Is It Just Me? - DRAG RACE DEBRIEF: Rhys Nicholson 💃

Episode Date: September 19, 2022

Catching up with one of the Judges on Ru Paul's Drag Race Down Under Season 2, Rhys Nicholson!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is it just me? A podcast by a couple of mitches. Don't fuck it up. Yes, hello, welcome to the finale week of Drag Race Debrief. The winner of Down Under Season 2 has been crowned and today we're going to be hearing from Rhys Nicholson, one of the judges of course. Normally at this time every week we'd be debriefing with the queens after they've left the show, but funnily enough, would you believe, after a big weekend of celebrating, none of the top three were available for media on a Monday. Now, we weren't specifically told that they were too hungover for any commitments, but I'm sure we can all read between the lines there. And fair enough. Good on them. We'll catch up with them later in the week instead,

talking all about the season finale and season two as a whole, which really that means lucky you, more than one Drag Race Seat Brief bonus episode this week. You're just going to have to make sure you've got notifications turned on so you don't miss that episode when it drops. But for now, Mitch and I caught up with Rhys Nicholson right after he finished filming for season two. It's Rhys. Oh, here he is.

Hello. Hi. Oh, thank God. You've got a fancy microphone. I hate it when people sound shit on Zoom. Well, this has been the thing about this whole pandemic, and this is all I've taken from it, is that how many people do not know in this business how to use a computer?

Or just have things, like for people that work in media, there's some real morons around. Mike Ettingham. Hi, I'm so happy to be here. Rhys, this is so exciting. Welcome to the show. How are you? Thanks for being here. I'm good.

How are you guys? It's a pleasure. I'm still in my own home, so I couldn't give a shit. Where are you guys show how are you thanks for being here i'm good how are you guys it's a pleasure i'm still in my own home so i couldn't give a shit where are you guys where are you we're in the studio we're in i heart radio hq oh i saw that you were in new zealand though i mean were you is that were you filming the new season of drag race down under or is that wrapped yeah yeah yeah we film it in new zealand no one knows why but we do it uh no one i think just it was floated early on and just no one questioned it. No, yeah, I was just in New Zealand doing that.

And yeah, now I'm back. I had a great time. How was it? Was it like really, really fun this time? Yeah. Well, you say that like the first time, wasn't it? No, well, I kind of like it was very fun, but I also wasn't dead behind the eyes, terrified about the fact that I was sitting next to RuPaul and Michelle Bachelorette.

Oh, yeah. I was actually saying just before, I was like, I wonder how Rhys feels about that being his identifier now. Like, oh, Rhys from Drag Race. Even though you were working your guts off for years in stand-up comedy, that's kind of become, oh, he's from Drag Race. Oh, look, if some of those Drag Race people buy tickets to my shows, I don't care how they pay me.

I don't care. You don't even have to turn up. But I think generally as well, I don't mind it. I could be known for worse shows. Well, that's true, yeah. I think I like – this year I think was different as well because I feel like the girls as well, without giving anything away, but the contestants as well didn't have to feel like they were

on the first season of Drag Race Down Under. Yes. So there was like a little bit of – I think they were a little bit kind of freer as well without giving anything away but the contestants as well didn't have to feel like they're on the first season of drag race down under so there was like a little bit of i think they were a little bit kind of freer as well they were just you know it's a very very fun season i'm quite looking forward to seeing it oh we're looking forward we were at the premiere when it happened like because it was kind of in that weird pocket where covert was around but then it stopped and then we were all sort of free and we had the premiere it was great and all the queens came and the excitement for the season was crazy so yeah i yeah, I'm really pumped for the new season. And I sent that creepy video from Canada that looked as if I'd been kidnapped. Oh, that's right.

