Bring an early out via one of the most notorious eliminations in “RuPaul’s Drag Race” history was just the beginning of Laila McQueen’s thrilling journey of drag entertainment… a journey that include a grounds breaking award. And this Spooky Season, she’ll be serving Pork to Brooklyn! Cover photo: Eric Magnussen]
Thotyssey: Laila, hello! Thanks for chatting with us today! Where in the world are you at this moment, and what were you just doing before you started answering these questions?
Laila McQueen: I was having a last little summer [recently], visiting friends and family in Provincetown. Then I went to Toronto to go to all the beaches and do all the last little summer trip things; I saw Robyn there. Now I am back in my questionably lovely apartment in Chicago, and starting to get ready to hunker down and make all the projects and do all the things for fall and Halloween season.
It’s impressive that you live in Chicago because it seems like you do so much work in LA and elsewhere. Do you still feel strongly connected to that city?
I’ve lived in Chicago ten years officially in October. I do love this city, and it’s so easy to travel–flights are only four hours long domestically, and the rent is a little bit cheaper. I just love Chicago’s queerness; I love the nightlife. I love the variety here. As much as I love working on the projects in LA. I don’t always see outside of the work lifestyle for me in Los Angeles. New York is fun, but I can admit I have never had that beast inside me that all the New Yorkers have; I don’t have that hustle. Who knows what the future will bring for me in terms of work? In a perfect world, let me get an apartment in LA, go out there and work six months out of the year… then come back to Chicago and have a home here, hang out, travel back to Massachusetts to see family. That’s the ideal.
The Emmys were recently a hot topic, so it’s a great time to revisit your Emmy win–the first for a Drag Race alum via a project outside that franchise. It was for Outstanding Makeup given to the team for an episode of We’re Here—HBO’s traveling drag docuseries originally starring Bob the Drag Queen, Eureka O’Hara and Shangela–the one that was filmed in Hawaii! Could you reflect on what your experience was like working on that show, the thrill of your Emmy win, and if you have the trophy on display somewhere?
Oh, the Emmys, the Emmys, the Emmys! I I’m so grateful for my time at We’re Here, and I really loved working on Team Bob. I had such close friends on We’re Here that worked in the costume and hair department. It was [a challenging show] to film just because of the concept of what we were doing; it was pretty grueling, But I would do it all over again. I really loved my time there.
Our Emmy was a juried vote–so we won it not based on the entire TV academy, but because all of the people who are part of hair and makeup voted for us. That means a lot to be viewed by your peers that see your work and respect it; it means so much.
When we got the news that we won the Emmy, we were having one of our rougher episodes in terms of filming and weather… it was a pretty tough episode. I actually got a text message from a green bubble saying “hey, don’t tell anyone, but you won an Emmy,” and I fully was like, I’m just getting pranked, there’s no way that this is real. And it turns out it was, which is pretty fierce.
I have a work room in my apartment for makeup and sewing, and I have this big, green dresser that has all my makeup brushes on it. And then elevated amongst all the makeup brushes in the middle, I do have my Emmy in a box displayed. It’s for makeup, so why not be on top of the makeup bureau and covered and surrounded and makeup brushes?
We’re Here already seems like an interesting time capsule now because the drag hosts of the first few seasons were mostly well received in the rural communities they visited, despite the limited queer visibility in them. By the time the last season debuted in the Trump Era, the new cast was not treated nearly as kindly by the local people–or at least that’s how it seemed to the viewers. Had you experienced that shift directly in your travel and work with the show?
So the big difference between the seasons that have different casts is that for the last season, I only really came in to do makeup for show days and a few things here and there–versus when I was with Bob in the van, in the car, with Bob everywhere. I saw a lot more things happen on the first couple of seasons then I did on the fourth one. In Season 3 there were some moments that were pretty scary, especially for queer people–Texas during the Fourth of July, it was really uncomfortable to be there. It was really kind of scary for a lot of us. So I don’t know that there’s a huge difference between the seasons, but I will say towards the end we were getting in more Trumpy times.
I think it would be scarier to film now, and I think people would be a lot more charged to be hateful than they were prior now that Trump is back in office. People feel unfortunately validated by that, comparatively to when we filmed the show. But truth be told, everywhere we go the whole point of the show–[the reason why] it’s called We’re Here–is because there are queer people everywhere. There are people who need to be represented everywhere. So going to small MAGA towns, there are always gonna be people in the woodwork that we’re trying to pull out and say, you are not alone, there are others in your community. There is safety and numbers,. and people don’t need to feel so isolated.
Your punk / gothic drag looks will likely be much in demand this Spooky Season! Do you have any horror looks planned, or is Halloween just another drag day for you?
