Sashay Away: Thorgy Thor on Being Real, Strangers' Pockets, and Her 40-Piece Orchestra

This week on RuPaul's Drag Race, we saw the good, the bad, and the ugly. In an election challenge that brought out the crooked and corrupt of the season eight queens, they each created a campaign video to smear their opponents. Bob took another well-deserved win, but we saw another New York queen go home with Thorgy Thor losing the lip sync to Chi Chi DeVayne. We recently caught up with Thorgy to find out when we can expect her 40-piece orchestra.

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Out: How did you catch RuPaul’s attention?

Thorgy Thor: I thought I was ready for the show, season one. I auditioned every single year since season one, and I thought I was most prepared for the show a couple years ago. Then this year I got there and RuPaul said to me during our one-on-one, “With your auditions, I’ve seen every video tape, and I felt like you were most ready this year because you seemed more relaxed.” So I seemed more relaxed, I guess. I don’t know.

How would you explain your inspiration or your creative process?

Oh I don’t know, I’m just a crazy person. The moment I started doing drag, it was pre-YouTube and it was pre-Drag Race. I was just kind of an outrageous person who loved vintage clothing and colorful outrageous characters, and I was inspired by people like Joey Arias and Miss Understood. And they were just outrageous drag personalities. I started doing crazy projects like this one I did called “Mime Tree” where I’d just like move in slow motion for two hours covered in red paint. I did this piece called “Pocket to Pocket” where I wore this enormous dress I made with like a thousand pockets on it, and I encouraged people who met me on the street to pick something out of their pockets and replace it with something in my pocket. So at the end of the day, I had all these strangers’ things. That’s where I started.

Do you have a favorite queen from a past season?

That’s a good question. I mean I was really in love with Tammie Brown. She made no freaking sense but she always had a good time. I love Sharon. You know, I’ve known so many of the queens. I knew Willam, Detox, Sharon, Alaska, Ivy Winters, DiDa Ritz, I knew all these girls before they were on the show, and it was just so fun to watch them. I’ve always been a big fan of Sharon. I love Sharon. She’s just so intelligent and crass and cool. Raja’s incredible too. She’s just uninhibited and confident.

What was it like seeing yourself on TV?

It’s fun. I told a friend of mine before I left, “When I get there, I’m gonna be myself, and everything I say on TV is gonna be real to me. Because if I go home and watch something I faked or was contrived, I’m not gonna like me.” So I just went there with the idea to be myself. So it’s kind of enjoyable watching it. I meant exactly that at that exact moment.

If you had a second chance, what would you have done differently?

I’d watch my words because there’s a lot of things that people don’t see that shape a viewer’s opinions on the show. You know, TV is a lot of editing. And there was a lot that people didn’t see. The episode I got sent home, maybe that idea was a bit too out of control. The character I developed for the presidency, there was not a lot of time to really develop that character. So maybe I should have just went really simple with one-liners, just really trivial. It would have been funnier if it was a lot more simple.

What have you been up to since you left the show?

Well I’ve known a lot of the girls for the last couple of years. So a lot of clubs around the country, they just wanna eat you up. I’ve been performing at a lot of clubs, just trying to save some money and enjoy being noticed on the subway. I’m just trying to save some money so I can do bigger projects like a 40-piece orchestra. I wanna conduct and host and make little jokes about composers, then turn around and actually play a Mendelssohn.

Who are you rooting for now on the show?

I think the winner is gonna be Bob or Kim Chi, and it’s well-deserved. I love both of them. But I don’t know why I just find myself really rooting for Naomi now. I fell in love with her. I kind of want her to win but I don’t think she will.

Only 5 queens remain and the work room is becoming a war zone. David and Amy Sedaris guest judge this dramatic queen-sized episode. Catch all new episodes of RuPaul's Drag Race Mondays at 9/8c on Logo.