One look at Sweet Pickles, and your immediate thought is that she looks like the living incarnation of a clown doll from your childhood. Which one specifically is up to you, and in fact, the answer that springs to your mind is a good way for her to get a rough idea of just how old you might be.
When asked to describe her drag, she sometimes says that she looks like she “fell out of an AC Moore craft bin.” I’d argue that she looks like a candy-coated confection from the state fair, but regardless of what comes to your mind, her bright-colored, clown-inspired aesthetics of yarn wigs and over-the-top, loud outfits are not only difficult to miss, but it’s even more of a challenge to keep a wide Cheshire grin off your face.
When asked about her beginnings and early interest in drag, Pickles shares that she has always been into theatrics, which makes learning that she was a theater major help the remaining puzzle pieces fall into place. Much like many of us, Pickles was a big fan of RuPaul’s Drag Race, following many of her favorite queens on social media, wearing merch from the show, and just soaking in the art of drag. However, it was finally seeing drag live that really started to make the wheels turn.
“When I became of age, I started going out to gay bars, as one does, and I started seeing drag live, and I would always think, ‘Dang, I wish that I was a boy so I could do this too, you know,’” said Pickles. “It was the late 2010s, mid-2010s, where you didn’t see as much variety in drag styles or types of drag performers. I would always think like, ‘Oh my gosh, if I was only a boy, then I could do this because I know I’d be so great at it.’ You know, having done theater my whole life, it just felt like a skill that would naturally translate.”
The conversation couldn’t help but find its way back to RuPaul’s Drag Race, as we both spoke of our love for the reality competition. While there’s a lot to be said for RuPaul Charles on both sides of the fence, one thing that can’t be denied is how Drag Race has not only become ingrained in the lives of many young LGBTQ folks, but more importantly, how it has helped make the art of drag much more accessible. With the continued growth and adaptation of social media, drag has only become more accessible to so many people.
It’s interesting to think that there was once a time when, in order to see drag, you had to not only leave your house, but know of an LGBTQ-friendly bar that hosted it — and that’s if you even had one in your town. If you grew up in a more conservative or rural area, that might not have even been an option. Now, you can sit in the comfort of your living room and see videos of drag queens on your For You Page alongside “Get Ready with Me” videos and various edits of Vice President Kamala Harris to “…Ready for It?” by Taylor Swift.
Naturally, this accessibility is a bonus for young, hopeful queens who might not have had an outlet previously.
“Before, you had to get up, get out, and go to a bar, a club, or a brunch to see some drag,” said Pickles. “You had to physically go and see it. Now, you can stay in your bedroom and see drag [and do] drag, and a lot of people do, and it is a different experience. But it truly means that anybody from anywhere can participate in the art of drag and share it with the world. Which is really the way that it just kind of opens it up, which is so, so interesting. Honestly, it used to be like you had to go and find it, but now it almost feels like drag finds you.”
If I brought up nothing else in our conversation, I had to ask Pickles about what had to be one of the best moments of her year—opening for Chappell Roan in May. As a fellow card-carrying member of the Pink Pony Club, I was dying to ask how that felt and how exciting that must have been for her. Sweet Pickles is not only a big Chappell Roan fan but has been since before Roan’s career blew up this year, and she was only too happy to share the details with me.
“Back when she had maybe 50 or 60,000 followers [for her Naked in America tour], she put out a call for drag queens to open for her,” said Pickles. “It was kind of just like a ‘who got recommended to who’ kind of thing. I really wanted to do it, but I didn’t get chosen, and I was really bummed because not too many people knew who she was [at that time].
Fast forward a couple of months, and she’s getting a little bit bigger, and she embarks on her next tour, which is her Rise and Fall of the Midwest Princess tour. She has an application process for drag performers to come open for her at every tour stop. And I obviously applied for it. You really just have to link your socials, you have to send a couple of pictures of your best drag, you know, and you have to say if you’re comfortable hosting or not, you know. And then that’s kind of it.
So I did that, and then I forgot about it, and maybe a month later I get a DM from Chappell herself. At this time, she’s been growing, but not nearly to the point where she is now. And she sends a DM saying, ‘Hey, I love your drag. Would you wanna open for me in DC on October 20th?’ And of course, I’m like, ‘Yes, oh my God, 100%.’”
From there, not only did she host for Roan in DC, but she was naturally picked again from submissions to open for her at her Richmond date in May.
With such a great year already more than halfway through, I had to ask what’s next, in a perfect world, for the next five years for Pickles. On her radar? Hopefully working with Chappell Roan again (understandable), working with more pop girlies such as Kesha (who she has already worked with), and even releasing music of her own.
Follow Sweet Pickles at @bitethesepickles.
