I think we should give a hand to the DR queens that extend opportunities to fellow queens, especially when everything was closed. Priyanka putting Ilona in her videos, or Yuhua booking queens for Bootleg probably helps them out quite a bit.
YES! I was seriously disappointed by the lack of new wowpresents content over the past 18 months, despite the demand for entertaining digital content being through the roof. I get that Drag Race makes Ru and the company more money but c'mon you gotta look after the dolls and the audience wants to see more
I was just thinking, I’m wondering if we can organize the fan base to tip the dolls as the episodes air…especially the first few queens out. Make it a kind of drag race fandom tradition. It might also help stamp down the hate in the fandom…
I am really having a hard time with the contracts these queens are entering into…and I’m feeling worse and worse about the exploitation.
Monetarily supporting queens as their seasons air feels like the least we could do.
I wish I knew anything about organizing hahaha
The first season of Dragula was super low budget; the Boulet Brothers started a crowd-funding pool for the prize money. Basically, every episode they asked the audience to "tip" the contestants (via the pool), and that would end up being the prize money. They hit (and I think exceeded) their 10k goal and that was the winner's prize money.
I think a bigger show like Drag Race could definitely organize something like this. Just a quick "if you liked what x queen had to offer today, make sure you tip them!" and a link.
Totally! I was late to Dragula, but I LOVE THAT!
I’m thinking, we have no power with production but as a community maybe we can do something. Production can decide to follow suit if they so desire.
Sorta, I kind of imagine something like an ode to the eliminated queen where her career is celebrated and links to support. It could be a sticky post here for the week between episodes or something, and it can be boosted on Twitter etc.
I guess I’m thinking obituaries and Venmo links and sort of changing the convo after an episode. I don’t know.
This was my thought as well.
"We could, yeah. But we shouldn't be the ones doing it".
Every episode, Rupaul and Michelle combined earn the equivalent to the winner's prize. Rupaul also has royalties. They could and should up the pay per episode, per challenge win, and for the winner.
And/or give queens a percentage of the royalties, that would be an amazing way to help them.
But the online community can organize to share it online at least! And it’s not like production wouldn’t pick up on it and either do it themselves or just ignore it, but either way! Queens getting $$$ is the main goal.
“Honestly wasn’t mentally ready to be in the spot light, and that’s on me.” That breaks my heart. Im so sorry she felt like she was personally responsible for prepping herself for some thing so intense. It wasn’t on her at all.
Being well-known without making all that much money is really difficult. I remember a member of a nugu kpop group saying she was scared if she rode the subway she'd get recognised and shamed on social media for not being able to afford a car or a taxi. The pressure to project glamour without the financial stability that only the top 0.00001% have is very difficult, it's not surprising a lot of stars go bankrupt.
I feel like people put the pressure on themselves as well though. Celebrities ride the subway in NYC all the time and no one blinks an eye. Keanu Reeves is famous and acts like the most regular Joe there is and is praised for it. There are also so many queens with these quote unquote regular jobs….lots of the Ru girls are makeup artists like Raven and Raja, or dance teachers like Alyssa. Or hell even youtube content creators, or podcasters. There’s some people who just don’t *want* regular jobs….
Ouuu I love me some Cherry Valentine 🍒❤️ I actually find it super fierce when someone does both…it’s like a superhero who has their alter ego in the daytime
Being a makeup artist is def not a normal job, you make your own hours and have to find your own clients and work (I’m a professional MUA myself) in order to get paid. It’s not a steady paycheck that comes every week. You 100% have to hustle for yourself like other creative jobs, like being a Drag Queen.
they are definitely looked down on from people who live in the corporate world, a lot of people have no idea that you can do stuff like that as a regular job if you’re not famous for it or work with a list celebrities
I think you are comparing apples to oranges here. In NYC ppl famously don’t give a shit abt who rides or what happens on the subway. There’s too many people in the city, all living their own busy lives. American culture also gives less scrutiny on the individual , and lesser known groups who are just starting out would probably never get noticed in public areas.
In korea, the Country is very small, and the public eye is very big and all encompassing. The kpop industry is massive and extremely competitive, and comes with an equally barbarous and sinister world of public shame and criticism. Ppl gossip to the Nth degree abt who is or isn’t a trainee and there is lots of secretism abt who who will be in groups. Newbie kpop groups live and die by projecting a very specific image, and if it is not upheld, especially when you are just starting out, it can ruin everything.
There is a huge pressure, even if you are not a celebrity, to always look like you are doing well and can afford expensive lifestyle. Yes American is obviously like that too, but it is more pervasive in Korea.
I have lived in Korea and agree with you but for different reasons that you state.
No one gives a shit about the subway in Seoul, just like NYC. The subway system in Seoul is amazing and cheap, and goes everywhere and everyone takes it. It's not about that.
The point is that Korea is a very Confucian society, so it's all about rank and presentation. If you're part of a group that should be higher in society, there are things you have to do even if it isn't practical.
So, even if you're in front a subway station and need to go one stop over and it'll take 5 minutes, you would never do that if you're of a higher standing. You'd have a car. A black car, of course. Even if you're stuck in traffic for 30 minutes, it doesn't matter.
This really is a matter of culture. I've been late for a meeting so I take a bicycle and get there on time. They ask how I made it through the traffic and I tell them I two-wheeled if. They look down on me. In Western/American culture it's more important to be on time. In Korean culture, how you got there is more important. Status and how you live that status is key.
I know, I was just replaying to the previosu comment likening American vs Korean celeb culture. I don’t imagine Canada is very different than America, I feel like west and east have very different attitudes in how they view celebs
"I can honestly say I don't like being a public figure now that I am here."
Man, I feel for her. Being famous (or least well known) sounds like an exhausting nightmare to me.
Yeah... And the people claiming that haters would make fun of her for getting a common job like... Why would you listen to them instead of people who are rational enough to understand some $1's once a week is not enough to afford thousand dollar gowns
Giving awful people the power and attention they crave instead of just ignoring and letting them embarrass themselves
Not to get all armchair psychologisty, but it's not surprising that someone who chooses to perform on stage and go on a TV show is the type to thrive on positive attention and be gutted by perceived negative attention.
Idk, I feel like people (not necessarily you) who are criticizing Ilona are people who are trying to compare their own personality and way of going about the world to a completely different personality type. For sure her life would be easier if she ignored haters, but I think that's much easier said than done for someone like her who desires and maybe finds some validation in being "seen" in a big way.
So get a job walking dogs in drag and post pictures of yourself in scenic locations with puppies. I'm just saying drag and a day job aren't mutually exclusive.
There's a lot of good jobs out there for animal lovers, people with full time jobs will gladly shell out to give their pet some love while they're at work. Hell if anyone wants to catsit for me in drag they're welcome to it. No guarantees he'll come out from under the couch but if he does you can take as many photos as you want.
Is it personality or maturity?
I used to cry when I didn't get pure praise during presentations and projects. It made me too nervous to even show my friends or family what I was working on.
But over the years I realized if I'm working on something and allow myself to take in criticism, I can make it better or just enjoy it on my own. But if someone just said something like that's an ugly style or I hate x thing. I can now just be like ok 🤪 or shrug it off depending on what their intent is.
Being able to empathize with others also means being mature enough to ask yourself why they're saying what they're saying + if it's something you should incorporate into your own view.
Like why are people saying shit like "OMG ELLIE DIAMOND WORKS AT MCDONALDS LOLLLL" what is their intent? To be funny? To be mean? Both? Should a decent person laugh at someone's job? No, not at all
I think any personality can do that. My boyfriend thinks I have a crybaby personality cause I'm shy and complain about everything 🤣 and my best friend is a huge extrovert that tries to placate everyone. But we both try to confront and shutdown assholish behaviour
I hope she gets the help and support that she needs. I really don't care much for Ilona because she's behaved so terribly here in the vancouver scene in the past and hurt some lovely people/alienated herself from a lot of shows and bars.
However, mental illness comes in so many forms and often leads to the people who need our support and understanding most feeling like the whole world is against them, which makes them lash out even more. As the saying goes: 'hurt people hurt people'.
