OG NYC drag demon / “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 8 and All-Stars 10 star / designer of video backdrops for official “Drag Race” live shows / hit podcaster / fierce multimedia drag icon Acid Betty burns her way into a rare East Village appearance this week!
Thotyssey: Hello Betty, thanks for chatting with us today! I recently learned that after years of holding it down in Brooklyn, you’ve moved! Whereabouts, and what motivated the change of scenery?
Acid Betty: I moved to the Poconos Mountains actually, and love it here. The quietness, animals and nature are so amazing! I like the idea that I can get to the city and run back home away from it all.
Are you constantly working on or playing with something creative and artistic, or do you find time to just veg out and rest?
I totally get time to rest. Everything comes in waves: heavy, no sleep, work schedules to absolute quietness interrupted by last-minute, no sleep work again.
What are your thoughts on all the AI slop that’s working its way into folks’ social media and promotional material? Is it all completely gross and shameful and threatening, or do you think it can still be a potentially useful tool in your field?
In the MySpace era, the general public used every cheat to create things and code their pages. This feels like another way for non-creative people to find a way to be creative without skill. I wish there was a solution–like having the entire thing greyed out like they do on social media, warning the viewer that what’s under the overlay is AI slop–so we can not even see it or interact with it. Sometimes even I am fooled by it, and I hate it. I especially don’t like that anyone can feed it someone else’s photos and likeness.
I think many of your fans and perhaps even some of your colleagues might say that your interests have really leaned more towards graphic and fashion design these days over performing. Is that accurate, would you like to perform more if you had the time, or does a part of you want to quite that side of things altogether?
I enjoy performing! I Love it! It just so happens that I get more work producing the visuals for the tours, residences and shows than Acid Betty gets booked for a performance, loL!
Monet X Change and Tina Burner were chatting on Monet’s podcast recently about how your season (2016’s S8) of RuPaul’s Drag Race might have been the last to really profile OG DRAG-drag, as in high concept and over-the-top campiness, before contestants and production started leaning more into fashion and dance-centric stuff. What are your thoughts on that… do you think that shift may have helped or hurt drag?
I definitely feel the show is catered to a straight audience. So the high art queens and queens who produce pieces that make an audience think or represent queer culture aren’t a focus… or may not even make it onto the TV. I also feel like that’s why less artistic drag is being produced in general, because all the kids want to be on the TV.
It was really fun to see you on our screens again for Drag Race All-Stars Season 10! Did it feel very different being back compared to your original season, and did you enjoy the social gaming drama of the badges and brackets formula?
I loved being back in the werkroom. The social gaming of the badges and brackets makes great TV; it doesn’t really change the way show is run if they need queens to move forward, so it’s very much the same feeling as before. But I enjoyed myself so much more, because I have changed so much in my life from ten years ago. Acid Betty has afforded me so much. I will always say yes to the opportunity to celebrate that.
What’s one thing that you’d wish Drag Race fans really understood better about making the show, or maybe how life is for RuGirls afterwards?
I wish the fans gave the girls more grace. There is a misconception that making it on to the TV show is the badge of honor and sign that you have “made it.” In actuality it means the queens have opened themselves up to ridicule and critique by anyone on the internet–and there’s a mountain of work, preparation and some debt when a queen says “yes” to going on the show. Then to be knocked off early or treated poorly by the fans is a real kick to a lot of the queens egos. It doesn’t guarantee never ending bookings. A lot of queens are right back where they were before, but with the debt from all the new costumes. Then the queens have to deal with fans saying “go back on the show for your Rudemption,” while they’re still trying to get out the debt from before. Haha! That is the glamorous life some fans may not know about.
You and your Drag Race AS10 co-star Daya Betty host The Petty Bettys podcast! What inspired you to start that up, and how do you like doing it?
When I first did Drag Race I was trying to keep up with the all the PR and social media, but stepped away… and realized that meant other people were telling my story in my absence, and incorrectly. So there were a lot of rumors and stories about me that lingered around unaddressed. When I came back to All-Stars I decided I was going to be my own voice, and not let other drag queens or gossip columnists tell my story. It turns out Daya Betty was also treated poorly, and she felt strongly about having her own voice out in the public as well. So we joined forces, and the Petty Betty Podcast was born!
What are some of your favorite memories of nightlife in NYC before Drag Race? Who was fun to hang out with… and who was a bitch, lol?
I love and miss going out to multiple bars and clubs dancing on tables, ignoring the security telling us to jump down. Sneaking in our own bottle to see Amanda Lepore, who got us mixers for our bottle. Large parties where over 50% of people were dressed up in drag, or freaks as we called ourselves. I miss people’s lack of inhibitions because phones didn’t have cameras. There were a lot of bitches back then, which is why I loved stomping around in my seven inch pumps in the middle of their “runways.” They hated me!
One of your longtime New York sisters, Alotta McGriddles, is having a big birthday edition of her “HiBearNation: Body” party at Phoenix Bar in the East Village on Friday the 25th! What’s in store for folks there?
The party is a celebration of all bodies. Bears and their admirers. It’s for everyBODY. So come, check your clothes and your attitudes and just have a good time.
What else is coming up for you, and is there anything else you want to mention?
Get into my UV blacklight reactive makeup or biodegradable glitter at AcidBettyCosmetics.com! Watch us weekly on the Petty Betty Podcast. Those are my main weekly events, haha!
Finally: Spooky Season is upon us! Who is your favorite horror movie monster or killer?
I have already started preparing and decorating, it’s my favorite holigay! I dress as Freddie Kruger during the entire month of October… so I”m going with the four finger slasher!
Thanks, Betty!
Check Thotyssey’s calendar for Acid Betty’s upcoming area appearances, and follow her on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and her website. Stream and download the Petty Bettys podcast across multiple platforms.
