Dumb Blonde - TBT: Dita Von Teese
Episode Date: May 22, 2025Bunnie welcomes the gorgeous and classy burlesque legend Dita Von Teese to the show this week. Dita talks about her journey from burlesque performer in the 1990s to her record-breaking Vegas ...residency show at the historic Jubilee Theatre, where she's using iconic costumes from the venue's heyday. She opens up about her childhood fascination with vintage style, the Playboy story that led to her iconic stage name, and how her approach to relationships has evolved over the years in the spotlight.Dita: Website | IGWatch Full Episodes & More:www.dumbblondeunrated.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Is this thing on?
Bonnie, who used to be a former sex worker, now hosts the podcast Dun Blonde.
Most little girls grow up wanting to be doctors and lawyers and shit.
And I was like, I want to be super hot, make a lot of fucking money
and be a rock star's wife.
That was my goal as a child.
And here we are.
What's up, you sexy motherfuckers?
Welcome to another episode of Dumb Blonde.
Today, we have the burlesque queen.
Our burlesque mother is in the house, baby, Dita Vontis. How are you?
I'm good. Thanks for having me. I'm so excited to have you here. Like I just growing up in Vegas,
the whole, you know, showgirls burlesque, all that. I've always admired you because you have
always been in your own lane and nobody can fuck with you man. Like it's crazy. You have
just you've literally made a lifetime of just iconicness. Thank you. You're welcome. It's
it's just really good to have you here. Thank you. Thank you for sure. So what are you doing
in Vegas? Well, I have a show here on the strip. very exciting. It's kind of like a dream manifestation.
I was on tour with my Glaminatrix show about a year ago,
like from 2020.
I was on tour, one of the people
that had to reschedule tours like crazy.
And I'd gotten lots of offers about doing shows in Vegas,
but the offers would come
and it would be like, yeah, we have this lounge.
And I'm like, but that's not what I do.
Have you seen my show?
Like, I don't, it's not, what I do is not
a typical burlesque show.
I play really big stages, like my last tour,
when finally Caesars and Live Nation came out to see my show,
I had sold out the Chicago Theatre,
which is like 3,800 people. And they're like, oh, I this is different than we thought it was. I said,
yeah, I decided to take burlesque to another level. So I finally got the offer I wanted about
doing Vegas. And they came to me and said, we think we have like the perfect stage for you it's called the Jubilee Theater and I was like okay Jubilee was my favorite
and the only thing I did when I'd come to Vegas. At Valley's. Yes. Yes. And the show
girls was my favorite show yeah and it was always like Liberace Museum and
Jubilee show so I flew out to look at the theater and it's a big, big theater. Like the stage is half the
size of a football field. And I kind of had a moment where I was like, oh, it's really big. I don't
even know if I can like fill this stage. And so I said, Hey, what happened to all the Jubilee
costumes, all that Bob Mackie stuff. And they're like, oh, it's just locked up downstairs. We don't
know what we're going to do with it. And I said downstairs. We don't know what we're gonna do with it.
And I said, I have an idea of what we're gonna do with it.
Yes.
And I basically said, if I can use all the costumes
from Jubilee, I'll do the show here.
If I can't, I won't.
That is amazing.
And so we're using all of that.
And it is interesting because when I came in there,
they had already started like destroying the sets
and everything, because they have to, they're huge.
And like every show, you know,
I love reusing things and preservation.
I collect vintage clothes, vintage car,
vintage things from flea markets.
And I love that, but like, you know,
every theater has to at one point, you know, get rid of stuff.
So they had started chopping the staircase up and all of this and I said, stop, stop doing that.
And I repurposed a lot of the sets and use them in the show now. So we're using all that beautiful
Bob Mackie and all the showgirl costumes in a new way with just as many guys in the show as girls and obviously using
like, you know, putting my spin on things and it's, you know, the best of all of my
my shows all my burlesque shows brought into like emerging with the the spirit of the show
girl.
I love that.
I love that.
Not only are you just this beautiful, glamorous woman, you are literally just a boss.
Like you are a great business woman.
You have somehow managed to keep yourself relevant
for like over a decade now, right?
20 years.
Yeah, like 20 years now.
Like it's been wild to watch and just see it all unfold.
And to be able to get a residency here in Vegas
is not easy to sell 38, you know,
even 4,000 tickets just alone anywhere by yourself
is not an easy feat.
And I don't think people realize that.
So that's just a testament to the fan base that you have.
Yeah.
I think, you know, I've, I started in the early nineties.
I just always like, I grew up watching old movies and I loved glamour
from another time and I didn't feel like I had role models of beauty growing up in the 80s that
I could be like so I looked to the past and in the early 90s I had the first ever pinup website
and so there was a lot of things you know I was like kind of the modern Betty Page from like 1992.
I was obsessed with Betty Page.
Yeah, me too.
And so, yeah, I just kind of kept on my path and, you know,
I've never had really any interests in anything else
except for what I do.
Do you feel like you were born in the wrong, like, era?
No, because, you know, we say vintage style, not vintage values.
There's a lot of really great things about now that I think there's a lot of, all you
have to do is turn on a 1940s movie and you'll see all kinds of problematic things that you're
like, I'm glad that's not around anymore.
So you do have to like, I'm always like recommending movies
that I love because people ask me and I say, but when you watch this, you just have to
remember, there's going to be some things in it that gratefully are put to bed now and
don't happen anymore, but you're still going to have to watch it or fast forward it. So,
yeah, there's, I think it's a great time to live in now. And also, I've always liked doing something that's different and being a burlesque
star in the 90s. And now, you know, watching it become like some people say
the Golden Age of Burlesque was in the 1940s.
But I would argue that it's now because we've you know, there's there's such a
it's become a place for inclusion and diversity and celebrating
all types of bodies. I just think it's much more meaningful for people to
see a burlesque show or to engage in performing a burlesque act, whether it's
on stage or at home. I think it's just like there's a different kind of
importance because people forget that like the burlesque show of the
30s and 40s was kind of like
Going to a strip club, you know, it was your normal working-class guys entertainment
the stars of the shower strippers know they were in theaters, okay, but
you know, it was like comedy with a lot of like jokes about sex and
innuendo and dancing girls and even singers. But the stars became striptease stars. So it was,
you know, but you were retired by the time you were, you know, 30. Right. Right. Doesn't ageism
plays and burlesque a lot now,
or do you feel like it's a little bit better?
I think that it was definitely worse before,
and I've watched it unfold in a way
that I feel like it's coming around.
I mean, you know, ageism is going to be everywhere,
and everything, and then there's gonna be places where,
you know, listen, I'm still the most known burlesque star
that fills the most seats and I'm 51.
And you're flawless.
I just go like, okay.
I mean, what I love is, of course,
someone can feel free to come take away my crown
whenever they want.
Keep working, keep trying.
But I love having a platform and a show where
I can hire dancers of all ages and genders and skin colors and people that I think can
change people's minds about what a stereotypical burlesque performer is, which I guess is I'm
probably pretty stereotypical at this point, you know, cause it's like, I'm just me, you know, but I can't be,
yeah, so I like to have a platform where I can present
a show that makes people accepting, more accepting of
lots of different types of people and seeing sensuality
and beauty in all forms and all. And all stages of life.
