Drag Race Was A Dream Come True, Says Anita Wigl’it

Contributor
May 25, 2021

Episode four of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under was full of surprises, wasn’t it…? Art Simone got a chance at redemption, but not Coco Jumbo or Jojo Zaho… make of this ‘plot development’ what you will.

All that aside, this week’s maxi challenge asked of our remaining queens to fashion from trash some runway ready lewks! But it was unfortunately time for Anita Wigl’it to sashay away after getting read for her book pages dress, which was less of a page turner and more of a page burner.

Following her exit after a lip sync battle against Karen From Finance, Anita Wigl’it tells Star Observer that her time on the competition was a dream come true.

“RuPaul’s Drag Race is the Olympics of drag so getting to represent New Zealand and myself feels like I’ve won at life already.”

I think that we just broke the internet! 🤪 Thank you so much for all of the love!! 😘😘😘

— Anita Wigl’it (@anitawiglit) May 22, 2021

The First Kiwi To Sashay Away

“It’s always going to be disappointing to be the first Kiwi to go home, or to go home in general, but Elektra and Kita Mean are still in there and the fact the first Kiwi went home at the halfway point is so awesome. Also, it’s not how long you are on the show for but what you do with your time there.”

Wigl’it began performing around 10 years ago, having since entered competitions such as Vancouver’s Next Top Drag Superstar, which she won in 2013, hosting alongside Kita Mean, the wildly successfully Warner Bros produced House of Drag and owning Auckland’s wildly successful Caluzzi Cabaret.

“When I started drag, I looked so tragic, and because I looked so tragic, I had to do something else. I had to develop a personality and some sort of attraction in my shows. I think it’s so important now that when people come out of the drag womb and they look incredible, they need to remember that the key to Drag is having an interesting personality and not just performing for yourself but for the room and for people.”

RuPaul And Drag Race

“Now, Drag has exploded, it’s incredible and I honestly think Ru should be massively thanked for this. Ru has taken what was very much a rainbow artform and pushed it into the spotlight. A lot of people come out to see Drag because they’ve watched Drag Race and want to come see a live show.”

There have been some rumours floating around on the good old trustworthy internet, which alleges that RuPaul wasn’t even in New Zealand during filming and only appeared in the season via green screen. Wigl’it, however, quashes those rumours.

“Ru was there, close enough to touch many times, but I didn’t touch him because I thought he might catch something, but yes he was absolutely there.”

Anita Wigl’it’s Snatch Game performance as Queen Elizabeth was enough to see many of her jokes censored by the BBC. “When somebody turns 100, I write them a letter, and when somebody turns 16 Prince Andrew writes them a text.”- anyone? But there was one other moment from episode two that really struck a chord.

‘Promise Me You Are Not Going To Be Gay’

“My dad said to me when I was about seven years old, ‘just promise me when older you’re not going to be gay’. It’s funny when you hear something like that because it sticks in your mind, but it was so out of character for him, he is a lovely, sweet man.”

“It could have been anything, it could have been because he read in the newspaper there was a homophobic attack on someone, and he was just worried our lives would be difficult if we were gay. Him saying that showed a lack of understanding at that point that him thinking gay is a choice, like we can just decide if we are not. Now, he is much more educated, and he is really accepting, we talk every Sunday, because he lives in England.”

So whats on the horizon for Anita?

“I feel like I might have broken the internet actually, there are so many messages and comments, and they all seemed to be very positive. But my next move is actually a solo drag comedy show Anita Wigl’it: The Life Of A Funny Girl which is debuting in Auckland in June, and hopefully taking it to Australia, and next year it looks like I’m going to the UK and hopefully travelling the world and spreading drag around, saying yes to everything and see what happens.”

Read our exit interviews with the queens who sashayed away!