Monday night I got taken to a church of filth. The Pope of Trash, the Prince of Puke, the Sultan of Sleaze, John Waters, graced the Byrd Theatre for a sold-out one-man show. The actor, writer and director became famous for cult classics like Pink Flamingos, Hairspray and Female Trouble, several of which have made their way into the Criterion Collection.
He has become notorious for his bad taste, and he really delivered a sermon of smut that night. Standing behind a podium, he preached about how turning to a world of filth could save us all. He spoke truth to the power of hoes and using all the holes. He delivered a sermon on a shit mountain.
Presented by Studio Two Three, Let’s Take Over the World: An Evening With John Waters was a messy, trashy, lewd, crude and completely hilarious and astute manifesto on the value of enjoying the dark side of humor.
“Yes, we’re tired of waiting. We’re tired of whining. So let’s overthrow all authority with the power of perverted humor. Yes, filthiest people alive, the time has come for our cult to advance.”
One of the funniest people alive, Waters is funny not just because what he says is shocking, but because it is also incredibly smart commentary. I have seen basically everything Waters has done. Having grown up in NOVA, I really appreciated that he filmed almost all of his films in his hometown of Baltimore. I have always been obsessed with his work.
I once dressed up as Edie from Pink Flamingos and ate so many hard-boiled eggs in one day that I think it gave me an egg issue, and my tummy couldn’t handle eggs for years. Every Valentine’s Day and Christmas, I play his compilation albums, which are absolute perfection from the first to last track.
I was blessed to have interviewed the Titan of Trash, I think I just came up with that one, in 2023 for BUST Magazine, and he was so, so charming and sincerely friendly. I thought we only had an hour to talk, and when I went to let him go, he said, “Why? Let’s keep talking.” He genuinely loves engaging with people, and the underbelly of society and somehow makes the swamp shine.
I spoke to Teddi Baerbach, a drag queen who pulled up looking fully divine as Divine and then yanked out her falsie to have him sign it. Just pulled the whole-ass fake tit out. Yes, Queen.
“I grew up in the late eighties, early nineties. My favorite movie as a kid was Hairspray. That’s when I fell in love with drag, seeing Divine as Edna. I could really relate with the main character, Tracy Turnblad, because I was a fat kid too, always got picked on, and I loved how she didn’t care.
“And just my favorite thing about John Waters is he didn’t give a fuck. If you didn’t like what he made, fine. Don’t look at it. And I try to embody that with my drag. My drags are a little atypical because I king and queen, whereas most people just stick with one or the other, and I’m more fluid. I’ve pretty much seen all of John Waters’ work. Just, like, the filth and rotten and disgusting, he could take all that and still make such a great thing to watch. I just love John Waters, and he has been a huge influence my entire life.”
He may have been here for a one-night stand, but you can still get your filth fix. He is starring in the new season of American Horror Story, dropping Sept. 24.
After an evening with John Waters preaching the gospel of filth, I felt a stirring in my heart, in my soul and my holes. We should all get a lil trashy, a lil raunchy, a lil salacious.
Main photo of Teddi Baerbach by Beau Tox
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