I love that, because I'm 44.
So, and I'm always fighting against ageism online.
You know, people think that you have to hang it up
as soon as you turn 40.
And I'm like, I am just getting started, baby.
And if I could look like Deidavon T.
So, 51, I'll be even happier.
It's also like the ultimate insult for people.
It's like the last like thing they try to insult you with.
So I think that's what people have to remember.
Of course, there's there's ageism in the workforce, like in all, like not just entertainment, I think.
But I do think people use age because it's like the final, like a great, like an insult.
Right. Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. Yeah. It's like a easy,
a cheap shot. Exactly. So let's take it back because, you know, I'm sure some people know
your story, but I'm also sure that some people don't. And I want to know like, you know, your
childhood, where you came from, you grew up in Michigan and how you got into Burlesque and just take me on that journey. Okay, oh boy. Yeah, I was born in, it's so weird to like talk about like as well, I was born,
I was born in Rochester, Michigan, but then I grew up in a town called West Branch, which I like to
say it now because sometimes people go, oh wow, I know where that is. It really is a small town,
like I recently visited it again for a documentary and I was like, wow, there really is a small town. Like I recently visited it again for a documentary.
And I was like, wow, there really is one stoplight and like a few thousand people.
That's why I was small.
So I had this like picturesque childhood and my my my mother's best friend
had an antique shop, which is kind of where my love of like old things comes from.
And my mother loved to watch old movies.
So
that really had an imprint on me.
I moved from, well, I should say, because sometimes I read in the press,
like she comes from the ballet world and I'm like, girl, I took a ballet class
in a rinky dink ballet studio in a farming town in Michigan.
And I cleaned toilets in exchange for ballet classes.
You know, like I remember my parents wouldn't pay for it.
So I remember going to the, you know,
must have been like 10 years old saying,
can I clean in exchange for ballet?
And they kindly let me.
That's a strong work ethic even at 10 years old though.
Oh yeah, I've always been very
like independent and I think because my parents were very young parents they fought a lot they
were like you know like typical. What do you do when you're 22 years old and you already have
three children it's pretty complicated right. And my dad was out of work a lot, so I always had this kind of like fear of, you know,
or conscientiousness about money, especially. So I was always like trying to find jobs and like,
my parents fought about money all the time. And that's literally driven me my entire life to never
have to ever have those arguments. Right? Yeah. Yeah, I remember my mom being very like buying something
and hiding the purchases from my dad,
and I was like, that's never happening to me.
Right.
I'm gonna earn my own money and buy whatever I want.
Yeah, they gave you examples of what you don't wanna be.
Yes, absolutely.
So then when I was like 12, my parents moved us all out.
I'm one of three girls. We moved out to Orange
County, California, to a place called Irvine. Some people know that. But people think of the OC. I
know there's like some connotations. But for me, growing up in Orange County was like growing up,
you know, in the heart of the rockabilly swing dance scene.
Like after, in the early 90s,
it was really like happening there.
I went to school with a bunch of rockabillies in Vegas.
It was very like happening there in the early 90s.
So yeah, I went to high school in Orange County
and lived there until about 2000,
and then moved to LA.
When did your love for Burlesque start?
Because I know you said you loved vintage things,
but how did the vintage love transfer over to Burlesque?
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Well, I worked in a lingerie store when I was in high school
Yeah, which one it was called lady rubies, and it was in Irvine. It was very fancy
It was around the corner from the nail salon that my mother worked in, because my mom was a manicurist.
So I loved lingerie.
And there was something about lingerie
that was very symbolic of womanhood and femininity.
And I was very intrigued with lingerie from a young age.
Not like, oh, that's sexy,
but what is this thing my mom has in her drawers that my, you know,
you have to be a certain age.
What is this frilly thing?
I was really like strangely fascinated when I was little.
And so I, you know, I obviously couldn't wait
till I was old enough to wear a bra and all that stuff.
But I started working in this lingerie store,
first like, you know, cleaning and like cleaning and putting tags on things and stuff.
And then I worked as a sales girl.
And that kind of like set the tone for a lot of what I did
because I loved lingerie.
I started learning about vintage lingerie,
bullet bras, corsets, and how women wore
different types of lingerie over the years.
And so when I graduated from high school,
I went to my first rave party in 1990,
and I met all these drag queens and club kids,
and it was like this whole other world for me.
Let's rewind it back, I'm gonna stop you right there
before we get into that story.
Your dad did not take a liking to you liking lingerie though. for me. Let's rewind it back. I'm gonna stop you right there before we get into that story.
Your dad did not take a liking to you liking lingerie though. Can we talk about that? And
would you like a pillow behind you or another pillow? Are you good? Are you comfortable?
Okay, I think okay, we can put a pillow behind you too if you need. Okay. Okay. Yes. Okay.
Yeah. So I'm working. I'm parents are, I'm like 16 years old.
My parents are getting a divorce.
I'm going back and forth, like staying with my mom,
then staying with my dad, and at the time,
I'm staying with my dad and his new girlfriend, right?
And I'm working my little job in the lingerie store,
like just minding my own business,
but washing my little things in the sink,
hanging them up to dry as you should
instead of putting them in the dryer.
And my dad got really disturbed by that.
And he kicked me out of the house.
And you know, I'm 16 and I'm just like,
first of all, I've had a job, you know,
I have my own credit cards, I have my own car,
I'm like, whatever.
You've always just been so responsible, really responsible, like, and just
fiercely independent.
Where do you think that stems from?
Just growing up in a
Yeah, I really think it's kind of like.
My, the, the feeling of never having like enough or being worried about what,
what I ask my parents for.
I don't know, but that's what I think it probably is.
So yeah, my dad kicks me out of the house and it was really interesting.
I just revisited this a few years ago.
I have a lingerie collection now
that I've had for like 14 years.
And a few years ago, this company called Destination Maternity asked me to make pretty maternity
bras like to adapt my designs.
And I was like, Okay, well, I don't know anything about maternity bras, but let's adapt the
designs.
It sounds great.
And there was like such a, there was a huge conversation around it, like some women that were like,
why are you telling me to be sexy after I have a baby?
And I went, oh, interesting.
So you think that lingerie is about being sexy for your man.
And then there's other people
that think they like it for them.
They enjoy having something pretty.
Like I've always had that relationship with it.
And then there was like a lot of people
that came to my defense, of course,
like new mothers that were like,
well, listen, you know, you wear the nursing bra
and then at one point you want to wear something beautiful
like, you know, months in or whatever.
So anyway, I thought about this so much like about my dad and like his thoughts about lingerie
being symbolic of like sex or sluttiness,
you know, like all of these things.
And I thought, wow, it's so weird how like that,
but I remember going that, you know, that's his problem.
Right.
And I still feel that way.
Like if I-
To be able to decipher that at such a young age
is awesome though too.
Yeah, it just was very like a weird thing.
And especially because I did have this,
I do have this relationship with lingerie
where it's not for me about putting it on for someone.
