Cheryl and Lemon on their Drag Race evolution and “crazy” casting controversy

Cheryl and Lemon speak with GAY TIMES about their Canada’s Drag Race vs the World experience, the tired controversy over three/four-time contestants and their future with the franchise.

WORDS BY SAM DAMSHENAS
SPECIAL THANKS TO JO SEAR AND JASMINE ALOMA AT THE BBC

For Lemon and Cheryl Hole, the second season of Canada vs the World has served as a much-needed rudemption. The former, who memorably placed fifth on the inaugural season of Canada’s Drag Race with two challenge wins, was unjustifiably Pork Chop’d on UK vs the World after ‘getting litty and splitting her kitty’ all over the main stage. (That judging was… wild.) As for the Essex divalina, she was – we’re going to use this word again, because it’s apt – unjustifiably sent home on her OG season’s makeover challenge in what is often described as one of the most barbaric decisions in the franchise’s herstory. (Still bamboozled by it, honestly.) Now, after being sent home one-after-the-other on UK vs the World, the two besties have sashayed into their first-ever finale together. The world is healing!

“It feels right that we finally get another chance. There were some fans who weren’t so happy to see a third and fourth returnee on our season, but as an artist, I’m never gonna stop and Chez is never gonna stop,” Lemon tells GAY TIMES ahead of the finale. With the aformementioned backlash from ‘fans’ in mind, Cheryl adds: “I feel that energy, Lemon, I really do. We were not given a chance to show where we were at that time. […] You’re never done growing as an artist. You are constantly growing and evolving so to be able to show where I am in 2024, as opposed to where I was in 2019, 2021, we’ve come a long way!”

Over the course of Canada vs the World season two, Lemon has cemented her status as a frontrunner with two challenge wins and zero safe/bottom placements, becoming one of the only queens in history to do so, while Cheryl has delivered some of the most gut-busting moments with her superfan, middle finger-wagging character in ‘The Hole’ and bonkers Queen Victoria impersonation. She may still be No Badge Chez, but as Elektra Bionic and Le Filip have respectively proven on Italy and France, challenge wins aren’t a prerequisite for becoming [insert franchise here]’s Next Drag Superstar.

Read ahead for our pre-finale chat with Lemon and Cheryl, where they reflect on Canada vs the World, gush over each other’s performances and reveal behind-the-scenes tea.

GAY TIMES: Cheryl Hole and Lemon, Canada vs the World season 2 finalists, how are you both?

Lemon: Oh my god, never been better.

Cheryl: Can you believe that you can finally say “finalist”?!

GAY TIMES: It’s the same for you, too, right Lemon?

Lemon: Me too! This is my very first finale, so me and Chez are both so happy to have finally made it.

Cheryl: In the words of Lizzo – actually no, we can’t say that anymore.

Lemon: Not in the words of Lizzo!

Cheryl: It’s about damn time!

GAY TIMES: As a Cheryl Hole and Lemon stan, I’m so happy you’re both here, especially because you were both majorly shafted in the past: Cheryl, with your season one makeover, which you should’ve won; Lemon, on UK vs the World – enough said. Do you feel vindicated being in the final?

Lemon: Definitely. Me and Cheryl were together on UK vs the World and we were first and second out. We got back to that hotel room and spent so much time together, laughing about the situation, while also being like, ‘What the heck just happened to us?!’ So, it feels right that we finally get another chance. There were some fans who weren’t so happy to see a third and fourth returnee on our season, but as an artist, I’m never gonna stop and Chez is never gonna stop. Alexis is never gonna stop. If they call me and say, ‘You wanna go on TV?’ I’m gonna say yes.

Cheryl: I feel that energy, Lemon, I really do. We were not given a chance to show where we were at that time, and I know it’s the same for everybody else that goes out early in these competitions, so my heart broke for La Kahena and for Le Fil because we had been in those shoes. Unfortunately, it’s the nature of the game. We know, from our experiences, that you can come back. You’re never done growing as an artist. You are constantly growing and evolving so to be able to show where I am in 2024, as opposed to where I was in 2019, 2021, we’ve come a long way!