You couldn't be there. That's right. I interviewed Michelle Visage like last week for my radio show and she is – She's a delight. Oh, my God, because I was like you. I mean, not to the same extent, you sitting next to her on the show and hosting with her, but her i was uh i was intimidated because the the amount of weight that she has

in a young gay man's mind like i watch i watch every season of drag race i think she's hilarious and so talented and i think because i've seen her in a judging position that i was kind of expecting to be to be judged it felt it was a weird dynamic i don't know if you felt the same meeting her oh absolutely like and i you know same with both of them you kind of go in thinking and you kind of have in the back of your head you're a little bit prepared that oh these people could be monsters yes like oh yeah not but just because i don't think i think it's really tough to be that famous and that wealthy for that long and not become a bit of a monster and both of them are just the loveliest most real like i've i've never met a more interested person than rue like as in like he

just wants to know everything about like how your day was and he wants to know about your family like really sort of dossier about us all but michelle is like michelle's like my buddy now like i feel like this second year as well kind of of like we have lunches together and we go for walks. And so like, she's just, she's also the most, probably the most professional person I've ever fucking met. Like she just like, and you would have seen it in the interview as well. She's just a media trained, incredibly funny, like just, I don't know. I've been impressed with her before and she knows what she's doing in an interview, and she knows to give you what you need, and she knows how to tease people and how to push the line.

Yeah, I don't know. I just really love her. I really, really love her. I don't know if you know this, Mitch, but she was in a girl group when she was, like, 16. Then she did – Seduction. Yeah, seduction.

Her and Rue did a radio show in New York City, a live – Really? Yeah, a radio show, and then they did – And she used to do, like, a morning zoo show for years and years? Yes. She has been working in the industry for so long. So those two go way back. And then, Reith, did you feel like a bit of a third wheel coming into that equation?

Yeah, best friends. 100%. And they, I think, almost made an effort to make sure that I didn't feel that way. Like last year when we were in quarantine, we were both in quarantine separate hotels and she called me and was like like sent her number and was like let's and like she was putting on makeup so the first time i met her was on a zoom screen while she was putting on

her makeup um and but no they just make really like although the stressful thing happened this time where i we both michelle and i both love seafood i don't know this is a boring story um we both love seafood and we're in auckland always looking for like a place that we could go and eat some seafood yeah and i was like oh i think i found a place and she was like oh great maybe i'll invite a couple of the producers and when i turned up there the entire like world of wonder crew and rue oh my god like raven and all these people like sitting at the table and i was like oh hi and rue oh yeah that's right ruke arrived sat down he went so why did we come here and michelle went oh reese picked it and i was like, oh, hi. And Rook arrived, sat down and went, so why did we come here? And Michelle went, oh, Rhys picked it.

And I was like, shut up. Oh, no. I can see the person that picked this. And it was all fine, but I don't know. Was the food shit? Because nothing worse, like you said, when you recommend something that it's terrible and it's all your fault. It was good, but it was that thing that any time someone said,

oh, that's not how I expected it, or any time like a drink was a bit late. They turned to you. Yeah. And also like, I don't't know this isn't like it's very la as well none of the none of the american people really kind of drink and i'm not making a statement about that it's like they're all very healthy very good people yeah and i'm different to that and so i'd always just have to be like down the end of the table like can i get four more white wine thank you very much just leave the bottom it's seafood.

You need a Shiraz. You need something to wash it all down. Absolutely. Well, turns out they don't. But, no, it is a little kind of family and it is like a weird – sometimes I just have – I'll be sitting on the panel and I'm sure the queens must have this on a minute-by-minute basis, but you're sitting there going like, what a weird job this is.

Yeah, it is weird. You know, look at these – look at all these people dressed up as women minute by minute basis but you're seeing they're going like what a weird job this is yeah like it is weird you know look at these look at all these people dressed up as women and i'm going to tell them whether they're good at that or not and that will depend on whether they lip sync and then they might go home like that's it what a wild job yeah do you feel like i feel like when people get jobs as judges they kind of make jokes like oh i'm getting paid to be judgmental. This is fantastic. But do you sometimes feel like, oh, God, I don't want to be mean. Like I would actually hate being a judge. Totally.