It's something that I do because I enjoy it.
Yeah.
It's crazy how there's such a sexual stigma to lingerie
because when you think about it,
you think about like playboy or like, you know,
just nudity in general, but really,
it's just like if you wake up in the morning
and you want to feel good and you want to be pretty
and you know you have it on,
nobody has to see what you have on.
Yeah, it's like a secret or it's like you can have
any personality you want under your clothes
and I love opening a drawer and having all these colors
and matching my things.
It's just like fun.
Like why not have a little moment of pleasure
and beauty that doesn't take extra time?
That's the way I think of it.
And that doesn't have a sexual connotation.
Right, certainly I know the power of it.
Right.
As a grown woman.
But yeah.
So moving on from dad kicking you out,
where does this put you?
Do you move back in with mom?
I believe I moved back in with mom.
It's this hazy timeline because I was like,
yeah, I think I moved back in with my mom.
And then as soon as I was like 18, I was out of there. Tell me about Captain Creams.
Yes. Okay. I love that you studied.
So do you know anything about Captain Creams?
I don't. I heard what you have said about it though, and it sounds pretty iconic.
It was like this, it had the terrible name. That's not even the full name.
The full name is Captain
Cream's Tussling Tootsies, by the way. That was the full name. Now, when I went to work
there underage, I with my fake ID, you know, I think I was, I think we all had fake IDs
back then. Yeah, totally. They were like rampant. If you didn't have when you weren't one of
the cool kids. Yeah, yeah. I didn't even have a fake one. I had a real one. Right. Me too. I was like Maria and I was like
31 but I was really like 17. No, I can I'll tell you what I went to the DMV with my sister's
like social security cards and I got my picture on her ID. So I had a real ID. Yeah. That I
had more than once handed over to a police officer that was like, sorry to bother you miss. So I had a real ID that I had more than once handed over to a police officer that was like,
sorry to bother you miss. And I was like, that's amazing. I was like 19. Just like, oh God. Yeah,
I think 18. So this club was in Lake Forest, which is in Orange County. And it was legendary.
It was like legendary for having like all the Playboy playmates
and penthouse girls working there.
It was really hard to get a job there.
And it was kind of like a hole in the wall place.
But when I tell you, it was really like
a legendary strip club.
And there was tons of money flowing.
It was so much fun.
And you-
That was kind of how Crazy Horse used to be out here.
It was like a hole in the wall, but like everybody that was iconic ever worked
there.
And this place you, you, you were hired like as an employee.
So you got a paycheck, like a minimum wage paycheck,
which didn't mean much to me anyway,
cause I had my other job working in the lingerie store and then in a department
store working, selling cosmetics. So I had all these, I always had lots of jobs.
A lot of energy, a lot of jobs.
So it was really like this great, this wonderful time,
I think, in strip clubs, like before,
when they used to pay you to work there
instead of taking your money.
Instead of you having to pay a house fee.
Yes, I lived through that shift and I was not into it.
So yeah, I had a lot of fun working there.
And at that same time was when I started like, well,
so I should rewind a little bit.
So I'm working, I'm in this LA rave scene, right?
And my boyfriend is one of the big raver, like rave promoters.
Um, and I'm go-go dancing, of course, like, you know, so, uh,
he takes me to this strip club. He takes me to captain creams. And I'm like,
it's always a man who introduces us to strip clubs.
And I was like, wow, these, and it was a bikini club.
It was not even topless or anything.
You had to wear like full underwear and you had to wear a full bra.
So I was very like, these girls are wearing like
more clothes than what I wear when I'm go-go dancing.
So I thought I'd try working there as an experiment.
And that's kind of when I started like, you know,
I already dressed in vintage style.
So I was like, well, I'm gonna strip in vintage style.
And I remember they were like,
there was nobody like me there at that time.
Yeah, at all.
With the black, you already had your look back then.
So you're a natural blonde for everybody
who's wondering.
I did see some pictures and so you color your hair black.
So when did you start doing that?
When was the first time you looked in the mirror
and you were like, okay, I don't wanna be a blonde.
Well, first it was red.
Like I had red hair.
You would be beautiful. I mean, you're beautiful now,
but red would be gorgeous on you too.
I went from blonde to red,
it was like the natural thing to do.
And then I kept, like a lot of people
that play with red hair color for the first time,
you start adding more and more red,
and you're like, it's not red enough,
it's not red enough.
And then it was suddenly like burgundy.
And then one day I was like, you know what?
I'm gonna dye it black. And I wore it like in a black like Louise Brooks 20s hairstyle for a little while
So it kind of started there. That's awesome. How old are you?
um, I
Must have been like
22 okay gotcha
did you ever just set out to like change your look to look like somebody or did you know you just wanted to kind of like have a signature style? I just always
liked feeling different like I had like little obsessions like I liked you know
there I'd go through different periods like I'd see a vintage film and I'd be
like oh I love that hair I'm gonna do that hair for a while or I'd always wear
the cat eye because it was like a 50s thing.
And there was like a famous photo
on the cover of a Vogue with a cat eye
and just the red lips and nothing else.
And that image like was the thing
that made me do the cat eye.
Yeah.
So I kind of mixed all these things together
like 1940s style hair with the 50s 50s cat eye so it kind of just
became like a thing where it was a mixture but I went through periods over the years
where I you know everything was 30s then everything was 40s like then it was 50s I liked studying
the eras and dressing exactly like those eras.
Which era is your favorite?
The 40s.
The 40s. The 40s.
What is it about the 40s?
Just the...
The bouffant hairdos.
Yeah, the bouffant hairdos.
The clothes are really chic from that time.
Like, it was a great time for like hats,
like whimsical hats with a sense of humor.
And yeah, and I love the films of that era.
I got a lot of inspiration.
Like if you look closely at my show,
you'll see like the inspirations were from 1940s films.
And I was like, what if that was like a strip tease?
So yeah, I love that.
We'll have to go see Dio's show.
Yeah, I think it'll be amazing.
So moving on, back to Krispy Kremes.
Sorry, I was gonna say crispy creams.
What was it like the first time that you danced?
Were you shy or were you already just so in tune with your body that you were like, here
I am, which is, I feel like, well, again, it was just a bikini bar and you know, I was
already like go-go dancing in the rave scene.
So I don't know, I don't remember ever having a problem.
And I think also growing up like in like dancing in ballet
or used to like, you know, wearing not much
and being, you know, checking out your body in the mirror.
So I think, I don't remember ever,
I remember there was one day I came into the club and they're like,
we're gonna be a topless club now.
And I remember going like, hmm.
And they said, now the rule is you're either
a topless girl or not topless girl.
You can't negotiate for money for your top to come off.
You make the decision now that you're gonna be
a topless girl or you're gonna be a non-topless girl.
Like they gave girls that were working there a long time
the choice.
And I was like, I don't care, I'm taking my top off.
It's fun to me.
It was like a, just boobs, you know?
I feel like money back then too was different.
Like strip clubs were so different back then.
Like when I first started dancing too,
I started dancing in 2001.
