20 Questions with the 'Drag Race' Season 16 Queens (on Top of a Moving Tour Bus)
There are certain places you expect to see a drag queen, such as, for example, on a stage in a gay bar, on RuPaul's Drag Race or at 4 a.m. ordering a BEC from her local bodega without a wig on. One place you don't expect to see one drag queen, let alone 14, is on top of a Big City Bus driving around New York. And yet, as a part of the promo cycle for Season 16 of RuPaul's Drag Race, the cast of 14 drag queens boarded the double decker bus for a jaunt around the Big Apple. (On a 30 degree day in January no less).
Related: 'RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 8' Take New York. Next Stop: the World.
And yes, it was every bit as chaotic as you'd imagine. Queens slipping and sliding up and down the staircase in stilettos. Queens bundled up in scarves trying to stay warm. Queens sitting sideways because their dressed didn't fit in between seats. One needed scissors, another had lost an eyelash, a third reapplied a fingernail. When the bus pulled up to park outside The Met, an angry tourist shouted at the driver for not letting her board the bus. And there in the middle of the mayhem was me, intrepid journalist, playing 20 questions with who will soon be your new favorite queens. Here's everything I learned:
20 Questions with the RuPaul's Drag Race Season 16 cast
Favorite gay bar?
"Cafe Dalida in Taipei." - Nymphia Wind
"Probably my home bar, the Duplex in the West Village." - Plasma
"Hamburger Mary's in Kansas City." - Q
"C'mon Everybody in Bed Stuy." - Dawn
"I have to say Gipsy Las Vegas because they're going to hosting my viewing party." - Mirage
"Rock Bar. It's for the geeks and the bears, and baby, I'm both." - Megami
"I used to work as a bar back in West Hollywood so sometimes it's hard for me to think of a favorite gay bar." - Amanda Tori Meating
Getty Images/MTV
Go-to drink?
"Prosecco followed up with a shot of tequila." - Morphine Love Dion
"Vodka and coconut water." - Nymphia Wind
"Orange sangria." - Plane Jane
"Vodka soda with a cherry." - Dawn
"Fireball and Red Bull." - Hershii LiqCour-Jete
"I'm a Long Island girl. Oh! Yeah she knows how to party." - Geneva Karr
Who is mother?
"Michelle Visage." - Mirage
"RuPaul." - Morphine Love Dion, Plane Jane, Geneva Karr & Sapphira Cristal
"That's not a question. It's Beyoncé." - Mhi'ya Iman Le'Paige
"FKA twigs." - Nymphia Wind
"So many girls. Sapphira Cristal. RuPaul. Charlize Theron. Lady Gaga. Beyoncé. Tiffany Pollard even." - Amanda Tori Meating
Getty Images/MTV
Favorite current slang saying?
"That's major." - Morphine Love Dion
"YUUUUUUR." - Plasma
"Sickquinning." - Q
"OVA!" - Xunami Muse
"Well yes." - Plane Jane & Sapphira Cristal
"Purr." - Amanda Tori Meating
"If I'm really mad at you, I'll call you a cigarette. It takes everybody a while to catch on to what I mean." - Hershii LiqCour-Jete
Favorite previous RuPaul's Drag Race winner?
"Sasha Velour." - Nymphia Wind, Q, Dawn & Megami
"Bob the Drag Queen." - Amanda Tori Meating, Hershii LiqCour-Jete, Megami & Sapphira Cristal
"Raja." - Xunami Muse
"Jinkx Monsoon." - Mhi'ya Iman Le'Paige
"Valentina. [Xunami Muse reminds Morphine that Valentina didn't win Drag Race.] I don't give a f*ck. I said what I said." - Morphine Love Dion
Related: Everything You Need to Know About 'RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars' Season 9
Favorite Werk Room entrance look this season?
"Q." - Mirage, Sapphira Cristal & Morphine Love Dion
"Nymphia." - Xunami Muse, Geneva Karr & Megami
"Amanda Tori Meating." - Amanda Tori Meating & Dawn
"Dawn" - Hershii LiqCour-Jete & Mhi'ya Iman Le'Paige
"Mirage." - Nymphia Wind
"Here's the tea. Actually I thought I had a wonderful entrance look. Then I watched Bob the Drag Queen and Monet X Change's video about it, and Bob was like, 'This is an immaculate entrance look.' And Monet said, 'Really?' And then Bob said, 'Just kidding. I f*cking hate it.' SO, in lieu of myself, which it seems the world cannot decide how it feels about me, I would say, honestly my favorite is probably Megami." - Plasma
One runway theme from a past season you'd wish you'd got on Season 16?
"The wedding challenge. I love the gowns." - Morphine Love Dion
"The inner saboteur one from Season 10." - Nymphia Wind
"Spikes." - Plane Jane
"The one where they got to have dogs to walk down with." - Amanda Tori Meating
"I wish we got the zodiac theme, because i would have loved to do my sign, the Taurus." - Megami
"Night of a thousand caftans." - Sapphira Cristal
"The hair ball. Making outfits out of hair, because if you don't know I style my leg hair on TikTok." - Geneva Karr
Getty Images/MTV
Lip sync song you hate getting requested to perform?
