We’ve grouped together the two latest contestants to be asked to “sahsay away” from Canada’s Drag Race. Misery does love company, but in chatting with Chelazon Leroux and Lady Boom Boom, was there any misery in the werk room? on the runway? Let’s find out.
Chelazon Leroux is a bold queen with a strong perspective, and while her Canada’s Drag Race experience may be over, she is now able to showcase her drag talents for the world to see. Chelazon and I sat down to chat and discussed everything from her Canada’s Drag Race run, what it is like growing up in a small Canadian area like Saskatchewan, and why she now is prepared to showcase her drag on a much bigger scale after this experience.
Michael Cook: Now that you’ve departed the competition, how do you look back on your Canada’s Drag Race experience?
Chelazon Leroux: It’s honestly so much, it is all the emotions. I don’t think people realize, it’s not just one thing. You work so hard towards a goal, and some get it and some don’t, and you if you’re lucky, you’re one of the few chosen to get on. It’s something that I’ve been working towards since the show started. As soon as you get the call, it’s a shock and then you immediately have to start getting ready. You don’t have time to process it and it’s a lot of work. Just to have the opportunity to share your story and your art is what makes it all worth it.
MC: The perspective of sharing your art is truly a big part of your own story. Being a two spirit queen and coming from a small place like Saskatchewan truly helped craft you into the queen that you are. What is the drag scene like in a place like Saskatchewan?
CL: The drag scene is within a very conservative province. The prairie is very conservative in values, even if it’s not always politically, the ideologies and ways of being are. The preface for that for a lot of queer people is that we have to fight harder to be represented and have your space in this world. I think within that resistance and that rebellion comes beautiful art and that reflects in the beautiful drag scene here in Saskatchewan. I am so proud to come from this province, but the city that I come from is Saskatoon. A lot of wonderful artists from here have shaped and supported me, I am so proud to come from the scene that I do.
MC: How do you interweave being a two spirit person with your drag persona and performances?
CL: That is very similar to being asked about someone’s upbringing, and it is really just going to just represent who you are as a person and your experiences. Being indigenous/First Nation (or Native American as you would say there) informs everything; my life, my art, drag, and its just natural. I don’t think it is trying to put on anything, it is just who I am.
MC: Where did you really get your feet wet in the world of drag in Canada?
CL: My first sight of drag was RuPaul’s Drag Race. I was living in a very small town in northern Saskatchewan, a small reserve. That was my only access and representation that I had to see others that I was inspired by; I think I was thirteen when I first saw it actually. Growing up, I was experimenting with makeup wigs and theater and stuff, but it wasn’t until I moved to Edmonton, Alberta when I was eighteen, that I was able to start performing there because their bar age is eighteen there.
MC: When you stepped into the Canada’s Drag Race werk room, is there anything that completely took you off guard or totally threw you?
CL: The werk room is a lot smaller than it looks on television; it’s tiny! I didn’t have anyone to really learn the production side from, so that was one thing that was new to me. Other than that, I had worked with other drag queens and I have been performing, so the experiences were not new, like the challenges or meeting the the girls. Nothing really threw me off, that was just human interaction.
MC: What are your rose and thorn of your Canada’s Drag Race experience?
CL: Being able to tell my story. Being able to meet such wonderful artists who I love, people that I will be sisters with for the rest of my life. Just being able to share that and express that really is phenomenal. The thorn is the amount of work, it is exhausting (laughs)! I just gave it my all and that is all you can do.
MC: Now that you have this global platform, what do you think you want to do with it?
CL: I have been using social media as my work and my way of living, even before Drag Race. I have been on TikTok and that is where I got to share my story, tell my experiences and relate to people. I have gotten some great experiences from that like traveling and public speaking and Canada’s Drag Race is just another platform to share it on. I am grateful that I did it; it is about being able to use that. It is kind of funny, I went to Drag Race and now I am coming back to what is comfortable and what I am used to and familiar to me. I am glad I tried it, but I know where my strengths lie. Now I can showcase more drag, which is awesome. Being able to do more touring, traveling, public speaking and content creation, I am very excited for the future.
