This UK hun is quick for DragCon and to help Bob the Drag Queen win the next all - winners time of year ofAll Stars .
If you watchedRuPaul ’s Drag Race UKSeason 2 , then I sleep with you’re able to not hear Lawrence Chaney ’s name without try Mama Ru saying , " LAWWWWREEEENNCEEE CHANEEEYYYYY " in a broadScottish accent . The Season 2 winner compete in what is considered one of the most iconic and good seasons of the integral franchise . Since being crown , she has n’t halt , doing everything from hosting her own series , Tartan Around , and win a Scottish BAFTA to writing her memoir , Drag Queen of Scots : The Dos & Don’ts of a Drag Superstar , and fall in the casting ofRuPaul ’s Drag Race LiveVegas show .
This forthcoming weekend , Lawrence is adding another result to her meddling schedule : RuPaul ’s DragCon 2024 in Los Angeles . beforehand of her coming into court at DragCon , BuzzFeed talked to Lawrence about life after the show , what she roll in the hay about DragCon , and , of class , whether or not she wants to contend in the eventual next all - winners season ofAll Stars .
I wanted to start off by verbalize about your time of year ofRuPaul ’s Drag Race UK . Obviously , the first season was a Brobdingnagian hit , and Season 2 had a lot to know up to . UK2 in spades lived up to the expectations and then some and is see one of the practiced seasons in the entireDrag Racefranchise . I wanted to ask what your memories are about filming it .
Lawrence Chaney : I think back being so anxious about all that when we went aside to film . I just remember it was like jumping inside the TV screen . Because you ’re right . I think when Season 1 ofDrag Race UKwas announce , I do n’t believe any of us knew what to anticipate . At the time , I think the only other iteration of the show that had come out then wasDrag Race Thailand , and that did n’t have Ru on it — that had Pangina Heals and Art Arya . So , that was a dissimilar vibe , so we did n’t jazz how much it would resemble the AmericanDrag Raceor anything .
And it was sincerely , I mean truly , precisely the same as the USDrag Race , but with British source and humor . So , I conceive , yes , it was a flock of imperativeness . Like , God , how am I give-up the ghost to live up to The Vivienne or Baga Chipz and all these awe-inspiring queens that were on Season 1 ? I think Season 2 was the lifelike stepping up of sorts . It was like , all right , we ’ve insure how good that is , but let ’s take it even further . The main reason I think it ’s still good is that we have genuine relationships with each other . Whether we hated each other , whether there was shade or dramatic play that was all veridical , that was all how we felt , and especially in that time during COVID . We felt so much exemption going onto the show and doing our nontextual matter form because , especially after the COVID break happened , none of us were able to do drag anywhere . There were no gigs . So , we were all like , " Wow , am I favourable to be doing retarding force properly now ! "
Have you perplex a chance to rewatch it since it aired , or is it still too before long ?
LC : I’ve not watched it menses . I have watched bits of it , but because it was my lived experience , I retrieve everything . You know , what they say , an elephant never forgets . I remember all these details , and that ’s how I want to remember it . I do n’t want to remember it for , oh , you know , there was a umbrageous randomness put in here , or this was swerve out . The good affair is , I can click through the episode and go , " Okay , in about 10 minutes , I have this talk with Tayce . " The bit I have watched , you know , are less cringe now . What I will say is I commend when my time of year air , everyone swagger me for how my hair looked out of drag . I want everyone to know you ’ll be happy to know I ’ve change my hair . That ’s classify . So everyone lull down . There ’s been some unspoiled changes since that time of year .
What ’s the enquiry you ’re asked most often or quote said back to you from the lover from your season ?
LC : They say , ' What was it like robbing Bimini ? ' And I say , " It was very good , actually ; it was very easy , and she was actually also robbed of a dentist . " [ Laughs ] That ’s the thing about pull queens , we ’re so shady . I ’ve had random people shout at me on the street , like " roll in the hay pipe " or " paint the depression on , " and other people that do n’t have it off what ’s happening are like , " What is going on ? " That ’s my best-loved affair is because theDrag Racefans love this show , it ’s their globe . This is everything ’s them . So when they cry a quote by any fagot , they think everyone will cognize it . And I just have intercourse image everyone else ’s chemical reaction to not knowing what the hell is kick the bucket on . I have it away that .
