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For over 20 years, Lady Bunny has been thrilling her audiences from Chattanooga to Tel Aviv.  With a bawdy and brawny sense of humor, musical styling, big hair and even bigger mouth, Lady Bunny has become one of the most successful Drag Artists of all time.  It all started one Halloween, she recalls. “I think I won 3rd prize at a bar called Alan Gold's in Chattanooga, Tennessee at age 20.  Then I moved to Atlanta and became roommates with RuPaul and a bunch of other drag queens. From there, we all moved to NYC.”  The inspiration for her drag persona came from a comic book.  “It was a 1960's comic book character called Bunny, Queen of the In Crowd, who was blonde and wore psychedelic outfits.  ‘Lady’ is just a prefix that many drag queens use, like Lady Chablis from “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.” I saw her perform in a gay bar when I was 13!”

Life as an emcee, DJ, singer, songwriter, actress and comedienne can be very demanding.  Lady Bunny is often on the road without a lot of personal time, so, how does she relax?  “Suck cock! And eat! As long as something is in my mouth, I'm happy! Seriously, I do travel a lot and it can be exhausting. So I really love to just catch up with friends and catch up on reading and my favorite TV shows when I'm home. There is a lot to do in NYC!”

Late one night, in the Spring of '84, after closing the Pyramid Club, Lady Bunny, along with a group of drunken friends, traipsed over to a local park, and there the inspiration for Wigstock, the world’s largest drag festival, was born.  “When I first moved to NYC, there were awful punk bands which played in Tompkins Square Park every weekend. I'm talking about those bands, which ‘jam’ on hour-long songs, with 30-minute excruciating guitar solos. I thought ‘I can put on a better show than that!’ At the time, I was working at a fascinating club with some very unique drag talent, and one night, after drinking heavily, a bunch of us Pyramid Club employees staggered over to the nearby band shell and started clowning on the stage for a few homeless people who were trying to sleep. We weren't such a hit with the homeless, but we secured the necessary permits, and the event grew larger each year. Eventually we had to move it to the pier due to the crowd size.”  After a 20 year run, Wigstock is currently on hiatus.  However, Bunny indicates that “you never know when we will rear our gorgeously-coiffed heads again.”  (www.wigstock.nu)

When asked which decade best reflects who Bunny is, she stated, “I was born gay, but in the 60's and 70's, I was more of a student and less part of the gay scene. Musically, I love the sounds of the disco era. I also love 90's house when vocals were popular--I'm a little sick of this tacky circuit sound. But a time I think we could learn from is the 80's, when groups like ACT UP were in full force. Now there are only a handful of members at ACT UP meetings, and it seems that activism has given way to a really mindless body fascism, which celebrates only youth and beauty. That may not be what porn site owners want to hear, and I love sexy guys as much as the next gay, but as a people, our rights are under attack. And most of us are just taking it like a bunch of sissies. When and why did we stop caring?”

What is her hope for the gay community in the future? “That we start caring again! About ourselves! I got an email from the HRC thanking me for my support in passing that bill which sticks gay bashers with stiffer penalties. I felt so guilty! I wasn't even aware that the bill was up for a vote! I certainly hadn't emailed or called my senator to ask them to support it and/or my own welfare. What's it gonna take to wake us up? A fucking fist in our face? And why didn't I hear about the bill?  Because every gay mag focuses on bodybuilders and bar events? I make my living at club events, but let's pull together as a community for our own good. I'm a slut and love sex, but I'd also like to protect my rights. I think we should expect a little more balanced coverage of issues and swimsuit issues from our gay publications.”

Lady Bunny has been featured in a number of movies.  She recently finished shooting a role for “Another Gay Sequel” which is the follow-up to the popular “Another Gay Movie.”  When asked how she got this role and what the audience can expect from the film, she quipped “I was asked to do a staged reading of the script for the NYC Gay & Lesbian Film Festival last June. The reading went well, and the director even decided to make my part a little bigger. Being a big ham, naturally I was thrilled!  I play Sandi Cove who is a trashy, loud-mouthed drag queen emcee who wears big blonde wigs and too much make-up--so I guess you could say it's typecasting!  I've only seen one clip, and it was a hoot. I actually haven't seen the original movie, but it has quite a cult following. And the word is that this one is even sicker, with a bigger budget and more production value.  Plus there are campy cameos from Perez Hilton, Michael Lucas, Scott Thompson and Karen Black!!! Not to mention that it's set in Fort Lauderdale, so all of the hunks are in swimwear! Slurp!”

Lady Bunny shares the spotlight with her drag sister RuPaul in this film.  It has been a long while since the two of them have spent so much time together.   “It was fantastic! It was the most time that Ru and I have spent together in years, and we really re-connected and remembered what attracted us to each other in the first place--our sick sense of humor! Ru and I also dueted on a song for the movie which I think will be included. And I also have a cameo in RuPaul's film STARRBOOTY, in which I play a lesbian with crabs who treats Ru to my ‘seafood dinner.’ Are you boys hard yet?”

As in the original movie, there are a few Gay Male Porn Stars in the cast.  How were the guys to work with on this film? “The Jarics were a hoot, and Ru and I hung out with them a lot--both very sweet. The girls in the make-up room could not believe how much one of them was packing! Romario is the Colombian stud porn model in the film. He was also very sweet and we got some B-roll footage of me on my knees pretending to suck his cock. After the fact, I was told that they are making x-rated dvd extras. Damn! I should've just slurped it!  Oh, there is also an orgy scene and the x-rated shots will prove quite titillating. They grow 'em big down in Florida!”

Lady Bunny recently co-hosted the GAYVN awards in San Francisco.  She wowed the crowd with her opening parody song, which made fun of many in the audience. One may think that she is a huge fan of gay porn.  “I'm afraid that I'm not. And just too really gag you, several studios sent me every one of their releases for free! Porn puts me in the mood for the real thing, and I would much rather have that. But when I put together that little number which roasted the porn stars, I had a little birdie filling me in on what was what.”  And who was the little birdie?  “Chi Chi LaRue. OK, so the little birdie wasn't that little!”

Even though she may not watch a lot of porn, Lady Bunny does not shy away from the many talented performers that often times throw themselves at her feet.  When asked what the best part of co-hosting the GAYVN awards was for her, she said “Well, I was shocked and delighted to see Armistead Maupin (Tales of the City) at the awards.  I took a pic with him and Buck Angel--what a crazy crew! But most fun was posing for pics with both Chad Hunt's and Barrett Long's schlongs dangling in front of my face. Yum!”   She did reminisce for a moment about the first time she saw a porn movie.  “It was something in the 70's in a porno booth. But I was more interested in what was coming through the hole in the stall than out of the projector!”

Lady Bunny has actually appeared in Michael Lucas’s “Dangerous Liaisons” and has plans in the works for another cameo.  “Yes, Michael is cooking up some new idea for me in one of his upcoming films. I wouldn't mind choking on Ben Andrews’ monster meat, but I think I'll be playing a non-sexual, comedic role. Damn!”

When asked who her top five favorite gay porn stars and why, Lady Bunny replied with the following:

• Ricky Martinez. He can suck himself. Silly boy! Doesn't he know I'd gladly do it for him?


• Michael Lucas--he's a dear friend and I don't always agree with him, but find him refreshingly opinionated.


• Jeff Stryker--a classic who still looks sexy!


• Ryan Block, cuz I sucked that big piece once!


• Matthew Rush-- not only is he gorgeous, he's also super-sweet.
  

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