Bianca Del Rio interview: 'Nothing gets solved in the comments section – don’t engage with the madness'

Big time: Bianca del Rio is playing the biggest ever solo drag show to be held in the UK
Matt Writtle
Bruce Dessau6 December 2018

I can see why Bianca Del Rio made a film called Hurricane Bianca. Sitting on the sofa next to the 2014 winner of reality TV hit Rupaul’s Drag Race is like being caught in a whirlwind. Spiky stories and one-liners hurtle out so fast I have to grip the arm of the Chesterfield in the backstage lounge at Wembley Arena to keep up.

This is a flying visit but next September the self-styled “clown in a gown” will play the biggest-ever solo drag gig here, in front of 10,500. Del Rio — actually 43-year-old Roy Haylock — is thrilled by the prospect. “It’s daunting but at the same time fabulous. I never knew so many people were interested in me.”

It has not always been a case of filling arenas, though. Two decades ago gigs were a struggle: “I played in clubs where there were four people in and I had to pay two of them to watch me. I did gigs in bingo halls during happy hour in the afternoon. And if you are drinking at that time of day the last thing you want to see is a drag queen.”

A thick skin was developed alongside a brutal stand-up tongue that comes out with withering put-downs such as “I could never be a Kardashian because I have talent”. Del Rio is proud of her bingo hall roots. “When you’ve got a crowd that doesn’t want to watch you that’s when you’ve got to do something.” The look is part of that something. Haylock is five foot eight but in heels and hair as Del Rio is “eight foot six. It’s an optical delusion, as I like to call it.” It takes 90 minutes to get ready, from shaving to putting four pairs of eye lashes on each eye. The result is described as “Joan Crawford and Coco The Clown.”

Del Rio’s fanbase has changed since winning Drag Race. “Shockingly it’s a lot of straight girls. I expected just a gaggle of gays from the local bar. And the girls bring their boyfriends, which is amusing. I tell them ‘don’t worry, I’m not recruiting. You’re fine, we have enough gays’.”

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Growing up in New Orleans, Haylock knew he was gay and was treated as an outsider at school but he just got on with things. “In my day we didn’t have acceptance. You just lived your life. Nowadays people say they are different but that doesn’t mean they aren’t assholes.”

It does feel as if there is more tolerance about sexuality now but not everywhere. The 2016 film Hurricane Bianca, about a teacher getting revenge for losing their job because of their sexuality, was inspired by the fact that in 29 states it’s legal to be fired for being gay. “There is more awareness of LGBT rights and gay marriage so how can that make sense? That’s what we addressed in the film. It’s important to get the message out.” A sequel set in Russia followed and a third film set in Africa is being developed.

Haylock does not identify as a woman and is happy to be referred to as “he” or “she”. “I don’t even know if I identify as human. I’ve got friends who are trans who identify as a different person, which is not to be confused with me putting on a wig and making jokes. This is my uniform. This is entertainment. You can say she, he, it. I answer to everything.”

It is an issue that can easily cause offence. “But are people really offended or do they just want to be social media warriors? I’m not going to worry about what someone says about me online.” Which is not to say Del Rio doesn’t log on. “Nothing gets solved in the comments section. It’s funny to read but just don’t engage with the madness.”

What emerges in our chat is that while the onstage personality is a heightened version of the offstage reality, this larger-than-life creation is still a job: “This is what I am to get away with murder. Who wants to be this 24 hours a day? I couldn’t keep up with all that shaving.”

The drag scene has gone overground worldwide since those New York underground days. “When I was young it was in hidden dark places. Now it’s in people’s living rooms.” It is very much part of mainstream popular culture on both sides of the Atlantic. Fellow Drag Race alumnus Courtney Act is being courted by British TV and it has just been announced that BBC Three is to make a British Drag Race. “It’ll open up so many doors for UK queens, it’s genius. I’d love to be a guest if they ask.”

Maybe drag is popular because the world is so bleak at the moment that people need some fun. “It’s insane in America and depressing.” The conversation turns to Trump, who also landed a big break via reality TV. “If America wanted someone with bad hair and bad make-up who doesn’t know what they are doing they could’ve hired me.”

Trump may get a mention at Wembley, as may the royal family. Del Rio has heard the stories about the alleged spat between Kate and Meghan. “I’m fascinated because we don’t have any royalty back home and now we have an American who actually got in there.”

Haylock hopes Del Rio will last as long as one of his heroes, Joan Rivers. For now, though, this unforgettable creation is embracing success. “I don’t know what I want but I know what I don’t want. Which is performing in a club with only four people.”

Bianca Del Rio is at the SSE Arena, Wembley on September 21, 2019 (0844 815 0815, ssearena.co.uk)

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