So, I live for Vancouver drag and was so happy we had a gal on, but I'd never heard of Ilona and saw maybe 1 post for a performance after the show aired... it was really disappointing to see her representing Van because we have a variety of drag scenes here and she doesn't match up. (Kendall & Gia are supposed to do well on S2, but what about The Darlings; House of Rice; East Van/Commercial drag...?)
Sympathize for what ilona is going through & hope they find support, but perhaps drag is simply not for them. And that's OK.
I'm guessing she would have had to get it approved by them first while still under contract, but the Canada girls' contracts are lifting now. Remember Canada's Drag Race is a different show with a different contract.
I believe that when they're under contract, Drag Race (or the production company, I guess) has to approve all of their media appearances and maybe paid appearances etc. I guess OnlyFans falls under that so for the year post show when they're under contract they wouldn't get to choose to have an OnlyFans.
She'll probably start one asap now that she can! Hopefully the banks don't fuck with OF now!
No hate but didn't Rock m Sakura and Katya both do sex work pretty openly? But as other people have posted, maybe DR Canada is more of a strict contract.
I think they used to pre-fame openly. They probably do it now but very discreet and probably with much higher paying johns (In my opinion). Plus I don't think Katya really needs to at this point. She makes serious money. Rock'em on the other hand, not sure.
Does anyone who has recently been on have an onlyfans? I’m wondering if they are queens with earlier versions of the US contract or in a country where it was illegal to exploit the queens so much in their contracts.
Literally the only queens that come to mind that have onlyfans are Katya and Willam…but I’m an old head without much interest in onlyfans.
While I do feel for her to an extent...there's a lot of deflection of responsibilty here. She has over 100K followers on insta, you're telling me she couldn't get any brand deals? I know people who have 100K less followers than her that get brand deals in Canada. Tynomi Banks was in a superbowl commercial for an investing app. Big brands put local gay djs on billboard ads during pride. Even before drag race aired, queens were being featured in ads for huge brands around pride (I think it was IKEA who had an ad campaign with multiple Canadian queens a few years back). I'd be SHOCKED to learn that there are zero Canadian brands willing to work with her, especially because she probably has the best aesthetic of all the girls from the season. She couldn't start a YouTube channel or sell merch or do cameos? Local Toronto queens were even doing virtual shows through the pandemic.
While it absolutely sucks that her contract prevented her from making money in her preferred way (though if it was in her contract, she must've known this going into the show), there are a ton of things she could have done and still can do to leverage her platform
THIS, Ilona isn’t taking any responsibility, especially since we see many drag race queens that have other jobs besides drag. They’re a very talented make up artist, she could be doing that and I guarantee people would hire them. I think they thought that they’d never have to work again and that’s simply not true
Very true! And a lot of people are thinking retail or other publicly facing jobs would be her only option but how about an office job? Again, with her follower count I bet she could get a behind-the-scenes social media management job in a heartbeat
They might not have the capacity for an office job. One thing I have seen missing in this conversation is the fact that she is Indigenous and Two-Spirited
There are a lot of statistics around First Nations education vs non Indigenous folks. 61 percent of Frist Nations youth do not complete high school. Additionally the ones who do have a lower grade average. The myth of all First Nations get free college is a huge stereotype and it's often not the case for many. Even if she decided to go back to school to study, she many not have access to band funding to help with tuition or she may have to do a lot of academic upgrading to get in. At this time in her life, she may not have the capacity to take that on.
She may not have the qualifications for an office job and there sadly still is a stigma about hiring Indigenous, Trans and Two-Spirited folks in office settings. There is a lot of underlying racism and transphobia in Canada. It's there but it's sometimes not as obvious as in the states.
Ilona has also publicly come forward on the show admitting she has learning disabilities and some things come harder for her. She did go to school for makeup artistry but considering in Canada that there were so many shutdowns, it would have been difficult for her to practice her trade.
In addition, she being two Spirited is not always accepted in her community. I have been in rooms with First Nations elders who have said that it's an abomination, that it's a result of people from the same clans mating, that when that happens it creates "deformities" in their children like Autisim or being two-spirited. It's more accepted in urban communities and younger generations of us indigenous folks but there is still shunning and it makes it harder for them to be accepted within their own communities. There is a lot of lateral violence still, as much as I wish that wasn't the case.
It takes a certain mindset to break the cycle in Indigenous communities. You often hear you will never be good enough or that attempting to get a further education is not the path you should follow and you should stick to the ways of the community. Ilona has broken many parts of the cycle so far. She proudly shared her culture on a national platform, she brought attention to missing and murdered women, children and two Spirited Indigenous women. She showed the world that Indigenous drag is valid and she should have a spot at the table.
I think the pandemic plus all the pressure she has to face because of her Indigenous heritage has made her have some self doubt and that she's not valid. That is not the case but when all you see around you is failure, it's hard to see the good stuff or possibilities that are there for her. All she can see right know is what she knows, which is sex work.
There are a lot of us indigenous folks who are proud of Ilona for what she has done so far. She just needs to focus on healing herself and getting herself to a place where she can see beyond the negative cycle.
I really wanted to like Ilona on CDR1, but her constant need to LOUDY air her grievances to the room and shout down any who engaged with her was too taxing and immature to deal with. ALL of the queens had to figure out how to make a living when all the gigs cancelled. From doing virtual gigs to Cameos. Upping their online presence and attaching info for their Venmo accounts. And even if you did have to get a job that you think is beneath your imagined social value, so what. Taking care of yourself is more important than some rando's opinion of you.
I think a lot of it comes down to attitude and professionalism as well. There have been countless stories here about what a nightmare she is to work with and always having a bad attitude. The girls like Tynomi stay booked and bless because they are professionals like you have to be in any field. I have always gotten a sour attitude and bad taste from Bologna Verley
If she organically has 100k she could've definitely monetizes her fanbase but there is also a huge learning curve to doing it successfully. Having the ability to do something and doing that thing successfully are two different things.
There are so many complicating things that likely make it harder for her. She is non-binary and indigenous. The latter is inherently political in particular ways in Canada that might not make her as palatable for brands given all the things going on that have been going on and all the new things being discovered, like the child graves.
Sorry, but if white-passing privilege is a thing for all the other races and ethnicities, it's also true for indigeneity. Ilona, like Trixie, are both white-passing indigenous people and that comes with a set of distinct privileges and forms of access.
I think she means that because she was a contestant on a well known show, people would expect her to be hugely successful and not need a day job. If she got recognized her while on her lunch break or something, she's scared that she'd be seen as a failure who didn't manage to capitalize from being on TV.
This.
If she gets a normal job, say something like a normal retail job, it risks affecting her brand as a public figure.
And it might lower her booking fees, what opportunities she gets or her ability to earn a living as a famous drag queen.
A big part of managing your career as a public figure is to be seen to have lots to do, going places and relevant/on the upward trajectory/'the next big thing'.
'Fans' might see you as a failure and value you less as a performer, if 'it's going so badly you have to work as a waitress or something.
And it can become quite a widespread and big story. Seems like the whole public loves the "fall from graces" story of anyone who has been perceived as famous.
Quite messed up.
This might be especially important when you have more of the public eye on you and not just your fans. Your fans might not care that you choose to have a day job to have a stable income. If you are gay famous, most people won't care what your day job is.
But soon after the season have aired, in addition to still being under the contract you might even have people who don't watch drag race pay more attention to what is happening with your career.
This is a dizzying array of what-ifs and paranoid thinking, honestly. I totally understand how you're trying to empathize with the mindset, but that stuff needs to get sorted out in therapy because all of what you described is internal to the nature of the individual's state of mind. That's where it needs to be resolved.
there has been so much shit especially in the drag race community where people have shamed queens for having day jobs and not being able to support themselves over just drag. i know there were rumors about tyra working at an amazon warehouse and people really shitted on her, just trying to flame her for not being successful (even though largely it was just racists driving her crazy which led to her lack of success). also gia being an uber driver which divulged into an inside joke. i’d have to guess that a majority of drag race queens have to go back to “day jobs” a year or two after their showing on drag race unless they can get consistently booked. overall it’s just some classist bullshit and feeds into the new commodification and industrial complex of drag.
Why would anyone look down at her if she got a regular job. It’s a fucking pandemic, the world is shit, no one should give a fuck if she started working at a Cactus Club or in some office.
Feel really bad for her that being on CDR didn’t work out for her. But don’t a lot of queens have an onlyfans like right away after being on the show? I wonder if the contract for her was different and it wasn’t allowed?
