“My main thing going into Drag Race was that I wanted to make an impact,” says Bonnie Ann Clyde, two-time RuPeter Badge winner and the first queen from the Republic of Ireland to compete on the franchise. With those aforementioned feats, it’s undeniable that Bonnie has, in fact, cemented her status as one of the most memorable British queens – with her bonkers turn as Chair taking a firm seat in that legacy.
Despite being a season seven frontrunner, Bonnie got the chop this week after her makeover challenge failed to land with the judges – Sugababes legend Mutya Buena included. The C.U.N.T. of her partner, Celebrity Big Brother champ David Potts, and her daring half-queen-half-king concept couldn’t keep her from the bottom, and a lip-sync face-off with her Celtic sister Catrin Feelings to ‘Push the Button’ saw her sashay away in sixth place.
Read ahead for Bonnie Ann Clyde’s full exit interview with GAY TIMES, where she reflects on her shocking elimination, why she expected a more dramatic edit of her dynamic with Catrin, and the impact of her Drag Race UK success on the Republic of Ireland. She also teases the future of Chair – which, frankly, is crucial.
Bonnie, I was so sure you’d be in the final. With two wins under your belt, did you see yourself there as well?
You always have a feeling of how the competition is going. From the beginning, I was doing well and I don’t think I’d ever done badly in the competition. I got my first badge and was like, ‘This is great.’ Then I got the Snatch Game badge and everyone who’s won Snatch Game in previous UK series have all gone on to be in the final. Statistically there was a really good chance that I was in the final. You soon learn that Drag Race is not necessarily a game of the person who’s done the best in the past goes forward. It’s a game of survival, and it just takes that one little stumble at a hurdle and that can be it for you.
Unfortunately, that was the case for me. I would’ve loved to go further, but it is what it is. The universe works in mysterious ways, and it puts you in certain places at a certain time. I went into the experience like, ‘If they want me to go first, I’m going to go first. If they want me to go out in the middle, I’ll go out in the middle. If they want me to win, I’m going to win. Whatever happens is exactly what was meant to happen.’
This week felt like a strange one. Based on critiques, it seemed like there were only two top queens in Bones and Sillexa, and the remaining four queens could’ve all been up for elimination. Because of your track record, did you think you could be spared?
No. After hearing the critiques, I assumed I would be in the bottom. Getting ready for the show is such a stress. You’re getting all these outfits together, and sometimes you get an outfit two days before you leave, or two outfits that are identical. You just look at them go, ‘I’m going to be in the bottom if I wear this.’ So I wasn’t under any delusion. They said we had the best performance on the runway. David’s energy is incredible. I could not have asked for a better partner. Yes, we had family resemblance. Was it a good family resemblance? No! I didn’t like the wigs. I didn’t like the outfits. So I was like, ‘It is what it is. I’m going to be in the bottom.’ At that stage I was like, ‘I still have a fighting chance. I’ve got my two wins and I know I can perform, so I’m just going to do my best.’
The makeover is always weirdly judged. Fans and queens never know if it’s going to be critiqued on makeup, outfit or family resemblance. Was that on your mind, ahead of the challenge?
In hindsight, I wish I’d thought about it a little bit more. My philosophy with a lot of drag is whatever is simple and effective is always the best. For whatever reason, the makeover was the one challenge I was like, ‘Let me do a half and half look and serve drag king and queen, do The Great Gatsby and Bonnie and Clyde.’ It was just a lot of concept! And unfortunately, it was a swing and a bit of a miss. So I would’ve loved to have given them something clean, cut, precise, that would’ve worked a bit better. Again, it is what it is, so I can’t change what I did.
@gaytimes Drag Race UK’s Bonnie Ann Clyde discusses her hilarious turn as a Cher Chair on Snatch Game, and the advice she has for the queens who want to impress RuPaul ⭐ #dragrace #rupaul #cher #chair #dragraceuk @Bonnie Ann Clyde @Cher ♬ original sound – GAY TIMES
Well, after doing Cher as Chair and then this week, no one can accuse you of playing it safe.
My main thing going into Drag Race was that I wanted to make an impact. I wanted to do things that hadn’t been done before on the show, because Drag Race has been going on for so many years, and we’ve seen a lot of stuff already. I wanted to go in and make sure that people remember that I was there, that my time on the show was memorable and not wasted.
When you said in the werkroom that you were going to do Cher, I did think, ‘Hmmm… not sure.’
‘What the fuck is she talking about?’
Exactly, because we’ve seen in recent seasons where queens do really out-of-the-box characters, from Arrietty as Baby Cupid to Cynthia Lee Fontaine as Dracula, that it can flop hard. Your Chair, however, was one of the best things I’ve ever seen in the franchise. It was so stupid.
I think Chair is a symptom of Snatch Game because it’s been going on for so long. What can you do now that’s different or will stand out or be unique? I have a couple rules for Snatch Game for anyone going forward and doing it in future seasons. I always recommend doing something that RuPaul sort of knows and something a little bit stupid, then just do your homework and have a Rolodex of references. Chair was a symptom of the fact that Chad Michaels’ Snatch Game was iconic, and then Jujubee came in and did a parody of a drag queen doing Cher. Then I did a parody of a parody of Snatch Game. It’s really meta and ridiculous and multilayered – I’m so smart! No, I’m just kidding. But it was a crazy idea.
It was your deadpan delivery, too. Has Cher/Chair sent a cease and desist?
