This season of RuPaul's Drag Race is definitely like no other, and that started with beloved Manhattan drag performer DD Fuego being the first to sashay away!
While this New York City nightlife superstar might have departed the competition, she firmly wants to ensure that one thing is clear; "How you place on the show is not how you place in life". I sat down to chat with DD Fuego about her Drag Race run, having fashion maven Betsey Johnson as a "drag fairy godmother" and why we may see her on the other side of a microphone very soon.
You are one of the most dynamic and beloved queens in New York City; RuPaul’s Drag Race seemed almost destiny for you!
Thank you so much, that means the world!
What does it mean to have been part of Drag Race Season 18?
I feel super fortunate, super blessed ... I feel happy. I think that the blessing of being on the show starts with getting the call because that already changed my life. The way that I prepare for things, the collaborations that I have, the people that I work with now, that already changed with me getting the call. I’ve always hoped for the moment to happen, but the moment has happened. What happens now is the icing on the cake.
The cast of Season 18 is stacked with talent and wildly diverse. Did you find yourself intimidated by any of the queens that were competing alongside you?
I knew only a couple of the queens, there were so many people that I did not know. The thing that came up very quickly was the amount of years in the business and the amount of experience people had; then it was game on! I thought in any other season that would be the oldest one there and in this one, I was not. I was so excited not just to compete in a season like this, but to give the viewers a new kind of Drag Race.
When the entire cast was finally assembled, the question was posed; "How many people here are over 30?”
I think I was the one that asked that question actually and you can see in my face how excited I was to get that answer. That is the kind of Drag Race that I love watching.
What is the DD Fuego origin story?
I started as a bedroom queen 15 years ago painting myself in my house. i was working as a production designer in television and theater putting other people in costume, makeup and wig. Watching Drag Race, I was like “Why am I giving away this talent and these skills”? I am putting Jon Hamm in drag for Billy On The Street and I’m like “Wait a minute, I want to be on the street, I want to be in drag”!
After many years of doing it at home alone, my friend started encouraging me to go out and perform. I started out at drag competitions in New York like Drag Wars at Pieces with Shequida-the icon of New York City! From there, I started getting booked and focusing my energy on digital media during COVID. Then it all came together and I became this multi media production queen using all of my skills all these years later.
It cannot be denied that you are now one of the premier queens in New York City, which is a lofty title itself!
It is an honor to work in the city and to be representing the “working girl” in the city; I mean, I didn’t just come into New York City and get cast on the show. I’ve been working here and developing my skills surrounded by the best of the best in the business and it is an honor to represent them.
While thousands may audition to be on Drag Race, I have a sneaking suspicion that just as many may want to be putting Jon Hamm in drag.
You know what, a lot of people want to put Jon Hamm in drag and a lot of people want to hold Mariah Carey’s Christmas ham. That’s not a euphemism, i was actually running around the city holding Mariah Carey’s ham for another Billy on the Street segment! People want to be doing that too, but I get to be doing both of those things!
Something else you get to do is a shoe collaboration with the iconic Betsey Johnson! I mean, come ON that is an absolute dream!
Come on, who is doing it like DD Fuego!?
How did this dream collaboration come to happen?
I’ve known Betsey and been a friend of the team there for many years. I took a leap of faith asking for the one pair of shoes for the entrance. The shoe came out so beautifully and then people started really enjoying it and then I did another one for the promo. Then they decided to put their energy and the production behind it; they made this happen and it is such an honor. i am able to say that Betsey is my drag grandmother, my fairy godmother. To have her blessing, to have her clothes, to have some potential designs of hers that I prepared for the show, and then to have a shoe collaboration…I am anointed by one of the greats and I don’t take it for granted; I am so blessed.
What are your high and low points of your Drag Race journey?
I think the rose of my journey is the preparation of all of my runway looks. Even though they will not be seen on television, you know that I have been creating content for them and I am so excited to share it. My rose is just to be able to work with the people that I did to create those looks. i was able to work with designers that worked with Lady Gaga, Beyoncé and Chappell Roan and all of these people believed in me and collaborated with me, that no one can take away from me. That was the biggest blessing of this whole process.
I would say that the thorn is the impression that people might have that what happens to you on the show is indicative of who you are as an entertainer and a creative person. The reality is, the cards were dealt and what happened on the show happened on the show. That does not mean though, that I am not worthy of the booking or the shoe collab and I am ready to prove to the world that how you place on the show is not how you place in life.
What do you want to do post Drag Race?
I am going to get to see the world and for that, I am very excited to do all the gigs. What I really love to do is to create, to collaborate. That can look like working with a fashion designer to create a collaboration, or to interview people and have a kind of talk show situation. I’ve had one before in New York City for a while and I can’t wait to get back into the hosting side of what I do best, which the audience didn’t get to see on the show.
If you had the chance to interview one person, who would you interview and what would you ask them?
I would interview RuPaul and I would say “Why” (laughs)? I really think that there is so much to learn from RuPaul and even if she didn’t see it for me on this season I think that we have a lot in common. I still stan that queen!
Follow DD Fuego on Instagram @ddfuego