It was like, I don't wanna say this like
in a derogatory way, but it was more selective
and like it was more taboo and like, you know,
not just anybody could dance and the clubs were filled
with like gorgeous women and it was just like,
I don't know, it was a different time.
It wasn't like how dancing is now.
Yeah, I mean, imagine what it was like in the 90s.
Yeah, it was amazing.
Oh, I bet.
And think too, like also please remember that like,
all of that, you know, the iconic like Sunset Boulevard,
strip clubs in the 80s, Flash Dance, that was real.
There's a great documentary, if you've never seen it,
you have to watch it, it's called Stripper.
And it's about this big competition
where the strippers from all over Canada and the US
come to Las Vegas to compete for a $25,000 prize,
which by the way, $25,000 in the 80s is a lot of money.
And it's a documentary and it's amazing.
And you really go, oh, the body shop on Sunset was amazing.
Like girls that were Playboy models doing like back flips
naked on stage, like really like, they put on a show.
Yeah, and Seventh Veil, right?
Or was it called Seventh Veil?
I mean, I never, I don't know as much about the history
of Seventh Veil, but the body shop was really famous
and had like, you know, all the video vixen girls.
So it definitely, you know, strip clubs evolved.
I just feel like it's, I didn't like when it evolved
to where they were taking advantage of girls
and you couldn't, like I had health insurance in the 90s
working in a strip club and a paycheck.
They need to bring that back.
They will never bring it back.
Bring it back, strippers need insurance too.
That's crazy.
I never knew that.
Yeah, that's awesome though.
What a little tidbit of history.
So moving forward from dancing,
when did it start turning into like more of like
a burlesque show for you or was it always like that?
So like, I'd say like around 94,
I was kind of like already known as being a pinup girl.
And it was pretty famous like amongst like the fetish crowd
like all over the world, like in London and Germany.
And I was the most famous fetish model in the world
in the early 90s.
Okay, so and then I then I turn on horn, baby
I know it's just weird to say because it's like it's no but you've built that and so then I posed for
Playboy for this book of lingerie
they had these newsstand specials and I became a newsstand special girl and then I got I was the only one that looked
like me and they're wearing corsets and like
styling myself like a pinup girl and
look like me and they're wearing corsets and like styling myself like a pinup girl. And so I started headlining strip clubs all over the country.
So I would travel to different clubs that would pay me like to be there for the week
and be on their marquee or whatever.
So kind of started then I think when I left the Captain Creams, which probably left there
in like 94, I remember kind of like dipping out and in
and just like not really liking the vibe anymore
and headlining strip clubs.
And so I had to make more of a show.
So it started really there.
Yeah.
Where did the name Dita Von Teese come from?
That came from Captain Cream sitting on a bar stool one night
when I got the call that I was going to be in Playboy.
And they said, and I was already going by Dita,
like I don't know, I think I'd seen like a movie
with an actress called Dita Parla, like a 20s movie,
and remember I had this like 20s haircut.
And anyway, I knew, I got the like,
that I had been accepted to shoot for Playboy
and they said, well, you needed a last name.
And I was like, why?
Like Madonna, Dita, Cher, like why do I have to have a last name. And I was like, why? Like Madonna, Adidas, Cher,
like, why do I have to have a last name?
And they're like, you just do.
And so I had, I always remember sitting there
with my friend, Cisco on the bar.
Oh, not the Cisco, the red one.
I puked it up so many times.
I think it was purple, like grape or something.
Anyway, it's gross.
Yeah, just.
But I loved it.
Or it could have been a Goldschlager.
I can't do a Goldschlager.
So I pulled out the phone book.
For those of you who don't know,
there's things called the phone book.
It was really big.
And I'm sitting there drinking,
going, I'm gonna look up Vons.
People with like a Von in their name are very cool.
And people already like where I worked,
like I would pretend I didn't speak English a lot of times
because I had this look and the corsets
and the long black gloves and boots.
And I just liked to pretend I couldn't talk to anybody
because I didn't wanna talk to anyone.
So I'd just be like, dance.
I just wanna be beautiful.
So yeah, I just didn't wanna do the hustle
with like I was never good at like hustling people.
Work smarter, not harder.
Yeah.
So I looked up Vons and I found this name, Vontrice.
And I was like, I'm gonna be Dieta Vontrice, sounds good.
So I called up Playboy and told them what I was going to be.
And they're like, yeah, fine.
And then like a month later, I go to the, get the magazine,
I open it up and it says, Deedavon Tees.
And I was like, that's not it.
So I called them and like, I'm not thinking at all,
like strip Tees, Tees, like I'm not thinking that at all.
Didn't even register in my brain that it was a good idea.
I called them again and said it was wrong.
And they're like, we'll correct it.
And then they just never did.
And I was like, whatever. To me, I'll correct it, and then they just never did, and I was like, whatever.
To me, I was never like, it was a moment in time,
I'm like 20-something years old,
I think I'm at the pinnacle of my career, by the way.
I think that that's it, I'm on a truck stop
in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin for the strip club
I'm performing at, and I'm in Playboy,
and I'm on the cover of Skin 2
and Fetish Magazine.
To me that was like, that's it.
I'm gonna be 30 in a few years
and that's gonna be a wrap on my career
so I better enjoy it.
So there was no like planning a career.
It was just like that was it.
I think that's how it happens too
is when you
don't plan something, it just organically grows. It's almost like the universe grabs
it and just rolls with it. Totally. I'm don't get me started on manifesting things. And
because I really believe that I really think like, you know, a lot of people will ask me
like, what does it take to get where you are? And I'm like, well, first of all,
stop thinking of where you wanna go
and start enjoying where you are.
Because if you can't appreciate the now
and what's happening right now, forget it.
Like, and when people ask me like,
what my goal is right now, I'm like, I don't have a goal.
I never had a goal.
I just was like quietly delighted
at all the little milestones and enjoying that moment
and working with integrity and gratitude
and like that's the key.
Like I don't think if you're always looking
for the next best thing or like the thing
that's gonna make you, I don't think it works like that.
That's so real and I think a lot of people, including myself,
need to hear something like that,
because I'm always like onto the next goal.
And sometimes I forget that this is a journey,
not a destination.
So that was very beautifully said.
I heard you say that you love Insight Timer.
I'm not sponsored by them at all,
but I am a huge Insight Timer person.
I love meditating.
I love all that stuff. So when
I heard you say that in a podcast, I was like, this is my girl. Do you have your favorite
people? Like I have my, my insight timer crushes, like voices. I'm like, I love the women I
have. I'm still, I'm trying to get into the men, but I love the women that have accents,
like the Australian accents or like, you know know just something like fluid and just like so
pretty and whimsical. You know I love that it just helps me to meditate. What are your favorites?
My two favorites, I guess I have a few. One is this guy named David Gandleman. I totally have a
crush on him and he's like tells stupid jokes. Do you know who I'm talking about over there?
You do? I totally love him. I got her turned on. He has something called the grounded sleep podcast
and I swear that puts me to sleep.
Not because he's boring,
but just because it's like having my friend on there,
you know?
And then there's this gal named Sarah Blondin,
who I can just listen to all day.