MC: Pride is not just for the month of June, but all year round. What are you the most proud of right now?
CL: Being able do what I love working, traveling, meeting new people. Getting to know other people, it is just so simple. That is all I want, being with people that love you in a beautiful space, that is all.
Lady Boom Boom strutted into the Canada’s Drag Race werk room as a smoldering and worthy competitor. While this French Canadian performer (who learned English by actually watching RuPaul’s Drag Race) has departed the competition, Lady Boom Boom has plans to continue showcasing her killer looks and stunning performances, now on a much bigger scale. I sat down to chat with Lady Boom Boom about her initial apprehensions about Drag Race, what the experience was like for her, and what Drag Race alumni truly inspired her the most initially.
MC: You were a stunning part of Canada’s Drag Race, but now that journey has ended for you, following the Snatch Game challenge. How do you look back on your experience? Rose and thorn?
Lady Boom Boom: I feel like I had a pretty good run and I am trying to only keep those memories from the show, you know?
MC: When you first arrived at Canada’s Drag Race what was your initial reaction? Were you over whelmed or did you feel more than ready to take on the competition?
LBB: We had to quarantine two weeks before going into the competition, so I feel like I had so much time to be anxious, nervous and scared. I thought about not being able to interact well with the other girls because English is not my first language or that there would be a clash of personalities. I kind of knew that Gisèle (Lullaby) was going to be in the competition as well, we ended up running into each other when we were going to get some costumes, I feel like the moment that I stepped into the werk room everything faded away and the only thing left was to focus on the competition. I actually ended up surprising myself.
MC: How do you think you surprised yourself?
LBB: I am very anxious and nervous in life, but I knew that I was at the competition to compete. I just felt like I was living for drag more than anything at this point.
MC: How does being a self-proclaimed “anxious and nervous” person, which most likely indicates you have a high attention to detail, worked for you as a drag performer? Have you found it to be a detriment or an asset?
LBB: Actually a little bit of both. Most of the time it is a good thing. When things happen, most of the time I think ahead and I think about the possibilities of things happening. If it goes well or if it goes wrong, I have already planned so that is good. I have not always like that, sometimes I used to let my nerves get the best of me and not be able to concentrate. Now I feel like I have been able to get this energy and use it in the best way possible.
MC: When did you know that drag was going to be so much more than a hobby and an actual career?
LBB: You know what’s funny, when I was in high school I was putting so much effort into drag. I didn’t know if people would love me, if I would interact well with the other girls, or if I would just go on stage, freeze and never want to do it again. At the same time, I have been preparing for years; the first time I stepped on a stage I wanted more. I also got a pretty good response from the crowd. Since that moment, I have been booked almost every weekend. I have not worked in the states yet, but I would love to.
MC: Where do you want your drag career five years from now?
LBB: Honestly, I just want to be able to do the same thing. To just live for my fashion and be able to meet people. I want to be able to do what I am doing now, but on a much bigger scale.
MC: When you look at your career, what do you think you are the most proud about?
LBB: When I first started watching Drag Race, I didn’t speak a word of English. I have learned English from watching the show. The fact that I could compete in a show only in English…Even auditioning the first two seasons, I couldn’t think that they would be able to understand me. Even having this conversation now with you in English, it is just mind blowing and I am pretty proud of that.
MC: Is there one queen that you heard speaking that it truly clicked and you really were able to start picking up the language?
LBB: It really was from watching the show. Season 5 and Season 6 I think I watched the most and I think I watched them ten times. I remember seeing Jade Jolie, so vibrant and embracing her femininity. I was in high school and that really spoke to me; I could wear pink and have long hair. When I found Drag Race, it was a revelation to me.
Follow Chelazon Leroux on Instagram
Follow Lady Boom Boom on Instagram