BOB THE DRAG QUEEN SPILLS THE TEA ON SEASON TWO OF WE’RE HERE
by lisa lipsey
HBO’s Emmy-nominated unscripted series, We’re Here, returned for a second season on October 11. If you have not watched the first season, binge it now. This show has everything: glitz, glamour, gays and gorgeous stories from across small-town America. We’re Here gives visibility and elevates queer voices in the most unlikely of places.
Season 2 follows renowned female impersonators Bob the Drag Queen, Eureka O’Hara and Shangela Laquifa Wadley as they spread love and connection. The queens recruit residents from Spartanburg, South Carolina; Temecula, California; Del Rio, Texas; Selma, Alabama; Evansville, Indiana; Watertown, South Dakota; Kona, Hawaii; and Grand Junction, Colorado, to participate in one-night-only drag shows. They teach the art of drag and inspire their “drag daughters” to express their genuine selves in front of their families, friends, and community.
In celebration of last month’s National Coming Out Day, Bob the Drag Queen chatted with The RAGE Monthly about We’re Here and much more. In case you didn’t know it already, Bob’s confidence, beauty and humor won her the title of America’s Next Drag Superstar in Season 8 of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Having just wrapped up filming and serving as a consulting producer, Bob has settled into Hollywood.
“I’m currently in sunny Los Angeles,” Bob said. “You know, Season 2 kicks off in Temecula; I’m not sure how far your readers are from Temecula? We filmed there first. It was actually back in 2020, in December 2020. I remember during my drag kid’s story; he had some Hanukkah decorations up. Temecula was one of the hardest places to film because it was still pretty early in the pandemic and the restrictions were really, really tough. So then, we actually shut down for about three months.”
In thinking about this new season of We’re Here and all the behind-the-scenes stuff, Bob said, “You know we actually just finished filming like a week ago, so I haven’t seen like the last two episodes myself. But I will say this year was a lot tamer than the previous season. We went out a lot in the first season and we could not go out very much this time. To be honest, there wasn’t a whole lot of behind-the-scenes stuff because we were being much more cautious with COVID precautions. We wore our masks; I mean, on set we had these shields that we wore and took them off when we were on camera. But the rest of the time, we wore a mask, for sure.”
Reflecting on the stories shared in Season 1, Bob said, “Nate out of Shiprock, New Mexico, really meant a lot to me. And Tanner, from Branson, Missouri, his story and the history hit very close to home.” (Tanner, a young actor, questioned whether he can be both Christian and gay.)
When asked about advice for budding drag kids, Bob said, “Oh geez, I mean you have to really love it to do it ’cause for a lot of people, not everyone, but for a lot of people, you really won’t make any money or anything for a very long time. So it really is a labor of love, and you’ll know, pretty soon, if it’s for you or not. Do you know what I mean? Just getting dressed now after 13 years of doing this, if I’m not rushing, it takes like two-and-a-half to three hours to do the full fantasy.”
If it’s just totally selfishly Bob’s choice and not a request or an audience favorite, Bob prefers to perform the scat jazz song Air Mail Special by Ella Fitzgerald. “I really love the song. It is a really fun, exciting song and is probably my favorite performance song, for sure.”
The drag community has enormous hearts and they have always given back to the LGBTQ community. Bob is no exception. “I was doing a lot of work with True Colors, Cyndi Lauper’s foundation, which is always a great one to support. There’s also a great one here in LA called ‘For the Gworls’ — G-W-O-R-L-S, gworls, which is supporting trans people with housing and getting gender surgeries and stuff like that.”
When considering other up-and-coming drag stars, Bob said, “Oh my God, that makes it sound like I’m the old hag. But I do really enjoy Jasmine Rice LaBeija, out of New York City, and I’m a big fan of Ocean Kelly, based out of Atlanta. Ocean Kelly is a remarkable queer artist and musician, who I’m like obsessed with right now.”
To blow off steam, Bob plays a lot of video games. “Me and my partner Jacob are almost always playing video games. I play Super Smash Bros. all the time. Jacob and I met on Grindr like four years ago. I also have a partner named Ezra. We met on Instagram. It’s a true millennial love story. Polyamory and the lack of labels, it’s kind of fierce.”
When asked about four-legged children, Bob said, “Well, I don’t like cats as a rule. I think they’re shady little creatures. I love dogs, but I personally do not have a dog. I don’t like the idea of having to keep something alive. Keeping something alive is stressful to me, so whenever someone else has a dog, I really love them. But, for real, I do not have any plants, I don’t have any animals. I mean, I am doing my best to keep myself alive. And so far, I’ve done it for 35 years. I’ve kept myself alive the whole time. I haven’t even died one time,” Bob said, laughing.
Fashion-wise, Bob has been posting some of the We’re Here drag costumes on Instagram. “This season, the outfit that made the biggest splash on the Internet when I posted it was me in a blue-and-gold dress. I have my boobs out with this blonde ponytail. It’s the third photo down on the left of my page.”
Bob is proud to be a part of We’re Here. “We really opened up our inclusivity with our casting this year. We did pretty well in the first season, but we’re pushing even further this season. I’m grateful to all the people who become our ‘drag kids.’ They have told all these amazing stories. The first season was great; Season 2 is even better.”
To all of Bob’s fans, she sends her love and invites you to check out her second comedy special, “Bob The Drag Queen Live at Caroline’s” available on iTunes, as well as the podcast “Sibling Rivalry,” that she co-hosts with her drag sister Monét X Change.
We’re Here runs on HBO and HBO MAX with new episodes Monday nights through November 29.