-How are you, Mj? -I am good.
I'm good, I'm good. -I'm so happy you're here.
-I'm happy I'm here, too.
-This is a fantastic show created by Ryan Murphy,
and it's sort of -- Oh, it's about the
underground ball culture in New York in the '80s and '90s.
And for those who don't know what that is, lay it out.
-Okay. Well, I mean, the ball culture, ballroom culture
that really started in New York City,
underground ballroom culture -- it's a place where a lot of
LGBT community members -- they go to.
They find refuge.
They find comfort.
They get to be who they truly want to be.
And they just get to live their lives completely
and find the people that they feel most comfortable with
to raise them, lift them up in ways
that they never thought before.
-And you're from Newark? -Yes, I am.
-And did you find your way -- Did you come into the city?
Did you find your way into this culture?
-Yeah. It was kind of crazy.
I mean, I was 14 years old, in high school.
I went to a school called Arts High in Newark, New Jersey.
And that's actually where my housefather
at the time found me.
I was walking, I think, one of his fashion shows
or just a fashion show in general at school,
and he saw me.
He was like, "That's my daughter."
And I actually met him through a couple of my friends
before I had even seen him.
They were immersed in the ballroom scene
before I had even gotten hip to it.
And it just sprawled out from there.
-So, for those who don't the terminology,
explain what a housefather or a housemother is.
-Okay, so, a housefather or housemother --
those are the people that upkeep the house
that they've created.
So, for example, the House of LaBeija --
they'll have a housefather and a housemother
to be the kind of, like, matriarch and the monarch
of the house and make sure that everything is okay,
the kids are learning.
They'll teach some voguing lessons.
They'll give them everything that they need
that their other parents wouldn't give them.
-What is the first lesson of voguing?
What is the first thing you learn?
-Um...hmm.
I mean, there's so many things that you can learn.
You can learn duck-walking.
But we're not gonna do that right now
'cause I got some heels on.
-Okay, great.
-But there's, like, hand performance
and there's many elements to it
that you have to incorporate in order to do it all.
-And it seems like precision is a very important part of it?
-Yes. You can't sloppy.
I remember, when I was younger, my housefather at the time --
I snuck out and I went to a rehearsal at Ripley-Grier.
And he said, "Let's see what you got."
And I got up there and I did -- It was called fem voguing.
And I got up there and I did a complete messy job.
And he was like, "What is that?" He's like, "What is that?"
And I said, "It was voguing, right?"
He said, "No."
Neno, who was one of his housesons --
he was like, "Show her what it's all about."
And I was like, "All right, cool."
-It seems like the underground ball culture --
pretty open with their feedback, yes?
-Yes. very much so.
-Nobody, like, ever keeps their opinion to themselves.
-No, but you have to have that. It's a space of honesty.
It's a space of comfort.
So they all let you have it right then and there.
They will read you down,
and you're like, "Mm-hmm, thank you."
-And you play a housemother on the show.
-I do, I do.
-Who did you draw inspiration from?
Was there anyone in your life that you were --
-My mama. -Yeah?
-My mama.
She comes with me every single place I go.
And she was always that pillar for me to look up to,
alongside many LGBT members that were very, very strong
in my life, but she was that one that kept me sturdy
and kept me sane.
And she just made sure I kept on the right path.
-You got to bring your mom to the Golden Globes last year.
-I did! -How was it?
Was she excited? Did you have a great time?
-Oh, yeah. We were very excited.
We were in the bathroom doing, like, a movie number,
singing in the mirror and everything.
It was epic. It was epic.
-Were there any people you were particularly excited to see?
-So many people.
But I remember seeing Bradley Cooper sitting, like,
right across from me, and I was like, "Oh, my God!
That's Bradley Cooper!
Is he gonna see me?"
-You also went to the Met Ball
for the first time this year, looking like a million dollars.
-Yeah. Yes, I did.
-And that is another incredible night for people-watching.
-Did you get your -- Did you get the full experience?
Did you get see the people you wanted to see
that night, as well?
-I got to see every single last person I wanted to see.
And, more so than anything, I felt so included and accepted.
I walked up and shook Anna Wintour's hand
and I was like, "You're Anna Wintour.
Oh, okay."
And then the next person was Lady Gaga,
and she just grabbed me and she said
some really, really, wonderful, like, encouraging words,
and I cried a lot.
-That's alright.
It's a very good pla-- They always say,
"If you need a good cry, go to the Met Ball."
-Go to the Met Ball, and you will cry your eyes out.
-Hey, thank you so much for being here
and congratulations on everything.
Mj Rodriguez, everybody.