Ever since her debut on season 7 of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Trixie Mattel has become an international phenomenon. She starred in her own web series “UNHhhh” with fellow Drag Race star Katya, which later spun out into their own television program The Trixie & Katya Show. She’s released two hit albums, Two Birds and One Stone, and she most famously took home the crown on RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 3.
So when Trixie sat down with world-renowned journalist Larry King for his Larry King Now interview series, the two had much to discuss. King asked Trixie about how she got her start in drag, her relationship with RuPaul, the success she’s garnered over the past few years and the current state of drag.
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With two icons sitting down for a conversation, new information was naturally revealed. Here are the five things we learned from Trixie Mattel’s interview with Larry King on Larry King Now.
1. Trixie thinks our current political discourse has made drag more successful
It’s evident that drag has seen a major upgrade in the way people interact with it over the last decade, and Trixie has a theory as to why. The queen explained that she actually felt that Donald Trump’s presidency and things like it are helping drag, saying that while political discourse in the country is at an all time low, a desire to escape and find something purely entertaining is reaching a peak. She compared the success of drag to a makeup industry phenomenon known as the lipstick effect. “Any time there is an economic downturn or political strife, lipstick sales skyrocket,” she said. “If you have a hard day, it’s this $14 thing that lifts your day. I think drag has that same lipstick effect.”
2. Trixie may have more in common with Trump than you think
While the two were on the subject of politics, King asked Trixie what she thinks of the president. Trixie responded with an unlikely comparison, saying she may have much more in common with Trump than most people actually think. “Well, we’re both dudes in wigs that wear too much bronzer,” she said. “We probably have a lot more in common.” She added that she believes his cruelty comes from a place of ignorance rather than sheer evil: “I don’t think he’s walked in somebody else’s pumps.”
3. Trixie revealed that she has never once tucked
An often-discussed aspect of drag is the art of tucking — or a drag queen taking their male sex organs and folding them to create the further illusion of femininity. But Trixie said that she has never tucked, and that she avoids it by wearing outfits that don’t require a tuck. “I am a champion of Drag Race, and I’ve never done it. I never wear anything that’s very high,” she said, pointing out the fact that she was wearing a skirt. “There is no amount of money in the world that could get me to do it.”
4. Trixie’s fans often get too personal too quickly
The queen explained to King that she has a wide fan base outside of just the gay community, especially with young women. But later in the interview, Trixie also revealed that she often gets very overwhelmed by fans who reveal too much information too quickly. “People on a daily basis walk up to me, panic, and tell me something extremely graphic and violent about their life,” she said. “People will walk right up to me and go ‘Trixie, I was abused!’ And I’m like, ‘Just now?’”
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5. Trixie geeked out with King over June Carter Cash
At the end of their interview, King repeated a question from a fan on Twitter, asking who Trixie would want to cover one of her songs, alive or dead. Without hesitating, Trixie named June Carter Cash, the country singer songwriter and wife of Johnny Cash. When King said that he knew June and Johnny, Trixie was floored. “You did?!” she yelled. “Was she just so funny? She was so funny, and an amazing songwriter — she is my Elvis.”
Trixie Mattel’s full interview on Larry King Now is now available on Hulu and Ora.