By Bebe Zahara Benet
Hello all you beautiful people! Can you believe it is week three of 'RuPaul's Drag Race' already? So much is happening – let's get right into my conversation with Mystique Summers Madison, the Texas beauty who went out with a bang!
I was impressed how well Mystique did in the third episode's opening challenge, when she just dove right in and swallowed down all those mystery foods she had to eat. "I was like, 'Oh no, it's fried food,'" Mystique remembered. "I hadn't had fried food in four months. Oh my God, I just went for it. I was just swallowing, I wasn't tasting." Even though she looked like a cool cucumber, Mystique was nervous. "It was the scariest thing ever," she revealed. "That was drag "Fear Factor"!"
That win made Mystique one of the group leaders for the Disco "Extra Greasy" shortening TV commercial exercise, and I wanted to know what her strategy was for picking which girls would be on Team Mystique. "Pandora did work editing TV commercials, and Jessica is a dancer," Mystique explained. "Everybody else had pretty makeup and were people I got along with."
I was surprised to learn Mystique was ecstatic over RuPaul switching out their script with the one being used by the other team. "For us, it got easier because the script was easier," she explained. "I was happy. It was actually fun." I also wanted to know what she thought of Raven, and her sometimes very cutting comments about Mystique and food. "Out of everybody on the show, Raven is the only one I have not heard from," Mystique told me. "Haters are everywhere, but haters make my life easier, because I work harder just to make you hate on me even more."
Mystique stands by her decision to go with a very modern interpretation of country wear for her runway walk, and argues what the other girls presented was more a Western look. "I don't like making fun of people," she explained, noting that if she had gone for a stereotypical look it may have offended her most dedicated fans.
When I think Mystique, I think splits, more splits, which leads to additional splits. And then remember Mystique? She's the one who nails the splits! I can barely lift my leg, and here is a big girl making it look so easy. "My signature is my eyes and my spins," she said. But when she really wants to shock, she breaks out a split. Mystique must get into the zone, because when she watched her solo on TV last week, she didn't even remember she did a death drop! Now that's a girl who knows how to work for a crowd.
Mystique, thank you for your inspiration, thank you for your self-integrity and thank you for being yourself.