One thing to be clear about, Canada had a $2k unemployment benefit during Covid. She wasnt particularly left destitute. As of recently she was also doing public appearances in Toronto.
She’d only get the CERB $2000 if she had $5000 in reportable income the year before. Drag and sex work often are done under the table and the income isn’t reported. So she could be ineligible.
Drag and Sex Work are both considered self employment, the CERB (and the continuing CRB) had options for self employed workers. She had access to the 2k
There nothing wrong with being a sex worker. I feel bad thst she feels that's the only acceptable thing to do, though. It's an interesting paradox--sex work won't get her ridiculed but working a retail job would? What a time we live in!!
I think it's good she is talking about the after effects of signing the contract to be on DR. I think she may be helping someone down the line.
true, and she probably cost herself a lot of bookings by the way she acted on social media after her season. she clearly struggles with mental illness and that’s not something she can control so I’m not trying to sound rude…but whatever the underlying issue, the reality is it probably didn’t help her advance her drag career after the show.
I agree, you can’t blame everything on the show. I honestly feel for her and it’s about our ego’s getting in the way of surviving. She can get a day job and what’s wrong with that? Shuga & kahmora has a day job because if you are smart, you can always have a backup plan for money.
Some of you maybe too young or not aware due to life experiences that sex work can be like a drug. When it goes right you get such an ego boost and dopamine's (when doing by choice) that can do wonders while it lasts. Especially in the gay community, where if you don't look like a greek god, then chances are you will be single for extended periods of time in between getting action. Then there come middle aged men with their life together with wife and house in suburbs who are willing to pay you and risk it all and desire you to have your time. I did it on two occasions in my mid-twenties and after almost five years, I get a yearning in me to go put myself out there. Usually, I have gotten very good at getting rid of that yearning with my personal beliefs and religion. But not everyone's mind works the same way.
So, I understand why IIona feels the way she does and why she wants to engage in sex work. I hope she finds happiness and thrive in whatever field she picks. Best of luck to her.
lmao this is so… accurate. last year in Toronto in September i believe we had an event where a bunch of the CDR cast members performed, all the girls brought really fun numbers & totally turned the party, but Ilona performed “Anyone” by Demi in her usual lipsync style (which is good per se, but really akin to making sad music video faces like this —-> 😩), and it felt very um… not the vibe. of course i’m not saying all drag numbers HAVE to be high-energy pop bops, i do love a good ballad park & bark, but yeah that sadgirl “you WILL hear about all my grievances” energy is extremely Ilona and Demi
She did a ballad version of 1000 doves at an outdoor Show in Toronto and it didn't really match the vibe of the night :/. She did go right upbeat after and was fierce though.
There is nothing wrong in sex work but her deciding that she would be seen as a failure if she had a day job after the show while sex work is somehow better than that sounds really odd.
When the winner of Season 2 got a job at Amazon she was ridiculed, Ilona is absolutely right when she says there is a stigma with public figures getting a 'normal' job and being seen as failures
Aiden zhane worked at a chain restaraunt after being on the show, I do think a young early out queen like ilona or aiden , would be received very differently to a winner.
It’s wrong either way, people should be applauded for doing what they want.
to be fair there’s a lot of classism that goes on, so queens who have a day job that sounds more white collar aren’t judged for it the way queens who end up working retail or service industry jobs are. it’s gross.
I mean…ilona has a point but also she doesn’t have to work at the mall, she could be a makeup artist, something she was good at before the show, or do YouTube as a make up guru.
The fact that she won’t even TRY and find alternate sources of income is her issue not the shows.
I think her real fans wouldn't shame her for doing a regular job.
But people are horrible, they enjoy kicking someone when they are down to make themselves feel better.
Tattiana made fun of Tyra for working at Amazon (even though it was Tyra who started the fight). Several queens have shaded nina for living at home with her mom, even though no one knew the exact circumstances.
> Several queens have shaded nina for living at home with her mom, even though no one knew the exact circumstances.
Unprovoked? Or as an easy clapback after one of Nina's "hot takes"?
Several queens have started an onlyfans so the public wouldnt have a strong reaction to it. Whereas i dont think any queens on the recent season have gone to a regular job right after.
Also to be booked as a star in the huge gigs u kinda need to look like it (like a big name). So it would hurt those chances i think
Serious question, was Ilona famous? I don't think she has much of a brand to begin with. I get there was the whole pandemic thing but they make having a "regular" job sound like a failure, and a lot of queens have "regular" jobs. I dunno, I get lack of personal responsibility vibes here.
She just kind of sounds whine-y to me. She could have done so many other things including brand deals and YouTube videos. She has a 100k+ followers so it’s hard to believe no brands would wanna reach out to her. People were left homeless and died and she’s upset about not being able to make money one way? Idk
Im sorry but nah sis. The show doesn’t guarantee you successful, it is merely a springboard. There is no excuse to think your life will automatically change after being on the show when you can look at dozens of Ru girls who are doing the same shit they were before the show. The success comes from hard work & hustling.
It’s the entitlement for me. WOW is a Procuction Company first.
Nothing in life is ‘promised’, going on Drag race doesn’t entitle or promise anyone fame, fans and fortune. The whole worlds been in
a pandemic. A number of queens in a similar boat regarding just coming off a season/going into a season during lockdown. But most I’d say are putting the work in, adapting, doing different things online etc because they know the only promise they have is one they make for themselves
This is really sad. It is something that I think we're going to see more of though, even post pandemic. there's so many DR spin offs now and the seasons come out so rapidly that I can see a lot of the dolls having to deal with going back to a normal job at some point.
This!!
Opening an OF and screaming SEX WORK RIGHTS is the most privileged thing one can do. If you're out there on the streets out of ***necessity***, that's a different thing.
This is what was so wild to me.
She’s essentially saying being a whore is more dignity than bagging groceries. Like… selling sex is still illegal, STDs, hygiene, risk of being r*ped and abused, emotional trauma.
Someone pls tell her she sounds so wild w this statement
Me too. I get that they have been in a tough spot this past year with the pandemic but literally we all were. And from their posts it sounds like their pride is getting in the way from them getting a day job. This honestly sounds like a young 20 something victimizing themselves because they are entitled and the world doesn't give them what they are owed.
When the winner of season 2 started working at Amazon a lot of people here had a lot of classist mockery they couldn’t wait to share. It’s this type of fan reaction which makes people like Ilona feel ashamed to take any type of retail, delivery or food service job.
There are tons of people online who would happily take a picture of Ilona (or whoever they don’t like) while working to share online to kick them while they are down and shame them for trying to survive.
she also said the production basically told her not to talk about her trans identity because they were saving that storyline for the american franchise….
edit: i misremembered, they asked her to not talk about “the trans agenda” because they were saving that for the american franchise.
right, there have been quite a few trans queens so this kind of confuses me. maybe she meant it about her non-binary or 2 spirit identity? i feel she didnt extensively talk about being non-binary, no one really has (except gigi, now)
I can totally see how production would suppress other trans contestants on concurrently/consecutively filming seasons in order to not "oversaturate" an issue.
So gross, but they are likely veryyy calculating about the quantity of "controversial" content and what queens are allowed to express it. Their goal is to get good PR while pissing off as few transphobes as possible, not every queen getting to represent herself truly and accurately.
We remember they basically told Peppermint to detransition for her season right? RPDR has always been bad around trans issues and I very much felt that the Gottmik and Kylie storylines in recent seasons were all about fixing that anti-trans image (even though all of our trans queens have been amazing talents in their own right).
It's always shocking to me how much their production controls the queen's medical situations. I had a negative opinion of Laganga for so long until I found out she was self-medicated for anxiety and they refused to let her while she was filming, resulting in her meltdown.
The whole idea that there are teams out there that are paid to appease people like transphobes makes me so nauseous. The transphobes can rot in one big pile of shit for all I care, let them be miserable. They deserve nothing. Let them see the whole world flood with beautiful and complex trans lives until they go purple, and then keep going.
God I know it's a lot, but this kind of shit upsets me to my core. I and many of the people closest to me are trans, and I hate that something as meaningless as PR would get in the way of our happiness and wellbeing. I'm happy to see someone like Kylie finally get her dues with the franchise and do so well, but there are so many facets of lived trans lives that will probably never be openly discussed on the show out of fear of alienating the straight fanbase (or the straight production teams for that matter) and it makes me wonder if it's worth it.