Like she's kind of more of like a poetess, you know?
Like, so I really like her.
And then there's a couple other people,
like there's this guy with a Scottish accent that sounds like he's got this
really deep, like Scottish, what's that guy's name? Do you know who I'm talking
about? Oh, he just really gets me.
She said he gets, yeah. Yeah. Like he'll be like, okay, I can't imitate,
but he's like, there's nowhere else to be right now. Like that, like deep low.
And I was like, yeah, there's nowhere else to be right now. Like that, like deep low. And I was like, yeah, there's nowhere else to be.
Do their voices match their faces when you see them?
Sometimes I always go and like, try to look at their profile picture
because I'm like, their voice is like, so, you know, like you try to visualize
what they look like and they don't look like the person that you would visualize.
You know, I think they do.
It's also a really funny journey when you're looking for somebody new and you put it on, you're like, okay, okay. And then you listen to it and you're like,
their voice comes on to this poor sound quality and you're like, oh no, no, I do that too. Like,
it's so like, I'm picky about looking for man, like, uh, um, meditations that I am for looking
for porn, like literally, like I don't even know where to look for porn.
I'm just like.
What kind of porn are you into?
I mean, I don't know.
I mean, I like to see what's going on in the world.
I like to, I don't have anything particular.
Is it like vintage porn or anything like that?
Oh, I mean, you know I was a huge Andrew Blake fan,
of course, and if you're around in the 90s,
like the highest, glossiest porn ever made.
But that's not what I really go looking for.
I was just like a fan that somebody was doing
this like beautiful shot on film porn.
You know, pretty cool.
Yeah, just something that's pretty, like pretty porn.
Yeah, but I like to see like great feats
of sexual excellence.
Like how is she doing that?
You know?
Like she's an acrobat.
What's really going on?
Yeah.
I've always had a complicated relationship
with push-up bras.
Either they dug in, gapped weirdly,
or gave that way too obvious boost
that didn't feel like me.
The support was never quite right.
It felt like I was either sacrificing comfort or shape,
and honestly, I was over it.
Then I tried the Skims Ultimate Push-Up Bra Raw and I was actually surprised. The first time I put
it on it didn't feel like a typical push-up. It hugged my body so smoothly
and gave a lift that looked natural, not over-the-top. The support? Unreal. It
actually held me in place all day without feeling like a harness. The
Ultimate Teardrop Push-Up Raw is my favorite from the line. I love that it
doesn't just do one thing well.
It gives shape, lifts, comfort,
and feels seamless under the clothes.
It's flattering in a way that still feels like me,
confident, but not trying too hard.
Honestly, wearing it makes me feel put together,
even if I'm just in leggings and an oversized tee.
It's the first push-up bra I reach for
because I don't feel like I'm wearing a push-up bra.
It just feels right.
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So let's, can we dive into a couple of your relationships?
How did you meet Marilyn Manson?
Gosh, when I think about it, it was in 2000.
So I know like some people, they always go,
you were only married for a year.
And I'm like, I know, but this is a seven year long
relationship, and even longer if you consider the fallout
of what it's like to be married and divorced to someone
and how long you're connected to them after the fact.
Especially on the public eye.
Yeah, so it was a very inspiring time. connected to them after the fact. Especially in the public eye. Yeah.
So, you know, it was a very like inspiring time. Like when we met, he was very like different person,
I think, like then what I, what he was when I left.
Yeah, it was like a very interesting evolution
of a person to see.
What can I say?
Yeah, yeah, it was like,
he went to rehab once when we were together
with the like, I wanna be a better man for you.
And that was just like a little bit of like cocaine and booze right and then he came out of rehab way worse with
all these pills like everyone was doing everyone in Hollywood was doing all this
Oxycontin and stuff like snorting it and I was just he came out worse and that
was kind of like the turn was like first like three years were great and then
four years were just like oh gosh.
So when you met him was he he wasn't sober when you met him? No but definitely like um was it more
of like very like more reeled in like I remember him being like you know not you know like sleeping
every night you know like sleeping every night right that's the only way to put it into like not sleeping
Right. Gotcha. Oh, um, you have said something about your guys's wedding day that I found interesting
He was sober on your wedding day or he wasn't mean who knows I think so
He slept most of the wedding day. So
How did that work for you?
Did that hurt your feelings that he slept most of the day or were you just kind of happy that he was?
Listen, I shouldn't have been getting married and I think I knew it but there was so much
pressure at that time. Like we'd been together for all of that time. You know, Vogue was
covering the wedding, like US Vogue is there with a journalist, I felt like an immense amount of pressure.
And I just felt like, okay, like,
I'm not calling this off, right?
You know, it just was-
And you guys had already been through six years of-
We've been together for a long time,
so it just like made sense and-
To happen.
Yeah, yeah.
But it was like, yeah, it was even more pressure than ever.
You know, like more, being married was hard.
I had read, I'm not sure if I read or I heard you say that you are kind of privy to the idea of open relationships.
Can you elaborate on that a little bit?
I think like, I've never been an open relationships type person, but I also feel like there's a point and I know some people don't like want to
hear this,
but I feel like when you become like an adult and enough experience with
relationships,
you need to kind of like grow up and think about what is a relationship about.
Like it's not a fairy tale.
And I love that you said fairy tales don't exist in this life.
Yeah,
it's really struck me,
cause I believe the same thing.
And I believe in freedom in a relationship of,
everybody has their own terms of monogamy.
And I just think that sometimes monogamy can be a jail.
And I just think that some people deserve freedom.
Not saying that go fuck everybody,
but open communication with your partner.
I think it's one of the, when I look at,
I love all these young, cool therapists
and people communicating in a different way
than when I was growing up.
And I think it's interesting people
that have like, open relationships,
or they have ways of, you know, understanding that like, people are people and they make
mistakes and it's like, it's, it's more complicated than just like, oh, that person like, cheated
or whatever. It's like you have if you get reasons, like why, if you didn't want it,
if you are not trying to be in an open relationship.
I don't know, I just think it's,
people are complicated,
and if you're in like a long-term relationship,
like you have to like.
And each situation is different.
Yeah, totally.
Like I feel like I've,
all of my relationships from when I was,
I had like the perfect long-term boyfriend in high school,
like this great romance, but like after that, it got real.
Like every long-term boyfriend I had
or every boyfriend I had cheated on me.
And I was kind of like going,
why don't you see what's happening?
You know, like what can I do and what am I not doing?
And yeah, it's just kind of like,
but you know, I don't know.
I don't think like cheating is everything,
but you grow up thinking that you're supposed to be faithful
and you fall in love and that's what like falling love is,
is being faithful to each other.
And it's kind of more complicated than that.
It's so much more than that.
Yeah, when I heard you say that, I was like, yes.
I got what you were saying.
And I just really wanted to talk about that with you
because not too many people, especially of your stature,
really bring that to the forefront.
And I talk about it all the time.
And people think I'm crazy.
They're like, marriage is a sacred union.
And you're like, yeah, it can still be sacred.
It just seems like a lot of pressure to put on yourself.
Like the communication is what's most important.