Well, I'm definitely the Paula Abdul of the group, I would imagine. I put myself as the kind of like, I think I'm the, in that I don't know where I am a lot of time and I think I probably have a history with pills. But the, allegedly, allegedly. But no, I mean, I i kind of because i'm really passionate about drag but i i don't do drag yeah like and so i would never i'm never gonna tell one of those girls like that eye isn't right and you should cinch more or something i'm like i think of myself

as like a conduit for the audience and i'm there to be like you know there are times this season where i felt like i was in an actual drag show like a little like there was some kind of rough rough drag but like it felt like you know i'm at the peel or i might like you know i'm at arc at 11 o'clock at night and i'm waiting for the second show like you know like yeah is there a smoker's room is there a back alley i can just have a cigarette with one of these drunkards. Is anyone selling? Yeah. Did you have many fond memories of Trash Alley at ARC as well? Because that place is near and dear to my heart. Now it's closed. I know.

And I, you know what? I probably have some memories, but I do not have access to them anymore. Yeah, right. Yeah. They're foggy as fuck memories. That's how I knew I was there. Right. Well, that's exciting.

We're looking forward to Drag Race Down Under season two. That'll be fun. And congratulations, because that is such a good game. You're right. It's that role that you're feeling. It's like the Carson Kresley, the Ross Matthews. It's like you're just there to entertain and you are so funny. I can only imagine that when the girls come out on the runway

and you hit them with puns and you make jokes. Are they actually like right there in the moment or do you like dub them in? No, no, no. It's all there. And that was quite a shock to me last year. I thought there would be a lot more production involved. I thought there might be some writers. No, none of that.

And that's the wild thing as well. And I feel like I'm just sucking up to my bosses now. But, like, Rue and Michelle leave me in the dust with that shit. Really? Because, like, the system, and I feel like I can probably say this, the system is the girls do one walk around and then we watch that to music and i guess we try and think of a little and literally straight away like once the last girl walks off the runway the first one walks on again and they do that to silence and that's when we do our puns and kind of the last third

of an episode is pretty much in real time wow there's a bit of bit of standing around, but it's all boom, boom, boom. There's not like we don't go back to our dressing rooms constantly. We don't like it all happens. The girls are told they're in the bottom and then they lip sync. Once you're on the desk, you're stuck there for a bit. You're staying. Yeah. How much of what you say actually makes the final cut?

Because I reckon if I was on a show like that, I'd be watching it back going, oh, they bloody edited out that funny thing I said. Oh, see, luckily for me, very little of what I said ends up in the show. Like, as in there are so many things that you just blurt out that you're like, oh, uh-oh, I hope that's not. And also just bad part, like, just silly. I mean, but the ones that did, the one that sticks out to me from last,

so on my first episode last year, I was so nervous. And, like, there was just no, not prep, but, like, you're just kind of thrown in. Yeah, you would be, yeah. Yeah. And there's a line that I just blurted out that was like, well, I do like balls slapping on my ass. I remember that.

Yeah, that one definitely made the cut. Yeah, made the promo. And it's like, I don't even remember saying that. And, like, but it was there it was there um i think it's just so like you just say what you're thinking and then they just cut around i don't know i feel like that was really boring answer but it it is um i'm i'm glad that they don't put in a lot of the stuff well you're in the what is it called the rue the rue cinematic universe the rupal child yeah the rcu no i'm just calling it that now. You're the RCU.

Can't wait for the Reese spin-off. Yeah. If ever, like, VH1 makes some, like, poorly produced documentary in, like, 20 years about RuPaul, I can be, like, one of the most available people to do a talking head. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, well, he hasn't spoken to me in 10 years, but. But let me tell you a story about a fish and chip restaurant.

You've told us many times. You guys kind of have a similar origin story, Mitch and Rhys, because you now work at the radio station on air, but you started as a street teamer. Yeah, I did. And didn't you start working in the box office, Rhys? Is that right? Yes, I did.

