Brooklyn queen and fan favorite Thorgy Thor was sent packing this week on “RuPaul’s Drag Race” season eight. The judges felt that the shady political ads made by her and teammate Chi Chi DeVayne were not shady enough, so the two faced off in an emotional lip sync to “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” from “Dreamgirls.” Speaking to byteclay.com after the episode aired, Thorgy proved that even though she still has a positive outlook on her “Drag Race” run, she’s not afraid to spill some tea.
byteclay.com: Lots of fans were super sad to see you go.
Thorgy: So was I!
byteclay.com: What was going through your mind when RuPaul asked you to sashay away?
Thorgy: I kind of figured it out [beforehand]. I kind of knew I was going. I just had a feeling. I’m very intuitive, I just knew they were sending me home that day no matter what happened. I kind of just did my best and I had a good time. I think I did a good job. I’m very proud of everything I did on the show. I was honest and I was true to myself. I was artistic and cool and I had a freakin’ blast. I made it pretty far and I had a good time. I wasn’t sad to go, I was just disappointed because I thought I was going to make it a little further.
byteclay.com: You’ve said that you’ve auditioned for all eight seasons, so what was your experience like being on the show as opposed to watching it at home for the past eight years?
Thorgy: I have auditioned every single year. It’s funny because I really thought I was going to get on a couple of years ago but they picked me this year. RuPaul came up to me during one of the one-on-ones at the work table and said, “Thorgy Thor, I’ve been watching every single video of yours for years and it just seemed this year you were most ready and you were most relaxed compared to other seasons.” I was like, “Relaxed? That’s kind of interesting.” So that’s why RuPaul [brought] me on the show, but being there was just exciting, I just couldn’t wait. I love being given a challenge and also just looking around at everyone else. We have Kim Chi who’s this incredible visual artist and Bob [The Drag Queen] who never shuts up and she just has brilliant material. It was just really, really exciting to not watch it and be jealous and envious of everyone on the show, but rather be there and just be very prepared and just fall in love with this whole season and this whole cast and be part of it.
byteclay.com: Speaking of that, when we talked to Robbie Turner last week, we discussed how there have been some minor spats but for the most part this cast seems to get along pretty well and the drama has been relatively low compared to past seasons. Can you talk more about that?
Thorgy: I got there and I looked around and I said, “Listen, I’m not all f*ck you, bitch, I’m here to send everyone home and win.” I got there and I said, “Listen, let’s make this the best cast, the best season that ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ has ever had. Let’s help each other make this exciting for everyone so everyone looks at us and says, ‘wow, that’s a great cast.'” I remember saying that from day one so I’m really glad that you feel that way because it’s kind of what I set out to do.
byteclay.com: You said on the show after you were eliminated that you don’t have any regrets, so is that still the case now after it’s aired months later?
Thorgy: Of course! I do a viewing party every single Monday night in Brooklyn, my home town, with everyone that I love and [everyone who] always used to come to my shows pre-“Race.” I was there this Monday when I got eliminated. I knew I was [going to be] eliminated and I was like, “Oh sh*t, I have to watch this in front of everybody.” And then it happened and the whole audience just went crazy, like “Noooo!” I turned around and I said, “I don’t have any regrets, that’s why I’m here. I had the balls to come out and watch it with you guys and I’ll be here next week if you want to come back because I just really love the show.” I’m not here crying, I don’t really regret anything.
[However], when I did see the episode, I was a little shocked at how they edited it because they left out a lot that happened to get to that point. I maybe would have chosen a more trivial kind of stupid political campaign video. I manifested this character and I was going crazy and I wrote like an entire TV show based on this character. It just seemed like everyone else’s lines were very, very stupid to me so maybe I just needed to go stupid, trivial. Everyone just seemed to laugh [at everyone else and] I was like, “Wow, you guys are impressed very easily.” I know that sounds really insulting, because I wasn’t funny when I watched myself. So I regret maybe thinking too big but I’ve never regretted that, I always urge people around me to think bigger. But on the show apparently they just wanted something real stupid, just a sound bite, a hash tag.
byteclay.com: You said at the end of the episode that you thought RuPaul had made a little bit of a mistake. Do you still think that and where you talking about Chi Chi specifically or just about being eliminated in general?
Thorgy: Ooo, that’s a sassy question. I don’t want to put my foot in my mouth. Yes, there are certain girls who are top five..that should not have made the top five. And it’s not because I’m jealous or because I wanted to win. On levels of intellect and artistry, I’m very proud to be in this community of drag artists and do it for a career and help other people out. When certain people have attitudes that are defeatist and kind of just sloppy and just give up, it kind of wastes my time. I felt like there were a couple of times where Chi Chi did that. You lose the attitude before you get on TV. You don’t learn how to be respectful and artistic during the show and that’s what happened. So being there I was just a little disappointed that I didn’t make it this far and [other] people were being kind of helped along and it came at my demise. That was just upsetting to me because it didn’t feel like a real competition.
Examiner: Acid Betty actually touched on that a bit in our interview with her after she was eliminated. So with that being said, do you think some of the queens have been judged a little less harshly than others?