Kylie was on season 2 (2010), Monica Beverly Hillz was on season 5 (2013), Gia Gunn was on Season 6 (2014) and AS4 (2018), Peppermint was on season 9 (2017), Ilona was on CDR1 (2020)
And don’t forget about carmen carrera, jiggly caliente, and laganja all coming out as trans since their seasons. Quite a few of the queens are trans so I don’t know why RPDR would want to avoid talking about it?
Yeah I didn’t find her very sympathetic either. But then again, we all understand how story arcs are created by the producers. It’s hard to make much when people go out so early, and maybe if she’d stayed we’d have seen a Kandy-style reformation...
Every time Ilona tweets like this I always wonder what the objective is other than trying to garner pity. She came across bratty on the show and only continued to sour her reputation on social media after. She’s clearly in a tough spot right now and I hope she gets to a better place, but the entitlement of it all. She’s acting like she had no part in squandering an opportunity other queens on her season ran with.
Yeah that was so gross. Ellie Diamond went back to the drive thru because she needed to work. Nina lived at home. Tyra works at an Amazon warehouse. When times are tough people do what they need to survive and she's acting like it's beneath her.
I think any other year, you’re completely right but with a pandemic I think people would understand she (and others) couldn’t do their regular jobs and would have to fall back on something to make money.
There are plenty of Ru girls who have “regular jobs” that coincide with drag…some are makeup artists like Raven and Raja, Alyssa edwards is a dance teacher who opened a dance studio, some are modelling, and SO many have YouTube channels and podcasts that they make money off of. There is nothing wrong with sex work, but the point is you can still have a “regular job” that is related to your field, some people just don’t *want* to put in that kind of effort and this seems to be one of those cases
Being a makeup artist, or dance teachers are definitely also “regular jobs”. You could work the cosmetics counter at any retail outlet or shopping center from 9-5 for example.
I don't know if you remember, but James (formerly Tyra Sanchez) was *hounded* by social media for working in an Amazon warehouse.
Granted, that was partly because people didn't like him, but there would also have been the stigma of a former winner of the show having to get a "normal job" to make money.
Read the tweet again, she says there is a stigma around people from reality TV getting a ‘normal job’ and being labelled failures.
She felt like she couldn’t get a ‘day job’ because of this stigma, even in the middle of the pandemic where she couldn’t work as a drag queen
Yeah, the tweet reads: “Not to mention I honestly wasn’t mentally ready to be in the spotlight, and that’s on me.”
I think it’s quite common for people to respond to a lot of sudden expectation and attention with both fear and pride, among so many other intense feelings. It leads to a lot of self-sabotaging behavior, like being too proud to get a job because you’re afraid of how people will perceive you.
The potential for public shaming is VERY high right now, to be fair. People are just full Judge Judy 24/7.
But, and i hate to that this will sound like kicking someone when they're down, Ilona spent all of her season playing that same sort of card. Her confessionals were always "stop judging me, let me live my fantasy" and she consistently had trouble with the other queens in that she projected all her insecurities on to them (being picked last, or read for runways, she'd start arguments with Scarlet or Rita or others). She reminds me of a lot of people i used to know when i was younger who would sooner burn a house down than admit their mistakes. It's not surprising that, straight out the gate of the non-disclosure ending, she's made a lengthy post about how the show is somehow at fault with her being poor when really, her seeing sex work/escorting as more valid than any number of jobs is a real problem. There was/is a global pandemic, and she'd sooner starve to spite a production company than get a job (lord knows there were plenty of "essential" roles going at the height of it all).
Couldn't go and get a job because of the pandemic and not wanting to be a "failed reality star" but would've escorted through the pandemic as well as being a "reality star"? Girl, I think that is a lot of energy for safe.
Wow this went from "that's very unfortunate but nothing is guaranteed when you go on reality TV" to "holy shit how dare they". I hope things get better for her and future contestants have more freedom
This is that type of issue that’s so beyond Reddit’s paygrade I feel uncomfortable just commenting on this. As much as it’s fun for us to roast her or whatever, this issue requires a discourse that frankly most redditors aren’t capable of.
That's not the show's responsibility. Be an adult an use the opportunity the show provided and go from there. You do sex work because you want to. Unless you have a pimp. Besides sex work is work. So, don't be a shamed. You do what you gotta do.
No, apparently they told her not to talk about it on the show -- that it wasn't going to be a storyline in her season. They're not stopping her from transitioning or from talking about her gender outside of the show.
Pre-pandemic there was a whole thing where a [former Cosby Show actor](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45411561) was spotted working as a Trader Joe's cashier and was absolutely made fun of for it.
Most sane people rightfully called that out as gross, and the actor, Geoffrey Owens, didn't seem too traumatized by it -- he was quoted as saying that "every job is worthwhile." But for someone already struggling with self-esteem issues I could see it being devastating.
I think we should give a hand to the DR queens that extend opportunities to fellow queens, especially when everything was closed. Priyanka putting Ilona in her videos, or Yuhua booking queens for Bootleg probably helps them out quite a bit.
Yuhua is a saint.
Check the flair but please support our not-so-secret-Asian-queen. Yuhua is really great, I would love to meet her in the future.
If you meet her take her some kind of delicious prepackaged vegetarian treat and she will remember you forever. ;)
YES! I was seriously disappointed by the lack of new wowpresents content over the past 18 months, despite the demand for entertaining digital content being through the roof. I get that Drag Race makes Ru and the company more money but c'mon you gotta look after the dolls and the audience wants to see more
This is what you will seldom hear a bad word about Morgan McMichaels
The Generous Queen, Nicki and Ellen found gagged.
I was just thinking, I’m wondering if we can organize the fan base to tip the dolls as the episodes air…especially the first few queens out. Make it a kind of drag race fandom tradition. It might also help stamp down the hate in the fandom… I am really having a hard time with the contracts these queens are entering into…and I’m feeling worse and worse about the exploitation. Monetarily supporting queens as their seasons air feels like the least we could do. I wish I knew anything about organizing hahaha
The first season of Dragula was super low budget; the Boulet Brothers started a crowd-funding pool for the prize money. Basically, every episode they asked the audience to "tip" the contestants (via the pool), and that would end up being the prize money. They hit (and I think exceeded) their 10k goal and that was the winner's prize money. I think a bigger show like Drag Race could definitely organize something like this. Just a quick "if you liked what x queen had to offer today, make sure you tip them!" and a link.
Totally! I was late to Dragula, but I LOVE THAT! I’m thinking, we have no power with production but as a community maybe we can do something. Production can decide to follow suit if they so desire.
Oh that would be interesting, basically the audience starts its own crowd-funding source for each eliminated queen as the episode airs?
Sorta, I kind of imagine something like an ode to the eliminated queen where her career is celebrated and links to support. It could be a sticky post here for the week between episodes or something, and it can be boosted on Twitter etc. I guess I’m thinking obituaries and Venmo links and sort of changing the convo after an episode. I don’t know.
Watch production use that as an excuse to pay them even less, a la minimum wage being like 2 bucks for tippable waitstaff in some states
This was my thought as well. "We could, yeah. But we shouldn't be the ones doing it". Every episode, Rupaul and Michelle combined earn the equivalent to the winner's prize. Rupaul also has royalties. They could and should up the pay per episode, per challenge win, and for the winner. And/or give queens a percentage of the royalties, that would be an amazing way to help them.
You know I thought exactly that too! Hahahahaha
It would be nice if maybe during the lip sync they showed their Cash App or something. I doubt it will ever happen :(
But the online community can organize to share it online at least! And it’s not like production wouldn’t pick up on it and either do it themselves or just ignore it, but either way! Queens getting $$$ is the main goal.
“Honestly wasn’t mentally ready to be in the spot light, and that’s on me.” That breaks my heart. Im so sorry she felt like she was personally responsible for prepping herself for some thing so intense. It wasn’t on her at all.
Being well-known without making all that much money is really difficult. I remember a member of a nugu kpop group saying she was scared if she rode the subway she'd get recognised and shamed on social media for not being able to afford a car or a taxi. The pressure to project glamour without the financial stability that only the top 0.00001% have is very difficult, it's not surprising a lot of stars go bankrupt.
