max, it's fabulous.
- So come out and watch "We're Here."
You know what you wanna do,
if you wanna tell your mum that you're gay,
just turn on "We're Here" she'll know,
like you'll be watching, you'll be like, that's me.
I'm just like them,
and then you'll bond and you'll cry.
(upbeat music)