'RuPaul's Drag Race' Interview: Plastique Tiara on Her Emotional Breakdown With RuPaul

By Christopher Rudolph


Walking into the competition on this season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Plastique Tiara was one of the most popular queens on social media, nevertheless she proved to be just as fierce without the filters. She contained her own against the other women, even winning the “Farm to Runway” challenge.


However right after a run-in with L.A.D.P. (Los Angeles Drag Patrol) on this week’s episode, RuPaul made a citizen’s arrest and sent Plastique packin’. MTV News discussed with the Dallas-based queen about what Drag Race taught her, the opinions Alyssa Edwards gave her, and what it looked like getting a hug from RuPaul.


MTV News: Hey, Plastique! How are you feeling today?


Plastique: I’m feeling good. [Laughs] Surprisingly!


I wanna talk about this week’s reading challenge: it looked like a lot of the females were coming for you. What was that about?


I’m not sure. I guess I’m just easy to read? [Laughs] I don’t know. I’m very—you know, like, pure-hearted. I’m not that much of a shady queen, so I guess I was just an easy target.


When Ru asked you to sashay away, you mentioned that you’ve grown so much over the course of the competition. Right now that it’s been months since you filmed this season, how can you visualize your growth looking back?


Doing my time on the show, Once I went on, I felt like everything was going to be wonderful and dandy, and I was going to slay the competition away. Just because I brought good looks and knew how to do my makeup, you know? Yet while in the show, I learned that it’s much more than that. You must have charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent. The thing I was missing was that I wasn't certain in myself. I have this idea of how America’s next drag superstar should act, and any time Ru came and discussed to me, I realized that I had a lot of things that I need to work on myself because of my past and because of how I was raised. It really impacted me growing up. Right now, I learned to be reassured of who I am, and not to compare myself with others. And not to worry so much. Because they wish to be able to see me, Plastique Tiara. They don’t desire to be able to see Plastique Tiara doing somebody else. I guess that’s what I learned—just to really accept myself to the fullest and not worry about people’s advice of me.


That moment in the workroom, as soon as Ru hugged you—that was really touching. What was going through your mind as Ru was talking to you?


I…[Laughs] You know, I didn’t expect it. Honestly. He’s RuPaul, right? And I feel like he has heard stories like—about unacceptance—so several times. However for that moment, for him to really embrace me...I felt really loved. In my family member, we’re not affectionate to one another, really. So at my weakest point, to have somebody there to lift me up and embrace me—like, he didn’t have to do that. So for him to have done that, I’m very grateful.


And you mentioned that your family members didn’t really know what you did. They just knew that you’re a performer. Have any of these watched Drag Race?


My mom and my grandma knew that I was a performer. While I went on this show, they didn’t know that I was filming for Drag Race. I guess you can mention that they are tolerating it, nevertheless yet still not accepting it. Which is fine with me so far. They’ve come such a long way from any time As soon as I first began drag. They thought I was, like, prostituting myself at the club because they didn’t really understand the concept. However right now that I’m on national television, I have a worldwide fan base, along with a platform... I think it’s more tolerable right now. I’m like, Oh, okay—they just view it as a job for me.


Do you feel like you gained a new family member with the Season 11 queens? Are you super close to anyone?


For sure, for sure! I’ve made astonishing, astonishing companions. You know, these are companions for life. We’ve gone through a life-changing experience that no one else really can relate to. This is our season, and this experience is our own. So even if we have conflicts, just like siblings, we fight. Although at the end of the day, we all love each other.


Did [your drag mother] Alyssa Edwards have any suggestions for you any time as soon as she noticed out you were competing on the show?


Honestly, she just mentioned, “Be yourself. Just be yourself.” So I showed up and just had fun. That’s what I remember, too—she mentioned, “Just have fun.” Don’t attempt to be somebody else to win challenges; just have fun and be yourself. And wish I would’ve done more of that. However I feel like at the end [of my run], I did. So I’m very happy.


You mentioned that you had no regrets. Does that change right now, looking back?


You know what? I don’t think I would. If I hadn’t gone house, and if I hadn’t done the things that I’d done, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I wouldn’t have learned so much about myself, and I wouldn’t be the version of myself that I am today. For now, I’m just so happy and blessed. I have no complaints.


Coming into the competition, you were one of the most popular women on social media out of the queens. Do you suggest that hurt or helped you?


I feel like it’s a double-edged sword. Coming in, I had huge plenty quite a bit of followers, so people expect me to be this outstanding, brilliant little drag queen. Although what they don’t visualize is that I do have several insecurities. I’m human, so I’m not brilliant, even if I use filters. [Laughs] Having a wide fan base, I was able to connect a lot with all of those. Even the things I mentioned on the show about [not knowing about] pop culture—because right after I mentioned that, I was really ashamed. I was like, wow, I don’t know if anybody can relate to that and understand my story. Yet immediately after that, I had so several messages and stories and just numerous DMs saying that I relate to your story so much. I’m so thankful that you discussed about it on this worldwide platform so that people out there can relate, also. I was afraid to speak about it for a long time, so that’s just a pretty thing to me.


What can fans expect next?


I guess I’ll just mention that I’m here to overcome all of the platforms. [Laughs] So, be prepared—there will be more music, yet there will also be increasingly and more.