So I’m from New England, and I have always loved the time I grew up from Salem, Massachusetts. Even as a very small child. I just love the entire vibe of the season. I love the leaves changing, I love the crispness in the air. I love the aesthetic of all that spooky stuff of the Halloween season,. I love horror movies and vintage Halloween costumes… the whole thing.
And I love haunted houses, so I really try to prioritize and organize a lot of trips with friends to really good haunted houses in Illinois. I love the good ones, I love bad ones, and I love my friends getting scared… so that is like the biggest priority of enjoying the season.
My drag isn’t inherently spooky… like, I’m not trying to Halloween. I just always gravitated towards more alternative pop punk / emo punk type things. So I don’t have anything big planned drag-wise for Halloween. I just like to enjoy the season.
What were some of your interests, experiences and pursuits you had while growing up in New England and beyond that may have ultimately put you on the path of drag and makeup artistry?
I’m very fortunate to have very supportive parents. My dad was a total jock while I was growing up; he tried to get me into sports, and I was completely floundering. My grandmother is very crafty, and we bonded a lot. My parents saw that I was more artistic–they were like, this shit ain’t working out--and really pushed me to [pursue art instead of] sports teams.
I’ve always been more of an artist, and somewhere along the line of finding my own own interests and watching weird movies and music videos, I started getting into watching the “behind the scenes” of movies–the special effects makeup. There were shows on TV that transform other people with makeup into looking like celebrities, and the idea of makeup and transformation spoke to me.
Is it ever still a challenge to switch back and forth between the specifics of how you do your own drag makeup versus the needs of your clients?
When you start doing makeup on other people and you’ve been a drag queen for a while, you’re natural thing to do is to put your face on someone else. It’s like in Secret Celebrity Drag Race Season 1, because they look like they’re wearing Laila McQueen makeup from 2019.
I’ve painted a lot of faces and I’ve done a lot of different things, and I do feel confident enough when putting other people in drag that like I have my signature things that you can be like, I can tell Laila did that. But I still can paint people to look like themselves. Bob still looks like Bob when I do her makeup, she doesn’t look like Laila McQueen. I painted Silky recently this summer. and aside from me posting about it, Silky looks like Silky. It’s just a matter of practice with painting more people in different faces, and doing different things. So I don’t have a difficult time switching between my standard pretty face for what I like on my face, versus what I like to do on someone else’s.
On a recent episode of her podcast, Bob reminisced on all her Drag Race Season 8 sisters a decade later later. She recalled being extremely impressed with your makeup skills on Day One, and believed that you’d be strong competition! Do you recall feeling confidant and good about how things might go down when you got to the Drag Race set back in 2015? Were nerves and doubt plaguing you, or did you just absolutely have no idea what would happen?
July 2015 to September / October 2026… it’s been 11 years. I graduated college, moved into my parents’ basement, and got on the show within a two month period. I was doing drag in a very small scene, and I was very naïve eye in my audition–but I loved the show, and I graduated, and had nothing else to do. I turned 22 a week before we filmed… very young, very naïve. I had no anticipation of trying to get famous, honestly, and I barely could do half these challenges well. I don’t think I’m that well-rounded of a drag queen! But Drag Race was different then; it was more, sure, let’s do this. I was gonna be the young, naïve person… but I was just happy to be there.
I was so nervous. I never filmed anything like that before, I’ve never done reality TV… I’ve only ever watched it. I’ve never been behind the scenes. I’m just not that boisterous of a person in those settings, with that kind of group of people.
I was hoping I would do better, but I also was very ill-prepared to be there. So as much as I don’t love being an early out… in the grand scheme of things, I’m very happy. I was on a single digit season with the cast I had. I’m extremely grateful. I wouldn’t change much from that experience because it turned a lot of water into wine for years to come. I got to meet Bob, and we’ve done so much together… and I would not trade that for the world.
It will forever be a gag that you and Dax ExclamationPoint left so early in the competition, and on the same day! I think most fans at home were really interested in both your aesthetics and wanted to see more of you. But you’ve had so much success since. Does everything happen for a reason?
I think that the elimination I had was embarrassing… I hate it! But sometimes it’s better for people to be like, God I wish we saw more of you, let’s follow her rather than, oh my gosh, she was so bad and stuck around for too long… get this girl away from me. I don’t know if everything happens for a reason, but I’ve been able to do really cool stuff. When I got eliminated, I thought I wasn’t even gonna be able to go back to the [local home] show I used to work at. I was so embarrassed by my portrayal of my work on Season 8 at the time. But I’ve been able to have a lot different [opportunities since]. So maybe everything happens for a reason, I don’t know. I wish I made it further, but we’re cool now.
You’re well known for working as Bob’s makeup artist. What’s that relationship like, and is there a Bob Fact that you think might surprise her fans? Also, would you ever do “Date My Friend” on her YouTube channel, lol?