Look at you doing your research. I used to work at the Enmore theater in the box office for years and then it got to the point where people would come in to buy tickets to my show no and that got to be embarrassing so i quit my job there but it is tell you what if you've ever worked in ticketing there's no quicker way to find out that most people in the world are idiots than ticketing the amount of calls that we will get every day, just the most dumb questions of people. Like, you know on a ticket it just says, like, plus BF,

which is booking fee. People would call in, I reckon, twice a week and ask if that meant breakfast was included, if it was a daytime show. Oh, my God. Or if they could bring their boyfriend or if they could bring their best friend. It takes a certain type of person to really hone in on the fine print of a ticket. Like, I'm just like, what door am I at as I arrive? I don't read the fucking BF.

People are so dumb. People are so dumb. And I hated that joke. Like, I did it for a long time. I thought I was a people person. It turns out I am not. You're definitely not. Was that full circle, though, Rhys?

Like, for your first performance, were there still staff there that were, like, working your show as ushers or something? Yeah, yeah, Gary. Gary, the lighting guy, was still there. And so it was this kind of weird – he, like, gave me a hug. It was this weird, like, yeah, come through moment. And, yeah, and I'm getting married there next year. At the Anmore Theatre?

Yes. We're selling tickets. No, we're not. How the hell does that work out? Where's the aisle? Is someone walking down the aisle? Tell us the production. What's happening?

Well, this is a confusing thing. I don't know what, I mean, we've had gay marriage for a while now, but no one has explained to me what the system is. Yeah. Like, who is a tops and bottoms thing? Yeah. Is it reverse? Like, who walks down the aisle?

If you're at the Enmore Theatre, you can do whatever you damn please. You could enter on a trapeze. Yeah, and they've got holes in the stage for that shit, so they can just pop you out if you really want. Put the rings on a conveyor belt. Go full force. I could come down sitting on a big crescent moon. Oh, that'd be so canned.

I do like that. Get a full orchestra. Speaking like send in the clowns or something in the pit that'd be great speaking of moon actually very quickly i think i interviewed you on the first season of drag race reason i don't know if i brought this up he can't recall i was there no he's like no i've met you before um i was there when you did your set at conan and it was just so cool to have an aussie there and it was just like i just loved it and like the connection you have with conan he clearly adores you and you look just like him and all that bit but like seeing an aussie there and you killed it you were so good was uh wait were you were you at the sydney

show or at the la show la show i was at the taping of conan oh yes how weird i know kind of serendipitous you know what i did not know that um and this is again probably maybe a boring thing to say is that no one told me that when I would start my set on the show that Conan would be sitting about two metres away. At the desk, yeah. And just sitting on a seat, like, just looking. So, like, he'd say, like, ladies and gentlemen,

I'm Rhys Nichols, and then he just sat down on a chair and just looked at me. And all you can see on the clip is, like, me just occasionally looking off camera and being like, is he going to move? He had some audible laughs, though. You were great. You killed it. Do you know what?

I'm not just saying this to like suck ass, but one of the best comedy things I've ever been to was that night that you and Joel Creasy did a few years ago. It was around Mardi Gras. Games Night? Games Night. I was trying to remember the name of it. It was around Mardi Gras. Games Night? Games Night. I was trying to remember the name of it. It was around Mardi Gras. And it was those two, Joel and Rhys, and they brought out different people like Lucy Durack and Georgia Love,

a bunch of different people. Gina Liano was there. Gina Liano. And it was just the most chaotic thing ever. And it was so funny. So we had not planned that. So, like, we had booked a spot. And because this is this is the

thing about both joel and i as well we're like we're like best friends but and we both love doing things together and like having like big ideas but then also both of us are not good at following through with those ideas like we're really good if we're produced yes um uh but we decided to produce it ourselves and we booked a show show at the Seymour Centre. It sold out. And then we had to go be like, oh, we've got to like do this. And so within like two days, we like booked, he booked all the guests and I like, and it was like a games night. But then we were like, and at the start we'll just do 20 minutes of standup together.