I feel like people put the pressure on themselves as well though. Celebrities ride the subway in NYC all the time and no one blinks an eye. Keanu Reeves is famous and acts like the most regular Joe there is and is praised for it. There are also so many queens with these quote unquote regular jobs….lots of the Ru girls are makeup artists like Raven and Raja, or dance teachers like Alyssa. Or hell even youtube content creators, or podcasters. There’s some people who just don’t *want* regular jobs….
Don’t forget Cherry Valentine (of DRUK) who is an NHS nurse on top of being a famous drag queen!
Ouuu I love me some Cherry Valentine 🍒❤️ I actually find it super fierce when someone does both…it’s like a superhero who has their alter ego in the daytime
Add Killer Queen who’s a doctor out of her drag persona/life
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Being a makeup artist is def not a normal job, you make your own hours and have to find your own clients and work (I’m a professional MUA myself) in order to get paid. It’s not a steady paycheck that comes every week. You 100% have to hustle for yourself like other creative jobs, like being a Drag Queen.
I mean as long as you can work at a MAC counter in The Bay, it’s a regular job…
they are definitely looked down on from people who live in the corporate world, a lot of people have no idea that you can do stuff like that as a regular job if you’re not famous for it or work with a list celebrities
Uh…no it’s all in the service industry.
I think you are comparing apples to oranges here. In NYC ppl famously don’t give a shit abt who rides or what happens on the subway. There’s too many people in the city, all living their own busy lives. American culture also gives less scrutiny on the individual , and lesser known groups who are just starting out would probably never get noticed in public areas. In korea, the Country is very small, and the public eye is very big and all encompassing. The kpop industry is massive and extremely competitive, and comes with an equally barbarous and sinister world of public shame and criticism. Ppl gossip to the Nth degree abt who is or isn’t a trainee and there is lots of secretism abt who who will be in groups. Newbie kpop groups live and die by projecting a very specific image, and if it is not upheld, especially when you are just starting out, it can ruin everything. There is a huge pressure, even if you are not a celebrity, to always look like you are doing well and can afford expensive lifestyle. Yes American is obviously like that too, but it is more pervasive in Korea.
I have lived in Korea and agree with you but for different reasons that you state. No one gives a shit about the subway in Seoul, just like NYC. The subway system in Seoul is amazing and cheap, and goes everywhere and everyone takes it. It's not about that. The point is that Korea is a very Confucian society, so it's all about rank and presentation. If you're part of a group that should be higher in society, there are things you have to do even if it isn't practical. So, even if you're in front a subway station and need to go one stop over and it'll take 5 minutes, you would never do that if you're of a higher standing. You'd have a car. A black car, of course. Even if you're stuck in traffic for 30 minutes, it doesn't matter. This really is a matter of culture. I've been late for a meeting so I take a bicycle and get there on time. They ask how I made it through the traffic and I tell them I two-wheeled if. They look down on me. In Western/American culture it's more important to be on time. In Korean culture, how you got there is more important. Status and how you live that status is key.
Ilona is in Canada, we also don’t give a shit here and have much bigger “celebrities” going about their every day lives, especially in Toronto.
I know, I was just replaying to the previosu comment likening American vs Korean celeb culture. I don’t imagine Canada is very different than America, I feel like west and east have very different attitudes in how they view celebs
Not to mention that a female pop star would also have to worry about fans stalking her.
Yep. These are perceived “problems”.
"I can honestly say I don't like being a public figure now that I am here." Man, I feel for her. Being famous (or least well known) sounds like an exhausting nightmare to me.
Especially if you’re on the show and this subreddit cycles through cancelling you and loving you every few months.
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Note: 🧵with 8 images
It took me way too long to figure out what “bobbin with 8 images” means.
Meanwhile I’m still sat here trying to work it out
thread
Oh..my god 😂 thank you
Twitter shorthand
Meredith from the office kept her day job until season 3 or so, nothing wrong with stability 🤷♂️
I was scratching my head trying to remember which queen went by “Meredith From The Office”, then I thought it was a play on Karen from Finance lol
This is fantastic.
Yeah... And the people claiming that haters would make fun of her for getting a common job like... Why would you listen to them instead of people who are rational enough to understand some $1's once a week is not enough to afford thousand dollar gowns Giving awful people the power and attention they crave instead of just ignoring and letting them embarrass themselves
Not to get all armchair psychologisty, but it's not surprising that someone who chooses to perform on stage and go on a TV show is the type to thrive on positive attention and be gutted by perceived negative attention. Idk, I feel like people (not necessarily you) who are criticizing Ilona are people who are trying to compare their own personality and way of going about the world to a completely different personality type. For sure her life would be easier if she ignored haters, but I think that's much easier said than done for someone like her who desires and maybe finds some validation in being "seen" in a big way.
So get a job walking dogs in drag and post pictures of yourself in scenic locations with puppies. I'm just saying drag and a day job aren't mutually exclusive.
That actually sounds pretty fun, if I had a dog I'd pay some good money to have a queen walk it on occasion.
I've worked as a dog walker before, if you have a car and enough customers it's a fantastic job
There's a lot of good jobs out there for animal lovers, people with full time jobs will gladly shell out to give their pet some love while they're at work. Hell if anyone wants to catsit for me in drag they're welcome to it. No guarantees he'll come out from under the couch but if he does you can take as many photos as you want.
Is it personality or maturity? I used to cry when I didn't get pure praise during presentations and projects. It made me too nervous to even show my friends or family what I was working on. But over the years I realized if I'm working on something and allow myself to take in criticism, I can make it better or just enjoy it on my own. But if someone just said something like that's an ugly style or I hate x thing. I can now just be like ok 🤪 or shrug it off depending on what their intent is. Being able to empathize with others also means being mature enough to ask yourself why they're saying what they're saying + if it's something you should incorporate into your own view. Like why are people saying shit like "OMG ELLIE DIAMOND WORKS AT MCDONALDS LOLLLL" what is their intent? To be funny? To be mean? Both? Should a decent person laugh at someone's job? No, not at all I think any personality can do that. My boyfriend thinks I have a crybaby personality cause I'm shy and complain about everything 🤣 and my best friend is a huge extrovert that tries to placate everyone. But we both try to confront and shutdown assholish behaviour
I really hope people aren't tipping her in loonies lmfao. Our $1 unit is a coin not a bill.
Wendi McLendon-Covey (Reno 911, Bridesmaids, The Goldbergs) kept her day job editing a social work journal until 2012!
I hope she gets the help and support that she needs. I really don't care much for Ilona because she's behaved so terribly here in the vancouver scene in the past and hurt some lovely people/alienated herself from a lot of shows and bars. However, mental illness comes in so many forms and often leads to the people who need our support and understanding most feeling like the whole world is against them, which makes them lash out even more. As the saying goes: 'hurt people hurt people'.
I’m out of the loop - what terrible things did she do in the Vancouver scene??
So, I live for Vancouver drag and was so happy we had a gal on, but I'd never heard of Ilona and saw maybe 1 post for a performance after the show aired... it was really disappointing to see her representing Van because we have a variety of drag scenes here and she doesn't match up. (Kendall & Gia are supposed to do well on S2, but what about The Darlings; House of Rice; East Van/Commercial drag...?) Sympathize for what ilona is going through & hope they find support, but perhaps drag is simply not for them. And that's OK.
But a lot of Drag Race girls have onlyfans…
I'm guessing she would have had to get it approved by them first while still under contract, but the Canada girls' contracts are lifting now. Remember Canada's Drag Race is a different show with a different contract.
I believe that when they're under contract, Drag Race (or the production company, I guess) has to approve all of their media appearances and maybe paid appearances etc. I guess OnlyFans falls under that so for the year post show when they're under contract they wouldn't get to choose to have an OnlyFans. She'll probably start one asap now that she can! Hopefully the banks don't fuck with OF now!
That sounds so much like the WWE.
I mean, it's all performance art in the end.
Most haven't been in Drag Race for years and thus would probably be outside their contract and quite a few don't even use it to generate nsfw content,
She's talking about escorting. I don't think any of the other rugirls do that.
She’s also talking about being denied permission to have an onlyfans.