I love Roberta the Drag Queen so much. I am so grateful that we have become so close. We’ve been able to work together so much since doing We’re Here. I’m so grateful to be a part of her team. I do a lot for Bob. We’ve done music videos, we’ve done a bunch of different TV shows together. But it feels like I’m just hanging out with one of my friends, so I could not be more grateful.
I don’t think that there’s much I could share that’s surprising about Bob; I think what you see is what you get. And I would absolutely do “Date My Friend.” I love a bit, she loves a bit. There’s not much I won’t do; I always have fun with Roberta, so I would always be up for that shit.
Do you get to perform as a queen less than you’d like to these days due to your makeup client commitments, or is there a balance now that works for you?
You know, I have entered a [different stage of my] career in my life. I have many talents: sewing, makeup, artistry, painting. But none of the career paths [reward a lot] in these late stages of capitalism in the States. I didn’t perform as much when We’re Here took up so much of our schedule. A lot of the drag I was doing went to the back burner. And just kind of the way the world going right now… there’s not one thing I’m doing more than the other.
Sometimes I will get a bunch of makeup gigs and have a lot of work to do… like, some stuff in July that took up most of the month. Then sometimes it’ll be pretty dry. That’s this lifestyle and career: when it’s good it’s good, and when it sucks it sucks. So we’re just going with the flow with how America is right now.
New York folks will finally get their Laila fix on October 16th, when The Pork Chop Ball rolls into 3 Dollar Bill! “Porkchop” is the word we use lovingly use for the first outs in seasons of Drag Race named after the first ever eliminated contestant, S1’s Victoria Porkchop Parker! DD Fuego (S18’s Porkchop) will host this show, and the cast will include yourself, Dahlia Sin (S12 Porkchop), Lemon (um okay, she Chopped out of UK vs. the World S1 but bish just won Canada vs. the World S2!)… and, OMG, Miss Porkchop Parker herself! Clearly you porkchops all belong in the same frying pan, because the world knows you are all actually delicious and amazingly talented and accomplished. You just all had a bit of bad luck! How excited are you for this show, and what can the audience expect?
A couple of things I didn’t have bad luck Drag Race… I was very unprepared! I probably shouldn’t have been in the bottom for the first episode, but I was very quiet and it made sense with the storyline. I won the lip sync, and that helps. Then with the second episode… you’ll never hear me say I was robbed or cheated. But, technically… I did go home second, and Naysha went home first! I don’t care that Naysha came back [after I left], lol!
I haven’t been to Brooklyn in so long, and this is a great cast. It’s gonna be a fun time to come back and twirl around in Brooklyn for some weirdos. Who knows what I’ll do… the possibilities are endless! Maybe I’m gonna toss my hair around and do some rock songs… you know, be a little dumb and a little slutty.
I’ll have some jacket that I made myself. Ever since I’d gotten in the bottom for that jacket on Season 8, all I have been doing is making jackets! [Drag Race resident judge] Michelle says that’s impressive, lol. Every outfit I wear is like a Miserable Girl version of Judy Garland’s “Get Happy” silhouette. So you can expect to have fun. I’m gonna look gorgeous, and it’ll be a little bit stupid.
What else is coming up for you?
I don’t have a tour right now and I don’t have any huge plans… I’m just around doing the gig. I’ve got a few projects that have happened, that will be released this year… hopefully for everyone to see sooner rather than later. But other than that, just keep an eye on me. Maybe I’ll start posting on my socials again, so follow me if you wanna bring me to your city. If you wanna get painted by me, if you work on a show and you need a makeup artist to come on, I’m around… hit me up. I also do murals! I just did a fierce mural at the Chicago Eagle. So like honestly, the world is burning and I’m grateful for whatever opportunities. Let’s make some cool art together….
Finally, for the Halloween Season: have you ever encountered a ghost, a UFO, or any sort of weird supernatural phenomena?
You know, I was more into supernatural things growing up… but more so obsessed with witches. Like, I would always dress up as a witch for Halloween in preschool and kindergarten; everyone was like, no, you’re a boy–you’re a wizard. I said, I’m a witch, do not misgender my magic!
I wish I had a supernatural phenomenon story to share for Spooky Season, but I do not. I’m gonna be honest… the world we live in has unfathomable, unbelievable things are happening in front of our eyes that are actually real. I think it’s all breaking my brain. So I’m sure there’s been some supernatural experiences that have been happening around me because of how crazy the world is–they’re just not in the forefront of my brain. Aliens are honestly like, we’re in a bad neighborhood, we gotta get out of here. I think all supernatural phenomenon is put out due to how crazy reality is.
See you in NYC, Laila!
Check Thotyssey’s calendar for Laila McQueen’s upcoming area appearances, and follow her on Instagram and TikTok.