And we just, but yeah, it was like pure chaos. And I could tell that it was like more improv. And that's what I adored about it because like nothing fell flat. It was just hit after hit. It was amazing. And the best part, Mitch, I don't even know if I've told you this story, but without any pre-promotion or heads up, they were just like, anyway, here's Conchita Verse from Eurovision.

What? Comes out and sings that Rise Like a Phoenix song, is it? And then I was like, what the hell is this show? It was amazing. Do you want me to break your heart? That was our friend Max pretending to be Conchita Verse. I was like, what the hell is this show? It was amazing. Do you want me to break your heart? That was our friend Max pretending to be considerate. Hang on.

Our third wheel, Jenna, is here. Did you know that? What? Are you joking? Because they were there together. No, no. Sorry. Jenna, step into the frame.

Is that why you haven't been talking this whole time? Because Jenna is here as well. She's the Reese. We're the Michelle and Rue. that was going to be my question i was going to say how the hell did you lock in conchita it looked just like conchita and reese mitch has told me this story before and has just gone on about how good conchita was i did think conchita let herself go a bit but i was fine it was so it's our friend max Who is a radio producer Max Kostofferson What? Kostofferson?

Yes Oh my, we know Max I know him and I didn't know That was Max I know him and I had no idea that was him I can see it now In drag, he would skew He would

Just like a bit of a let go We worried So we thought it was so obviously not him Right, backstage That we didn't like correct it And you're not him, right, backstage, that we didn't, like, correct it. And you're not alone. Everyone in that audience thought that that was Conchita and we didn't know what to do so we just didn't correct it.

You just left it. All I did, the only thing I thought was, okay, clearly the hair and makeup budget at the Seymour Centre isn't the same as Eurovision, but I still believe that it was Conchita verse. And out of a long list. I've told everyone. I've told everyone.

Same. Out of a long list of things, I have never felt dumber than this moment. That's so funny. What a legacy you've left on this show, Rhys. You go on Drag Race, you're hilarious. I feel like I should have told you. Then you ruin Mitch's dreams. As soon as we're done here, I'm going to be messaging Max and being like, you fucking

piece of shit. Can I book you in my shows confused will you be if he denies it yeah yeah i feel like you've all made a pact what if this is the prank what if this is the lie being gaslit into a fake concerto that's hilarious i'm too tired for this honestly all right guys i have to ask our important question before we go so of course yeah yeah no go for it so um every time we have a guest on the podcast, we like to ask them a little thing in life that they appreciate, just like, you know, the fresh sheets in the bed or like the crunch of a good apple, you know,

a little thing like that because we just want to remind our young listeners that there's more to life than partying and boys, which is why we call it our list of things better than drugs and dick. Yes. So if you can think of anything that you believe is better than drugs and dick, please let us know think of anything that you believe is better than drugs and dick please let us know now imagine if i was like cash it is pretty good gratification of others um yeah angela bishop from studio 10 what did she say

said her water bed which was yeah i guess i know i saw that clip i did a bit of research my own by the way i'm obsessed with that like that she was talking about how it heats up and cools down. Imagine having a bed that you can cool down. I know. I know that was nearly the selling point for me. Cause I'm always just a little bit overheated. Yeah. I'm yeah. I've run high. I'm one of those people that, um, but I still need the doona on me and I need like one leg out. Yeah. Yeah. Psychos. Yeah. Um, I, in a similar vein, I was thinking, oh, I have a weighted blanket that I really like. That's like a very, feel like a very grown up thing, but that also makes me sound like a psycho. I gave Mitch a weighted blanket.