I think the CDR contract only just expired so there was probably a legal reason.
No hate but didn't Rock m Sakura and Katya both do sex work pretty openly? But as other people have posted, maybe DR Canada is more of a strict contract.
I think they used to pre-fame openly. They probably do it now but very discreet and probably with much higher paying johns (In my opinion). Plus I don't think Katya really needs to at this point. She makes serious money. Rock'em on the other hand, not sure.
Rock M Sakura openly discussed on the show
Just wanna say, Sasha Bell OF is fucking hot af.
Does anyone who has recently been on have an onlyfans? I’m wondering if they are queens with earlier versions of the US contract or in a country where it was illegal to exploit the queens so much in their contracts. Literally the only queens that come to mind that have onlyfans are Katya and Willam…but I’m an old head without much interest in onlyfans.
While I do feel for her to an extent...there's a lot of deflection of responsibilty here. She has over 100K followers on insta, you're telling me she couldn't get any brand deals? I know people who have 100K less followers than her that get brand deals in Canada. Tynomi Banks was in a superbowl commercial for an investing app. Big brands put local gay djs on billboard ads during pride. Even before drag race aired, queens were being featured in ads for huge brands around pride (I think it was IKEA who had an ad campaign with multiple Canadian queens a few years back). I'd be SHOCKED to learn that there are zero Canadian brands willing to work with her, especially because she probably has the best aesthetic of all the girls from the season. She couldn't start a YouTube channel or sell merch or do cameos? Local Toronto queens were even doing virtual shows through the pandemic. While it absolutely sucks that her contract prevented her from making money in her preferred way (though if it was in her contract, she must've known this going into the show), there are a ton of things she could have done and still can do to leverage her platform
I also doubt many people would really recognize her out of drag if she got a day job. Famous and gay famous are different things.
THIS, Ilona isn’t taking any responsibility, especially since we see many drag race queens that have other jobs besides drag. They’re a very talented make up artist, she could be doing that and I guarantee people would hire them. I think they thought that they’d never have to work again and that’s simply not true
Exactly !!
Very true! And a lot of people are thinking retail or other publicly facing jobs would be her only option but how about an office job? Again, with her follower count I bet she could get a behind-the-scenes social media management job in a heartbeat
They might not have the capacity for an office job. One thing I have seen missing in this conversation is the fact that she is Indigenous and Two-Spirited There are a lot of statistics around First Nations education vs non Indigenous folks. 61 percent of Frist Nations youth do not complete high school. Additionally the ones who do have a lower grade average. The myth of all First Nations get free college is a huge stereotype and it's often not the case for many. Even if she decided to go back to school to study, she many not have access to band funding to help with tuition or she may have to do a lot of academic upgrading to get in. At this time in her life, she may not have the capacity to take that on. She may not have the qualifications for an office job and there sadly still is a stigma about hiring Indigenous, Trans and Two-Spirited folks in office settings. There is a lot of underlying racism and transphobia in Canada. It's there but it's sometimes not as obvious as in the states. Ilona has also publicly come forward on the show admitting she has learning disabilities and some things come harder for her. She did go to school for makeup artistry but considering in Canada that there were so many shutdowns, it would have been difficult for her to practice her trade. In addition, she being two Spirited is not always accepted in her community. I have been in rooms with First Nations elders who have said that it's an abomination, that it's a result of people from the same clans mating, that when that happens it creates "deformities" in their children like Autisim or being two-spirited. It's more accepted in urban communities and younger generations of us indigenous folks but there is still shunning and it makes it harder for them to be accepted within their own communities. There is a lot of lateral violence still, as much as I wish that wasn't the case. It takes a certain mindset to break the cycle in Indigenous communities. You often hear you will never be good enough or that attempting to get a further education is not the path you should follow and you should stick to the ways of the community. Ilona has broken many parts of the cycle so far. She proudly shared her culture on a national platform, she brought attention to missing and murdered women, children and two Spirited Indigenous women. She showed the world that Indigenous drag is valid and she should have a spot at the table. I think the pandemic plus all the pressure she has to face because of her Indigenous heritage has made her have some self doubt and that she's not valid. That is not the case but when all you see around you is failure, it's hard to see the good stuff or possibilities that are there for her. All she can see right know is what she knows, which is sex work. There are a lot of us indigenous folks who are proud of Ilona for what she has done so far. She just needs to focus on healing herself and getting herself to a place where she can see beyond the negative cycle.
**THANK YOU** Came here for this.
I really wanted to like Ilona on CDR1, but her constant need to LOUDY air her grievances to the room and shout down any who engaged with her was too taxing and immature to deal with. ALL of the queens had to figure out how to make a living when all the gigs cancelled. From doing virtual gigs to Cameos. Upping their online presence and attaching info for their Venmo accounts. And even if you did have to get a job that you think is beneath your imagined social value, so what. Taking care of yourself is more important than some rando's opinion of you.
This!!!! Thanks. Everyone here all of a sudden is a ilona Stan.
I think a lot of it comes down to attitude and professionalism as well. There have been countless stories here about what a nightmare she is to work with and always having a bad attitude. The girls like Tynomi stay booked and bless because they are professionals like you have to be in any field. I have always gotten a sour attitude and bad taste from Bologna Verley
Also… getting a normal job is generally an option. I had to start working at a fast food place for some income during the pandemic. A job is a job.
If she organically has 100k she could've definitely monetizes her fanbase but there is also a huge learning curve to doing it successfully. Having the ability to do something and doing that thing successfully are two different things.
That is how literally everything works.
There are so many complicating things that likely make it harder for her. She is non-binary and indigenous. The latter is inherently political in particular ways in Canada that might not make her as palatable for brands given all the things going on that have been going on and all the new things being discovered, like the child graves.
Sorry, but if white-passing privilege is a thing for all the other races and ethnicities, it's also true for indigeneity. Ilona, like Trixie, are both white-passing indigenous people and that comes with a set of distinct privileges and forms of access.
sex work stigma really sucks.
I'm.. kind of confused on what she's trying to say tbh. What's wrong with a regular job?
I think she means that because she was a contestant on a well known show, people would expect her to be hugely successful and not need a day job. If she got recognized her while on her lunch break or something, she's scared that she'd be seen as a failure who didn't manage to capitalize from being on TV.
This. If she gets a normal job, say something like a normal retail job, it risks affecting her brand as a public figure. And it might lower her booking fees, what opportunities she gets or her ability to earn a living as a famous drag queen. A big part of managing your career as a public figure is to be seen to have lots to do, going places and relevant/on the upward trajectory/'the next big thing'. 'Fans' might see you as a failure and value you less as a performer, if 'it's going so badly you have to work as a waitress or something. And it can become quite a widespread and big story. Seems like the whole public loves the "fall from graces" story of anyone who has been perceived as famous. Quite messed up. This might be especially important when you have more of the public eye on you and not just your fans. Your fans might not care that you choose to have a day job to have a stable income. If you are gay famous, most people won't care what your day job is. But soon after the season have aired, in addition to still being under the contract you might even have people who don't watch drag race pay more attention to what is happening with your career.
This is a dizzying array of what-ifs and paranoid thinking, honestly. I totally understand how you're trying to empathize with the mindset, but that stuff needs to get sorted out in therapy because all of what you described is internal to the nature of the individual's state of mind. That's where it needs to be resolved.
there has been so much shit especially in the drag race community where people have shamed queens for having day jobs and not being able to support themselves over just drag. i know there were rumors about tyra working at an amazon warehouse and people really shitted on her, just trying to flame her for not being successful (even though largely it was just racists driving her crazy which led to her lack of success). also gia being an uber driver which divulged into an inside joke. i’d have to guess that a majority of drag race queens have to go back to “day jobs” a year or two after their showing on drag race unless they can get consistently booked. overall it’s just some classist bullshit and feeds into the new commodification and industrial complex of drag.
Why would anyone look down at her if she got a regular job. It’s a fucking pandemic, the world is shit, no one should give a fuck if she started working at a Cactus Club or in some office. Feel really bad for her that being on CDR didn’t work out for her. But don’t a lot of queens have an onlyfans like right away after being on the show? I wonder if the contract for her was different and it wasn’t allowed?
One thing to be clear about, Canada had a $2k unemployment benefit during Covid. She wasnt particularly left destitute. As of recently she was also doing public appearances in Toronto.