Now , correct me if I ’m incorrect , but RuPaul ’s DragCon 2022 in Los Angeles was the first Emily Price Post - win DragCon you give ear . Were you nervous about it ? And what do you most retrieve about it ?
LC : It was the first DragCon I ever attended . I remember my tender foot . I remember my feet were on fire . You know what I remember ? I remember feeling a lot of atmospheric pressure and a lot of anxiety because I was from the UK . I ’m a UKDrag Racewinner , and I truly was like , " Why are they bringing me to LA ? Like , what ’s the tip ? I ’m from the UK . I was on a UK time of year . I recognize it was a very pop time of year in the UK . However , I do n’t get the point . " Then it happened , and I did n’t gestate the waiting line and the amount of people that came to see me . I was really kind of overwhelmed .
But I knew I needed to make an shock , like I knew my cubicle need to face skilful , and I require to look good . I was shocked by how many people from , like , Virginia and all these places , states that I ’ve heard of , but I ’ve patently never been to , and came and said , " Oh in North Carolina , we have it off you , Lawrence . " And I ’m like , " Oh my God . I had no theme . I could n’t even show to North Carolina on a mathematical function . " So , you be intimate , I was just so grateful , and that ’s why , truly , the master matter is , I never require any of this . So I ’m just , I ’m living my dream here . I ’m in my phantasy world . You know ?
Do you mark a difference between the UK ’s DragCon and the unity here in the States ?
LC : Hmmm … you know what I will say . I actually do n’t remember there ’s much of a difference , actually . I ’ll be honest because it sounds weird , but obviously , when you ’re in London , when you ’re outside , there ’s Big Ben , there ’s people say , " Ello gov’na , " and that ’s just Baga Chipz . But , when you walk into that formula mansion , you ’re teleport to another place , and it ’s not America , it ’s just a safe distance — the branding is the same , and it ’s the same logo . You just feel like you ’re in a sort of magic retarding force land with all these coloured , amazing creatures . Because , if you think about it , whether it ’s in London or LA , it ’s like people from Switzerland have traveled to it , or citizenry from Mexico , it ’s people from all over who go for DragCon .
You ’re attending this twelvemonth ’s DragCon in Los Angeles . Could you give us a clue about your booth theme or your outfit radical ?
LC : Oh , I annunciate my DragCon subject . Do you remember there was a whole meme thing on societal media , perhaps three or four month ago , of theWilly Wonka Glasgow experience ? Well , guess what ? That ’s me at DragCon . I ’m gon na have my own Oompa Loompas . I ’m gon na have my own The Unknown . I ’m gon na bring that Glasgow experience to all of you .
DragCon seems to be like a really grownup schoolhouse reunification . Who are you most excited to see there ?
LC : Oh … that ’s a punishing inquiry . Okay , tell you who I ’m excited to see . I ’m activated to see — because I ’ve been in the States for quite a while now — the cast ofUK vs. the World2 . My sisters Gothy Kendoll , Choriza May , and Tia Kofi , the newly crowned pouf of the Mothertucking World . What I also love about seeing them is the terror all these outside queens have when they get into LA . They ’re like , " Okay , fabric , where do I go ? " and that was me , but now I ’m somewhat of a local , so I ’ll be able-bodied to go , " Hello , Tia ! You go to Santee Alley . Would you care to total with me ? " at long last , I ’m gon na be capable to tour the queens around .
Okay , but whose merch are you gon na be bribe ?
LC : No ones . I ’m gon na be steal it all [ laughs ] . You know who has gorgeous merch ? Marina Summers has gorgeous ware , and she is also gorgeous . Who would n’t buy a T - shirt with her fount on it ?
There are a lot of people who are likely wait on DragCon for the first prison term . What are some right etiquette baksheesh you would give on how to interact with the pansy ?
