Dean of Drag
Lady Bunny helps straight women on makeover show hosted by RuPaul
By Kurt Niece

The makeover show gets a makeover on Logo’s new series RuPaul’s Drag U. This time, straight women learn from the real pros, the drag queen faculty of Drag University, where Lady Bunny is the dean of drag.

Drag U is a school of beauty and transformation, an institution of higher achievement where plain Jane straight women learn the ins and outs of sucking it in, taping ’em up, hair, makeup, clothes, shoes and how to strut when it’s all in place.

Lady Bunny is known as one of the founders of Wigstock, an annual drag festival that started in 1985 and drew up to 50,000 revelers before it ended in 1997.

Lady Bunny said that Drag U could have wide appeal. “Some of these women have given up caring about their appearance because of abusive husbands, devoting their lives entirely to their children, or breast cancer or some other traumatic experience,” she said. “These women sacrifice everything, so we’re happy to give them glamour tips.

“But this is what we ask in return: Tell your sons and husbands, ‘Don’t beat us, don’t kill us, and don’t abuse us. Don’t do those things anymore, because some of you are in the Stone Age, and it stops now.’”

Lady Bunny took a break from a vacation in Rehoboth Beach, Del., to talk about designers, celebrities and Wigstock.

Q: Do you have a favorite designer?

A: I don’t really follow fashion too much, but I do like vintage designers like Paco Rabanne and Rudi Gernreich. In this recession I don’t see how anybody can afford to follow fashion. Who can afford a $500 belt and have it be out of style next season? Certainly not me! I tend to avoid belts anyway.

Actually, I write a fashion commentary for Star Magazine: Worst of the Week. My taste is pretty out there so I actually like what some of the celebrities are wearing. But the magazine is looking for digs, so that’s what I give ’em.

Q: You’ve worked with some interesting people. Who stands out?

A: Patti LaBelle. I love her talent and her music. To learn she’s the same person offstage as on, was a thrill. I love Elvira, the B-52s (Kate and Cindy), Pamela Anderson is a doll. I love the people I’ve worked with for PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). I also got to work with Iman. What a dream come true: gorgeous and fun, and the coolest husband on earth.

Q. Is there going to be another Wigstock?

A. Well, never say never, but it monopolized my life for 20 years. Wigstock almost made me tear my own hair out! We did talk about a 25th anniversary, but until I learn how to control the weather, it’s very difficult to do an outdoor event. It rained two years in a row. It killed us and ruined a lot of makeup.

Q. Tell me about moving from your hometown of Chatanooga to New York.

A. I moved to Atlanta first. RuPaul and I were roommates. We headed to New York for a while. I stayed and he went back. He rejoined me, and the bitch finally threw his old sister a bone and put me on Drag U.

Q. Do you have a story from your first week in New York?

A. Yes! The first time I was go-go dancing in drag on the bar at the Pyramid Club, I got paid $50. I was shuffling home, bombed, through a dicey neighborhood, and a guy jumped out and put a gun to my face and said, “Give me all your money.” This was the first money I’d ever made in drag and I was not about to part with it! I ran, lived to tell about it, and now I joke that my life wasn’t worth $50 then. It’s appreciated considerably since then.

RuPaul’s Drag U airs Mondays on Logo.