We can start our interview. Oh, it’s perfect. The location actually says Henrietta Hudson. Look at that.
Could you give me your name in drag, out of drag, and the pronouns that you want to be referred to in both of those instances?

My drag name is Ridley XCX. I just hit a year and a half in drag. So there’s a chance that changes at some point. I did pick that name before Brat Summer. And then over the course of Rocky Horror, I was like, I really like being called Ridley.


So I like that name out of drag too. But you’ll probably find me in materials under Tori Jewell. 

And I’m rocking with they, them, these days. 

For both you and your drag?

Yeah, yeah, can’t go wrong.

Where do you place Ridley in terms of like, thing, king, queen, other?

Yeah, I don’t know. Like, thing… I think is a good coverall. Because I do drag queen numbers as well. When Poor Things came out, I was like, I got to do something like that. I love that.

And then Gone Girl, she’s got that monologue that I really love.

But it’s definitely harder to feel that what I’m doing... like what makes it drag? You know what I’m saying? I get some of that internal insecurity.

Like if I’m doing a queen number, what exactly makes it drag? You know what I mean? 


Whatever, it’s internalized shit. 

I feel I can’t claim trans man until I feel I get the external results for it. 

And then in terms of sexuality, I identify as bi.

And I have a lot of insecurity with that as well, because I am dating a man. And I feel like I spent a lot of time on Twitter, probably too much time on Twitter. 

So it’s got me convinced that that just is irrelevant, or, I don’t know, somehow doesn’t count or something.

Which I get, I get arguments from both sides. But it’s just something I kind of keep quiet about, because I don’t know, it feels like less… 

I don’t know. Anytime I see a friend identify as bi - when they’re dating a cishet man - and they call him ‘partner’, it feels obfuscating. I don’t know, maybe I’m in the wrong for that.

And I’m like, you just gotta, you know what I mean? Own it. And I don’t know. Yeah. So yeah, bi non binary.

Cool.So tell me a bit about Ridley, who that person is, who that character is… How would you describe them? How did they really come to be?

It actually for all its criticisms, I was watching an old season of RuPaul’s that I’d never seen before. Not old, but it wasn’t current. And Gottmik walked on screen. And I genuinely I don’t think I’ve ever seen a trans man ever.

I grew up in North Carolina. And I had this kind of gut drop moment. And I think the thought that came to my head was, “you’re allowed to do that!”

You know, that’s an option!? And so after that, I had mentioned it to a friend who kind of inducted me into drag, Rosetta Stoned was the drag name and has since left the scene. His name is Vince. And he’s really funny. He would have all these, “the best part of drag is quitting”, stage mother type words or whatever. So he had put me on a wig, glued my brows down and painted my face for the first time.

And that was around Halloween. And so as I kind of started playing with that the white face paint became something that I really enjoyed because it felt even if it the look was busted, it looks like an elevated type something like, this clearly isn’t, you know, “I just decided to do my makeup to go out” - it’s something else. And then New Year’s Eve, coming into 2024 is when I did my first drag performance in a living room with friends. It was Fortnite themed. 

What was the song and the costume and stuff?

So Jonesy is the default character in Fortnite. He’s like a blonde, military looking guy. So that puffy muscle suit. And the song was Number One Victory. ‘Yeah, Fortnite we’re about to get down’ the American Boy cover... Chug Jug With You into Video Games by Lana Del Rey. 

And so it became how much I love Fortnite but then at the end with video games because I think she says it’s something like... ‘it’s you it’s you it’s all for you’ was meant to be a love letter to my friends and their support and then she’s got a line that has ‘girl’ in it and I kind of liked that.

Because I start with my big muscle suit and then once it like takes that more dramatic turn I took the muscle suit off and it was a bit of like, you know, nude illusion type like vulnerability type. “Oh, I heard you like bad “girls”, honey—is that true?”.



Anyway, so it was really fun, and I got to practice in a room that was very supportive, with people who I felt very close to and loved. Then I took it to the first open set I found, which was - you might have to redact this - okay, it was at Nine Bob Note, called Are You the Next Ultimate Diva?

I went because it was the first open set I found. It’s a fantastic space, huge. Have you ever been there? It’s right beside Three Dollar Bill, it’s like, I think, their sister bar. But that’s a glamour competition, and I showed up with my shitty, ugly, wrinkly muscle suit doing a Fortnite-themed number.

