RuPaul’s Drag Race superstar Monét X Change exclusively tells PinkNews about her dreams of chat show domination – but first, she’s having a slumber party, and we’re all invited.
All Stars 4 and All Stars 7 finalist Monét X Change has returned to our TV sets with Dropout series Monét’s Slumber Party.
A ‘variety talk show’ fronted by the Queen of the Sponge, Monét welcomes friends, comedians and other celebrities to an adult sleepover. Combining honest conversation with a little mischief, Monét’s Slumber Party tackles taboo subjects like sex, dating and relationships with openness and humor.
Featuring special guests like Bob the Drag Queen, Naomi Smalls, Kim Chi, Rachel Bloom, Joel Kim Booster and more, it’s not a party to be missed…
PinkNews: Ms Monét X Change, thank you so much for joining us to talk about Monét’s Slumber Party on Dropout! Tell us all about it, and why you wanted to make it.
It’s Pee Wee’s Playhouse meets The Graham Norton Show meets a good old slumber party. I was really excited about the show when I approached Dropout about it, and we came up with it together.
The original idea was for me to bring back my talk show back The X Change Rate, but Dropout didn’t really do talk shows and so we brainstormed something else, and had meetings, on meetings, on meetings, and Monét’s Slumber Party show was developed.
So the development for Monét’s Slumber Party was done in collaboration with Dropout – how did that work?
They’re really great collaborators. They always come with the artist in mind when they do stuff and they’re very thoughtful and intentional about how they do their business. Honestly, in this day and age, that’s a big plus on my end, someone who’s willing to collaborate, not just tell you what to do.
You mentioned your previous chat show The X Change Rate, which aired its last season in 2020. Have you felt an evolution between then and now? And what elements did you bring with you?
The one element is my personality. As I’ve gotten older, I enjoy hosting. I used to be a travel girl, but now I’m a hoster, and I like this idea of people just coming over to my bedroom and just like having a kiki, and chatting about a range of topics.
We talk about everything from sex and love to lifestyle; we really cover a very broad range of things throughout the entire season.
Did you ever have your own slumber parties as a baby gay that you’re drawing on for this series?
I didn’t really because I was afraid I was gonna get boners for all the hot guys there. I’ve always been very outwardly gay, and I’ve never been able to mask my queerness. So I was like: ‘Girl, I can’t add another thing [to be bullied for]’.
So this is you reclaiming your slumber party truth! One of my other questions was how hard it was to concentrate with Kevin McDonald in his slutty little shorts.
Oh my god. The tea is that I wanted those shorts to be shorter. And if we get to do season two, they will be shorter. I think that the one’s he’s wearing are very conservative, straight people shorts. We want some Gucci panties up in here. So best believe that if there’s a season two, those shorts will be a G-string.
As mentioned, you’ve got a range of fabulous guests on Monét’s Slumber Party, including Drag Race alumni like Kim Chi, Naomi Smalls and Bob the Drag Queen and Dropout stars like Sam Reich and Brennan Lee Mulligan. How did you go about selecting them?
There’s also just really fierce comedians like Atsuko, Rachel Bloom and Joel Kim Booster, and just really fun, amazing guests. It’s been so great to have them all, and a lot of them were friends.
I was just like, ‘Hey, what you doing? Come to a sleepover!’ So even that aspect of it feels like it’s just a bunch of friends hanging out and playing stupid games and having fun. It’s so fun.
Do you have a favourite game or moment for the series?
We play this game called ‘Don’t Wake Leather Daddy’ which is a take on the iconic board game ‘Don’t Wake Daddy’. Do you guys have that in the UK?
No, I’ve played ‘Don’t Wake Daddy’, but I don’t think it’s the one you’re talking about.
Haha! Yeah, it’s different to that, girl. That’s an iconic game that came on during commercials in cartoons and stuff. A lot of our games are twists on classic games, just making them look really gay and queer. And that’s one of my favourite ones. A lot goes on in that episode.
And who was your favourite guest?
I would have to say, because she is my best friend/arch-nemesis, Bob the Drag Queen. And you know, I never actually let her come over to my regular house. I was like, ‘You can go to my fake house’. Because if y’all don’t know, Bob steals.
That’s the headline right there.
Bob the Drag Queen is a thief!
We were speaking about The X Change Rate earlier, and I believe you may have a little teaser for fans of that show. Care to elaborate?
She’s always busy and looking for another thing to do, and I do have a very exciting project to do with The X Change Rate in the works. It’s not the talk show, but another version. It’s coming very soon and I’m very excited about it…
I’m really in my interviewing bag, and it’s something that I love to do. We’re working really hard to get it done.
Speaking of your other projects, your podcast with Bob, Sibling Rivalry, just won a GLAAD and a Webby award. How did that feel?
Sibling Rivalry is something that we’re both so passionate about. We started that going on six years ago, and it’s such a labor of love. We have a live show at the Belbao Theater in San Diego on 8 August, and if anyone has been before, they’re always fun, they’re always crazy. And something unhinged is bound to happen because I work with someone very unhinged, and he’s unmedicated. So.
And what is Monét X Change’s ultimate career goal?
I would love, in the big picture world, to have a late night spot, or a daytime television spot, for Monét X Change. That’s my guiding North Star.
The Late Late Show with Monét X Change sounds pretty fierce to me.
Why not? There’s never been a drag queen in that scenario. Even if in summer when Jimmy Kimmel or whoever takes a vacation, and they have a bunch of guest hosts do it. I’m like, ‘B*tch, I would do what night.’ Call me.
Monét’s Slumber Party premiered on 19 July, with subsequent episodes released every other Friday on Dropout.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.