LC : Don’t ! ! ! [ Laughs ] I severalise you what to do . We always talk about this . I think you should always be mindful of space and look at the puff fairy . What are they endure ? Is it something huge and cumbersome that you wo n’t be able to get in really close with ? I would also recollect about how you hug . Give a hug around the waist ; do n’t give a squeeze around the articulatio humeri because , quite frankly , you ’ll pull our wigs off , and we do n’t desire that . This is the affair : the rooter are great , and the fans always come with great energy . What is always , the only problem is the forcible pull meets the macrocosm , and it ’s because , oh , if you draw here and bosom me here , you ’re gon na pull my wig off . Because I hate to tell you , I ’m a human beings . It is that it ’s the form of physics of drag in the existence .
That makes a lot of sense . Almost all of the girls outwear stuff that you would n’t normally be wear when you ’re interacting with sports fan , like at a meet - and - greet . You ’re wearing these very big and elaborated gowns .
LC : Yes ! Crystals , beads , and all of that . If I bend over to bond a shoelace or bind a boot , I ’m gon na stab you in the eye with a crystal headpiece , and no one want that ! take heed , it ’s like what we ’re teach when we ’re tyke : to be mindful . But also be fun , be silly . This is your safe space , this is all of our safe space , so get ’s have some joy and beloved in our outer space .
You joinedDrag raceway Livelast year , and I was rummy what made you want to link . And how have you enjoy it ? Was your experience a caboodle better than you even expected ?
LC : What made me need to do it was ambition , I guess . I saw the announcements thatRuPaul ’s Drag Race Livewas come soon , and thenRuPaul ’s Drag Race : Vegas Revueseries that was on VH1 eventually found its way over to the UK , and I be intimate watching that . I get laid understand the female monarch ' Instagram Stories of when they were performing . Of course , then it had to take a large hiatus aright after give because of COVID . When it commence back up , I consider that Kennedy Davenport and Ginger Minj were also doing it , and I saw that it was n’t just one cast of characters . Then there was a domino effect . I went to LA for DragCon and saw that there was an interest in external puff , and not just a diminished interest , there was a significant interest in all of the outside franchises . So , I was like , " Okay , they love us here . " I then started retrieve , Okay , who do I recognise ? Who do I know from here?And the way I buzz off on it was that I ask one of my friends who works for the production companionship ; I said , " Hey , you do n’t have an international queens on the show yet . Is that like by design ? Do you not need external queens ? Or has just no one accomplish out ? " The reply was , " I do n’t remember we ’ve had anyone enquire . allow me look into it and see what happen . "
Then I did n’t hear back until perhaps two weeks , three workweek , and they enjoin , " Oh yeah , Lawrence , they want you . have ’s do it . Pangina Heels is gon na make out as well , and Nicky Doll is going to descend , and she ’s just hostingDrag Race France . " So , Pangina register pastime at the same time . Nicky Doll register interest group at the same time . So distinctly , we were all on the same Sir Frederick Handley Page with it , and we all came to Vegas around the same metre .
I was really excited for it to just check it off my bucket list , truly . And I think back I was excited to do the show , but my dada had made me nervous about what Vegas is like — it ’s all gambling and it ’s intoxicant . I cogitate , Oh , God , we have enough alcoholic beverage in Scotland , so I was nervous about that . I remember touch my room access in my apartment in Glasgow , and I was like , " It ’s only three months , you ’re going away . It ’s only three calendar month , " and then I arrived here , and I have just be intimate it ever since . There ’s something for everyone to do , and it ’s such a fun show to be a part of . It ’s really an awful show , an amazing radical of queens as well , like you get to work with Latrice Royale , Asia O’Hara , Pangina Heels , and Coco and Kahanna Montrese . I mean , I just love it .
There ’s also the nice benefit of you not move around around from metropolis to city . You have everything in your bandaging way there . You come in , you do your matter , and you may live your life without having to rush to get to the next lance .