GAY TIMES: This whole debate about three or four-timers is so tired to me. We wouldn’t have had the iconic Manila Luzon elimination on All Stars 4 if she didn’t return a third time, or Shea Coulee, Monét X Change and Trinity the Tuck on the first winners’ season…

Lemon: It’s crazy to me because we watch a scripted show and how many seasons of Grey’s Anatomy can we watch?! How many times are we gonna see Meredith Grey on screen? And no one’s complaining – I love that bitch! I’ll watch 20 more seasons of it. As soon as it’s drag queens…

GAY TIMES: We’ve seen Meredith Grey lose a loved one more times than…

Cheryl: No, no, no spoilers! I’m only on season 13, please.

GAY TIMES: “Only season 13”. I gave up season 15. I couldn’t do it anymore. I did my time.

Cheryl: You did your time, you split your bread.

Lemon: If Cheryl or I don’t win the season, both of us will come back until season 25, so let’s roll.

Cheryl: And if we do, All Stars All Winners 2!

GAY TIMES: I told Eureka last week that I don’t mind if she comes back a fifth or sixth time. I want to see more of every queen and people should… shut the f**k up.

Cheryl: I have to praise Jujubee now…

Lemon: Period! Eureka especially, since the last time she’s been on the show, she’s a completely different person. She’s come out and is finally living authentically as her true self. For trans people, it’s very different living with this kind of mask on trying to hide that side of you. Now, to see her in this, she had fully realised who she was and it was a kinder, softer, more gentle person and it was really nice getting to know that side of Eureka. I was so thankful to see her and for her to get another chance, especially because there had been times in the past when she’s been judged so harshly.

GAY TIMES: For both of you, this has undeniably been your best ever season of Drag Race. It’s like in Pokemon when they go into their final form…

Cheryl: The evolution!

GAY TIMES: So, I wanted to ask you Lemon, what was your favourite Cheryl moment this season, and vice versa?

Lemon: Cheryl entered this competition and had dropped the “Hole”, and then episode two they said, ‘This week’s challenge is The Hole!’ Watching Cheryl in that challenge, she was so funny and on fire. She was so there and present. Me and Cheryl have been friends long before international seasons of Drag Race even existed, and so to see her nailing this challenge like that was really refreshing. I’ve always been a die-hard Cheryl Hole fan, so I was pissing my pants laughing.

Cheryl: Do you want a little exclusive, Sam?

GAY TIMES: Give it to me.

Cheryl: This is a ‘Snatched’ GAY TIMES exclusive. I was actually really sick on set on the day of ‘The Hole’.

Lemon: She was.

Cheryl: I had to go and see the medic after our first scene because I was so hot, but so cold. They were making me drink electrolytes and I was shaking. I was like, ‘I’m not being taken out of this competition, I am not letting my body say no.’ It was mind over matter. So, in those scenes with Lisa Rinna I’m surprised that when I pulled my finger out of my handbag that I wasn’t shaking.

GAY TIMES: I’m quite shocked because when you immediately came out like “IT’S BRAD!” I cackled so hard and thought, ‘She’s won.’ You were ill?!

Cheryl: Yep, sick as a dog, shaking. But hey, that is the sign of a true professional. My favourite Lemon moment has got to be watch her absolutely smash it last week in ‘Snatch Game: The Rusical’. We both came in knowing exactly what roles we wanted, and for me, I knew I wasn’t going to win the fight for that role she wanted. I went, ‘You have that, I’m gonna go for the ballad and try and show a different range.’ I knew Lemon was gonna absolutely mop the floor with this performance, and that she did. When I tell you I wish they kept in the bit where she went, “You stole my Rod Stewart CD!” We were just howling during Snatch Game.

Lemon: Yeah, Snatch Game was so much fun and I feel like because it was so different from a normal Snatch Game, both of us were just so excited.

GAY TIMES: As a viewer, it’s been so interesting to watch this season of Canada vs the World shake up the format. For example, Snatch Game: The Rusical. What are your thoughts on that?

