Exit interview

[lifeofgatsby.livejournal.com]

I wasn't sure if this was still considered spoilers or not, but just in case, I'll keep it under the cut.

Delta Work's exit interview was recently posted on the NewNowNext blog. She has strong opinions about RuPaul and the show. All bolded words are my emphasis.

How do you feel about leaving the show when you did?
Every character in a FICTIONAL show meets their end, I suppose.

Regarding your elimination, what would you like to say to the judges in your defense? Any parting points you’d like to make?
I believe I always took to heart the judges’ critiques and RuPaul’s advice in the work room. With regards to the comedy challenge, I embraced RuPaul’s advice to work from self-critique. I was under the impression that everyone was going to do that and turn a place of personal doubt into funny jokes. I didn’t realize that taking Ru’s advice and putting into motion a fictional character with fictional jokes was going to be shaped to make me look like some sad, REAL person with no self-esteem to the point of non-function.

After watching the show, how do you feel about how the other queens and their behavior?
Good moments. Bad moments. There are only 13 queens in the world who will ever truly know what transpired at RDPR Season 3. I will say a have a new appreciation for the comedy that is editing. I never realized how much both Drag Race and Untucked are like “Mad Libs.” Editors just sorta fit things where they make sense and tell a story about whatever they like.

We saw a lot of footage of you and Raja commenting on the other contestants. Do you have any strong feelings about how you were portrayed?
I can see where people perceive things as harsh or insensitive, however that is not my concern. We are grown men drinking a bazillion cocktails engaging in funny commentary about peoples’ faults. YOU CAN ONLY READ OTHERS WHEN YOU ARE ABLE TO READ YOURSELF. I am unable to understand how people honestly think that all the commentary is so serious and intended to crush people’s lives. It’s jokes. It’s silly. It’s sorority.

I will say I find the puppet-show nature of the conversations is hilarious. One instance you’re laughing about a joke and the next moment it is turned into you laughing at someone crying. The case is, I never engaged in ad-hominem attacks on anyone; I certainly made light of them. I certainly laughed at them, but I never said anything that I didn’t say to their face and they were all strong enough to dish it back. My opinions are not always the nicest, but whose are?

I find it so sad that people really think that I launched UNMOTIVATED personal attacks on Stacy and Shangela. The cyber world has accused me of being a bully. Good luck. I answered the girls honestly. Would the world prefer I just denied what I said and kissed their asses instead? I refuse to. It wasn’t that serious then and it’s not that serious now. Again, splicing apart the chronology of events sure can turn things very sour.

What else happened behind the scenes that you think we should know about? Any fun interactions you wish we could have seen?
Behind the scenes there was a lot of fraternizing that went on that, honestly, only people in our position would understand.

After seeing the episodes, whose behavior surprised you the most?
The judges. Grading on a curve does no one favors. Making an allowance for one and not another simply turns a competition into an awkward awards ceremony where the highest award is an honorable mention.

Shadiest/Meanest [queen]?
RuPaul

Most overrated[queen]?
Santino

Was the show different than what you expected? If so, how?
I thought the show was going to be a competition of the best drag entertainers. I didn’t realize it was going to be a fictional TV show loosely based around frat stunts performed by drag queens who are later randomly rewarded based on audacity.



I'm curious about what everything thinks about Delta's perspective on the experience. We all know that every reality show is edited to tell a story and to categorize people as good or bad and Drag Race is certainly no exception.