EDGE Interview: Drag Legend Lady Bunny Talks New Show, Politics, and RuPaul's Book Club

In 2020, Bunny, who comes from a long line of rare southern democratic voters, says she turned her back on the party because President Biden was essentially colluding with the opposing party.

"One thing that Biden said that I cannot abide by is, in 2020 he told wealthy donors, quote, 'nothing will fundamentally change' unquote. So that means that whatever your cause is; codifying Roe V Wade – which Joe and Obama failed to do with majorities in Congress – or whether it's Black Lives Matter or whether it's trans rights, Joe is gonna do what he's done for his whole career, lie and then end up siding with Republicans," she says.

Grassroots democracy is what she hopes for in 2025, "I support Jill Stein in the Green Party who I supported in 2016."

Politics aside, she's also outspoken when things don't make sense in pop culture; no one is safe from her discerning eye, not even a longtime friend and colleague.

Recently media queen RuPaul published a memoir titled "The House of Hidden Meanings" and at about the same time started a book club on Allstora, an online bookseller he co-founded. The company has its own catalog but also acts as an e-nook within the expansive library of a distributor called Ingram. Think of it as literary drop-shipping. But, like it or not, Ingram's library includes anti-Semitic and anti-LGBTQ+ books that go against Allstora's message of inclusivity.

You may have seen RuPaul's social media ads where he backs up a rainbow-colored bus reminiscent of the ones in grade school where you could purchase actual books inside. It seems like a nice throwback idea if it were real, but the campaign is just an extended meme. Getting wind of the controversy, Bunny wrote a social media post calling out the online bookstore's hypocrisy and RuPaul's naivety. Allstora has recently removed the offensive books from its accessible catalog and the CEO apologized), but Bunny thinks Ru shouldn't have let his guard down.

"Ru was trading on his name as a noted gay figure to kind of like act like 'I'm gonna come to your town on a rainbow bus and it's gonna be this feel-good thing,' and well, that really wasn't what it was," she says. "But, you know what I didn't like was the phoniness of it, saying 'I'm a gay icon so come and join this book club.' Why not just say, 'I wanna sell all kinds of books, come check it out.' You know, some people would have made a stink about those books and then people try to say, 'What? You're for banning books?' And I'm like, I'm not for banning very much. I'm halfway canceled at any given point. But, you know, I'm glad they did the right thing."

Aside from her political views and near-daily social media posts, Lady Bunny has a show to do. "April Fool" is starting on April 12, and then select dates at the Green Room 24 in New York City. The legendary drag star just keeps on going. The stage beckons. After breaking her toe last year she did her act wearing an orthopedic boot. I passively asked her about retirement and why many celebrities continue to work even though they have monetary success.

"Because you need the audience," she says.

That's something she learned partly from the pandemic when she became depressed because she couldn't go to work. "Some people are just more at home on stage than anywhere else and it fulfills a need for them."

But her public wants to see more. People wonder what the artful drag queen looks like out without makeup, and you would think it would be easy to find, especially on the internet. But aside from a few pictures, she's remained surprisingly elusive.

"I come from the world of the big clubs back in the '80s and '90s," she says. "So, I need to dress up to feel, you know, some excitement. I'm not in drag right now and I'm not shy but drag kind of gives you an excuse to be bolder. That's actually the number one Googled thing; people trying to figure out what I look like out of drag, and I'm like, I put on all this bullshit and glue these wigs on my head and shove my testicles up inside me so that you can wonder what I'd look like without it?"

People might get their chance. Like most icons, she is also writing a memoir. It's not done yet, and maybe that's because if she finishes, it marks the end of something, and Lady Bunny still has a way to go. Still, she jokingly says, "I need to [finish it] before I forget everything."

She promises one thing though. In her signature high-pitched laugh, she says, "I'll put a picture of me out of drag on the last page."

Lady Bunny's "April Fool" is at The Green Room 42 starting on Friday, April 12. Tickets start at $22. Check out the venue's website for dates and times.