The first ever winner of “Canada’s Drag Race” charmed the world with her energetic playfulness, humor, musical chops and beauty. Not even the increasingly hostile queerphobia of rural America, which she carefully navigates in HBO’s “We’re Here,” can break her spirit. And now she’s got fun new songs, local Pride Month shows and an upcoming tour where all of us can worship Queen Priyanka!
Thotyssey: Priyanka, hello! Thanks so much for chatting with us today! So where in the world are you, and what do you enjoy doing best during your downtime… if you have any?
Queen Priyanka: Hello hello hello! Right now I am in my bed responding to 10,000 emails while my dog Daisy is sleeping on my lap… and honestly, it’s so nice and grounding to have a gorgeous family. Downtime right now doesn’t exist, but I will make sure I take a vacation… I promise!
I enjoyed your recent video for your new single “No New Friends” that features you seducing… yourself… in a VIP room! Was it complicated to film the two halves of yourself interacting with each other?
ABSOLUTELY THIS WAS SO HARD. We shot all of that in 12-hours on the tightest budget ever. It was all a big dream, to be honest with you. The hardest part was editing it. Having to edit a body double’s face out and hope that people will actually believe the illusion that I was dancing with myself was stressful.
Would you totally go home with you if that real life situation played out, lol?
You know what, I wouldn’t go home with me. I don’t know if I’d want a pop banger written about our one night stand!
Is recording and performing original music something you always wanted to do, or was it a surprising world you found yourself in post-winning Canada’s Drag Race?
Absolutely [it was something I always wanted]. When I was hosting KIDS TV I did so much rapping. I literally had a song called the “Pineapple Song.” When I started drag, I actually won my first pageant in Toronto with my original song called “Say My Name.” The next year I released one of my favorite songs, “You Look So Good.” I was going to do music no matter what. I grew up around so much music… it’s a natural part of me!
Aside from music, would you say your role as a children’s television star inform what your drag character / career is like today?
It absolutely did! Kids TV taught me that there is someone out there for everyone. Drag showed me the people who saw themselves in someone like me.
Do you think the drag scene in Canada has grown and gotten more attention since the popularity of Canada’s Drag Race?
Yes it has! I love seeing all of the gorgeous performers take over the scene. I do think that more people need to go watch local drag, and local scenes need to produce more iconic shows. We are the big leagues baby, and we need to be treated like Broadway!
I remember being baffled for a hot minute when you appeared as a lip sync assassin on All-Stars 8 and RuPaul greeted you as if for the first time… before I remembered that it was! (Brooke Lyn Hytes hosts the Canada edition, of course).
Lol, YES IT WAS. RuPaul was such a gorgeous human, I could feel the joy radiating off of her body. She really wanted me to have a good time, and she was just so into the entire thing. I loved that I saw someone who has been hosting TV, doing music, acting for years still sit there, and be so grounded and happy to be there. It was inspiring.
It seems like your Canada cast remains very close and continues to collaborate a lot throughout these past few years. Do you think that being the very first cast of that show and experiencing all the inaugural energy strengthened your bond?
Absolutely. Canada’s Drag Race Season 1 will go down as one of the best seasons of Drag Race, PERIOD. Jimbo!?!!?!? Lemon!!?!?!!?!?! Ilona Verly!?!?! That “I Drove All Night” Lip Sync?!?!?! All in a pandemic?!?! It was…magical. We were blessed by the drag gods!
Does anything stick out in your mind today as a favorite moment regarding filming that season?
Touching tongues with Jimbo, watching Ilona pee in a water bottle, my ears getting infected by nail-glued on earrings, complaining about catering but only wanting to eat hot dogs, Lemon predicting her Drag Race journey to me backstage and then it happening, sobbing when Tynomi Banks got eliminated, wearing the ugliest dress in the world and being called a supermodel, and also seeing crew members jaw dropped when I turned the corner in my finale look!
Have you gotten to meet Nymphia Wind, S16’s winner, yet?
No! I love her!
It’s All Sunshine and Rainbows was a fun 2023 parody / homage to Hallmark movies that you starred in. Any more acting plans in the future?
Yes! I’ve been auditioning for so many major TV shows on HBO, Netflix, and more – plus I have a movie coming out this holiday with Christina Milian and Pentatonix!