Lemon: I think Canada does this a lot, where they do something that’s never been done before. They like to fuck it up! As a Canadian, I feel like that’s the vibe always. That’s what we like to do, take what’s already good, play with it and make it better – or sometimes make it worse. But hey, isn’t it entertaining either way? There were a lot of things where we were like, ‘This is the most meta and difficult challenge, I have no idea what I’m supposed to be doing. I don’t even know who I am at this moment.’ That added to the element of fun in the competition because I always say that Drag Race is like going away to summer camp. Instead of coming home and saying, ‘My friends at camp are so cool,’ everyone gets to watch it on TV. But this was the most intense arts summer camp I’ve ever been to, and it was so much fun even though 80% of the time I had no fucking idea what I was doing.

Cheryl: You and me both, sister, you and me both. I had the best time because I never like to go in knowing what’s gonna happen. It’s so hard not to hear the whispers of who’s gonna be there or what could potentially happen. But, knowing that the return of the Beaver was shaking up the format for us, knowing that you could fight for your own place in the competition as opposed to just pleading… We’ve both been there, and it didn’t work out for either of us. So, this time around and unfortunately I did land in the bottom, I was genuinely so happy that I got to showcase all my skillset plus, also, if I landed in that position, I was able to fight. To say that everybody was rooting for everybody, it was 1000% true. We all got on so well. As much as Fierce hates us all – she doesn’t really.

Lemon: She’s a good time gal, she’s here to make good TV.

GAY TIMES: I love Fierce. What was it like to share a season with the WOWIE winner?

Lemon: Well, I actually won the WOWIE before she did, so for me, it was normal. It felt like I was hanging out with my step-down princess. Yeah, Fierce is a lot of fun. She’s certainly crazy in so many different ways, but at the end of the day, I do see Fierce as a little sister, even though we’re the same age. It was nice to see her there, shining and getting a second chance at this. Hopefully she gets a third chance too!

Cheryl: I don’t see a world in which Fierce does not come back on our television screens. She will be on every season until she wins and then be on every season that has winners.

GAY TIMES: But don’t you just hate it when queens come back for a third time?

Cheryl: I’m so sick of it.

Lemon: Give someone else a chance!

GAY TIMES: As well as Fierce, you shared this season with some other legends such as Alexis Mateo and Kennedy Davenport, who you’re in the finale with. When they sashayed onto the stage, did you feel threatened by their reputations?

Cheryl: Yes and no. I always admire those two to the end because, firstly, they’ve paved the way. They were doing drag well before Drag Race and really cemented this industry as a hard-working, grafting career. Those two were just so much fun to be around. But, at the start of this competition I said, ‘No, you are not letting anybody put you below your pedestal. You are top of the ranking and you will be there every week.’ So I had to flip that mindset and be like, ‘We’re divas, we’re besties, we’re doing the damn thing, but I’m not having anybody be above me. I’ve got to be at the top.’

Lemon: I honestly felt exactly the same way as Cheryl. I was on tour with Kennedy for a few months and Alexis and I were right beside each other at DragCon, so I had met and worked with both of them before. They are both Good Judy’s through and through. Those are sisters. Those are professional people. I love and have so much respect for them, but in a competition like this, me and Cheryl now first-hand that anything is possible on Drag Race. You can’t walk in and think, ‘She’s a legend.’ You have to walk in thinking, ‘I’m a fucking legend, too. No matter who’s here or what they’ve done outside of these four walls, it’s about what happens here and now.’ That’s how we all played it, so my intention was just to focus on this moment and let go of any past successes or failures.

Cheryl: I agree Lemon, it’s so easy to get caught up with being like, ‘Everybody is a legend!’ But me and Lemon are in the final with two iconic legends, and it’s been such an honour to share this journey all the way to the end with those three. I’m everybody’s hype girl. Lemon actually had to call me the other day and tell me to be my own hype girl because I was too busy gassing everybody else up.

Lemon: It’s what Cheryl does. She tries to post all these things about all three of us and how amazing [we are]. I’m like, ‘Girl, post about you!’ It’s nice because it felt very much like sisters in a dressing room vibe, it didn’t feel like a competitive, evil atmosphere. We all wanted each other to do great and ourselves to do the best. I think that’s all you can ask for in a competition like this, because it does get a little nasty when people enter thinking about it like, ‘How can I sabotage these other girls?’ – not to mention Fierce again! No, I’m kidding. It was nice to have girls that were very confident in themselves and weren’t afraid to just compete fairly.