Thorgy: Absolutely, 100% yes. Certain people were treated differently from day one production-wise, challenge-wise and critique-wise. Me and Acid Betty really talked about that a lot just during little conversations during the show, like “Girl, are you realizing this?” And she was like, “Mmm hmm, [yes].” It just seemed kind of pre-destined which I was a little disappointed to feel while I was there because it didn’t feel like a real competition. Maybe my problem was that I wasn’t there to win. I really was just there to kind of showcase and have a blast and just do the challenges because being on this show has been such a big goal of mine for such a long time. I’m very, very thankful to be picked out of hundreds of thousands of queens who all wanted to be on the show. So I’m happy no matter what but it’s really different when you’re there and then you see the episode and you remember things like wow, this girl was treated totally different and certain people were given certain opportunities. You just feel a little sabotaged at times.
Examiner: Speaking more to that, some fans were a little upset over why some challenges are arbitrarily judged in teams while others are judged individually. Do you think if you had been judged individually for this challenge that you wouldn’t have gone home?
Thorgy: This last challenge, we were told before we even started writing that we were going to be judged individually. That’s why I was like [in the episode], “I’m good at writing so I’m going to outshine Chi Chi.” I was just doing my own thing. Things changed along the way, all of a sudden surprise, you’re going to be judged as a group and I thought that was a little calculated and a little disappointing to switch that at the end. Then it just so happened that me and Chi Chi were lip-syncing and she was literally dressed like a Dream Girl. I was just like, “Oh, I’m going home, it’s clear that they’re sending me home.” So before the lip-sync and “Untucked” happened, I knew they were sending me home.
I think I was the weakest during that challenge, I was in the bottom two. [However], it [should’ve] been someone else [in the bottom two with me], but they didn’t want to send any of those other girls home and they knew that I would’ve sent them home. So they put me against Chi Chi because Chi Chi could have sent me home. She was dressed the right way, she’s a really good lip-syncer and she had the story of a Dream Girl. I got it, I guess that was the smart decision to kick me off. I got that they didn’t want to put me up against anybody else so they were like, “Oh, let’s just judge them based on a team.” Chi Chi should not have been in the bottom two.
Examiner: So we have to talk about Bob. On “Untucked,” Kim Chi said that you’re constantly comparing yourself to Bob even though Kim Chi thinks your style, aesthetic and humor are nothing alike. What do you think about that?
Thorgy: Me and Bob have been friends for a very long time. I’ve been doing drag a little longer than Bob but when she showed up in New York, we hung out immediately. I was like, “You’re funny,” and she was like, “You’re funny,” and I’m like, “I like you,” and she was like, “I like you too, bitch.” We’re really good friends but also I get kind of annoyed with people who talk a lot and she talks a lot. So on the show when I’m like, “Bob, shut up, stop talking” and she’s like, “You’re a sh*thead,” and I’m like, “I hate you too, want to get some lunch?,” that’s how we talk. So I was really surprised to see this big storyline they created how we really get on each other’s nerves. I’m like, we really don’t but whatever. Bob’s always like, “Girl, I always think I’m annoying you,” and I’m like, “You are always annoying me, you never stop talking.” But I really don’t hate Bob at all. The fact it seemed like I was comparing myself to him all the time, I guess I was, watching the show, because it’s a competition and you don’t want to go home. Somebody who never stops talking kind of ruins the energy within the group. So when he never shut up, I told him to shut up because you’re not allowing the other girls to talk. It’s the Bob show starring Bob with the cast of Bob, Bob, Bob. We are very different artistically and humor wise and we both appreciate each other very much. I wasn’t jealous of her, I want her to succeed more than anybody.
byteclay.com: What’s next for you?
Thorgy: I have all these incredible stage adaptions that I’m going to do. I want to do Shel Silverstein poems with multimedia as a children’s show. I’d love to teach children through poetry and multimedia as The Thorgy Show for children and adults. I’m [also] going to totally take the orchestra idea and run with it. It’s going to take a little while to put together, I have to find the money and I have to really write the show. I want to conduct like an 80-piece orchestra called the “Thor-chestra.” I’ve already got like 80 musicians who I’ve known throughout the years calling and texting me saying, “As soon as you start this orchestra, I want to audition.” I think people would come out, it’s something different. It’s very extensive to travel with [such a big] orchestra, it’s very expensive. I’m thinking maybe of doing it in every city and just finding players and putting out a casting call in each city.
byteclay.com: Thank you for your time, and hopefully you have a really good shot at winning Miss Congeniality.
Thorgy: That’s what everyone’s telling me! Who else do you think that I’m against?
byteclay.com: Without knowing who the top three will be, your biggest competition in my opinion would probably be Chi Chi as the underdog or Kim Chi if one or both of them don’t make the final three.
Thorgy: Interesting! I hope I win, that would be kind of cool, that would be a big pat on my back.
Thorgy Thor will be appearing at RuPaul’s DragCon May 7th and 8th in Los Angeles.
TW: @ThorgyThor, IG: @thorgythor​
The next all new “RuPaul’s Drag Race” airs April 25th in a queen sized episode that challenges the queens to make three different looks in the infamous ball episode, with special guest judges David and Amy Sedaris. For a sneak peek at the episode, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LP0hFA4IOrE