And a lot of people like fall in love and they never really you fall in love
and you never really talk about what the rules of your relationship are.
And I think even people that are non-monogamous talk about what the rules are.
And the problem, though, is like people like to break the rules no matter what.
So like like I know
people who are like
Polyamorous and they're they're still like you'll still break the rule if you if somebody says your rule is like
You're not gonna have sex with somebody else in our bed guess what the first thing they're gonna
Do is is like it's just like people's nature to like if you tell them not to do something they'll do it totally
so yeah, I don't know I think it's just more complicated than like loyalty
and faithful, there's different kinds of loyalty,
I don't know.
We just went to the church of Dita.
No, I'm just like rambling,
I'm not a relationship expert by any means.
But it's failed many, many times
and continue to fail in relationships.
Well, you're not failing now, though.
Aren't you in a long-term relationship?
I am, but I'm not great all the time.
I know what my downfalls are.
I'm always like, I'm not easy.
I know I'm not easy woman to be with.
I know that.
What does it take to make Dita Von Teese happy
in a relationship?
Well, I am a bit of a size queen.
Yeah, I love that. Admittedly, I'm a bit of a size queen. Yeah, I love that.
Admittedly, I feel like I can say that here.
Yeah, of course.
No, I mean, joking aside, I guess I just,
I love doing what I do.
I love working.
I love, you know, I always have so many projects.
I think what I, I love being independent.
I don't like being like,
I'm somebody's woman. I keep my relationships like now after like experiencing that like,
I'm still talking about my ex-husband that I met in 2000. That's 24 years ago. I'm still talking
about that. So I think like after that, I was very like, I don't wanna date any more famous men.
Yeah, it's rough.
Because I don't, I get very uncomfortable
talking about my relationships, you know, like it's just.
So I don't know, I just love my work.
I love my animals, I love my friends,
I love my animals. I love my friends. I love my relationships,
but I just, to me, it's all spread across the board.
When I was younger, it was like,
I put so much importance on romance.
And I just, I'm like, okay.
Yeah, as you get older, you're just like, no.
It's like, I always tell my husband,
I'm like, we've been together almost a decade.
I'm like, if this does not work out, which it will, I could never just get into another
relationship again, especially with a public person.
And also just having to get to know somebody on those, that level again of intimacy and
just being joined at the hip with somebody is just, it's a lot.
It's a lot to, yeah, to have to try to work through again.
Do you ever have a down day,
like where you wear sweats and a t-shirt?
Yeah, I mean, I'll go to my Pilates
and live in my athleisure for the day.
How do we never have a picture of you in like active wear?
Okay, well, there are, there are.
If you like Google images, De'Ivanti's Pilates,
I'm definitely coming out of Pilates studios.
But I have my little tricks I do.
It's like sunglasses, red lipstick.
It's not hard.
It takes like a few seconds to put on red lipstick.
I don't know, I just have my like codes, you know?
I put on my, what are they called?
Lululemon pants? I put on my, you know, and put on my, my what do they call lululemon pant?
I put on my, you know, and I'll put a jacket over it,
or a 50s skirt over it.
I kind of just, I don't really like,
I'm pretty aware, like aware.
But I like, it's not even to do with somebody
taking a picture of me, or I think,
oh, I don't wanna run into that person
and seeing me not looking put together.
But I also just feel like I like what,
I think about confidence a lot
and what are the things I can do
to control my confidence levels.
And one of those things is like feeling like
I took a few minutes to put myself together.
Yeah, I love that.
I used to always be dolled up.
You wouldn't catch me in sandals ever.
I used to always have heels on.
I hated being flat-footed. And I think when I moved to always be dolled up. I wouldn't, you wouldn't catch me in sandals ever. I used to always have heels on. I hated being flat footed.
And I think when I moved to Nashville is when I finally just kind of like took it
all off and was just like, I just need a break from all this.
And now I can't come back from it.
I get dressed up for like concerts and like appearances and stuff like that.
But like, I just, I love, there's nothing, no better feeling at night than ripping
these eyelashes off and putting on sweats.
There's nothing no better feeling at night than ripping these eyelashes off and putting on sweats
So you're 51 your skin is flawless. What is your skincare routine?
sunscreen Sunscreen just tons of sleeping on your back. Okay, if I wish I know no one wants to hear this
But I'm sorry
I wish somebody would have told me when I was young like how good it is for you to sleep on your back.
And I, the last like four years,
I taught myself to sleep on my back
and it has worked miracles.
Like if you think about it, when you look on,
if you're a side sleeper,
I know where my like one wrinkle came from.
Cause if I go like this, where the pillow is like,
oh, there's that line.
That's where that came from.
From sleeping with your face on the pillow.
So I taught myself insight timer, help me with that.
Put on that meditation, I lay there like a zombie
and like, just like close my eyes, sleep with my palms up.
So it puts my shoulders back and like, okay,
everything's fine.
So yeah.
How do you not move throughout the night though?
Sometimes I do, but I catch myself. Yeah. I'm like a okay, everything's fine. So yeah. I do not move throughout the night though. Sometimes I do, but I catch myself.
Yeah.
I'm like a light sleeper.
I can totally catch myself when I'm in a like,
don't do that.
And I've actually gotten good.
If I feel like I have to sleep on my side,
I've gotten good at like putting the pillow kind of up here.
So my face is still not being squished by the pillow.
Like, listen, you know, it's all fun and games
until you're like, you start realizing
the collagen is really going until you're like, you start realizing the collagen's really going
and you're like, oh, those marks on my face
from my sunglasses, which I know are on my face now,
they'll stay all day.
They'll stay all day.
Have you had any work done at all?
I've only had Botox.
In fact, all of my Botox is currently worn off
because I like to let it wear off
because the last time I got Botox, they were like,
what do you think, you know,
because it was like, someone just somebody knew it
and he was like, what do you think we put some in your chin?
Because you know, your chin's wrinkling up a little bit.
And my first thought was like,
I gotta worry about my chin now?
But I let him do it.
And then one day I was like sitting there
and my boyfriend's like, your smile is different. Like, what are sitting there and my boyfriend's like, your smile's different.
Like what are you talking about?
He's like, your smile's different.
And I was like, are you serious?
And I started noticing and I was like, it really is.
So then I was like, I'm letting all of the Botox go away
before, I mean you need to hit the reset button
because I'm all for it.
It's like, you know, like,
but you do have to be careful with the Botox.
Did it freeze like your bottom lip? Is that what happened? Yeah, kind of. And I, you know, like, but you do have to be careful with the bowtie. Did it freeze like your bottom lip?
Is that what happened? Yeah, kind of.
And I felt like it, like, I don't know.
It made my smile different.
And you just felt that it was off.
Yeah, and I was like, that's not okay.
Oh my goodness.
Yeah.
Do you, do you waist train still or no?
No, I never did.
The thing is I always liked the aesthetics of corsets and I've always used them in my
show even when I was working in the strip clubs.
I was the girl with the corset on and people used to pool their money together to see what
I looked like underneath it, which I love.
It was my favorite game.
I was like, no, not enough yet.
I'd come back around and be like, all right.
