“Oh it’s hot and it’s sticky and it’s naaaaasty,” said drag goddess Lady Bunny of the current New York City summer weather. “And that’s just how I like it. The kind of men I like can’t afford to leave the City when it’s hot, so they just have to strip down and stay put, right where I can get at ’em.
“Let those other queens got to Provincetown or Fire Island or wherever. Lady Bunny’s got everything she needs right here: sweaty men and a big can of hairspray.”
Watch you don’t explode there, Bunion! We need you to make that flight to San Francisco to star at the weekly Some Thing party on Fri/2 (10pm-late, $8. The Stud, 399 Ninth St., SF.)
Speaking of which, does Miss Bun-Bun have to buy an extra seat on the plane for her trademark ginormous blonde wig?
“No, just for my fat ass! And then I have to buy another seat for the scabies.”
But then her voice dropped into a more serious register — these were her wigs after all — and she said, “You know, it’s sometimes nervewracking to travel with my priceless hair sculptures. But I’ve just learned to stack them in a carry-on and then I just tease them when I bring them out. I don’t know how to do all the hot rollers and other things the queens all do.
“Marke, I’m just a tomboy with makeup and a poor taste in clothes.”
Lady Bunny was off and running in her trademark perky Southern drawl from the second she picked up her landline for our chat. Landline? Please tell me at least she has a Princess Phone. “Oh no, just a regular old phone. I heard Carol Channing still had her landline and I just love her. Of course, mine has those big buttons for seniors.”
I’ve known Bunny since way back in her Wigstock days, when she hosted the huge outdoor drag festival that ruled the NYC gay scene for like 3000 years (1984-2005).
And it’s kind of wonderful, the way she moved to NYC from Atlanta on a wing and a prayer in the ’80s with RuPaul — and adorable DJ Larry Tee, who invented electroclash and has been seen here a bunch of times lately — and now, she’s a TV personality as Dean of Drag on RuPaul’s Drag U. show and celebrity judge on Drag Race, as well as remaining one of Ru’s besties. Clubkids: all grown up!
“I got on fabulously with every queen on Drag Race that I met — except one, who shall remain nameless, but I think everyone knows who she is,” drops Bunny casually. “I mean, I know nothing about reality TV. I grew up with Lucille Ball and Leave It To Beaver. But I do love a paycheck, so why not?”
As ever though, Bunny is appearing all over with her comedy parodies of hit songs, her filthy double-entendres — and now with a cute club-ready song of her own, “Take Me Up,” which showcases her more serious singing talents. In as much as Bunny can ever be serious.
Oh, wait on that — Lady Bunny does have a second reputation, beyond the wigs and parodies, as an outspoken political commentator. Her blog is usually aflame with her acerbic sentiments, some of which can cause even seasoned political observers to grasp their burning ears. (For her recent thoughts on SF, check this out.)
“How can I keep my mouth shut when there’s so many travesties, so much injustice going on. I mean, take that incident recently when Michelle Obama told the protesting lesbian to be quiet or leave that fundraiser — and it was like the whole gay community was saying, ‘Go Michelle!’ But that woman was raising attention about how we don’t have rights, how we still don’t have the same rights as everybody else. And the gay community was telling her to be quiet! These kinds of things enrage me, so I let it all out. Anger is a very potent emotion!”
Does she ever let it all out on stage? “Oh you know, people want the comedy, they want the parodies, and to be entertained. They don’t want some queen browbeating them about political stuff in the middle of their party.”
So what can we expect when she hits Some Thing on Friday? “I’m so excited to be back in SF — I’m an ooooooold friend of [Some Thing party founders] Glamamore and Juanita More. And I even patched things up regarding an old fight with Heklina. I’ll have to find something else to fight with her about now!
“But, you know, it’s just going to be me up there with my dirty jokes and my filthy mind and a little music — straight out of the gutter and on your face!”