Original subtitles

Now sissy that walk.

[cheering]

Trend alert.

I'm new to a lot of things.

I ain't new to stunning.

I always joked about running away and joining the circus,

and I basically have. [laughs]

Category is New Jersey/ Atlanta housewife.

♪ She's a super queen ♪

Naomi's such a whore. I love it.

I don't need a lot of communication.

I just need to, like, there to be a plan.

Vanessa Vanjie Mateo.

Thank God.

Oh, send me home!

♪ And if I fly or if I fall ♪

Come here, come here.

Come on, now, sit down. Here, come on, sit.

Come on, sit. Stay there.

We come from the same kennel, breeder, line of work.

[all laugh]

Oh!

Hello, my name is Naomi Smalls.

I am known as "The Legs."

I am known as "that bitch."

And I am here on the Werq the World North America leg.

Leg two. Yeah, two legs are important.

Three legs are better. [laughs]

Naomi Smalls is a creation that I've come up with.

In my head, she's this glamazon

who I got to combine all my interests

of, like, hair, makeup, fashion, performing,

and I get to just release that onto the stage.

[indistinct conversation]

What are you doing there?

Hi. Oh, we're doing, like--

I'm trying to be an Instagram guru, you know?

What do they call it?

Girl, you're not trying, you're doing it.

Look at you.

I think they call them "influencers."

-Oh, there you go, influencers. -I don't know.

Just, like, trying to live a glamorous life.

Don't do it!

I don't know if it's working or not.

My sideburns aren't glued down, and my nut's coming out.

[all laugh]

The power that that has.

This is the glamorous life.

[humming]

I got, like, the height of being black.

I can kind of play basketball.

I got the dick, but I did not get the lips.

But now I have the lips. [laughs]

Damn, she has some long legs,

she has some big lips, and, fuck, she's hot.

[laughs] Just kidding.

I feel like I'm, like, where is my super-suit?

Where is my super-suit? Very Incredibles.

Right now, I am presenting as Davis Heppenstall.

He's kind of a dork,

and he's definitely the nerd that hides behind Naomi Smalls.

Girl, your tuck is making my stomach hurt.

Is it a little too bally today?

No, it looks too--

Girl, it is literally--

That's how the Barbie dolls crotches look when you take--

when you take--you know, when you take their clothes off

expecting them to have something,

and they don't have nothing, it's just a blank spot?

Oh, good.

Oh, my God, I fangirl so hard for Naomi Smalls.

She is so polished. Everything is so perfect.

-And you're so ugly. -I am.

This topsy-turvy universe,

where Plastique's ugly and I'm short.

Naomi's such a whore. I love it.

-A what? -Nothing.

[both laugh]

A whore is better than a slut because you get paid.

She's, like, mentoring me throughout this drag world.

She's like my big sister that I've always wanted.

She's just, like, the cool breeze in the cast for me.

[laughs]

She is one of the sweetest,

most perfect people in the world.

Is that vodka?

I was saying that, like,

I was such a huge, like, fan of you

before we got to actually work together.

Oh, you're like my little baby.

Julie's a very sweet person,

and, like, she would just give a side-eye

or, like, a brow lift

or say, like, a very shady comment

in a monotone voice, and it is so funny to me.

I am not comfortable being photographed right now.

I'm not sure about the other girls.

A high-maintenance diva in all the right ways.

You know what?

Some people might not know she smokes a lot of weed.

Thank you, babe.

Oh, my gosh.

This wig is a lot.

I, like, didn't--

We start the show with these hoods,

and I didn't think about

how this has to fit underneath the hood.

So the first show, I was the diva that didn't wear her hood.

Naomi was born when I was, like, freshly 18.

Drag for everybody, it's like the moment you put it on,

it doesn't matter if you look like shit

or it doesn't matter if you look amazing.

You are going to feel like the grande dame.

Can you tighten me up, please? Thank you.

-Thank you! -Damn.

Bitch, no.

We love Vanj.

Bitch, let me tell you.

She said she was doing these photos for her social media.

Miss Thang puts the--she sets the bar for social media.

If that didn't make sense, fuck you.

Because you know what I'm saying.

So I was, like, a fangirl of RuPaul's Drag Race

before I was on Drag Race.

And I was like, I think I could do this

maybe a little bit better than these queens that I'm watching.

So I kind of just challenged myself to get there.

-Where's that light? -Oh, here we go.

-How dare you. -Redo the entrance.

How fucking dare you.

Then what are you gonna do?

[gasps] Oh, hi.

Oh, did not know you were gonna be right there.

What a coincidence.

When I was in high school,

I was still wearing, like, makeup,

and I was still wearing heels.

I always kind of felt pretty fierce.

But having my wig on

and, like, my dick tucked in between my legs

was just, like, a completely new feeling.

With a mirror?

That's a good mirror shot.

There's, like, this weird misunderstanding

that a lot of young queens

who care about their, like, presentation,

like, you can say "look queen,"

but I don't necessarily call myself a look queen.

That they're really entitled and really bratty,

and that's just, like, not my personality.

I'm kind of like this, like, weird mystery to people.

