SPECIAL THANKS TO AOIFE KILBANE FROM BBC

“The world is fucking heavy, so if I’m putting out something that’s making you or anyone else feel lighter or more positive in any way shape or form, that’s awesome and I feel proud of that,” says Kita Mean. We’re chatting with the Drag Race Down Under contestant over Zoom ahead of the highly-anticipated season one finale, which airs Saturday in Australasia and Sunday in the UK on BBC iPlayer.

Over the past seven weeks, viewers around the world have been – in Kita’s words – “engrossed with this overdose” thanks to her unflinching enthusiasm, bonkers impersonation of Dr Seuss on Snatch Game and challenge-winning transformation of her drag daughter, Feta Mean. She also made herstory for the franchise, along with Anita Wigl’it, as the first drag duo to sashay into the werkroom and, as the hosts of New Zealand-based competition series House of Drag, the first host slash judge to enter Drag Race as a contestant.

It doesn’t stop there, because Kita is also the first Kiwi to make the final four of a Drag Race season. Can she conquer over Art Simone, Karen from Finance and Scarlet Adams and win the title of Down Under’s First Drag Superstar? Here, we speak with Kita about her time on RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under, the importance of diverse drag representation on-screen and the truth behind her and Anita’s participation on the series. You ready for some tea?

Kita… this look! It’s giving me Shania Twain in the That Don’t Impress Me Much video.
Aww, thank you! I thought I’d do a fun little throwback to my boy confessional look.

Obsessed. Condragulations on making the final four of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under. How does it feel to part of the Ru-niverse now?
Surreal! It doesn’t feel real. It’s funny, I’ve been watching the show since it first started and I was a baby drag queen when I first stumbled upon RuPaul’s Drag Race. I was infatuated with it. I always thought, ‘Imagine doing that one day!’ and it was a distance thought, never thought it could be a reality. Now that it’s a reality, it doesn’t feel like how you would imagine it. It’s so special, but it doesn’t feel real.

You’ve been catapulted to superstardom during a global pandemic, and this season has been… tumultuous, to say the least. How are you coping with this newfound fame?
I like to think I adjust to my surroundings quite quickly. I feel like I didn’t in terms of Drag Race, but I’m used to the whole COVID thing now. It’s that fight or flight mentality, you have to get through it and work to understand the situation and make the most of it. Doing it through COVID-19 hasn’t even crossed my mind. It’s just the reality we’re in. That’s a bit of a boring answer, isn’t it?

Is this the top four you envisioned from the start?
Yeah. It genuinely is, 100%. I always thought it would be Art Simone and Karen from Finance, and when I had met Scarlet after the first week, I was like, ‘Yep, I think she’ll be up there.’ I didn’t think it would be a top four, I thought it would be a top three: Art, Karen and myself. Well, I was hoping it would be myself! I thought Scarlet would be with us right until the end and potentially get knocked out. Interesting, right?

Online, you are one of the clear favourites to win, if not the favourite. Did you expect to earn the title of fan-favourite amongst Drag Race viewers?
No! It’s amazing. I feel so blessed and honoured, but it’s funny because a lot of the comments are like, ‘Well… There’s not many other options,’ which is like, ‘Oh come on!’ I vibe with that.

Ignore that, because you’ve provided us with so much joy this season. With all of the controversies and werkroom drama, it’s been fun watching you have fun. 
Aww, thank you. That’s really fucking awesome. The world is fucking heavy, so if I’m putting out something that’s making you or anyone else feel lighter or more positive in any way shape or form, that’s awesome and I feel proud of that.