#55 - Peppermint: Different Hands on Different Balls

“You run the high risk of something suffering,” says Peppermint
about multi-hyphenating on an Executive level.  Peppermint is
Broadway and television royalty. As coming in second place on her
season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Peppermint is the first queen to
enter as an openly trans woman. Her hyphens include actor - singer
- Drag entertainer - Producer - Recording Artist. She includes
activism in her hyphens, but usually leaves it off because it’s
implied in the work that she does.  “It’s important that we as
citizens are involved in a certain type of activism because of the
space that we occupy,” says Peppermint. “It is so much more than it
would have been ten, twenty, thirty, forty years ago as public
figures.” According to Peppermint, her identity puts her in the box
of having to perform everyday activism. In this episode, we discuss
different aspects of activism as well as cancel culture. How is
cancel culture helpful? How is it harmful? “I don’t even use the
word cancel, cancel culture,” she says. “I don’t think there is
anyone who is above or immune to criticism. That’s not judgement…
that’s criticism. But by the same token, I am 100% in favor of
people having options to learn and demonstrate what they’ve done
and experienced.” In this very candid and honest conversation about
the ways in which artists navigate responsibilities, we also chat
about Peppermint’s upcoming reality competition television show,
Call Me Mother. On the show, she is an Executive Producer, Drag
Mother, and judge. What are the lessons learned by
multi-hyphenating in an environment like this? How does Peppermint
juggle it all? And what are the expectations that others have for
Drag artists that aren’t expected of others? And what are the ways
producers can make spaces better for Drag artists? “It is extremely
difficult to do it and be on camera because some of the times we
had to stop,” says Peppermint. “I had to stop what was happening on
stage to put on a different hat… or sometimes I wouldn't stop and I
would just start talking like a producer which is obviously not
what the audience wants to see. I was like, I don’t care… you’re
going to have to edit this out but we need to fix this!” Call Me
Mother premieres Oct. 25 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on OUTtv, OUTtv.com, the
OUTtv Apple TV channel, and the OUTtv Amazon Prime Channel,
wherever available. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
megaphone.fm/adchoices