With the fierce looks of a rhinestone-studded evil stepmother and a heart of gold, Michelle Visage has made a career of going toe-to-toe with drag queens as RuPaul Charles’ right-hand woman on RuPaul’s Drag Race. And now, Drag Race fans are about to see the OG Jersey girl take the lead as the host of the brand new season of Drag Race Down Under, replacing the supermodel of the world herself, RuPaul.
Premiering later this year on Stan, the fourth season of Down Under will be the first time that Michelle Visage is taking on the highly-regarded role as host in the franchise’s 15-year herstory. Aussie comedian Rhys Nicholson is returning as a judge on the new series, and the pair will be joined on the main stage by a rotating cast of Down Under’s glittering drag royalty (the cast is still TBC). Visage is celebrating the announcement in Sydney (she even made a surprise appearance at a Drag Race viewing party at Oxford Street gay bar Universal over the weekend) and Time Out’s resident queer culture vulture Alannah Le Cross caught up with Mother herself to sop up all the tea (and hear how she tried not to overthink it with her big "Virgo brain").
Michelle (along with her dry humour and her assortment of iconic laughs, from the "pa-hahahaha" to the “ha-HA!”) has been a mainstay on the judging panel of the smash-hit television series (which is credited with “taking drag mainstream”) since its third season in 2011. The original US series is currently airing its sixteenth season, and has gone on to sprout an eye-boggling amount of spin-offs, including 15 different international franchises. The Antipodean leg of the competition to crown the world’s next “drag superstars”, Drag Race Down Under, is one of the few series to actually be hosted and judged by Ru and Michelle.
But Michelle’s relationship with drag didn’t begin with throwing witty quips on the telly. She cut her teeth voguing in the ballroom scene of ’80s New York City. Teenage misfit Michelle’s fake ID (bought by her mother) opened her up to an underground queer community where she felt at home for the first time, and where she first became enamoured with drag queens, going on to get booked on the same nightclub gigs as RuPaul. In 1990, she auditioned for and won a place in dance-pop trio Seduction, who went on to chart five hit singles – and her hustle in the entertainment industry hasn’t stopped since. Read on for our chat with Michelle.
Michelle Visage spills about her new Drag Race hosting gig
Alannah: Congratulations on levelling up to the supreme role on the judging panel for the next season of Drag Race Down Under. What was it like to fill RuPaul’s shoes?
Michelle: "You know, when Ru entrusted this to me, he said, “Just do what you do. Just be you.” Drag makes me so happy – I've been drag’s biggest fan since I was 17-years-old, and I'm 55 now. It's what I grew up on, I was weaned off the cotton teats of drag queens. So for me, seeing these kids shine is my only goal. I want them to be the best that they can be. Going into this job, as seriously as I take it, I wanted to have fun as well."
Does you levelling up as the host for this season foretell anything about RuPaul handing over any of her other hosting spots?
"Not at all. Ru has a book that just came out, The House of Hidden Meanings, and he's got a book tour which happens to be at this time. Ru is a very busy human being, so naturally, he had to ask somebody that he trusts completely. Down Under is so special to him that he had to have somebody special in that seat."
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Viewers will know that you bring a mix of no-nonsense critiques and what I’d call “big mum energy” to the judging panel. What can we expect from you as the host?
"You're gonna get more mom energy, because I'm fiercely protective over these kids. I want them to know that this job, this way of life, this career that they've chosen – or, it's chosen them – is something that can take them so far. It's an incredible life decision, and it's a beautiful art form.
So I want them to be the best that they can be. And yes, my critiques can be no punches pulled. But at the end of the day, the world is not a nice place, if you go into an audition, and the director says, “Well, I don't think you can do this, you only do this”, then that's not going to work to their benefit. So I always try to get the best from people that they can deliver… I want to push them to do the things that make them feel uncomfortable, so the world can see all of what they can do."
It sounds like both you and Ru are very booked and blessed! Between filming the US seasons of Drag Race, the UK, Down Under and the global franchises – do you ever really take a break from Drag Race?
"No. And that's okay, this show is my happy place. Honestly, I can't say it enough, there's not a moment that goes over my head, or that I take for granted. I am so lucky and blessed to be able to be doing a job that brings so many people joy. I get to sit next to my best friend of 30-plus years, and not only that, I get to be front-row to the best talented, artistic, beautifully, incredible performers and see the best show on TV every day!"
We’re at an interesting cultural moment for LGBTQIA+ people, to say the least. What role would you like Drag Race to play for gay and queer people?
"I would like it to be a safe space. You know, I'm the parent to a queer child who's non-binary, and I want the world to be a better place for them. Though I am not queer, per se – you know, I've had my past, but I'm married to a man – I don't want to take anything away from the LGBTQIA+ community, [but] I'm part of the community as an ally. I can say that being a misfit growing up, I didn't have a place that felt safe to me, I didn't have a place where I knew that I would be welcomed and not judged. So if I had a TV show like RuPaul’s Drag Race growing up, I think life would have been better in so many ways, because I would have seen people I would have related to. I would have said “Oh, there is hope for me”..."
Wow, it’s so great to hear someone with a platform like yours speaking supportively as the parent of a non-binary person. Those more “niche” identities can tend to get left out of the conversation.
"I can't say it enough – every person in this world knows a queer person, whether they know it or not, they do. Whether it's their hairdresser, or their neighbour, their significant other, their kid, whatever, it's going to be somebody. We need more acceptance, we don't really need approval – because my kid didn't need my approval, my kid is who they are. I think parents struggle a little bit, and I understand the struggle… it has to do with us as parents mourning the loss of what you thought would have been, or could have been, or should have been. Then when you realise that's not going to be that way, it's up to you to figure out the next steps. And for me, there was never any next steps – that's my kid. And I wish and hope and pray that all parents can get on board with their trans child, their bi child, lesbian, whatever it is. Non-binary is something that's newer [in our culture], and people don't understand that, I still struggle with [saying] “they/them”… But at the end of the day, that's what my kid wants, that's how they identify, and that's who they are. So I hope parents can get on board and just love their child for who they are – they didn't ask to be born!"
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Broadly speaking, what can we expect from the next season of Down Under?
"What I can tell you, with the utmost confidence, is that it's the strongest cast thus far. I've loved all the seasons, but this season out of the box is like, what is going on!? They are all seasoned and incredible and ready to play."
What sets drag from Australia and New Zealand apart from what you’ve seen anywhere else?
"Heart – a sense of pride, and heart, and humour. My god, Australasian drag is so funny and so smart, so clever. Everything is thought out, and everything is “wink wink, nudge nudge”. That's what I love about it, and they're all incredible performers, every last one. They are all incredible, they put their whole selves into it, and that's what I love about it."
As a coeliac girlie and a pescatarian, what do you like to eat when you visit Australia?
"Down here, I mean, the seafood is magical and plentiful, and then the rest can be delicious vegetables and fruits. A lot of people bring me gifts of fruit, which is amazing. I've tried fruits this trip that I've never tried before, like mangosteen and incredible berries. I love it."
The Stan Original Series Drag Race Down Under will premiere later this year, only on Stan.