"Anything Whitney [Houston] that has just been overdone." - Morphine Love Dion
"'Party in the USA' by Miley Cyrus." - Q
"Kandy Muse and Janelle No. 5 are going to hate me, but that Cheetah Girls song that they always make us do that I still haven't learned." - Xunami Muse
"Anything with Nicki Minaj because those lyrics. You have to keep up with her, and I can't." - Hershii LiqCour-Jete
"I know some people are going to hate me for it, and some people are going to love me, but please do not ask me to do any Taylor Swift." - Megami
"Ballads." - Mhi'ya Iman Le'Paige & Geneva Karr
Favorite RuPaul song?
"'A.S.M.R. Lover.'" - Morphine Love Dion, Nymphia Wind, Dawn, Mhi'ya Iman Le'Paige, Megami & Sapphira Cristal
"'Call Me Mother.'" - Plasma, Q & Geneva Karr
"A big toss up between 'Who Is She' and 'Cake & Candy.'" - Xunami Muse
"The Beginning." - Plane Jane
*Sings* "Peanut, peanut, peanut, peanut, peanut, peanut." - Mirage
Favorite influencer?
"Probably Trixie. I watch her videos the most, honestly." - Mirage
"Patrick Starrr." - Morphine Love Dion & Sapphira Cristal
"Louie Castro, the baddest perra." - Geneva Karr
"The lake Sophie Anderson of the C*ck Destroyers. Forever an icon. I love you so much. Rest in paradise." - Plane Jane
"Like OG 2012 YouTubers. Like Grace Helbig. Mamrie Hart. My faves. I still listen to their podcast." - Dawn
Getty Images/MTV
What challenge this season were you most looking forward to?
"The makeover challenge." - Morphine Love Dion
"The ball." - Nymphia Wind & Q
"The Snatch Game." - Plasma & Plane Jane
"A design challenge because I sew all my own stuff." - Dawn
"A dance challenge." - Hershii LiqCour-Jete, Mhi'ya Iman Le'Paige & Geneva Karr
"A green screen acting challenge." - Amanda Tori Meating
What challenge were you most dreading?
"The roast." - Morphine Love Dion & Geneva Karr
"Anything that requires me to write." - Nymphia Wind
"The ball." - Plasma
"Snatch Game." - Q & Dawn
"Design challenges." - Xunami Muse, Amanda Tori Meating, Hershii LiqCour-Jete & Mhi'ya Iman Le'Paige
"I wasn't least looking forward to anything because I will destroy, demolish and devour any task presented before me." - Plane Jane
Getty Images/MTV
Favorite LGBTQ+ movie or TV character?
"Toph from Avatar: The Last Airbender." - Mirage
"Beverley Leslie from Will & Grace." - Q
"Garnet from Steven Universe." - Plane Jane
"Noah from Noah's Arc." - Hershii LiqCour-Jete & Mhi'ya Iman Le'Paige
"There's this series called Veneno from Spain, and it would have to be Cristina La Veneno, a trans icon." - Geneva Karr
"All of the X-Men, because the X-Men are very gay coded. The whole team. That's just one big queer family." - Megami
Celebrity you'd most like to put in drag?
"FKA twigs." - Nymphia Wind
"Millie Bobby Brown." - Plasma
"Timothée Chalamet. - Q
"Jacob Elordi." - Xunami Muse
"Vin Diesel." - Amanda Tori Meating
"Pedro Pascal." - Megami
"Lil' Wayne." - Sapphira Cristal
Getty Images/MTV
What trend is officially "out" for 2024?
"Music with no lyrics and no signing. That's what's out. What's in is vocalists." - Amanda Tori Meating
"Being mean. Just be nice." - Dawn
"Holes in your stockings. No lashes. Dry and nappy wigs. Shake and go's. Being careless of your appearance." - Mhi'ya Iman Le'Paige
"Not wearing enough makeup." - Geneva Karr
"Misogyny." - Sapphira Cristal
Who should be a regular judge on RuPaul's Drag Race?
"Khloé Kardashian." - Mirage
"Law Roach." - Morphine Love Dion and Plasma
"Naomi Campbell." - Nymphia Wind
"Nicki Minaj. I hate your hair and makeup." - Q
"Nicole Byer." - Dawn, Megami & Sapphira Cristal
"Ts Madison. I would lover her there every week." - Xunami Muse, Plane Jane, Hershii LiqCour-Jete, Geneva Karr
If this bus could take you anywhere in NYC, where would you go?
"Empanada Mama." - Mirage
"The Raising Canes on 125th in Harlem because the Times Square location is too busy." - Plasma
"The Fabric District." - Q
"The Artichoke Pizza on 14th St. between Second and First." - Xunami Muse
"The Taco Bell on Grand St. in Brooklyn." - Dawn
"Straight into the ocean." - Nymphia Wind
Next, Everything you need to know about RuPaul's Drag Race Season 16
