Welcome to Metro.co.uk‘s , where we ask, well, the big questions (and the smaller ones too) and this week, we’re diving deep with Bimini Bon Boulash.
Last year, Bimini won the hearts of the nation on RuPaul’s series 2, gaining a legion of fans thanks to their stellar runways (which began with a memorable tribute to Norwich City Club), their unforgettable Snatch Game and a verse on the earworm that’s only gone and earnt a Bafta nod.
The east Londoner has continued to go from strength to strength, walking in London Fashion Week, releasing music and publishing a book. The real question is, what can’t Bimini do?!
Having recently co-hosted the EE red carpet at the Bafta Film Awards, Bimini recently took time out of their busy schedule to have a chinwag with us, looking back on where it all started and using their platform to call for more representation on Drag Race and across the media.
From sharing their views on on the trans community to emphasising the need to respect the artform of drag kings, here’s what the performer had to say.
It’s hard to believe it’s already been a year since Drag Race UK series 2. How does it feel to have gained so much recognition so fast in the past year?
Going on the show, doing me, almost going home straight away, and being able to get to the final… I never really went in with the mindset of, ‘I’m going to win the show, I want to win the show.’ I just wanted to prove to myself that I can do this, and I just wanted to be able to do all the runways, being able to be creative and show that.
The fact that people liked it and it resonated with people – never expected it. I think I’m very lucky, every day I’m grateful. I can be tired, I can be busy, but I’m still doing a job that I love and I’m getting to meet people and being in spaces I never thought I would. So every day it’s mind-blowing.
I understand you started your drag career in 2017, is that correct?
It was 2017. LIPSYNC1000 at The Glory. It was the first time I’d ever got on stage. I did a really bad wig reveal, when I performed you could actually see the pink wig underneath. I did a provocative lap dance, it was political, and I got to the final. And then I started performing.
I was really not confident at the beginning. The scene was thriving. Sink The Pink was who I really looked up to as a collective, and there were so many personalities within that, and I think I was lost at that time. I wasn’t really happy with myself, and I think that reflected in my performance.
What I learnt over time is that if you’re having a good time, the audience are going to have a good time, and you’ve just got to fake it till you make it really. So I feel like the first year, no one was taking me seriously, because I wasn’t taking myself seriously. It wasn’t until mid-2018 where me and Barbs, my best mate, started really working a lot more, getting actual bookings and we actually were being taken seriously.
In 2019, I was like, ‘I’m going to take this more seriously, I know I can do it.’ My confidence built, and I did Miss Sink The Pink, and I won that. It went full time from then.
How would you say that your drag and also the drag scene in general has evolved since you started?
I’ve been lucky that the drag scene in the east has always been very alternative, but also accepting of people that aren’t your standard view of drag. Drag to me has always been very wide. There’s no one rule that fits all, and drag in my eyes, my drag has never been about female illusion. It’s never been about looking like what a woman looks like, because what does a woman look like? Anyone can look how they want.
A lot of the times I often say, I don’t know if I’m doing drag anymore, I feel like I’m me. I feel like drag was definitely my exploration, but it’s helped me with my identity, it’s helped me with my gender, sexuality, everything, so it’s been amazing for that. I view myself as someone who comes from drag, but I’m a queer artist and I do things my way basically.
The second series of Drag Race UK really took off in a massive way. How did it feel for you being a part of it to see that fan reaction in the UK and around the world?
It kicked off. I think everything played in our favour. There was a moment where we heard that the show was coming out during the worst lockdown, and we were all so worried. I thought that I was going to be working in bars every week.
But I think what played in our favour was that everyone was at home during that and it was a really dark time for a lot of us. January’s already depressing, February’s cold. Drag brought a bit of warmth, drag brought a bit of happiness to people and as the show went on, we started coming out of lockdown. So I think it has this release about it as well.
I remember standing there in the Werk Room thinking, ‘This feels special. These people are all stars in their own right. Every single one of them is full of talent and you can’t really measure it by a competition.’
You can’t measure everyone’s drag being so different. I think it was a shame to see people going home early, but what’s been great about our tour that we’ve just done is everyone gets to shine and it’s been amazing just to see people in their element.
While there is so much love for Drag Race around the world, the show is sometimes criticised on topics including inclusivity and representation, as although it has made strides, there is still progress to be made. How do you feel about that?
I got on the show, I was very lucky. I think I’ve known and always been quite critical, I think east London has always been quite critical of those discussions. We’ve seen it happen, we’ve seen it change, but there needs to be more.
There needs to be kings on there. Drag kings need to come. Drag kings are a thing. Drag kings have been around for years. Drag kings have an artform that should be respected and I think when it comes to performers, we see a certain view, but there is so much more.
