In a season of so many memorable moments, Jasmine Kennedie made her mark on "RuPaul's Drag Race" through sheer force of personality. And a hilarious southern accent.
纽约皇后被指控说太多, clashed with others and, despite vocal confidence, was eliminated during a lip sync smackdown that pitted all remaining contestants against each other. But she has undoubtedly left an indelible mark. She's funny. She's gorgeous. And she earned the ultimate comparison to Texas queen Alyssa Edwards.
Jasmine spoke about her time on the show and coming out as a trans woman. She'll perform April 30 at ReBar in Montrose for theirWigs & Waffles Drag Brunch.
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You were pretty confident going into the lip sync LollapaRuza. How did that change as it went on?
I think maybe my awareness of my capability, track record wise, to stay may have been going down. But at the same time, I was still excited to lip sync. If I just have to lip sync all day, that's great. We're gonna treat it like Sunday brunch. We're gonna have a good time with it. As each one went by, I just became a little bit more OK with it if I were to go, just a little bit more peace.
This has been a season of endless shantays. Did it feel as crazy as it does to viewers?
Yes and no. Of course, in that time, it didn't feel that long. But as a fan watching it, I'm just like, "Nobody has gone home yet?" Listen, I would love to stay to the bitter end. I will lip sync for my life all the way. But watching as a fan, I'm like, "Jasmine, baby, I think it's your time to go." I see it, and I get it, and I'm A-OK with everything.
Talk to me about doing Betsy DeVos for Snatch Game.
She actually was my first choice. The reason I wanted to do her was I was very in tune with that administration and what they were doing in terms of education. I really hated everything she stood for. And with midterm elections happening this year, I was like, "Perfect time to bring it up and bring awareness to what the hell happened to us." I was trying to make more of a political stance with it. Clearly, it just looked like I was impersonating her. I was literally just Betsy. But it's Snatch Game. It's not just an impersonation challenge.
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Did you have other Snatch Game options?
Yes, my other options were Andy Cohen and another Bravo-lebrity, Lisa Vanderpump. I auditioned with Lisa, and Giggy (her Pomeranian) had just died. I had just gotten my cat at the time and was like, "Unfortunately, we don't have Giggy, but we have Giggy 2.0!" Maybe next time I'll go with one of those two since I watch Bravo nonstop.
You were compared to "Drag Race" legend Alyssa Edwards, and I saw it so much during your lip syncs. Had you heard that before?
Definitely. We're both dancers, and we love big hair. And I think it's because we also put the same passion behind our drag, a happiness, a camaraderie, a light. We're both stupid and say things that don't make sense. Or not even a word. She's also someone I think a lot of queens look up to from a business standpoint, a post-"Drag Race," "What do I wanna do with my life?" If you're gonna be compared to anyone, you want it to be Alyssa, Alaska or Bianca (del Rio).
You had some, let's say, heated moments with Maddy Morphosis and Daya Betty. It's great TV, but it must be a different story when it's actually happening.
With me and Maddy, we were both angry and upset. I think we just took it out on each other. We both also misinterpreted each other. We were both two cocktails in, so we were like, "Oh, you wanna read? Let's read." But I think the situation with me and Daya is a little bit different because it's a little bit more one-sided. I didn't bring up Daya as much as she brought up me. No hard feelings. We're in a stressful situation. But looking back at it, I would say some of the things weren't needed. You could tell that in situations where she was upset with herself, she projected those feelings toward others. Girl, you were just looking for someone to fight with, and luckily I talk a lot.
You're one of several contestants this season whoidentifies as trans. We've seen trans women on the show, but this feels like a big moment.
It's a great feeling that we've gotten to this place that there are five trans women on this show. And also at different stages of their transition. Transitioning is not just one thing, and I think that opened a whole conversation for people. As someone who's grown up watching "Drag Race," Kylie (Sonique) was literally one of the first trans women I saw, onstage, coming out. And all the other people, like Monica Beverly Hillz, Jiggly Caliente, Honey Mahogany. There are just so many girls that paved the way for a moment like this to happen.