Symone

Oh, you’re very sweet. It’s nice to speak to you too! Hello, hello.

It was amazing! We’ve been really close with the team for a little bit now, and they asked us if we’d want to do the corresponding thing with their guests. And of course, we were like, “Oh my god, I would love to!” I’ve kinda had a little practice doing Avalon TV, so it was fun to test it out in the real world. The guests were great, and we all had a good time! I’m happy we got to do it. It was a good experience. And actually, fashion week is usually kinda stressful, but that wasn’t—the whole day was just a breeze. So thank you, Acne! (Laughs)

Oh, fashion shows for sure! I’ve been doing drag shows since I was eighteen, so that’s whatever. But fashion shows… there are cameras everywhere, a lot of people, fans outside screaming your name, and you wanna make sure you look good from every angle—it’s just a lot going on. But they’re fun.

We love it! We we live for it, and we are dying for it.

I think fashion has definitely given me confidence, especially being in drag, but also putting an outfit together, a look, and creating a vibe. If my sixteen-year-old self could see me now, they’d be like, “You’re kidding.” Out of drag, I think I’m sort of discovering that now as I’m coming into my thirties—I’ll turn thirty next year.

A little bit, yeah. People get nervous about aging, but I’ve never been that way. I’m kind of excited about it, honestly. But back to the conversation, I’m discovering my boy persona now, at this stage in my life, so… to be continued on that part. But fashion has definitely helped my confidence, helped me convey how I feel, and giving that fabulous sensation, I should say.

I did! I mean, how could we not? I’m gay and I’m a drag queen—I had no choice. I enjoyed it for sure.

It’s another milestone and a dream come true. TV has always been a big outlet for me, and I’ve always loved talk shows, so being able to host my own is really cool. RuPaul is a big inspiration of mine, so the fact that he had a show and now I’m getting to do my own is very cool and fun.
Getting to talk to some of my friends and meeting new people, some of whom I never thought I’d speak with, is incredible. Some of them surprise me, so that keeps me on my toes. It’s been a very fun journey. Oh, and it helps with your confidence too! You’ve gotta do it and you don’t know what’s gonna happen, but you just go with the flow and trust in your abilities.

Oh, you’re very sweet, thank you.

At first, it was the four of them: Marko, Hunter, Caleb, and Grant. We’re all from Arkansas, so they met there, in school. I came along when they started throwing parties at a club in Arkansas, and I just never left their couch. I thought, “These are my people, so I think I’ll be staying here now” (laughs).

I squatted in their lives, yes, I gave them no choice. Then they moved in 2016 or 2017, but I stayed in Arkansas for about a year and a half before moving, too. They met Gigi while they were working at Mickey’s here in Los Angeles. And then Riley—we met her at DragCon a few years before, when we were all still in Arkansas, but she ended up moving here the year before the pandemic, so we all kinda came together. And then the world shut down.
We were all each other had. We thought, you know what? Let’s start getting on Twitch. We started doing stuff because we were just bored, and that’s how it came to be. Then we thought, “Wait, we can make this a style; we could do this for real.” And so, WOW was gracious enough to allow us to do it, and it’s been really fun. That’s how it happened. The short version, of course—I tried to condense it for you.

Our goal is to just have fun, create art, and live our lives loud, open, and free—some of us are better at that than others. And I’m the others (laughs). But it’s definitely been a learning journey, and it’s helped me become more comfortable with myself. I think that’s all we want. We want people to see us living our lives and being authentically ourselves, having fun. Especially in these times, I think it’s important to see that you can still have fun, with everything going on around you. That’s our motto.

We’re all very different personalities, and I think we push each other in different ways—whether it be artistically or personally. We see each other’s potential, and we don’t allow anyone to get complacent (or at least we try not to let anyone get complacent or stagnant). We’re mirrors for one another. If something happens, we’re always there to uplift each other in many ways. I think that’s the best way to put it—we’re all there to uplift, reflect, and push each other.

It was crazy! Before that, I was living a very chill life in LA. I’d go do a gig on the weekend, then go to, shall we say, my ‘boy job.’ I don’t know if people remember, but the world had just opened up after the crowning, so it was a whirlwind. The best way I can describe it is like being shot out of a cannon. It was unique because I was the first queen crowned after the pandemic, so there was no blueprint in a way. I was forging my own path; there were certain things we still couldn’t do, so I had to figure out other ways. But it was a lot of fun.
People have been so responsive to me. I was so grateful and humbled. It was crazy because I didn’t expect it. I really didn’t, going into the show. But I loved it—it was the best time of my life, honestly. I’m still having fun and all that, but that first year, man, was nuts in the best way possible.

It’s the best! I enjoy the fans a lot, I enjoy meeting people, and that’s the best part—resonating with people. As I said before, I really didn’t expect it, so for it to still be happening, I’m very grateful. And the worst thing… I really like sleeping (laughs)! I truly enjoy it. And there’s a lot less of that. But they tell me I can sleep when I’m dead.

Oh, that is a great question! Definitely the MET Gala—huge. I’d probably put the selfie with me, Rihanna, and Nicki Minaj on there. My first fashion show, I’d probably put that on there too. Going to Nice, which I’ve always wanted to do. Even before going to Paris, I’d always wanted to go to Nice, so probably putting that memory on there.
Also, when all of us went to Mexico right after the crowning—I’d put the group picture on there. And meeting Abby Lee Miller… there’s so much. I’ve done a lot. But this time, I wouldn’t have to repeat them because last time, I had nine photos and just repeated them. Now I have three years’ worth of fabulous memories. So yeah, memories of everything. Oh! And also, my mom coming to my first show after the crowning. There’s just so much—a dress full of memories.

We went to Puerto Vallarta the week right after the crowning—me and all of my friends. We were there for seven days and had the best time. We got a house with two pools, they took care of us, we didn’t have to cook or anything, everyone had their own room… We also had a van that would take us down into town to walk around, go shopping, to the beach, etc. It was such an amazing time.
And that was my first time out of the country! I had never left the U.S. before, so I was extra gagged at everything. It was beautiful. It was right before summer, so the weather was hot but not too much. And the boys… oh my god! Beautiful.

Having a good time down there?

Symone taught Reggie confidence—to believe in himself and to love himself. That there’s nothing wrong with me. And I think Reggie taught Symone resilience, perseverance—to just keep going. Sometimes it becomes a lot, and I think when Symone can’t, I have to allow Reggie to kind of fill in those shoes sometimes.

I hope everything turns out okay; I have a lot of hope. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I keep seeing news saying that it’s neck and neck, so I hope that people come to their senses and do what’s right for the most people. Obviously, I’m behind my Vice Pres, Miss Kamala. I hope that fear and hatred don’t win. We’ve seen it happen, but hopefully not this time.

You know what? I would. Never say never. I just think I have a little bit more to learn. I feel like I need to come back a bit more of a realised person before I sit back in the werkroom in front of Mother. But I would definitely do it again just to see RuPaul every day. Well, a crown and money are great too (laughs).

Yeah, the Capricorn in me would come out.

I just keep meeting more and more of us. I didn’t know there were so many of us in the world.

I think so too. These are my partying words (laughs).

It was great talking to you, my darling. It’s been a pleasure.