Drag Race UK's Joe Black sold his runway gowns before his return: "I needed the money to live" | PopBuzz Meets
12 February 2021, 12:20
Drag Race UK's Joe Black reveals he had to sell his runway looks to make money during lockdown | PopBuzz Meets
In an interview with PopBuzz, Joe Black talks about he was forced to sell his Drag Race outfits because he needed the money to live during the show's coronavirus break.
Drag Race UK's Joe Black has revealed that he was forced to sell outfits he intended to use on the show because he was running out of money due to the coronavirus lockdown.
SPOILER WARNING: Do not read any further if you have not seen last night's episode of Drag Race UK
RuPaul delivered another gag-worthy episode last night, as it was revealed Veronica Green wouldn't be returning to the competition because she had contracted coronavirus, just as the cast and crew were returning to film the rest of the season after a 7-month break. The show halted production in March 2020, just as the first wave of coronavirus swept through the UK and a nationwide lockdown was enforced.
The rest of the queens were then asked to choose which queen should come back, with Joe Black, Cherry Valentine and Asttina Mandela pleading their case in the werkroom. Joe was eventually picked to come back, but after a disappointing performance in the main challenge, where RuPaul ripped into Joe for wearing a H&M dress, and was subsequently placed in the bottom two and eliminated after losing the lip sync to Tia Kofi.
WATCH: Joe Black reveals his original hometown runway idea was blocked by drag Race UK producers
Speaking to PopBuzz this morning (Feb 12), Joe revealed he only found out that he might return to the competition three weeks before filming resumed. However, due to the lack of gigs - because most bars and nightclubs were shut down - Joe had been forced to sell many outfits he had prepared for the show, assuming he wouldn't need them anymore.
"Everyone was trying to make money where they could," Joe said. "I was doing online shows and stuff. And then I actually sold quite a lot of my stuff, so there were some runways and things and I was like 'Oh, I don't own those costumes anymore.'"
"So I spent the three weeks gathering back up the ones I had gotten rid of. I had sold them because I needed the money to live...so not only did I need to find the money, but I also needed to get the costumes again."
READ MORE: Ginny Lemon's exit from Drag Race UK becomes a hilarious meme
RuPaul's remarks about the H&M dress were deemed by some as insensitive. RuPaul argued that the girls should have been fully prepared and improved their outfits before returning to the show. However, many feel that the reality of coronavirus made that difficult. Most could not perform live, and therefore were not in the financial position to buy new outfits or materials to make them.
Joe added: "I was really worried people would be like, 'well you had seven months, you must have known' but I didn't know. I really didn't know! As far as I was concerned it was done."
Catch our full interview with Joe Black and Veronica Green tomorrow on our YouTube channel - hit the subscribe button to be the first to watch.