Actually, the host had prefaced me before I came out, because their poster says “Drag kings, queens, things, all are welcome”, and she gets on the mic and is like, “Now, we do welcome everyone here…” 

I was backstage like, “Oh…” She didn’t say anything before anybody else, and looking back now, I can see I was just in the wrong competition, you know? I just wasn’t doing the genre they were looking for.

But that was where I performed for the first time publicly, for sure.

What was that like?

What did that feel like?

It was really good. I think now that I’ve had some reps in and I’m a year and some change in, I’m able to look back at the video and see myself thinking. And now I’m able to let loose a little more.

I was already comfortable with crowds because I did a lot of stage performance before this. But when you’re doing a play and somebody drops a line, you can fix it in the moment. With lip syncing, it’s a set track - you’re either on it or you’re not. That took some getting used to.

Maybe I’ll go back there at some point if I get my looks together. It was a fantastic venue - big, great for crowd interaction, audience-cheer voting. I’d always invite friends, and I always made it to top two, but she never picked me to advance. That was fine. I ended up seeing the final competition. My friend made it - and it was awesome.

Do you prefer performing in a competition setting, or something more casual?

I mean, there’s definitely validation in a competition. That was the only one I’ve done, it was just the first thing I saw with “open set” in it, and the venue was great, so I came back a few times.

There’s also a great open set called Open Bussy at Pink Metal, fantastic crowd, supportive hosts, and it covers a lot of the drag spectrum. 

But it’s tiny. 


That’s honestly what I prioritize most. What the space looks like. I’m always picturing: if I’m in that back corner, am I having a good time as an audience member?

Do you feel like the people you perform with are mostly one kind of drag performer, or is it a mix?

When I first started at the Diva competition, it was mostly the same type - glamour. I didn’t love how the dressing room felt, and granted, there were two mirrors and ten performers, so it got territorial.

It was a competition, too, so people had their guard up. But I met someone - Priestess Lolita - she’s the one who advanced that night, and we’ve been good friends since.

She’s really sweet.

Oh! She did Barbie, right?

Yes! Island Barbie. Fantastic. I love her.

The other thing you asked - competition versus other performances - competitions have validation and tips. I love that there’s a quantifiable number of how well I did. The little class-student in me loves being able to say, “Okay, I did well, I can see it here.”

This scene has been really great. A lot of people who grew up socialized as women, so there’s a level of familiarity and comfort.

Backstage, though, I can be quiet. If other performers are in full persona, I can get a little withdrawn.

Over the past year, though, it’s been varied. With Rocky, we had a good spectrum. The more venues I find, the more versatility there is. One of my favorite numbers at Open Bussy was someone older who just threw on a dress and a shake-and-go wig, and did the lip sync. It was so punk because she didn’t go for glamour, it was almost more impressive that she didn’t.

That’s something I want to improve on: my looks, my polish, my glamour.

I think you’re pretty good already.

Oh, you’re too kind! Thank you! It’s honestly the clothes and the hair sculpting. I’d love to be able to do more than just pull a wig out of a bag and put it on. Drag king looks can be hard to elevate.

Even with gender stuff, for folks trying out femininity, you’ve got nail polish, skirts, makeup. But it’s hard to name something purely masculine.

Fifty years ago, a woman in pants was scandalous, now, who cares?

I’d like to learn tailoring, sequins, something to add that level. I do long nails for my drag king looks because I want people to know I’m putting in the work.

You saw my look for the TikTok thing, jeans and a shirt.

It was really good. That makeup was great, in the pictures I took, your face was always ready.

Thank you! That was one of the few times I went for a more natural, contour-type look. Clothing is what I want to get better at this year.

Could you tell me about the difference between you and Ridley, what’s that relationship like?

That’s a tricky question. 

What I love about drag…. when I first moved here, I was taking any stage gig I could get. A lot of plays I was embarrassed to invite friends to, bad scripts, long, ego-filled. Eventually I realized I didn’t even like doing them. I was taking them just to take them. That’s when drag came in.

The definition is so broad. Have you ever seen Dragula? That blew my mind. Realizing drag is more than what you see on RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Outside of drag, I’m a huge gamer, and I love that I can bring that into Ridley. Do you know Metroid? Samus? In Super Smash Brothers? Samus’s antagonist is Ridley, a space dragon. That’s where the name came from, and I love Charli XCX, so it all clicked.

