Bad Dates with Jameela Jamil - Speed Dates: A Tangible Cloud (w/ Sapphira Cristál)

Episode Date: November 28, 2024

On this Speed Dates bonus episode, host Joel Kim Booster welcomes performer/composer and drag queen legend Sapphira Cristál to talk about the backstage at Drag Race, which shoe store employee is part of her couple goals, and how staying in love is a choice.If you’ve had a bad date you’d like to tell us about, our number is 984-265-3283, and our email is [e-mail], we can’t wait to hear all about it! Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for video clips. Joel Kim Booster: Psychosexual, Fire Island, Loot Season 2Sapphira Cristál: @sapphiracristal on social media, new single “Keep It Cute (feat Ocean Kelly),” new album coming in 2025 Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts to listen to ad-free new episodes.

Bad Dates. Sweet Dates. Hello and welcome. This is a bonus episode of Bad Dates, where I sit down one on one with one of my favorite guests. And we dig a little bit deeper into what makes them tick, specifically in the love department. And I am so blessed to have a guest here with me today

that I am such a huge fan of. I had the pleasure of meeting. I have literally completely unqualified to judge her, but I got to anyways. On RuPaul's Drag Race Season 16, you know her, you love her. Safira Kristal, everybody, welcome, welcome. Yo, what's up? Safira, it is so good to see you.

It's good to see you. Even digitally outside of one of the most, I will say that the stress and anxiety on the set of Drag Race is a tangible cloud in that work room. You can reach out and touch. It's like nothing else I've ever experienced. Yeah, I can imagine. I can imagine.

And when you found out, my first question, we'll get into the bonus questions in a second, but I did want to ask you, you didn't get a chance to do like a real standup challenge or a roast challenge in your season. And how pissed were you that you did not get to do either a more traditional standup challenge or a roast challenge in your

season. Well, there was so much material. I was so mad. I looked around and I was like, it's writing itself. What am I? What? I have to what? I was a little I was a little peeved about that. And I think you would have slayed. I really do. I think you would have fucking slayed either a stand up challenge or a roast challenge. And I will say, because when they asked me to judge, they asked me if I had a preference for what episode. And I was like, oh, I would definitely want to judge the stand-up episode. Because that's like, I mean, if I'm going to go on Drag Race and try and judge you guys, I want it to be in an area where I can at least be helpful and like actually come from a place of some, you know,

base knowledge of what you're doing. And then they were like, no, they're doing PowerPoint presentations. I was like, huh, okay. I mean, that is what comedians are doing in Brooklyn these days. So it is not that far off from a standup challenge, I will say.

That's true, that's true. Did you approach that challenge like a standup challenge. I will say. That's true. But did you approach that challenge like a stand up challenge though? Did you see it that way? Yeah, I mean, I knew that we were supposed to be funny. I mean, that's kind of like the name of the game. That's the name of the whole game, honestly. It should be funny.

Like we are not on drag race to cure cancer. We're on drag race to make people laugh and make people happy for a good portion, for an hour every Friday night. And so I approached every challenge as a comedy challenge. You never knew when it was gonna be. And so I just was like, yeah, let's be funny,

be very, very funny. I gotta say, I saw somebody tweeted or commented about the episode that we were on together. I gotta say, I saw somebody tweeted or commented about the episode that we were on together. And it was like, they were being shady, but they were like, Sophia Kristal barely says a word, and Joel Kim Booster falls all over himself to say,

you are gonna upstage all of these other girls, I can tell. And of course it was like the edit that like, cause we had interact, like that day in the workroom We were interacting I had gotten enough of a sense, but I'm sorry Sophia Energetically, it doesn't take a lot of words out of your mouth to To know who the headliner is okay, and I mean I love morphine morphine is a good like close second Oh my god. Yeah. But Niffy ain't talking to nobody.

No, no, no. Especially in the workroom. In the workroom. In the workroom, out of drag, you know, not in your guiche, not in your armor, the thing that empowers you to be the characters that you all are. Because you all slayed that challenge. I know that Morphine was in the bottom, but even still, she still did great. And like, I, yeah, it was just so funny to me that people just assumed I was like making an assumption when in fact, I think I was right.

You were right. I won. But I mean, if you think about it, like I've been doing drag for 15 years. And something that RuPaul says for the drag queens all the time is like, you can use this power that you have found in drag out of drag. And because I've been doing drag for so long, I've learned to use this powder that I found in drag so long ago out of drag. So by the time I met you, it's just through me. It is everywhere. It doesn't matter what's going on.

I can I know who I am Yeah, you knew like you just filled the space with your presence in a way that I don't think any of the other queens That I met with me I would say Jane probably filled the space in a similar sort of way as well But I like there there you energetically really did just like I remember that that day being like, oh, this is the girl. And you know, and you were the girl that day. So I was right. So fuck off to the commentary yet.

