Pour one out in honor of Kori King today — and don’t forget to shake that ice. On Friday’s episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race, the self-declared Black Barbie of Boston was sent home. King had already put slaysian diva Joella to bed in a lip sync, and her wig falling off didn’t stop her from eliminating Acacia Forgot. But her latest minidress in a Betsey Johnson–themed design challenge failed to impress the judges, and after weeks of living, laughing, and loving Lydia B Kollins, it was finally time for the showmance of the season — which remains a real relationship! — to split up. The business-minded queen insists she didn’t go into the season expecting to find love or to snatch the crown but says she’s happy with both outcomes. “Before I went, I knew I was not making it to the finale,” King says, laughing. “Top five at best. So I’m not mad at my placement at all.”
What did making Barbie’s Doll Race as a teenager teach you about what makes an entertaining Drag Race story line?
Oh my God, you — I fucking hate you, Jennifer. [Laughs.] Okay, okay. So for the people who don’t know, I am a huge Drag Race fan, and I made an entire YouTube series that was practically just Drag Race but with Barbies. I was doing story lines; I was doing everything, honey. It taught me not only what character I wanted to be on the show but also how to talk — how to make clean, clear sound bites that would make the edit.
Did you mention it in your audition tape?
No, not at all. I was embarrassed, girl! I’m a grown man at this point, and my past was playing with dolls. That’s crazy.
Well, your confessionals were great. So, hey, if it helped …
It really taught me how to narrate the entire season, for sure.
What came first for Kori as a character: liking Dunkin’ or being a lesbian? It’s nice that the same colors work for both.
So funny that you say that — it was actually both. So my entrance look was pink and orange ’cause one of my home bars, Dani’s Queer Bar, is actually the only lesbian bar in Boston. They’re, like, the biggest supporters ever. Love, love, love. So I was like, Okay, this is gonna be the brand. I’ve been hosting there and doing so many shows with them for years at this point, since I started drag. They’ve done so many lesbian and queer events. But also, Dunkin’ was pink and orange, so I was like, Oh, this is perfect. And the shape of the outfit was a Barbie outfit, too. So the reference had layers.
As this season airs, you’ve been putting out so much content online, whether that’s re-creating Suzie Toot’s talent number or making jokes about your fallen wig coming to life. How far in advance do you plan all of this out? Were you making mental notes about what would make good social-media content during filming?
Oh, 100 percent. I am a queen of thinking ahead. The entire season, I was like, What bits could I come up with to fit into every little tiny thing?
Between all the Cameos, vlogs, and other posts, what’s your screen time right now?
It’s a little over 12 hours at this point. I don’t watch TV. I don’t play video games. I don’t hang out with friends. Every single waking moment, I am on social media.
It’s impressive that you’re balancing that with all the traveling and performances you’re doing now.
Mm-hmmm, mm-hmmm. Social media at this point is work, so I just work 24/7, which I love. I’m a big workaholic.
You told EW that you think drag is more of “the uniform that you push social-media content through.” How would you describe your goals coming into the show? It seems like you might’ve been more focused on building a platform than on taking the crown.
That’s so true. I feel like, at this point in the franchise, winning is not the be-all and end-all. You could win, but only one of 14 people is gonna win. So that really shouldn’t be your goal going in. For me, the goal getting on the show and during the show is to create a brand and career for yourself. Only one person can win, but everyone has the opportunity to make an entire career off the show. I think I’ve done a very good job of accomplishing my goal.
Did you expect that you would end up being in a showmance?
No. Kind of gagged me fierce, I will say. It really surprised me.
What do you like about Lydia?
You know … I love the back end of drag. The business aspect is my favorite part. I love the numbers; I love seeing what posts can get this many likes. For her, she loves the art of drag. And I love just seeing her thought process. Like, her eyes sparkle as she’s trying to make an outfit, you know? I like the way that she sees drag.
Once we saw you and Lydia connecting, I think a lot of viewers predicted that you would end up lip-syncing against each other, just like Vanjie and Brooke Lynn Hytes did. How much was that precedent for showmances on your mind?
I knew it was probably something that could happen, but I fully did not care. I was like, I like Lydia too much to be worried about having to lip sync.
How has it felt to get so much love as a couple? I’ve seen so many fan edits of you two.
Oh, I’m obsessed. We watch every single one. If we’re tagged, we have seen it. We’ll send them to each other all throughout the day. I love it.
You and Lydia weren’t officially together yet during the lip sync. Can you describe what was going through your head during that kiss?
It was very spur of the moment. We kind of read the room, you know what I mean? We saw each other, like — okay, the song is called “Kiss Me Deadly,” girl. It was very much a feel-the-vibes type of thing. I wasn’t surprised. It felt right.
The other queens were losing it in the background. Who on the cast was the biggest supporter of this relationship?
Oh my God, that is so hard. I don’t know! They all were super-supportive for different reasons. Jewels was living; Lana was living. Of course, my good sister Suzie was obsessed. And Sam was obsessed in an “Oh my God, girl, can y’all just hurry up and kiss already?” way. Everyone was waaaaiting, honey.
Once the two of you got together, did you tell the rest of the cast not to confirm it? I ask because it feels like Joella kinda spilled the beans at a viewing party in January.
Girl. We didn’t tell anybody not to, but I thought everyone got the gist. However, Joella must have just left so early that she didn’t get the gist! [Laughs.]
The relationship rollout still felt pretty subtle, though. People were initially digging for clues on social media and then it just kept getting more and more obvious until you finally confirmed it. How did you and Lydia decide when you wanted to officially go public?
We kind of wanted to wait until this week’s episode. But then it was getting to a point where we were like, “Okay, we’re literally together every week. This is hard.” [Laughs.] At this point, we fly back and forth every week. We’ll both have gigs on the weekend and then either me or her will fly to Boston or Pittsburgh.
I don’t miss when we were more private. Actually, I like it a lot better now. ’Cause it’s just an easy, Yeah, we’re dating. We don’t have to try to scooch around the answer.
Being on a competition show like Drag Race inevitably also comes with negative comments. You seem really able to shrug off that type of criticism when it’s directed at you. How did you develop that mind-set?
It’s kind of just like, Who cares? These people, they’re probably sad or unemployed. They don’t have friends. This is as good as their life is gonna get. So I love when people make fun of us online. Bringing us down is bringing them joy. Who am I to stop so much joy?
And sometimes you don’t even necessarily disagree, because you’ve actually joined in and made jokes about some of your looks.
Oh, for sure. I’m like, This is terrible. But I don’t care. [Laughs.] These are just clothes. You know I get to take this off, right? It’s not that serious. Fashion has never been my favorite part of drag. So people critiquing it, I was like, Okay, sure. Now, if they said I was a bad businessman, then I would’ve got mad.
As a longtime fan, what’s it been like to see other RuGirls reacting to you every week?
It is so fun watching other queens either praise me or read me down, me and all my sisters. I love every minute of it.
Well, I know you look up to Monét …
Motherrrr! Ahhhhhh!
… Who is, of course, tuning in this season for both The Pit Stop and Sibling Rivalry. What would you say to her if you knew she was going to read this?
Mother, please follow me on Instagram, please. [Laughs.] Pretty please!
You started doing drag because of Drag Race, and it took you only a couple years to get on the show. Is there anything that you want to manifest for your career next?
I always say this: I will be anywhere a check will be. So who knows? I might be on Chopped; I might be on Big Brother. The money will take me where I need to go, for sure.