Bob the Drag Queen is the alter ego of comic and actor Caldwell Tidicue (he uses both she/her and he/him pronouns). Immersed in drag culture from a young age—his mother owned a drag bar in Columbus, Georgia—Bob moved to New York at age 22 and began dabbling in drag himself, first taking on the name "Kitten Withawhip," but ultimately landing on Bob the Drag Queen. In 2016, Bob competed on season 8 of RuPaul's Drag Race, beating out 11 other contestants to be named America's Next Drag Superstar.
In his other projects, Bob has stayed close to other RuPaul's Drag Race alums, including in his podcast Sibling Rivalry, which she co-hosts with Drag Race All Stars winner Monét X Change. Earlier this year, Bob, along with Eureka O'Hara and Shangela Laquifa Wadley, starred in the HBO series We're Here, which took the drag queens around the country to help small-town residents perform in one-night-only drag performances.
Bob's acting career has landed him roles on HBO's High Maintenance and in the Berkeley Repertory Theater's production of Angels in America. His second comedy special, Bob the Drag Queen: Live at Caroline's was released earlier this year.
Recorded remotely during the coronavirus pandemic, NPR's Ask Me Another host Ophira Eisenberg and house musician Jonathan Coulton talk to Bob the Drag Queen about his wig-filled basement drag closet, celebrating Pride from home, and what it was like to travel across the country for We're Here.
Then, Bob takes on an Ask Me Another challenge tailored specifically to his interests, bringing together Kesha, Whoopi Goldberg, musicals, and more.
INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS
Bob Gives A Tour Of His "Drag Closet"
"I'm looking at, right now, about 20 [wigs], but I have way more than 20 wigs. I also have a lot of unstyled wigs, the bins on the side are full of wigs, the bags are full of wigs... So I'm in my drag closet, which is my basement. I turned my basement into the drag room. It's kind of like the smallest and weirdest thrift shop where everything is the exact same size. It's like a thrift shop from some really extravagant size 14 woman."
On The Concept Of The HBO Docuseries We're Here
"I was thinking it was going to be one of those, like, 'Gay people fix straight people's lives!' And it's really not that. That's not what the show is. And I think there's a lot of people who think that's what it is. And once people started seeing it, they're like, 'Oh my god, this is different.' We're actually uplifting and highlighting a lot of queer voices, marginalized communities. We talk to indigineous people. We talk to people in the LatinX community, the Black community, the trans community. I'm so proud of the representation on the show."
On How We're Here's Small Town Residents Reacted to Bob
"Even though we're not always shooting things in the direct same order, that is oftentimes people in the town's first time seeing us. Because we walk around in our day clothes, you know, as daywalkers, no one really pays much attention. But once a big yellow Birkin bag rolls into town, and the most gorgeous woman you've ever seen in your life steps off of it, you know, people really look up."
Heard on: Bob the Drag Queen And Camila Mendes: We're Here... To Play Games!
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