Then I'd take it off because I thought there was rumors I had like a birthmark
or something or something I was hiding.
And I'm like, no, I just love the look of it.
So I never like deliberately waist trained.
I would say the closest I ever came to that was like,
a few times when I walked for Jean Paul Gaultier
under the Mr. Pearl making the corsetry,
I remember he would write me a note and be like,
on this, at this hour you can eat half of an apple.
In this hour you can eat the other half.
Like, he was very strict,
and that's the only time I've ever been like,
okay, I'm gonna pay attention to what he's saying,
just because we have this runway moment, and yeah, you're like, you can't
like haul off and eat a cheeseburger before you're about to like wear the
ultimate corset, you know? But he's very, he's a very strict person. Jean-Paul
Gaultier didn't care what I ate or what I, he was, you know, but Mr. Pearl is a
very like particular person, the greatest corset maker of the world.
Absolutely.
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wonder ECA. That's audible.com slash wonder ECA. When you look back on all the things that you've
accomplished and that you've done in this life, what is your proudest moment? I think, uh,
in this life, what is your proudest moment?
I think I'm pretty, I get excited about
how big burlesque has come, like how it's like in industry now and like even in this town,
like burlesque is like, and I see the things
that are exactly like from the things that I did a long time ago.
And it's kind of cool, because I just think like,
oh, it's so great that there's this space,
which is oftentimes celebratory of bodies.
And like I was saying before, it it is a place of like inclusion and
diversity and beauty and I think it's important like I think it's important
for people to come to my show and see me or people of different ages and
different sizes and skin colors like being beautiful and not just like the
the showgirl mystique of like you had to be five foot 10
to be a showgirl and weigh like, you know, a certain amount.
I think I'm proud that this has become a thing
and I can even see even in Vegas
because it's becoming the thing.
And I'm going, oh, people are now taking a look
at how they're casting and that's meaningful.
I love that.
Do you feel like you don't get your flowers
as much as you should?
Like people give their nod to you?
I don't know.
I mean, I kind of think about some of the people around me
that like my friend, Catherine Delish,
who she and I created all these things together,
like she did things for me in costuming
that had never been done in burlesque before
that is now taken for,
people don't even know that it was invented by her,
or the first made for her by her for me.
And so I mostly think of her in her genius
and her getting her recognition.
I can roll my eyes all the time
at things that I'm like, well, you know.
It's like, you know, people, Burlesque dancers
in the 1930s and 40s didn't wear corsets to strip out of.
Like that comes from me working for a corset company
in the 90s and being like, I'm gonna wear a corset
and do a strip tease.
Like, but you're not gonna find like a famous Burlesque star from the 30s anywhere, and do a strip tease, but you're not gonna find a famous burlesque star
from the 30s anywhere doing a strip tease on stage.
So there's things like that that I'm like, oh yeah.
I did that.
I made it a thing that it is.
But mostly I'm just like, I'm glad I get to do this still
and that people wanna come see me still.
Because if burlesque weren't so popular and so big,
I wouldn't be doing this big Vegas show.
Yeah, which how long is this Vegas show running for?
We have dates until June 15th.
It's a big show.
It's definitely the biggest project I've ever done.
It's definitely the biggest burlesque show
that's ever been made in the history of ever.
Yeah.
Okay.
Like the only thing that I could say is bigger
was like as far as burlesque shows,
well there wouldn't be anything.
It would be like if you said Zig Filled Follies was,
but that would be kind of like a show girl review.
But as far as strip tease and burlesque,
it's definitely the biggest one.
What can people expect when they come see your show?
Like what is your show all about?
Are you allowed to talk about it?
Yeah, yeah.
Well, it's in the historic Jubilee Theater,
which again, it's this incredible room
that like the Rat Pack played in.
It's amazing.
It's like a time capsule.
And these incredible costumes combined with my shows,
like all of my things,
like I don't just have my one martini glass on stage I've got five of them you know
there's things that come up out of the ceilings out of the floor it's
extravagant it's opulence and striptease and there's again like you know just as
many hot guys in the show as there are women So it's like an hour and 20 minutes long. What else can I say about it?
The costumes. Yeah, the costumes. Okay. So Jubilee's costumes were incredible with the
costume budget in the late seventies when they made these things with Bob Mackie and Pete Menafee.
The costume budget was like $4 million. So if you think about how much that would be now,
nobody would ever spend $4 million on that's like $4 million. So if you think about how much that would be now, nobody would ever spend $4 million on,
that's like $12 million today.
Can you imagine?
There's 3,200 tons of feathers
that were brought over from Paris for this show.
So it's really like,
you can only see things like this in museums now.
This is the very last showgirl review.
The only other showgirl review in the whole world
would be Moulin Rouge in Paris,
but there's no other showgirl review in Vegas.
And even the shows that are kind of like showgirl-ish,
none of them is using the authentic costumes.
And that's what we have in this show.
And the only other place you could see these costumes
is like on display at the UNLV Museum, I believe.
And I would venture to say this is going to be
the last time you'll see them on stage
and they're really something.
It's really-
So you guys have to get out to see the show.
Yeah, it's really special.
I'm very proud of this show. How hands-on were you with the show? Like as far as like set designing,
of course, the costumes and then like just even like the entire show.
Yeah, I'm a bit of a micromanager because I've always been hard to believe
do it yourself. But yeah, I mean,
I curated all the costumes and decided what was going to go in the show
and with each dancer picked what their look was.
We chose props that we refurbished for the show.
Like you'll see some original Jubilee props
that have gotten a makeover
because they were going to the trash, so I saved them.
But yeah, I worked with a team.
I worked with a great choreography team and director
and they basically looked at my life's work
and we put it as much as we could into one show.
Yeah.
I keep hearing you refer to a documentary.
What is this about?
We started filming a documentary in 2019.
So it's like really like long game, which is great because we, you know, got like
my two, my big tours before the pandemic, then we got to film the pandemic. And then
when things finally opened after the pandemic, which was very exciting. I was one of the
first shows to like go up in big theaters. Yeah, it was very exciting. And then, you
know, Vegas is the cherry on the cake.
I have another show that I'm working on though in London that opens up in
October as well. Amazing.
So you'll finish here and then you'll go to London and do a run out there.
I think so. I'm, I'm, I might, I'm not sure what, you know, how I'm,
I'm still like working on if I'm going to add any dates or, you know,
I'm not sure yet. I'm still trying to on if I'm gonna add any dates or I'm not sure yet.
I'm still trying to make all those decisions,
trying to figure out how I can be everywhere all at once.
When do you think the documentary will drop?
I still have more that I wanna film.
I didn't get to film here in Vegas yet.
And so that's like my last hurdle.
I'm in like a very like the most like,
like the oldest, hardest union room in the city.
So it's really hard to like film things like that.
So I'm trying to wrestle up that last money
to like film it here,
but we have a great director from New York
and look at their slow and steady wins the race.
I love that.
And then what can we expect from you for the rest of 2024?
Like, do you have other projects besides Vegas and London
that you're gonna be doing that we can look forward to?
Well, besides Vegas, I have my London show
that I'm working on with a gal named Tosca.