We’ve gotten to watch the first three episodes of the current season of HBO’s We’re Here–a reality series that has drag queens spreading queer joy and education in outer-urban areas of America–which you star in with Sasha Velour and Jaida Essence Hall (your third known co-star, Latrice Royale, has yet to appear as of this writing). These first episodes all took place in rural Tennessee after a Pride cancellation and a complex drag ban. It was a very hostile environment, and sections of the premiere episodes almost played out like some sort of real life horror movie. Locals were shouting slurs at you all, and just giving you all very bad vibes. Was it as scary as it looked on camera?
It was so scary. America is unpredictable, and it doesn’t get easier. It makes me so sad for the people that live there, but also happy that they want to make their hometowns a better place. On the first day of filming we were called a slur; it was too real. But something about drag makes you feel so powerful so I knew we’d be ok.
What made you want to be a part of We’re Here, particularly during these crazy times?
I wanted to help, but in a tangible way. So many fans get mad when you don’t share something or talk about something online, but no one is physically doing something. So I wanted to get my hands dirty and bring joy to people who needed it.
I really admire the poise and grace that you, Jaida and Sasha showed when you were all getting preached at and condemned by that awful father and daughter in the town hall. I wanted to slap them both! What was it like having to stand there and listen to that?
Awful. I asked him so many more questions, like if [the father would] be more comfortable if I presented more masculine. But there was some loophole in his religion where he couldn’t tell me to physically change my appearance, so he didn’t answer the question. It was wild. I felt bad for the mother and daughter standing off to the side of the camera who clearly wanted to go home and not spend their Tuesday night at City Hall.
And I really loved your scenes with the fascinating drag daughter you adopted in TN, a Black gay wrestler named Princey aka Finesse. Do you still keep in touch with her, and do you know if she’ll continue to perform in drag and / or remain in wrestling?
We are besties. Her wrestling career is taking off and I love to see it. Such a sta, and such a beautiful person. She taught me how to be more fearless. I love Princey!
Also, it was great seeing TN Congressman Justin Jones on the show. He’s become an important figure in the national battle against Trumpism, and definitely someone whose career we should all be watching. What’s he like in real life?
He’s so smart and so humble. I actually gave him my pink cowboy hat I wore during my performance, and he was all shy and asked me to sign it. He really just wants to bring joy and happiness to people–it’s gorgeous. We had such great convos about taking up space, and how we sometimes subconsciously make ourselves smaller. It’s cool to see one of my messages now be something he uses to inspire people. We are all so powerful, and we forget it!
Even in the darkest moments of those eps, you are always such a force of positivity, and you bring the humor wherever you can! What inspires that positive energy in you?
All of the hurdles I have to go through to entertain. Every single day I am fighting to share my art, make people laugh, bring joy, and make my dreams come true. I want people to smile and have a good time. I want people to be inspired so they can feel their power.
What are some of your favorite venues or sites to explore in New York, and who are some of your favorite NYC drag queens?
I love New York! Chiquitita is the best drag performer in the world. Serena Tea, too!
On June 10th, you’ll be at Elsewhere in Brooklyn performing with indie pop sensation Chrissy Chlapecka! How did that come about, and how is that gonna go down?
I love her. We are such big fans of each other. I love how much she loves music, so we have that in common! It came about by me DM-ing her and saying I should open for her and now it’s happening!
And this just in: you’ll be back at Elsewhere on June 19th to host a viewing party for the House of the Dragon second season premiere!
You also just dropped a hot new single, “Shut It Down,” from your album Devastatia which fully drops August 23rd! What else is coming up for you?
The Devastatia tour! Choreographed and co-creative directed by Tamina Paris (Lady Gaga, The Next Step, So You Think You Can Dance) with my amazing dancers who now are my family. The show is drag cranked up to 10,000% mixed with Beyonce with a touch of The Pussycat Dolls. It’s going to be a show that no one will forget, and I keep saying it’s going to change my life!
We’ll see you on October 19th at the Mercury Lounge for the New York stop!
Finally: who are you rooting for on the new season of All-Stars… and would you consider joining the next All Winners season?
Roxxxy Andrews! And I’d consider it!
Thanks, Queen Priyanka!
Check Thotyssey’s calendar for Queen Priyanka’s upcoming area appearances, and follow her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Check out her website, and download / stream her music on all available platforms.
Thotyssey 