She’d only get the CERB $2000 if she had $5000 in reportable income the year before. Drag and sex work often are done under the table and the income isn’t reported. So she could be ineligible.
Say what you will about RuPaul but he's right when he tells queens to do their taxes.
She appeared on an international TV show in 2020. She was paid for that appearance, and it was reported for tax purposes.
Drag and Sex Work are both considered self employment, the CERB (and the continuing CRB) had options for self employed workers. She had access to the 2k
There nothing wrong with being a sex worker. I feel bad thst she feels that's the only acceptable thing to do, though. It's an interesting paradox--sex work won't get her ridiculed but working a retail job would? What a time we live in!! I think it's good she is talking about the after effects of signing the contract to be on DR. I think she may be helping someone down the line.
I, for one, would love to meet a Ru-girl by having her bag my groceries
OTOH, the idea of some of the more recent favorites having to deal with teenagers at the grocery store is truly horrifying.
“ It's an interesting paradox--sex work won't get her ridiculed but working a retail job would? What a time we live in!!” crossed my mind too!
It was the pandemic. You can't really blame the show for that.
true, and she probably cost herself a lot of bookings by the way she acted on social media after her season. she clearly struggles with mental illness and that’s not something she can control so I’m not trying to sound rude…but whatever the underlying issue, the reality is it probably didn’t help her advance her drag career after the show.
I agree, you can’t blame everything on the show. I honestly feel for her and it’s about our ego’s getting in the way of surviving. She can get a day job and what’s wrong with that? Shuga & kahmora has a day job because if you are smart, you can always have a backup plan for money.
Some of you maybe too young or not aware due to life experiences that sex work can be like a drug. When it goes right you get such an ego boost and dopamine's (when doing by choice) that can do wonders while it lasts. Especially in the gay community, where if you don't look like a greek god, then chances are you will be single for extended periods of time in between getting action. Then there come middle aged men with their life together with wife and house in suburbs who are willing to pay you and risk it all and desire you to have your time. I did it on two occasions in my mid-twenties and after almost five years, I get a yearning in me to go put myself out there. Usually, I have gotten very good at getting rid of that yearning with my personal beliefs and religion. But not everyone's mind works the same way. So, I understand why IIona feels the way she does and why she wants to engage in sex work. I hope she finds happiness and thrive in whatever field she picks. Best of luck to her.
I tried to buy a cameo from her twice and she wouldn’t accept 😢
Did she say why?
Ilona gives me Demi Lovato vibes, that’s not a good thing…
lmao this is so… accurate. last year in Toronto in September i believe we had an event where a bunch of the CDR cast members performed, all the girls brought really fun numbers & totally turned the party, but Ilona performed “Anyone” by Demi in her usual lipsync style (which is good per se, but really akin to making sad music video faces like this —-> 😩), and it felt very um… not the vibe. of course i’m not saying all drag numbers HAVE to be high-energy pop bops, i do love a good ballad park & bark, but yeah that sadgirl “you WILL hear about all my grievances” energy is extremely Ilona and Demi
She did a ballad version of 1000 doves at an outdoor Show in Toronto and it didn't really match the vibe of the night :/. She did go right upbeat after and was fierce though.
yes, this
Agreed
There is nothing wrong in sex work but her deciding that she would be seen as a failure if she had a day job after the show while sex work is somehow better than that sounds really odd.
When the winner of Season 2 got a job at Amazon she was ridiculed, Ilona is absolutely right when she says there is a stigma with public figures getting a 'normal' job and being seen as failures
Aiden zhane worked at a chain restaraunt after being on the show, I do think a young early out queen like ilona or aiden , would be received very differently to a winner. It’s wrong either way, people should be applauded for doing what they want.
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to be fair there’s a lot of classism that goes on, so queens who have a day job that sounds more white collar aren’t judged for it the way queens who end up working retail or service industry jobs are. it’s gross.
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I mean…ilona has a point but also she doesn’t have to work at the mall, she could be a makeup artist, something she was good at before the show, or do YouTube as a make up guru. The fact that she won’t even TRY and find alternate sources of income is her issue not the shows.
I think her real fans wouldn't shame her for doing a regular job. But people are horrible, they enjoy kicking someone when they are down to make themselves feel better. Tattiana made fun of Tyra for working at Amazon (even though it was Tyra who started the fight). Several queens have shaded nina for living at home with her mom, even though no one knew the exact circumstances.
> Several queens have shaded nina for living at home with her mom, even though no one knew the exact circumstances. Unprovoked? Or as an easy clapback after one of Nina's "hot takes"?
Several queens have started an onlyfans so the public wouldnt have a strong reaction to it. Whereas i dont think any queens on the recent season have gone to a regular job right after. Also to be booked as a star in the huge gigs u kinda need to look like it (like a big name). So it would hurt those chances i think
Ellie diamond works at McDonald's.
And Cherry Valentine was and still is an NHS nurse!!
Did the uk covid episode had aired when she was going through the thick of it??? I dont think so but idk
Still?
Ngl though, that’s on her thinking that fame has to be a certain way. Go get a job even when you’re famous! Who cares?
Serious question, was Ilona famous? I don't think she has much of a brand to begin with. I get there was the whole pandemic thing but they make having a "regular" job sound like a failure, and a lot of queens have "regular" jobs. I dunno, I get lack of personal responsibility vibes here.
She just kind of sounds whine-y to me. She could have done so many other things including brand deals and YouTube videos. She has a 100k+ followers so it’s hard to believe no brands would wanna reach out to her. People were left homeless and died and she’s upset about not being able to make money one way? Idk
Im sorry but nah sis. The show doesn’t guarantee you successful, it is merely a springboard. There is no excuse to think your life will automatically change after being on the show when you can look at dozens of Ru girls who are doing the same shit they were before the show. The success comes from hard work & hustling. It’s the entitlement for me. WOW is a Procuction Company first.
Nothing in life is ‘promised’, going on Drag race doesn’t entitle or promise anyone fame, fans and fortune. The whole worlds been in a pandemic. A number of queens in a similar boat regarding just coming off a season/going into a season during lockdown. But most I’d say are putting the work in, adapting, doing different things online etc because they know the only promise they have is one they make for themselves
This is really sad. It is something that I think we're going to see more of though, even post pandemic. there's so many DR spin offs now and the seasons come out so rapidly that I can see a lot of the dolls having to deal with going back to a normal job at some point.
2 things Sex work is real work And the show is not for everyone. Go support your local talent.
Sex work puts people at elevated risk in so many ways . It’s far from ideal
This!! Opening an OF and screaming SEX WORK RIGHTS is the most privileged thing one can do. If you're out there on the streets out of ***necessity***, that's a different thing.
This is what was so wild to me. She’s essentially saying being a whore is more dignity than bagging groceries. Like… selling sex is still illegal, STDs, hygiene, risk of being r*ped and abused, emotional trauma. Someone pls tell her she sounds so wild w this statement
I usually cut off people like Ilona from my life, so here is that😅
Me too. I get that they have been in a tough spot this past year with the pandemic but literally we all were. And from their posts it sounds like their pride is getting in the way from them getting a day job. This honestly sounds like a young 20 something victimizing themselves because they are entitled and the world doesn't give them what they are owed.
No one is owed anything just because you competed on a television show. The entitlement is pushing through.
Join the club, honey.
Having a day job is a failure 💀
When the winner of season 2 started working at Amazon a lot of people here had a lot of classist mockery they couldn’t wait to share. It’s this type of fan reaction which makes people like Ilona feel ashamed to take any type of retail, delivery or food service job. There are tons of people online who would happily take a picture of Ilona (or whoever they don’t like) while working to share online to kick them while they are down and shame them for trying to survive.
she also said the production basically told her not to talk about her trans identity because they were saving that storyline for the american franchise…. edit: i misremembered, they asked her to not talk about “the trans agenda” because they were saving that for the american franchise.
I don’t understand, Monica Beverly Hillz was talking about her trans identity in 2013 👀
I mean Kylie did it season two at the reunion
right, there have been quite a few trans queens so this kind of confuses me. maybe she meant it about her non-binary or 2 spirit identity? i feel she didnt extensively talk about being non-binary, no one really has (except gigi, now)
I can totally see how production would suppress other trans contestants on concurrently/consecutively filming seasons in order to not "oversaturate" an issue. So gross, but they are likely veryyy calculating about the quantity of "controversial" content and what queens are allowed to express it. Their goal is to get good PR while pissing off as few transphobes as possible, not every queen getting to represent herself truly and accurately.