Twitter will get you. Sweet days. Sweet days. Sweet days. Let's get onto these questions really quickly. Safir Kristal, I like to ask everybody in the world of pop culture, whether that be books, movies, televisions, comics, radio plays, podcasts, even anything, even real life,

what is the relationship that really sticks in your mind as like the pinnacle of what love looks like in a fictional space for you? You know, I've been thinking about this and it's kind of one of those things that I don't really know because like I love opera and I think about operatic relationships and they all end up in death.

So maybe not one of those. And then I think about relationships on television. You know, one of my favorite relationships and it's kind of probably not gonna be the one that most people will say is Peg Bundy and Al Bundy. I love that answer. And you're right. I don't think a lot of people would say that,

but I think they get caught up in the trope of like, oh, it's like ugly grumpy husband and like dumb put upon wife. But if you really watch that show, I think there were way more layers to that relationship than I think people give it credit for. So many more. He, you know, the way that he could have that home working at a shoe store.

First off, the way that she could be a stay at home wife who's just eating bonbons and he's working at a shoe store able to provide for three people, four people in that family. What a time to be alive. Oh, the 90s. But also like the way that she was always truly there for him, she would, you know, she would, she would put him down. But like, that's, that was their relationship and they enjoyed each other truly. And there was no actual domestic violence. There was no actual, there was a sense of just like pure love. Like, I'm not leaving you, I love you.

I love you so much. They had their arguments, they had their friction, but you could sense underneath every moment of friction that there was actual real affection underneath it that was gonna hold them together. Yeah, we're not going anywhere right here. Yeah, that's beautiful, I love that. I always bring up a new one of my favorites every week, too.

And very quickly, I will say it is this week. It is Simba and Nala. Couple goals, couple goals. I love going from childhood to meeting, meeting in real life. This happens, I think, so often in real life with humans is really close girl, boy relationship. Growing up, you're separated for a time, you go to different colleges. humans is really close girl-boy relationship growing up. You're separated for a time, you go to different colleges,

you come back and the girl is like in charge, girl boss, like I'm holding it down, I have a job. And the kid is like, hey, remember me? Do you wanna like fuck around again? Like let's have fun, remember when it was fun? And she's like, look around, look at what I'm dealing with. I have so much on my plate, I do not have time to fuck you, even though you did grow up to be hot.

And listen, they figured it out, they figured it out in the end, but I just love that relationship dynamic. It's really, really fun for me. Okay, and so now, just to wrap things up, what, Sophia Kristal, this week is making you believe in love? I mean, I have a very loving partner who makes me very happy and that makes me believe in love.

But also, like, I think active trying, watching people actively try to be with each other and realize that like the fairy tale romance is the beginning. That's just the beginning. And to constantly be in love, you have to try to be in love. It's not a thing that just happens. It is really, it's one of those things that, and we talk about this a lot on this pod,

but it is like falling in love is often not your choice and uncontrollable, but staying in love, that is all a decision you have to make in concert with your partner. It's work. And that work is so beautiful and that work, and when you see people doing that work, it really does make you believe in love.

It makes you believe. Because it's hard. It ain't easy. It ain't easy. Trust me, trust me. It ain't easy. It ain't easy. Well, that was beautiful. What a lovely discussion. Thank you so much for sticking around

and doing this bonus episode with me, Seaphira. Once again, I want to plug that you have a new song out right now called Keep It Cute with Ocean Kelly. That is so dope. It's such a good song. Ocean Kelly is so cool. The collab is genius. I don't know if it was your idea, his idea, whose idea it was, but the two of you together is dynamite. Actually, it was my idea. I like I want to work with Ocean Kelly and we made it happen. And Ocean Kelly actually produced all of the songs that I'm doing on my album. Well, most of the songs on my album.

So like the three songs that I have out, which are enough, which is a self love anthem. And then get your flowers, which is a giving people their just do anthem. And this one keep it cute, which is for the Twitter the Twitter gnomes. Mm hmm. But like those three songs were all produced by Ocean Kelly because I that that brain right there is a musical treasure trove. I believe it. I believe it.

Well, check out all those songs. I didn't know about the other two. So I'm going to as soon as we get off this hop off, this zoom going to be popping in the AirPods once more. But Sophia Kristol, what's your what's your inset? What's your social media accounts? Just in case people want to follow you, find out more about your music, more about your tours.

Yeah, it's Safirah Kristal, S-A-P-P-H-I-R-A-C-R-I-S-T-A-L. And you can find me everywhere under that. I love it. I love it so much. You're one of my favorite queens of all time. One of my favorite people, I got to say, just in general, every time we get to interact. Thank you so much for being here and thank you so much for listening to this bonus episode of Bad Dates.

I've been Joel Kimbustor, see you next week. Bye bye! Bye! Bad Dates is a production of Smartless Media created by Robert Cohen, executive producers are Richard Corson and Bernie Kaminsky. We will be back for more... Backgates!