[cheers and applause]

♪ Cover Girl, put the bass in your walk ♪

♪ Head to toe, let your whole body talk ♪

♪ Cover Girl, put the bass in your walk ♪

♪ Head to toe, let your whole body talk ♪

-My family's here. -Who's here?

My mom and my 19-year-old niece.

It makes me feel old.

I'm, like, one of the few people I know

that has, like, a super amazing,

super just, like, accepting family background story.

I was raised in, like, a huge family,

11 brothers and sisters.

I have, like, eight of my siblings are adopted,

so I've always really had to, like, share my time

and just, like, share my attention.

I would never see myself as, like, a spoiled brat.

I have, like, such a grounded relationship with my parents.

My mom is the best mom.

What?

-[laughs] -I know!

All my siblings would say

that if there's anyone who's exactly like my mom,

like personality trait, it's me.

And I love that, because she's just such a huge inspiration,

and, like, I just love the kind of bitch that she is.

-Hi. -Hey.

Oh, my God, where's my hat?

Hi. [laughs]

Rewind.

[gasps] Oh!

Hello.

It's a little nerve-wracking,

because, like, I have, like, 12 siblings,

and out of those 12 there's eight that are adopted.

And, like, I'm, like, kind of the only one

that doesn't really have anything to do

with my birth family,

but they have, like, a very strong interest

in getting to know me.

And they're from here, so I'm always, like,

whenever I am performing here,

my heart's, like, just in case they show up,

it could be uncomfortable, you know what I mean?

I don't know. I don't keep in contact with them.

Like, I finally got to know

who, like, my birth family was when I was 18.

I got, like, my adoption file.

But for some reason, it just didn't really, like, stick,

like, have a huge interest in me.

Like, I met, like, my half-brother.

I thought that was kind of interesting,

just to see, like, the genetics, you know?

Maybe I'm just too visual of a person,

not very emotional. [laughs]

But I was, like, prepaid.

like, I was, like, in the belly

and already, like, assigned to my parents that I have now.

I feel like it's not necessarily hard.

I just feel like I'm disappointing them.

But at the end of the day,

like, you can't really live your life for somebody else.

I don't necessarily need to know much about my background.

I don't really have any questions for them.

I was really just wanting to know, like,

where the hell did I get so tall,

and is there any other giants out there just like me?

I know that they really would love to get to know me,

but I'm just, like, not there emotionally, mentally.

For my birth father and my birth mother,

they weren't together.

So I think that it was just, like, a mistake,

or, like, this wasn't supposed to happen deal.

But I'm so happy that instead of, like, getting rid of me,

they decided to have me,

so then my Heppenstall family could adopt me.

Because I think it was definitely meant to be.

Yes.

Yeah, gimme more back. Gimme more back.

There you go.

Yes, honey.

This is Marco. Marco Ovando.

Brrrrrr.

-Ovando. Hey. -Hi.

How are you guys? [laughs]

I get shy.

I love Marco.

He calls me a good girl, which I love.

Because I know she's not.

[all laugh]

That's a good sign.

When they ask me, which girls do you work on Drag Race,

I'm like, the good ones.

[all laugh]

Which is the only way

I can describe these girls and this group.

I love them.

I mean, like, what is not to like about them?

Look at them.

They're all so perfect in their own way.

The first time I met Marco

was when I came to Harlem to do that photo shoot.

It was like I was so nervous.

That was, like, such a fun shoot, though.

Aw.

Thanks. Just treat people how you wanna be treated.

And that's a wrap.

Oh, wait, no. We have a meet-and-greet.

And then a show.

And an opening and closing.

And then tomorrow.

I used to, like, go to the shows, like, when I was 19

and, like, stand outside of the club

and, like, wait for queens

to, like, sign my photos and everything.

I was really obsessed with Raja, Raven, and Violet Chachki.

What I saw when I was looking up to other Drag Race queens

is something that I just think is so important for everyone,

and that's just confidence.

There is no better feeling, I think,

than being just confident with who you are

and what you present to the world.

I still have, like, some insecurities,

and I still love to, like, compare myself to others,

even though I know it's not my position to.

But I think what's really important

is just to try and stay in your own world,

and make the best of it.

Like, if I can be confident doing what I love,

it should inspire people to do the exact same thing.

They're paving the way for the future,

and it's really inspiring.

Luca.

He's, like, whoa.

Who's that? Who's that?

-He's so cute. -Luca.

You know, I cannot wait to have kids.

I can't wait to ditch this drag shit and just have kids.

It's kind of fun.

Mm!

Well, I would raise a bad bitch.

I can't wait to have a little girl.

She'd be just as, like, unapologetically herself.

I was, like, 15, 16 when I was watching Drag Race,

and I was looking to this world as, like, kind of an outlet.

And I take my job, like, right now very seriously,

because I know that I am that outlet

for, like, other kids and other, like, families out there.

So it's kind of like a huge honor

to be able to do that for them.

What's up, Jasper?

Should we be calling you Jasper?

Do you keep that in there?

Do you like a big shout-out or a little shout-out?

There's a lot of difference, to be honest.