It's a really cool concept show for the West End in London.
So I'm excited about that.
I have a lingerie line.
I'm still working on that.
Gosh.
I always later go, oh yeah, you have this project.
I always forget.
I always forget those are like the most important things.
Show business is always the top of my list.
I kind of want to do my annual New Year's Eve gala
that I do in Los Angeles. You know, I kind of want to do that annual New Year's Eve gala that I do in Los Angeles.
You know, I kind of want to do that again because I skipped last year.
So what do you do for fun?
Besides work, because you sound like me.
Like everybody asks me all the time.
They're like, what do you do for fun?
I'm like, I work.
That's what I do.
Well, I've been, you know, I go home between the shows, like for two days and I cook,
I hang out with my animals, I organize my stuff,
I wear no makeup.
Are you a good cook?
Yeah.
Yay, what's your favorite dish to make?
I make this like vegetarian pot pie everyone talks about.
I love that.
Are you vegan, vegetarian?
No, I'm kind of like flexitarian.
Especially being in Vegas, it's kind of hard.
Yeah, for sure, it's definitely hard.
They have such good food out here.
Why have you never came to Nashville?
Oh, hold on, I have to take, I have to get my throat
ready for this one.
Oh, hold on. I have to take, I have to get my throat ready for this one.
So I've done several world tours and several US tours and every time I, every time I plan a tour, which I'm already like, plotting planning for this conversation. I try to go to Nashville and
Memphis but actually like just Tennessee in general like I know I have a big fan base there. Yeah and
They I get told no because of the blue laws there
I think they're called blue laws when there's alcohol there's a lot of policing over women's bodies
Which I understand but like I have performed in China, okay.
Right.
I've performed in places where it's like really, you know,
very conservative.
So, you know, I know how to like, you know,
I can wear tights, I can wear like a 50s brief
and you know, a full bra and not take it off.
Like I've been performing at like private events
for brands all over the world and like Kazakhstan, okay?
Like crazy places where it's like very conservative.
So anyway, I get on the phone, this is not my last tour
but even the tour before that.
And we're like talking about bringing the show to Nashville
and I get on the phone with like the only big theater that's suitable and we get on
the phone to have like this conference call about about how we can do it and I
say okay just tell me what the rules are like what do we have to wear because
there is a burlesque scene there you know and they said well okay you know
obviously you have to cover up you can only have like an inch of cleavage.
And I'm like, okay, you can't show any side boob.
I was like, okay, so got it, got it.
Okay, you can't show your butt at all.
And I was like, okay, can you wear like tights,
like a couple pairs of tights and like a 50s,
like a full brief, like a bathing suit.
And they're like, no, you can't show like
where your butt cheek and your thigh meets, like that line, you cannot show that ever.
So they said, well, you have to wear kind of like a bike shorts to cover up that line
where your, you know, but it's your right thighs, right? And I'm like, okay, and then
so I'm going through all of this, taking notes.
And then I say, okay, we have just as many guys in the show
as girls, so what about the guys?
Oh, there's no rules for them.
There's nothing on the books.
They can't show their penis, you know,
but like everything else is okay.
I was like, you mean they can even wear a G string?
They're like, yeah, this is real life? I wish I'd been recording the conversation.
Nashville we have to get it together because we need the queen to grace our city. This is
crazy. Fast forward to then my last tour I was like let's ask again and they actually told me to
stand down and don't ask again. And meanwhile, don't forget that like,
now they have their own like set of problems
and they started looking to them too.
But at that time, I had lent my martini glass
to Violet Tchotchke to do like, you know, tribute to me.
And like that was okay.
Cause it's like, it's not a woman's body.
But how do they have a strip club that serves alcohol?
Yeah, the rules are all about the alcohol.
You can be totally naked and you can be 18 year old
and you can spread your legs wide for your audience
with no alcohol.
But as soon as there's alcohol,
that's where everything gets.
Don't we have strip clubs that have,
oh, it's BYOB?
What is this fucking?
And then the thing is, you know,
none of these big theaters that can actually house my show
want to house the show because if they can't serve booze,
because I said, well, what if we do a dry show?
Yeah.
And they're like, they don't, won't make money.
So they don't want to do it.
That is insane to me.
We have got to figure out a loophole
to get you into Nashville
because I feel like it would be a moneymaker for them.
I know, I really want to do it. I wanted to wear the bike, because I feel like it would be a moneymaker for them. I know, I really wanna do it.
I wanted to wear the bike shorts,
because I thought for my documentary,
wouldn't it be great me making the rhinestone bike shorts,
and I got my bike shorts on so no one gets hurt.
That's hilarious.
Yeah, it's just funny.
And since then, I remember at the time being really upset,
because I thought, why can Drag Race, Work the World,
go to that theater
and I can't, but then now they have been forbidden as well,
I think since.
Yeah, hopefully this podcast dropping
will kind of bring some attention to that.
I don't think so.
Man, that's crazy.
I don't think so.
Nashville, we gotta get us together, baby.
It's not like the people that are, you know,
the fans will come, it's just.
The rules.
I mean, maybe I should just make the bike shorts outfit
and be like, this is what I'm prepared to wear.
Yeah.
Don't give up.
If they told you to stand down, keep going.
The first time I said, no,
I'm not wearing a rhinestone bike shorts.
And then after that, I was like,
oh, actually I want to try this because it's funny.
You know.
Now it's like a challenge.
You're like, challenge accepted.
Dita, thank you so much for coming on the pod.
Baby, it's been such a great hour sitting here with you.
Asking me about what I think is a boring life.
Thanks for taking an interest.
I think your life is amazing.
And I think it's great.
You bring class back.
And just everything about you, the way you present yourself, you're so eloquent. And I feel like that's great, you bring class back, you know, and it just everything about you,
the way you present yourself, you're so eloquent.
And I feel like that's what the world is missing
and that's what we need more of.
And I'm glad that women have somebody like you
that they can look up to and, you know,
to be doing what you're doing at your age still is amazing.
And that gives me hope and like, I don't wanna quit,
you know, you don't wanna quit.
So let's just keep being trailblazers.
We don't have to, we don't have to.
No, thanks for a great interview.
I'll say the same for you.
It's great that you're,
I've been interviewed by a lot of journalists
that didn't study up or didn't ask interesting questions
like you did, so.
I appreciate you so much.
Do you wanna shout out where people can find you,
where they can see your show, your socials?
My socials are the best place.
It's just at Dedevon Tees,
but remember the T's is spelled T-E-E-S-E,
thank you Playboy for the misspelling.
The iconic moniker.
Thank you.
Yeah, but I met the Horseshoe, which is on the strip.
It used to be Bally's's and it's a big beautiful theater
and we have dates on and off.
I have shows through the weekend,
but this is probably not playing on right now.
Yeah, the shows are kind of just like, it's a residency.
So there's, we pick and choose our weeks.
Absolutely. I can't wait.
We're gonna go.
We're gonna pick a date to come and see you before June.
Thank you so much. I appreciate you. And thank you guys for tuning in in to another episode of Dunblonde. I will see you guys next week. Bye
