You may know Bob the Drag Queen as the performer who took home the title of America's Next Drag Superstar on season 8 of RuPaul's Drag Race back in 2016. Now, Bob is one of the most coveted drag performers in the world with multiple acting roles for HBO, Netflix, Sony Tristar, MTV and VH1.
Bob also starred in his second comedy special, Bob the Drag Queen Live at Caroline's, on Apple TV in 2020 and regularly co-hosts his podcast, Sibling Rivalry with his drag sister, Monét X Change.
The second season of HBO Max's unscripted feel-good reality show, We're Here — which Bob stars in alongside fellow Drag Race alumni Shangela and Eureka O'Hara — is underway, and Bob just picked up a sweet gig with International Delight coffee creamer to promote the celebration of individuality.
Since March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in a new normal consisting of virtual meetings and events. With fewer opportunities to step out of their homes, people have felt more desire to express themselves.
International Delight, a coffee creamer brand known for celebrating uniqueness through flavor, has launched their Room to Party campaign in partnership with Bob — a.k.a the champion of self-expression. The goal to inspire people to turn routine moments into celebrations of their truest selves, even through a digital screen.
Bob, who identifies as non-binary with she/her and he/him pronouns, told Seventeen all about his morning routine, essentials to pull together a sickening Zoom look, and advice on self-love. Read on to see how Bob the Drag Queen navigates the new normal.
17: Can you walk us through a typical day as a drag performer, even when you aren’t taking the stage? What does Bob’s signature coffee concoction look like?
Bob the Drag Queen: Coffee has kind of become part of my morning routine now, but it hasn't always been. I'm a very recent coffee person, this is very new for me. I just moved to LA, so I'm like, figuring things out and learning who I am as a Los Angeleno. And apparently, coffee is a very big part of that. My partner Ezra drinks his coffee black — apparently, he's gangster. I'm not that, though. I do not have it in me to drink my coffee straight-up black, so I like jazz it up. I like to put my personality in my coffee.
So that's why I'm wearing this caramel macchiato-inspired look today. I don't know if you can tell, but I matched the [International Delight] bottle. 'Is that the new caramel-inspired gown?' Yes, it is. Thanks for noticing. So I like to bring my own personality to my drink and I'll use International Delight creamer. Have you seen on TikTok, there are people pouring a lot of creamer into their coffee? I'm one of them. Would you like a little coffee with your creamer? I'm that girl, that's who I am.
Today, my morning started with drag — it doesn't always start with drag. Normally, I'd probably be in drag around noon. But today, I was in drag around 9:30 in the morning. I did my eyes a little softer today. I normally like that jet black eyeliner with some blue or black crease above it. I was kind of going for shades of brown with the goldenness in it. I was trying to, I was trying to give that today.
17: How do you express yourself through drag, even if it’s just from the shoulders up?
Bob: I can be honest with you, I'm not wearing heels or pants — I'm wearing Adidas flip flops beneath my custom garment. What I do is if I'm on video, it's easier to put more effort into like base, hair and nails if you're not wearing any corset or any tights or pads or anything like that. Typically speaking, I would never go out on stage without nails on, but I will say that during a show — if I'm really into it — a couple of nails will fly off. You know what I mean? So, I do love that in terms of digital drag, I am able to stay more pristine. There is less work going on as I sit down in a comfortable chair in front of my computer. It's also a great way to be able to express yourself even more. You can use different methods and techniques that you probably can't do in a live show. I can get more creative with my visuals when I have a controlled environment around me.
17: What are the essentials for pulling your best look together? Do you have any tips for anyone who isn’t feeling motivated to get out of their sweatpants?
Bob: Look, you can keep the pajama pants on, but have a stunning top on, you know what I mean? Give yourself grace. That's really the real tea. It's okay to wear pants that have elastic in them for four months in a row. Give yourself grace, it's okay. It's all right. It's not a big deal. The other day, my partner said, 'Those are your new favorite pants.' And I said, 'Yes they are, yes they are.' They are! Whatever, drag me.
17: What advice would you give to young people/Gen-Z when it comes to self-love and discovering who they are?
Bob: You don't have to know — that's the weird thing. When you're young, people ask you 'What do you want to be when you grow up?' as young as six. I know people who are 30 who don't know what they want to be when they grow up. There is no pressure to figure out your entire personality today or tomorrow or next year. Figure out what you need to do right now. Sometimes, whenever I can't think about what I'm doing in 10 years, I can certainly think about what I'm going to do by the end of the day. It's okay to take baby steps to get to where you need to go. You don't always have to have a 10-year plan.
It's also okay to declare to the world one thing, and then as you discover yourself and realize that there may be something different, it's okay to be like, 'You know what? Actually, that's changed.' When I first came out to the first person when I was 17, I told her I was bi, and then I said I was gay, and then I said I was pansexual. I wasn't aligned with those. I thought in those moments, that's what I felt. And as you discover yourself more and more, you find out new things about you. There's no one out there documenting what you said you are, where you're going. Be your true, authentic self. Even if that evolves over time, people evolve. If you have the same mindset you did three years ago, something's gone wrong. We change a lot.
17: The second season of your HBO Max show We’re Here is underway. What is it like working with fellow queens Shangela and Eureka O’Hara and what can we expect from season 2?
Bob: The great part about working with Shangela and Eureka — and this is not shade — but because we don't do the entire show together, we're able to stand each other a lot more. Like, we get to town on the first day, then we do our own thing. We each have our own drag kid in that town and then we meet at the end of the week and we do show and tell. So we don't have to see each other for hours and hours and hours a day, which actually makes it easier to work with people when you don't have to see them all the time.
That's just me personally, I can't speak for the other girls. I would say to expect the stories to still be really true, really. I'm very excited to share that we're going to have some very great representation. I'm so proud of the representation that we have on We're Here. When I signed up to do the show, my only question was, 'Is it going to be queer people fixing up straight white guys? 'Cause if that's the case, I'm not interested.' And when they said 'Absolutely not, we're going to be helping out a lot of people and telling indigenous stories, queer stories, trans stories,' I was like, all right, count me in!
Just from season one, we had the amazing people of Shiprock near Farmington. We had the AAPI community. We had black people. We had differently-abled people. I'm just so proud of what we've done on that show. It's beautiful.
17: Can we expect any upcoming performances or even a summer tour? What would that look like as the country begins to open up again?
Bob: Besides We're Here, I probably won't be back on the road until fall. And that's, of course, tentative. I mean, the vaccines are popular. I think over a third of the country's vaccinated right now, which is wild. This is amazing. I'm fully vaxxed, #TeamPfizer! I won't be on the road again until late fall. And then by next summer, hopefully, I'll be fully, fully back on the road.
To keep up with Bob the Drag Queen, check him out on the web, Twitter and Instagram. For all things celebrating LGBTQ+ culture, follow Seventeen's inclusive platform, HERE, on Instagram.
Parts of this interview have been edited and condensed for clarity.
Sam is an assistant news editor at Cosmo, covering all things pop culture, entertainment, and celebrity news. She previously covered those same topics along with health, lifestyle, and beauty at Seventeen. When she isn't draping her cheeks in blush, you can probably find her live-tweeting awards shows or making SwiftToks.