As a person, I love audience interaction: the one-on-one moments, the tipping, the intimacy of it. As for how we differ? I’m not sure yet.

Maybe it’ll come to me later.

Okay, two-part question: what’s something you really love about drag, and what’s something that frustrates you?

I love how expansive it is. I’m only making tracks I’m excited about now. Mashing up monologues with songs I love. It’s so personal.

I love seeing what other people do. It’s intimate, surprising. I’ve seen things I’d never have thought of. Like Xana Whoria. They had sticky goo so tips would get stuck to them. Or someone did “Money, Money, Money” by ABBA with a stapler, stapling the bills. It was so punk.

I love that as an audience member too. Clapping, tipping, seeing brilliance up close.

What I hate? It’s so late. I’m old. I want to be in bed before midnight. I hate that shows never start on time. I’ll get there early and just sit around.

And performing in bars, you can drink while you’re doing it. The first time I performed at Nine Bob Note, I’d smoked beforehand, and my mouth was so dry I couldn’t lip sync properly. Substances are part of the scene, but I have to be careful, if I get there too early, I end up drinking too much before going on. Make drag start earlier!

You need to get into the drag brunches!

I know! But brunches aren’t as weird. I like weird. I just don’t want to be waiting from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. to perform.

Right now, I do a lot of open sets, not booked gigs. I’m sure once I break into that, it’ll be more organized. But if I’m there before the host, I’m annoyed. When the show says 9 and it’s 10 and they’re still not there, I’m tired!


Do you think you have a go-to performance song, or one that represents Ridley?

Honestly, the Chug Jug song. It’s fun, it gets the crowd going, it’s got great beats. The first QAMP night, I did that Jonesy number. It was cool being part of the first one.

I’ve struggled to make numbers longer than three minutes. I’m always thinking, “Is this bit worth it?” I’d like to do a standstill ballad at some point, I’ve been subconsciously avoiding it.

You kind of did for Frankenfurter.

Oh my god, yeah! That was a dream come true. Probably my favorite thing I’ve ever done in New York. Sweet Transvestite was great too. Everyone knows it, and ripping off the trash bag was so fun.

My looks aren’t quite there yet, but I’m inspired by stuff like Dragula. Making outfits out of cellophane and glue. It’s freeing.

Chug Jug is still my favorite. It’s fun and it was my first one.

What do you see as the future of your drag or performance in general?

I studied anthropology for undergrad, my family saw performance as a hobby, not a career. A few months before graduating, I realized I wouldn’t be happy doing anything else.

I applied to the MFA stage program at UNC Chapel Hill, Go Heels! I went straight from undergrad to grad, so moving to New York was a major change. No one’s telling me what to do anymore. I love a prompt.

I wish I were doing more things I’m proud of, but I remind myself: the longer I’m here, staying afloat, paying rent, the more opportunities I have because I’m here. Ideally, I’d love to do a standstill ballad, bigger venues, live singing. I’ve also been auditioning for theater roles for trans men. It’s tough, but getting cast in something like that would mean a lot.

And to finish up, do you have any final thoughts you’d like to share?

Yeah. I recently applied for something that asked, “Why do people need to see you on stage?” For me, it’s that things don’t have to be perfect. Gender-wise, look-wise—it’s not perfect, but you should still do it.

If you wait for perfect, you’ll be waiting forever. So my message is: try it. Go out there, block a brow, slap a wig on, and do it. People are generally receptive if you go to the right venues.

Don’t wait for perfect, just throw it out there. As long as you’re having fun, they’re having fun.

That’s what I try to remember. It’s not that serious. 

Of course, I take it seriously, but ultimately, drag brings joy and pays homage to art we love. It’s diva worship. Sometimes I do niche stuff, but I try to pick songs people at least know. The ones who get it are having the time of their lives.

So yeah. It’s okay to be new. It’s important to be new. It’s almost more important to see drag in its beginning stages than perfectly polished. 

Like Alaska Thunderfuck said, it’s important to have some bad looks in the beginning, to have oatmeal on your brows.

So I’d tell anyone who loves drag: give it a shot. 

You’ve got nothing to lose.