It comes down to what I view my drag as – there are no rules, whereas I feel like some people have rules for it. So it’s happening and we’re seeing it happening. I just hope it happens faster, there’s so many opportunities now with Drag Race to do that. There’s a different season every other day, so they have the shows to do it. I just hope that happens, because there’s so many more queer people that deserve opportunities, deserve to be celebrated for what they do, and deserve to have an opportunity to create art to a wider audience.
One of the most wonderful moments on Drag Race was when you and Ginny Lemon had that . How did it feel to be part of that moment that so many people have praised and taken inspiration from?
It’s a real testament to living in the moment. We were doing a design challenge, and I’m not very good at sewing, and I was focusing on that, but then we had that conversation. Obviously I’m always going to listen to someone that’s open to me, so we had that moment.
We knew we had the conversation, but we didn’t know what they were going to show – it was a year later. So we got the phone call from the producers just to say, ‘Just to let you know, this conversation’s coming out, it’s really lovely, you cry, Ginny cries.’ It was kind of a game-changing moment I think for a lot of people, especially maybe people that weren’t in the world of that.
Like I said, in the east, gender is very fluid and sexuality and people are very fluid, so I never felt like I had to come out, so I was just me. Whereas coming out on national television, I didn’t really think about it like that. But it did, it changed people.
People messaged me in their 60s and 70s saying that’s how they feel. That’s incredible that that conversation has touched that many people. I’ve had teachers message me about it… it’s mind-blowing sometimes, because I’m like, I don’t know all the answers to everything. That’s just my experience. But if my experience helps someone or resonates with someone, then that’s what the show’s there for.
How do you feel about the current discourse about the trans community and non-binary people, especially with the criticism JK Rowling has received for the comments she has made, with the Harry Potter author denying she’s transphobic amid accusations?
I’m trying to word it without swearing. I think we just need to be accepting and loving of people. Everyone has different experiences. Everyone has a different view of life and perspectives, and what we need to do is accept others that have a different perspective, even if it’s radically different to our own, instead of criticising and ostracising them. Because right now, trans people are being targeted. It’s hard enough for them going through what they do. So just needs to show a bit more love.
For someone that can write a whole fantasy world for people to be lost in, just needs to have a bit of love. It’s a real shame that this is the conversation, this is where we’re at with it basically.
There needs to be more trans representation though, because I as a non-binary person cannot speak on behalf of all of the trans community. There needs to be more people getting interviewed, there needs to be more people at table discussions.
What should happen is a conversation with a group of trans people talking about what they’ve been through, their life experiences, how they feel, so people get it on a personal level. That’s what happened with me and Ginny. We had a conversation between us about our identity and it resonated with people. That’s what needs to happen.
How does it feel that your verse in from the second series of Drag Race UK, has been nominated for Virgin Media’s Must-See Moment at this year’s Bafta TV Awards?
To be nominated for a Bafta about a verse that celebrates gender feels quite wild, especially when so much conversation around it can be so negative. I hope that being a visibly queer person being nominated for a Bafta for such a prestigious event will show younger people that may be struggling with who they are that anything is possible.
To go from being on Drag Race to walking in London Fashion Week is incredible. What was that like?
I’ve been very lucky that I signed with Next for fashion, and they’ve been incredible at helping open doors for me in a space that I never thought was going to happen. I’m 28 years old now and these are things I always dreamt of – never thought it was possible.
There was a moment years and years ago when I said all I want in life is a custom Juicy Couture tracksuit and then I’ll be happy – and that happened. Now I’m getting to do Fashion Week, I’m getting to work with these amazing people, and I’m just like how does it keep going? It’s just incredible.
I hope that me being at Fashion Week or me sitting front row or me going to these events will open doors for younger queers to do the same, because if I can do it, anyone can.
The looks you turned out on Drag Race UK were amazing. My favourite was Amoeba, I love it so much.
That was a cool one, because that was a risk. I remember coming up with that idea. My friend didn’t get it at the time.
You recently hosted the EE red carpet at the Bafta Film Awards with BBC Radio 1’s Clara Amfo. What was that like?
Nuts. It was crazy. Clara’s amazing, I think they’re so talented at hosting and presenting and what they do, so to work under their wing was amazing. Being in that space as a queer person was incredible. Red carpets for me, that was my ultimate thing.
Me and my friends would always send photos being like, ‘Look at this outfit, look at this outfit.’ I always pull references from the 90s and 00s red carpets, because people were being creative, being silly, having fun. This red carpet felt special because it was a big one. There were a lot of A-listers, names everywhere. Lady Gaga… crazy. Just to be part of that and to be recognised, just amazing.