No, I do rate those. Yeah, you gave it to me because he saw that I was a bit uptight. He was unhinged. We had a couple of bad shows in a row every so I'm like, oh, here's a weighted blanket. It's good with anxiety and just your erratic behavior. Don't Google what it helps with. All right, what's yours? It's so good. It's exciting. It's your erratic behavior. Don't Google what it helps with. All right. What's yours? It's so good.

It's so good. But I think the thing I'm going to pick is, and this is really boring, is like skincare. That sounds so dumb, but I'm in my 30s and it's something I have really like, you know, when I was in my 20s, it was all very like, what's on sale at Chemist Warehouse? Yeah. And now, like, I don't want to get jab jabs just yet but um i i think i want to get like i want to get um um dermapen like microneedling done yeah what's that which is this thing that someone told me about where they stab your face a bazillion times and your skin goes into trauma

yeah and that produces collagen so anyways um it sounds awful i mean On paper On paper it sounds awful But I think it's like It's better than putting poison in your face And also the I think it's just I guess what I'm saying is like self-care But like something I'm getting more into As I grow up a little bit

Is like I don't need to be drunk every single night And I can like buy a good moisturiser That isn't going to make me look like a I got carded. I get a don't know. I keep getting carded. It's like I'm 31 and I'm buying a bottle of $40 like Shiraz on a Wednesday.

I'm depressed and I'm an adult. And so was it age 31 that you decided that that was tragic? Cause I've got a few years up my sleeve. If that's the case, I'll keep buying Shiraz on Wednesdays. Yeah. I mean, I guess 31 was, oh, the worst was during one of the first lockdowns, I kept going to the same bottle shop and I had to start, like, shaking it up because I would go in every day

and buy the same bottle of wine and I got to the point where the guy was like, do you want me to buy you a case, man? I was like, I need to leave. Yeah. This is not a, this is a hurtful relationship. No, I had the same scenario. I kept going back to the one bottle and every time they would, I'd leave and eventually they'd say, see you soon, every time.

Oh, no. I was like, oh, well. But, yeah, I know what you mean about the skincare thing because I used to be really slack with it. I'd be like, whatever, just some moisturiser, whatever. But now, I swear to God, it's a 20-minute regime these days. I've got different serums and cleansers and under-eye shit. And, yeah.

Dr Dennis Gross. Oh, it's this whole thing. I love it. That's not even me eye shit. And yeah. Dr. Dennis Gross. Oh, it's this whole thing. I love it. So that's not even me saying that for sponsoring reasons. Wow. I bought one of those light masks. I'll send you that audio. You can send it to the doctor.

Yeah. He's got a really weird face and that's how you know he's a good dermatologist. Oh, you're so right. And it's real shiny and like slick. Is it slick? Yeah. Yeah. You could lay on that.

Like Angela Bishop sleeps on his floor. That's a good sign. All right, Rhys. real shiny and like slick is it slick yeah yeah yeah you could like you could lay on that like angela bishop sleeps on his foot a good sign all right race thank you for coming on we love you good to chat to you and uh thanks i was boring oh sure no not at all you're amazing we love you i gotta say though some people might be confused listening to this because everyone thinks i sound like race i just sound like i'm talking to myself they all say that race because you've got you've got that the gay lisp down pat. Yeah, and I've just started doing Invisalign and it's given me a new lisp. I took it out for this interview, but I have a double lisp now.

Does that actually happen? Because I'm doing Invisalign as well soon. Does it give me more of a lisp? No, so it goes, I'm only two weeks in and it trickles away. Okay, good to know. But the first two days, yeah, shit. There's words that are a real struggle for you. Like Invisalign was a big one that was hard to say.

But also how unfair the fact that Reece Nicholson is so s-y for someone with a lisp. Oh, it's not good. And when I was growing up, my favourite band was the Scissor Sisters. Oh, no. When they came to Newcastle, they were supported by Sneaky Sound System. None of that up. That's probably what developed it. I feel your pain.

All right. Bye, Raze. All right. Thank you so much. See you all. Thank you. Bye. Is it just me?

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