Not yet. ‘Yet’ being the keyword. I’ll be sitting down when it comes. I’m ready. Get me to Vegas. Let me do the Chairwell Tour — someone in the comments said that, and I’ve stolen it. Like, okay, we’re going to do the Cherwell Tour!
Back to this week. You lip-synced against your Celtic sister, Catrin Feelings, to the Sugababes classic ‘Push the Button’, a staple in the gay pop bible. And you did it in front of Mutya Buena?!
It’s an added layer of pressure, isn’t it? When you’re performing a Sugababes song in front of a Sugababe. For the majority of the lip-sync, I was playing to the cameras because I do that with audiences as well. As much as I like interacting with people, I can find myself most focused if I’m looking over the audience and performing outwardly for everybody. I think I saw Catrin once in the lip-sync. It was very much blinders on. I had such a fun time doing it. [In] the lip-sync for your life when the music goes down, the lights go down, the music goes up, and it’s all flashy, it’s really nerve-racking. But I was like, ‘Oh my god, I get to lip-sync in front of RuPaul?!’ When it was done, I was so happy. I was like, ‘Fierce… I just did that!’
You and Catrin were so different in the lip-sync I truly had no clue who was going to stay.
Very different performance styles. This is the thing: we weren’t both dancing, doing the same thing. It is very two different styles of lip-sync. So you can see where the judging might deviate. A lot of people online are very annoyed. They were like, ‘Oh, she should have won,’ or whatever. But at the end of the day, it’s RuPaul’s Drag Race, and it’s RuPaul who makes the decisions and decides. I think that particular day, for whatever reason, she was like, ‘Catrin, it’s you, baby. You can stay.’
You accepted your fate with such grace. What was going through your mind when she told you to sashay away?
Like I said before, I was always of the mentality that whatever was going to happen was going to happen. I’m not going to sit here and be like, ‘I wasn’t a bit annoyed.’ I was. I’ve done so well, and it would’ve just been the nice cherry on top to go to the final and potentially be in the top two and lip-sync for the crown. But I was like, ‘This is my reality. I’m not going to be upset. I’m not going to be angry. I’m not going to be bitter about it because what’s that going to achieve? I can go out of here with my head held high and this is just how the cards have fallen.’ I consider myself a real professional in drag. No matter what the job is, I’m always there on time, showing up and doing exactly what they need me to do. I’ll do it with a smile, even if I don’t feel like it. I think that just played into my elimination. What else am I going to do except be professional and just do the job?
Earlier in the episode, Catrin expressed Feelings in a confessional over her lack of wins, as opposed to your two wins, culminating in a lip-sync between you both. Were you aware that a storyline was taking place here?
Looking back, I thought there was going to be more of a story because the two challenges that I won, she was right behind me. Catrin was gunning for both of those and she wasn’t shy about it either. She was very like, ‘I’m going to win Snatch Game. I’m going to win the acting challenge.’ I’m just there, quite stoic like, ‘I’m not going to give the goose away. I’m going to just do the job. If I get the badge, I get the badge.’ So, because we are both in the same realm of comedy, there was a little rivalry between me and my sister to see who was going to come out on top. It’s like I won the battle, but then she won the war. But there was definitely a feeling of ‘me or her’ for a lot of the challenges.
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You made herstory this season as the first queen from the Republic of Ireland. What did that mean to you, as well as people back home?
It’s crazy. I consider myself an international queen. I’ve worked in Ireland, Gran Canaria, and now I’m based in Manchester. What’s always stuck with me is that the Irish drag scene is very specific, very put together. Everyone is talented and has a point of view about drag and what it’s for. In Ireland, drag is about having fun, being silly, and hanging out with your mates, but still performing at a high level. Coming up in that scene, I never really felt like one of the top girls. It’s very competitive, with limited opportunities. So being able to go away, perfect my craft, and come back closer to home to be recognised has been incredible.
Now, representing an entire country is crazy… a lot of pressure, but also a huge honour. The response back home has been amazing. The girls are supportive, and people are happy that someone from the Republic is on. We’ve often been excluded just because of geography. I feel lucky to have been in the right place at the right time. The fact that I did a good job — not just being the first queen from the Republic of Ireland, but really representing well — makes me proud.
Here’s to more queens from the Republic of Ireland!
Or just give us our own franchise. I mean, if you’re looking for a host…
As Chair.
[In her Chair voice] ‘May the best piece of furniture win!’ I only know how to do furniture puns. That’s the crux of the competition. Chair’s Drag Race.
And what’s next for Bonnie Ann Clyde?
Based on what I’ve done on the show and what I’ve shown I can do, I’m going to take everything, grab it by the balls and just run with it! I’d love to do TV and film, travel the world, go on tours, and bring Chair everywhere. Do the ‘Thursday’ everywhere. Just cash in on all those moments. We’ve got a couple of fun things in the works. Nothing’s been announced yet, but I think the fans are going to be very excited and happy when we do.
It’s important for me to ask: do you have Chair merch?
Baby! Okay, so I’ve done my big one on the merch. You can get your regular Bonnie Ann Clyde t-shirts, your ‘Thursday’ fans, all that. But for Chair, you can get the t-shirt and the sweatshirt. It’s double-sided: her face on the front, and on the back it says, ‘I’m Chair bitch.’ But the main thing, which I think is the best, is you can own your very own Chair cushion. It’s Chair’s face, and on the back it says, ‘I’m Chair bitch.’ You can stick it on your armchair or your couch, and Chair can be in your home. You can literally transform any piece of sitting furniture into Chair.
Drag Race UK season 7 is streaming in the UK on BBC iPlayer.
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