[laughs]

I said how are y'all doing?

Yeah, we should keep doing that.

The cocksuckers.

Isn't that what their names are?

The big, blonde girls with the boobs.

We're the cocksuckers. They are the cock destroyers.

Oh, cock destroyers.

We're the cocksuckers, I guess.

We're the cock demolishers.

Yeah, demolish.

Oh, my God, that's fierce.

They just disappear.

Yeah, demolish them.

They just evaporate and disappear.

Yes, honey, and you know, first things first, Naomi.

-Ding! -[laughs]

That is just a drop.

-Vanj. -Huh?

Everything. She's organized.

And I like to just see her get in her fantasy,

because that bitch is...

It's a little scary, because she's--

A little specific.

Yeah, it's just really fierce.

[laughs] Good saver. Good saver.

Mm-hmm, she's a bitch.

She's almost like a-- she's like a perfectionist,

and I live.

I'm second in the show, and my costume change

involves a shoe change, wig change, and I put on nails.

Definitely, like, I have to be really quick about it.

Oh, I should do the shoes.

And I try and, like, go to the very last second,

because I'm trying to, like, spend as much time

in the good lighting and the mirror as possible.

My kink: being prepared.

Oh, my gosh! The Seattle show

was, like, four stories up away from the stage.

But, like, my song was already playing,

so I had to run down the stairs.

How do we hold up the elevator?

So when I ran to the elevator to try and take it down,

it was, like, held up.

I know. This is real.

I just decided I'm not gonna miss my cue,

picked up the skirt.

You'll make it!

Oh, damn, that's a lot of stairs to go down.

Oh, my God, Naomi!

Have Geo come and, like, definitely make sure, like,

the frizzies are gone away from running down the stairs,

and hit it, because that's what a showgirl does.

For my numbers, I kind of have like, this formula.

Like, I like to start kind of like airy, ethereal.

I get to work a lot with Filip. He's kind of like me.

We like to present a very, like, fierce,

like, coy personality onstage.

It's just me onstage in a silhouette.

I'm wearing Naomi's clothes,

which we're not the same size, but I fit.

Trying to fake out the audience

with, like, a classic Naomi Smalls look.

And then I pop out of nowhere in the fog,

and trying to give you a mysterious Neptune tease.

On Drag Race,

some of the judges were saying I was not very relatable.

For me, I like to, like, let my profession speak for itself.

I don't necessarily want there

to be a huge, emotional tie to me.

Because I do have emotions, I do go through things,

but when I'm presenting something onstage,

I just want you to be entertained by what I'm doing.

Then, like, we have a blackout, and...

I get to, like, do my famous leg crawl across the stage,

and do my little back bend.

That's what I've learned.

Like, if you do something on television,

they wanna see it right in front of you.

Kind of. I lived here for three years,

and I really, really enjoyed it.

I got to live out, like, my early twenties.

Because I'm so old now. I'm past 26. [laughs]

I got to live out, like, my early twenties,

and, like, do the club scene

and kind of have, like, my own apartment.

And, like, I think it's really important

to, like, be able to have your own space

and, like, turn the keys to your own place

and, like, be independent no matter what.

So, yeah, I'm happy I got to experience that here.

-Familiar? -Yeah.

Totally.

Like, I know where I'm gonna get my brows done tomorrow,

I know where I'm gonna get my hair cut on Tuesday,

I know where I'm gonna go tanning.

That just, like, familiarity, my kink.

[laughs]

Are you going to the after-party tonight?

I'm performing, so my makeup will be cracked by then,

but hopefully there's a zoom tool.

I can, like, stay away.

That Season 1 filter.

Oh, I know, Bowie, or, like, Marilyn,

or, like, those weird cats.

Kimberly never comes out, but she came out--

I'll go out for Naomi.

That's a true sis.

I know that my life would be completely different

if I did not meet Kim Chi.

I would never be living the life that I'm living now,

so I'm just super, super grateful and super honored

to be able to call Kim Chi my best friend.

I moved to Chicago because she lived in Chicago.

We just, like, need to have each other in our lives

to feel, like, homeostasis.

That's my number one.

The most hateful queen.

Um...you know, I'm gonna say it's a tie

between me, Naomi, and Plastique.

We're very hateful together.

She's not listening. Everything.

I mean, look at her. She's so gorgeous.

But if she heard this, I'll say nothing about her.

Always my advice to anyone who says that they wanna start drag

is just, like, it's so corny, but just, like, be yourself,

because no one else can do you like you.

And then hone in on it and present to the world

something that's super stylized and super custom.

And I know for a fact

I would not be the bitch I am today

if it was not for Chicago, Illinois.

[cheering]

There is no better feeling than being self-confident,

and it shows a lot that you guys are here.

I want you guys to be so proud of yourselves,

and I wanna say thank you so much

for making me the fucking bitch I am today.

[cheering]

If I can inspire someone

by just being 100% like who I am,

then why am I gonna fight it?

Individuality is something that I think will just never die

and what keeps drag alive.

That's what everybody should be doing.

Everyone should be happy, living their goddamn life.