GAY TIMES: Cheryl, it pains me to say that you are, once again, No Badge Chez. But, you are Cheryl Hole. I hope you realise that you don’t need a badge to be the icon that you are?

Cheryl: If this was a top two, regular UK vs the World, Canada vs the World, I definitely would have at least three top two placements. So, that is the win in itself. I am just so grateful that, win, lose, draw, whatever happens this finale, I can say, hand on heart, I smashed it and was in the top four out of five challenges. I was also in the finale of a season, and that I am so proud of what I achieved. Yes, a little cash tip would’ve been nice, but I’m winning because I’m rich in life.

Lemon: But, Le Filip just won a season of France with absolutely no wins because she was so consistent. I’m just saying, it’s still possible that Cheryl’s first ever win on Drag Race is the tiara. Anything’s possible! You never know.

Cheryl: Ain’t nobody gonna stop me!

GAY TIMES: I’m so excited for this finale because all four queens are lip-sync assassins. Lemon, we’ve not seen you lip-sync once this entire season, so what we can expect in the final? What can you tease?

Lemon: One of the things they did cut out of the season, and I’m really glad they did, is I jokingly was asked what my biggest regret of the season was. I said, ‘It’s been really hard for me, because all the bottom girls get to change into their gorgeous lip-sync outfits, and I’m not allowed to change and show off all my gorgeous looks.’ So, I’m glad they cut that because it was me being a little bitch. But now in the finale, we get a Lip-Sync LaLaPaRuza, and I get to potentially wear two sickening lip-sync looks. That’s all I can say! I’m just excited because I was prepared. I came with outfits and wigs galore, and I was so excited to wear them. I definitely have some tricks up my sleeve, things I’ve never done on Drag Race before. The crazy thing about this is when I walked into the werkroom, I looked at all of the performers like, ‘Fuck, everyone here can turn it out.’ So, it was one of those seasons where I’m glad it was the Beaver and there was a bottom two lip-sync, only because the lip-syncs this season were so entertaining that I was like, ‘Oh, we made history.’

GAY TIMES: I go absolutely feral for a Lip-Sync LaLaPaRuza.

Lemon: I love them. At the end of the day, most of the time when you go see a drag queen, what is she doing? Basically lip-syncing for her life. Most of the time, that’s what you see. Obviously, there’s performers who have broken that mould, but a lot of the queens are out there doing a lip-sync, and that’s how we make our money and pay our bills and entertain the crowd and change the energy in a space. To be able to do this, to potentially win a crown, feels very right because it’s what all of us are the best at. Who can really have this moment, you know?

Cheryl: Who’s gonna make Brooke clap the hardest?

GAY TIMES: Following this season, what can we expect from you both?

Lemon: I am working on my second EP, so hopefully that will be announced and dropped really soon. I have some incredible collaborations coming out with Marina Summers and Shea Couleé, so I’m very excited for everyone to hear this album. It’s more fun and more pop, and more silly goofy girly. That has been something I’ve fallen so in love with, writing music and recording. A new album is definitely on the way, and I’m in talks for a lot of other things and, hopefully, I’m gonna tour the world. All the things a drag queen wants to be doing, I’m so lucky to be doing.

GAY TIMES: Lemon, can I just say that ‘Sweet and Sour’ and ‘567 Ate’ have been on heavy rotation.

Lemon: Thank you so much! Stream ‘It’s Not That Deep’, my newest one.

Cheryl: I can’t say too much because I don’t want to get sued, but I will be coming back to your ears in one variety or another very soon. It’s in time for the Spooky Season, that’s all I’ll say.

GAY TIMES: Giving Kim Petras a run for her money?

Cheryl: There will be blood!

The finale of Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs the World season 2 will be available 24 August in the UK on BBC iPlayer. 

You can watch our interview with Cheryl and Lemon here or below. 

The post Cheryl and Lemon on their Drag Race evolution and “crazy” casting controversy appeared first on GAY TIMES.