Neil Patrick Harris, Bianca Del Rio and the 'Drag Me to Dinner' cast talk drag backlash: 'I think some people just need to get the stick out of their a** and just enjoy it'
The show's emcee, drag king Murray Hill, also praises Hulu for "not backing down. They're not pulling queer programming like other networks are."
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Hulu’s new (sur)reality series, Drag Me to Dinner, is a multilayered and meta production, a fourth-wall-shattering show within a show within a show: part Iron Chef, part Carol Burnette, part Laugh-In, part Between Two Ferns, and many parts RuPaul’s Drag Race, as alumni from that latter hit series compete to throw the ultimate Pride Month dinner party.
Judges Neil Patrick Harris, Drag Race Season 6 winner Bianca Del Rio, and actress Haneefah Wood, as well as emcee Murray Hill and adviser David Burtka, are well aware that the premiere of Drag Me to Dinner — which co-executive producer Harris says he and his husband, professional chef Burtka, have been trying to get made “for the better part of five years” — comes at a fraught time, with the rights of drag performers and the LGBTQ+ community under attack across the country. But as they speak with Yahoo Entertainment, they explain how this show can offer some much-needed comic relief, and enlightenment, in dark times.
“There's a lot of rhetoric that happens every four years in election cycles, regardless of what the circumstances are,” muses Harris. “People are trying to find footing in what makes us different. But we love individuality. We celebrate everyone. … We're just proud of the show, and if anyone wants to point fingers, they should point them towards a remote and hit Hulu and hit Drag Me to Dinner, and watch it and have a laugh, and maybe learn a thing or two.”
Bianca, who descends from the classic Catskills/cabaret insult comedy tradition of Joan Rivers and Don Rickles, unsurprisingly answers a bit more bluntly when asked about today's political climate. As the winner of one of RuPaul’s Drag Race’s most popular seasons and, according to New York magazine’s power list, the most successful drag queen in America, she has much to say about the current drag backlash — which seems to come just as the once-underground drag art form has hit critical mass (thanks in large part to the mainstream-infiltrating, Emmy-sweeping Drag Race franchise).
“Let's be real here. It's like we're not that threatening. And it's all for entertainment,” says Del Rio. “It’s not for everyone, but it’s entertainment. It's almost like watching a film — some are R-rated, some are PG-13, some are G-rated. …We can't stop all forms of entertainment because a certain group doesn't like it. So, it is what it is. Take [Drag Me to Dinner] for what it's about: drag queens having a good time, battling it out for probably the worst prize ever given in television history [a golden cheese-grater, which is a far cry from RuPaul’s Drag Race’s current prize of two-hundred-thousand dollahs].
"And they still showed up and got in drag to make this happen! That's what it is. It's not so much a political statement or we're trying to change the world; it's simply reminding everybody that drag is entertainment," Del Rio continues. "Let's go back to Milton Berle. Let's go back to Flip Wilson. What — it's OK when straight men do it? It's entertainment. And I think some people just need to get the stick out of their ass and just enjoy it.”
“I think that all the drag explosion is fantastic, and I think sometimes when people don't know enough about something, they get scared. There's a naivete to it,” says Burtka, who believes lighthearted TV fare like Drag Me to Dinner can educate the public. “When there's a lot happening, I think they want to point fingers. But I say, let them. This is a celebration of drag. … We picked only girls who are hilarious and were comedy queens, first and foremost. There are a lot of queens out there that are Instagram girls and have no sense of humor, but it was really, really important to have girls who can make it on their own and be able to sell themselves and produce a segment. And it was super-important for us to show that these girls are smart. They may not come across as smart, but they know exactly what they're doing! They know exactly how they're being portrayed or what they're doing to make this segment funny. It was fun for us to show the world this, and honestly just to have a laugh. It's really important right now. I think we all should learn from these girls about how to celebrate life.”
“We have, regardless of circumstance, always felt that drag performers are so fun and positive and enjoyable and hilarious,” adds Harris. “Every time we're watching them, we're smiling and dancing, and the people around us are having a great time, full stop. And so we thought that that was worth showing everyone — fans of drag, people who'd never seen drag before, and everyone in between.”
Hill, a legendary East Village comedian and drag king who’s been performing since the ‘90s, is especially optimistic about how Drag Me to Dinner can foster change and acceptance — if more conservative viewers just give the show a chance. “I think it will change people’s minds, but I do feel like representation is important. So, the fact that we're even on television and we're being 100% supported by Hulu, which is absolutely fantastic, is a step in the right direction,” he says. “They're not backing down. They're not pulling queer programming like other networks are and stuff. So, I think it's a political statement in that we're just get a chance to be visible, and we're all who we are.
“I think all this legislation, it's a ruse…. it's based on fear. If people who are afraid of us actually see us and spend time with us, they realize that we have a heart, we're breathing the same air, and that we're fun, generous people — except for [veteran underground queen and Drag Me to Dinner contestant] Jackie Beat!” Hill continues jokingly. “So, I think it's important for us to show people that we are people first. You know, some people are afraid of Bianca — and that makes sense! But we’ve got to show people that we're having joy. We have trans joy, we have drag joy, we have female joy. We are happy people, and we're loving people. That's it.”
“Every time you're watching [the Drag Me to Dinner queens], you're seeing something that everyone's proud of. And I think especially since June is going to be Pride Month, it seems like a great option of things to watch,” says Harris. “And they'll learn how not to make a pot roast. So, there you go.”
Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:
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