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Society has come a long way when evenSaturday Night Livecan admit that being straight is boring.
But ever sinceRuPauls Drag Race,drag culture has been infiltrating the mainstream.
Even corporate entity Twitters are throwing shade andmakingMean Girlsjokes, so you know something has changed.
Queerness is something to co-opt, not just murder.
And that counts as progress.
Queerness is a party, and everyone is invited!
So I know that the writers of a sketch have a hand in producing, choosing props and whatnot.
Does that extend to casting go-go dancers?Anderson:No, that was a surprise.
I mean, we put dancers in there, but wow.
Yang:James wrote them in.
James wrote the whole sketch.
I got added on to assist.
When the dancers came on set, it was a moment for everyone.
Anderson:It was really like Wow!
Yang:We were really marveling at what they could do.
Anderson:It was like they were acrobats.
Tell me about how this sketch came together.
James, this was your idea first?Anderson:Yeah.
Its so funny to me.
A little bit of finesse.
GP Yass killed at table, and of course it got picked for the show.
And I think James had a hand in bringing me on.
I immediately texted him, I cant believe I get to work on this with you.
Anderson:He added so much though, so much polish on the nails.
A lot of the times, you come up with lines on the fly when youre filming.
I couldnt think of a better person to be there, throwing out lines, than Bowen.
Also, your energy, baby!
Yang:Oh my God.
It was great because we had these two new directors,Adriana Robles and Hannah Levy.
All four of us are huge fans ofDrag Race,and the culture.
It was great for all four of us to bat around ideas on set.
The two queens were fromDrag Race,right?Anderson:Peppermintand Jiggly Caliente.
Or if they are, I want to meet them.
Yang:Those were James and Bowen originals.
Anderson:Candy Travesty, DClined, and Unita Triscuit.
I like the ones that have kind of a little pun to it.
But theyve got to be fierce too.
Candy Travesty, I dont know why that hit my ear.
Its not really candy thats a travesty.
Candy Travesty sounds like the daughter of, like, Issa Travesty.
Or like a really basic element.
Yang:Yes, like Aquaria.
What does Lorne Michaels know of drag culture?Anderson:Well, hes learning!
Yang:I think probably, whenRuPaul won the Emmy, that registered to him.
That this was something that has broken through and mainstreamed in some fashion now.
I think hes starting to get it.
He watched it with us, and I think he might have been confused at points.
I dont know, James.
What do you think?
Anderson:Hes growing.
But in the 70s, there had to have been a couple 70s drag queens out there.
It is more mainstream now than its ever been.
Well, lets talk about that.
Drag queens are succeeding where respectability politics failed, in terms of mainstreaming the existence of gay people.
I feel like the sketch spoke to that.
What do you think of that phenomenon?Anderson:Im just loving that its more mainstream.
Lorne just wants to double-check that everyone is on the same page about whatevers being shown.
I think with what were putting out there now, that ground is sort of being broken.
It just takes the right package to have that come through.
I love that its not like that anymore.
Ive worked atSaturday Night Livefor twenty years, and Ive seen comedy change.
Its a beautiful thing.
How were things, generally in comedy, not beautiful before?Anderson:They were, actually.
Its just interesting to see how it changes.
I wroteGays in Spacewith Fred Armisen.
Its not the joke of the piece.
James never wrote anything with a gay panic attached to it.
And I think what youre saying is right, theres no threatening element to it.
James made sure to write Steve Carells character as someone whos like Im loving this, Im enjoying it!
Its something that everyone can get on board with.
Theyre at the party with everybody else.
I think thats a fun, new place were at in comedy.
Drag Racehas generated a lot of discussion about appropriation and how drag culture is being appropriated by the straights.
GP Yass is a product that speaks to that appropriation.
Does that ever worry you, that loss of distinctiveness?Anderson:I dont know.
I have two thoughts on this.
Its sort of like having the gayborhood, but also having it gentrified.
When you go to Provincetown, its children, its families, its gay people, its drag queens.
I absolutely love that everybody can mix together.
But then there was something about the gayborhood I liked, too when you knew where you were going.
But I think thats because Im an old fart.
What do you think, Bowen?
Yang:I think your thing about Provincetown is right on.
When I go to Fire Island, its always sort of the same thing.
Everyone is coexisting, and isnt that nice?
Its a testing ground, for now.
And hopefully we can adjust and have it be a Provincetown situation where everyone is coexisting nicely.