Did you have any favourite celebrity encounters from the night?
Naomi Campbell looked at me and my soul left my body, it was amazing. That’s what I want. I don’t want Naomi to ask if I’ve had a good day. I want her to look at me like that. She was amazing, she glided down the red carpet, it was incredible. Also she was like the last one, because obviously she doesn’t want to wait.
What have been some of your most surreal moments of your career so far?
I’ve met Kate Moss now, which happened the other day. So that was a surreal moment. I tried to play it cool, but Kate’s like my ultimate. I’ve got her on my phone screen, so I was kind of hiding my phone. She’s someone that I’ve always loved and looked up to. The people I’ve been working with in music have been crazy, and just the doors that have opened up in spaces and the conversations I’m having.
Doing the red carpet for House of Gucci was amazing, it was literally like House of Gucci cast and me, and then it was like ‘Bimini Bon Boulash and Lady Gaga lead best-dressed’, and I’m like, ‘Yes!’ We both wore the same shoes then, and then this red carpet, we both had the same hair.
What have been some of the most challenging moments you’ve experienced?
There’s been a lot of personal stuff that’s happened in my life during this period, and my life changed very drastically very quickly and I had to adjust… which is fine, I can adjust, that’s me, that’s life. But things happened that I couldn’t control and sometimes you don’t deal with them in the best way.
Sometimes they can get to you and attack your spirit, and that’s something that I allowed to happen, and I’m coming out of that and I’ve definitely got to a much better place. So I think it’s getting that balance of being happy where you are, being proud and living in the moment. This world is hard to manoeuvre and get around, so I just feel like there’s no rulebook.
How do you personally deal with any hate from trolls you may receive on social media and what advice would you give to any queens experiencing derogatory comments when they’re on Drag Race?
The fans are so passionate, which is great. On the flipside of that, it’s a competition. Let people live. As a queer person, I’ve had people throw their opinions at me all my life. I don’t care. I don’t read the comments. You can say what you want if you don’t like my outfit – good, you’re not wearing it.
I don’t care what other people think about me, I just don’t like it when people bring other people down, because when you bring someone down that’s actually you reflecting an ugly trait within yourself. I’d never do that. Why are you putting that energy out into the universe? Any advice: don’t read the comments.
Now we’ve had Drag UK Vs The World, would you ever consider going back if you were asked to return and compete again?
I don’t know. Never say never. I’m not going anywhere, but just never say never.
Bimini Bon Boulash’s weekend:
It’s a Saturday morning, where would we find you?
I’ve either stayed with a friend or I’m at mine, or I’ve been on tour. It always changes. I’d like to have said I wake up and go for a lovely walk, but it depends. I’m lucky that I live by the river, so when you wake up, it’s very peaceful. Being by water is very calming, but I’m not at home often enough. My typical Saturday, if I have a day off, I either spend it with friends or at home and tidy up all the mess that I’ve made.
Would you sleep in or would you be up and at ‘em?
If I have a day off I never really set alarms, but I tend to never be able to sleep in. I used to teach yoga before drag, so I’d be up at half 5, 6 every day. So I was kind of used to that. Sadly I don’t do as much yoga as I once did.
What’s on your brunch menu?
Avocado on toast with some tofu, or scrambled tofu done right, not scrambled tofu that’s too soggy. You’ve got to get it mixed up, bit of nutritional yeast, turmeric, some chilli, some spices, pepper on some lovely sourdough bread. And a vegan Bloody Mary to get you going. The only acceptable way to drink it is with vodka.
How have your weekends evolved?
My weekends have always been about having a good time, so I try to have as much fun as I can or work. It’s evolved in a sense that I don’t often have it off, so I’m not like Monday to Friday, it’s kind of like Monday to Monday.
I’d like to be one of those that say that they go take their dogs, but I can’t get to do that anymore. I used to be that person. My mum now has my little Disco, who is my mum’s dog’s son, and luckily she has looked after him, because it wouldn’t have been fair for me to have him in London at the minute. Me and my ex-boyfriend, we always used to go out every weekend and take Disco out for the day, go to a pub… I don’t really get to do that anymore. But I’m not complaining, I really like my life.
What would be your go-to film to watch at a weekend?
I like a comedy, a rom-com or a camp classic. I can like an action film, but it’s got to be female-focused or female-led, I can’t be asked for James Bonds and stuff, we’ve seen that enough. I want to see Lara Croft fighting.
For me, my favourite film is Death Becomes Her and anything Goldie Hawn in the 80s, 90s, Meryl Streep… that kind of camp, female, just funny and silly. That’s my ultimate. So I’d curl up and watch Death Becomes Her followed by First Wives Club followed by Charlie’s Angels.