LC : Exactly ! I stand for , that ’s the dreaming , is n’t it ? Drag queens are all ego - employed , and what it ’s done for me is it ’s made me regiment because it ’s like , " Okay , for five hr tonight , you ’re gon na go and do makeup , and then do the show , and then you ’re out of there . " It ’s made my life a flock good to schedule , because it ’s just it guaranteed every night ’s here , you never require to tamp your poppycock up . I love it and did not think I would savor it as much . I had to host the show last summer while Shannel was away onAll Starsand Asia was on tour , and I was so terrified . I was like , " Oh , dandy . They ’re gon na put Mrs Doubtfire here to host the Vegas show . " I signify , all these the great unwashed again , from North Carolina , South Carolina , they ’re not gon na know what I ’m talking about . But it just act . I just get it on hosting . And RuPaul come to catch the show . It ’s astonishing , a really amazing matter .
Now that you have been living here in the States , do you have a favorite typical American thing that makes you think , They’re doing this right ?
LC : I’ll tell you what you guys do so well : it ’s savory food , savory cow chip , and savory everything . You guys do it so well , and it really does take set out habitual to it , because you guys have sauces and a lot of seasonings . I remember the first time Kennedy Davenport cook for me — I about passed out because there was so much flavor and seasoner . I was like , I ’m from the UK . I ’ve never tasted anything . She made Republic of Turkey meat for me and I was like , " I thought turkey was meant to be insipid ? " She made the least bland turkey I ’ve ever eaten . It was flavorsome , and it fell off the off-white — it was amazing . One affair I will say , y' all ’s coffee sucks . We got ta have words with the FDA and the president . We got ta sort your chocolate out . But I love your Lay ’s Honey Barbecue potato chip . I lie with everything else about you guys .
Obviously , I have to ask : Would you want to do an all - winners seasonAll Stars ? And if you did , who are some queen you would most need to contend against ?
LC : Whoa , right head . Okay , can you imagine if I just said no and no one ? aboveboard , I am gun to do it . You have it off , everyone on societal media roll in the hay I mouth about it non - stop . I loveDrag Race . I love RuPaul . You live how some queens say , when you go on the show , you skin to watch it later because you know what goes on behind the scenes . Not me . I ’m like , " Oh , there ’s RuPaul laughing at someone ’s joke . " I just love it so , so much , and I ’m dying to go back . So , if I ’m not on this next all - winners time of year , then just know that I ’ve not been asked .
I ’ll tell you who I want to be on with : Priyanka needs to be there , in spades . She killed it onWe’re Here , just astonishing . I think Envy Peru has to be there as well . And Carmen Farala , the victor ofEspañaas well — she ’s also so astonishing . But I want to go back on all - winners to lose to Bob the Drag Queen , who is truly the best .
I interviewedAlaskaa few class ago , and she state she would go on all - winnersAll Starsto help Bob win .
LC : I want to help Bob ’s celebratory win . But , you know , Bob will win every challenge , and I ’ll just go , " Is n’t Bob fun ? Is n’t she great ? " My favorite thing about all - success , in particular , and what I loved about that time of year was that it was a great showcase of all the victor ' talent . It was a really good season .
Okay , so last doubt : If you succeed the first episode of all - winners , who are you blocking first ?
LC : Hmmm ? See , this is the thing with the blocking stuff and nonsense : people are not strategic enough . Have you been watchingAll star 9 ? People are scissoring each other when they have no need to scissor — I do n’t appreciate scissoring hoi polloi that you do n’t involve to do it too . Giving the Ruby Snippers to someone , you ’ve got to think logically . Okay , first steps : What could come next hebdomad that I ’m blocking them for ? Okay , well , we just did a excogitation challenge . It ’s not buy the farm to be another intention challenge . So , who ’s funny ? That ’s who I ’ll stop , I would guess strategically . But the first episode say it was a rails , and the next one ’s a comedy challenge , Bob the Drag Queen gets the Platinum Plunger , babes . look , perchance she ’ll get bar every episode ?
Well , Bob ’s onTraitors , so now you do n’t cognize what game she is going to work . She might play a game that you do n’t even have sex , and it could be on a whole different storey .
LC : Bob filmed that in Scotland too . How defy she ! She ’s gon na come in a tart and kilt . She ’s gon na slip my fizgig . It ’s gon na be disturbed .
Well , I front forwards to that All Stars season because that ’s the one I want to watch now !
LC : I’m excited to determine that one too [ laughs ] !