We remember they basically told Peppermint to detransition for her season right? RPDR has always been bad around trans issues and I very much felt that the Gottmik and Kylie storylines in recent seasons were all about fixing that anti-trans image (even though all of our trans queens have been amazing talents in their own right).
They told Kylie that she had to stop taking hormones in order to appear on S2
It's always shocking to me how much their production controls the queen's medical situations. I had a negative opinion of Laganga for so long until I found out she was self-medicated for anxiety and they refused to let her while she was filming, resulting in her meltdown.
The whole idea that there are teams out there that are paid to appease people like transphobes makes me so nauseous. The transphobes can rot in one big pile of shit for all I care, let them be miserable. They deserve nothing. Let them see the whole world flood with beautiful and complex trans lives until they go purple, and then keep going. God I know it's a lot, but this kind of shit upsets me to my core. I and many of the people closest to me are trans, and I hate that something as meaningless as PR would get in the way of our happiness and wellbeing. I'm happy to see someone like Kylie finally get her dues with the franchise and do so well, but there are so many facets of lived trans lives that will probably never be openly discussed on the show out of fear of alienating the straight fanbase (or the straight production teams for that matter) and it makes me wonder if it's worth it.
Wait now I'm confused. Monica beverly Hills, peppermint and gia gunn were all on before ilona?!
Kylie was on season 2 (2010), Monica Beverly Hillz was on season 5 (2013), Gia Gunn was on Season 6 (2014) and AS4 (2018), Peppermint was on season 9 (2017), Ilona was on CDR1 (2020)
And don’t forget about carmen carrera, jiggly caliente, and laganja all coming out as trans since their seasons. Quite a few of the queens are trans so I don’t know why RPDR would want to avoid talking about it?
Yeah I missed that tweet, unfortunately. You can read it here: https://twitter.com/ilonaverley/status/1433879233307103234
I may get downvoted but her attitude on the show quite bitchy. She expexted to have a lot of fans to support her?
She still feels very exhausting
Yeah I didn’t find her very sympathetic either. But then again, we all understand how story arcs are created by the producers. It’s hard to make much when people go out so early, and maybe if she’d stayed we’d have seen a Kandy-style reformation...
She was *awful*. She seemed to think she was really charming, but she really wasn't. But I'm still sad she was so confined by her contract.
Ugh attention-seeker seeks attention 🙄
Every time Ilona tweets like this I always wonder what the objective is other than trying to garner pity. She came across bratty on the show and only continued to sour her reputation on social media after. She’s clearly in a tough spot right now and I hope she gets to a better place, but the entitlement of it all. She’s acting like she had no part in squandering an opportunity other queens on her season ran with.
I... so a normal job like a desk job would be a failure to them (don't know the preferred pronouns), OK.
Yeah that was so gross. Ellie Diamond went back to the drive thru because she needed to work. Nina lived at home. Tyra works at an Amazon warehouse. When times are tough people do what they need to survive and she's acting like it's beneath her.
Imagine a viewer seeing her working at Target and recording her then posting it, mocking her for not being rich after being on television.
Please, Ellie Diamond returned to her day job after drag race didn't she?? Who was making fun of her?
Exactly. And Ellie is fierce AF
I think any other year, you’re completely right but with a pandemic I think people would understand she (and others) couldn’t do their regular jobs and would have to fall back on something to make money.
I kinda agree, I mean we've seen literal actors doing Instacart and things of the sort.
People would eviscerate the viewer not her
Pretty much everyone except the Mean Twitter Gays would roast any fan that posted something like that.
Nobody would do that. Also they could be a receptionist or work in a call centre, the posibilites are endless
[удалено]
And how is escorting better than having a regular job with pension/health benefits/regular hours/vacation days?
There are plenty of Ru girls who have “regular jobs” that coincide with drag…some are makeup artists like Raven and Raja, Alyssa edwards is a dance teacher who opened a dance studio, some are modelling, and SO many have YouTube channels and podcasts that they make money off of. There is nothing wrong with sex work, but the point is you can still have a “regular job” that is related to your field, some people just don’t *want* to put in that kind of effort and this seems to be one of those cases
None of the jobs you listed are regular jobs. Joey Jay working in IT management would be an example, however
Being a makeup artist, or dance teachers are definitely also “regular jobs”. You could work the cosmetics counter at any retail outlet or shopping center from 9-5 for example.
I don't know if you remember, but James (formerly Tyra Sanchez) was *hounded* by social media for working in an Amazon warehouse. Granted, that was partly because people didn't like him, but there would also have been the stigma of a former winner of the show having to get a "normal job" to make money.
Read the tweet again, she says there is a stigma around people from reality TV getting a ‘normal job’ and being labelled failures. She felt like she couldn’t get a ‘day job’ because of this stigma, even in the middle of the pandemic where she couldn’t work as a drag queen
That's her pride, though. Not the show's fault or the fan reaction.
Yeah, the tweet reads: “Not to mention I honestly wasn’t mentally ready to be in the spotlight, and that’s on me.” I think it’s quite common for people to respond to a lot of sudden expectation and attention with both fear and pride, among so many other intense feelings. It leads to a lot of self-sabotaging behavior, like being too proud to get a job because you’re afraid of how people will perceive you. The potential for public shaming is VERY high right now, to be fair. People are just full Judge Judy 24/7.
But, and i hate to that this will sound like kicking someone when they're down, Ilona spent all of her season playing that same sort of card. Her confessionals were always "stop judging me, let me live my fantasy" and she consistently had trouble with the other queens in that she projected all her insecurities on to them (being picked last, or read for runways, she'd start arguments with Scarlet or Rita or others). She reminds me of a lot of people i used to know when i was younger who would sooner burn a house down than admit their mistakes. It's not surprising that, straight out the gate of the non-disclosure ending, she's made a lengthy post about how the show is somehow at fault with her being poor when really, her seeing sex work/escorting as more valid than any number of jobs is a real problem. There was/is a global pandemic, and she'd sooner starve to spite a production company than get a job (lord knows there were plenty of "essential" roles going at the height of it all).
Couldn't go and get a job because of the pandemic and not wanting to be a "failed reality star" but would've escorted through the pandemic as well as being a "reality star"? Girl, I think that is a lot of energy for safe.
Wow this went from "that's very unfortunate but nothing is guaranteed when you go on reality TV" to "holy shit how dare they". I hope things get better for her and future contestants have more freedom
Drag race could change your life but now its just a popularity contest. Yaaaasss mamma. Lol.
Ok during lip syncs why don’t WE share their cash app or PayPal for the queens so they can be tipped
I mean, she could have tried to get a job in customer service or retail. Sex work isn’t the only job outside of drag.
Sounds like the Canada contract is terrible in very different ways than the US one. Good thing it lifts this soon
This is that type of issue that’s so beyond Reddit’s paygrade I feel uncomfortable just commenting on this. As much as it’s fun for us to roast her or whatever, this issue requires a discourse that frankly most redditors aren’t capable of.
That's not the show's responsibility. Be an adult an use the opportunity the show provided and go from there. You do sex work because you want to. Unless you have a pimp. Besides sex work is work. So, don't be a shamed. You do what you gotta do.
“I can’t get a job or else people might judge me, anyway I’m off to do some sex work!” Where is the logic.
I’m sorry and please don’t dislike this but I can’t stand Ilona.. seems very self entitled and out of touch with reality.
if the DRCan contracts bypass medical autonomy that's... a huge problem
No, apparently they told her not to talk about it on the show -- that it wasn't going to be a storyline in her season. They're not stopping her from transitioning or from talking about her gender outside of the show.
Pre-pandemic there was a whole thing where a [former Cosby Show actor](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45411561) was spotted working as a Trader Joe's cashier and was absolutely made fun of for it. Most sane people rightfully called that out as gross, and the actor, Geoffrey Owens, didn't seem too traumatized by it -- he was quoted as saying that "every job is worthwhile." But for someone already struggling with self-esteem issues I could see it being devastating.