Ginger Johnson reveals the winners of the Drag Race Yearbook

1 December 2023, 16:01

Ginger Johnson reveals the Drag Race Yearbook winners 📘✨ #shorts

By Woodrow Whyte

Fresh from winning Drag Race UK season 5, we speak to Ginger Johnson about her victory, what it takes to win the race, and why she wants to live to 250 years old. All that plus she reveals the winner's of PopBuzz's Drag Race Yearbook categories.

PopBuzz: So how are you feeling this morning, Ginger?

Ginger: Oh, absolutely on top of the world. I've had about two hours sleep but I feel like a brand new woman.

PB: You look very for two hours sleep.

Oh, it's a lot of makeup.

PB: Prior to watching the episode, did you feel like you were going to win? Where was your headspace at?

Absolutely not! Up until the moment my name was said [I didn’t believe it]. And even then, I thought they'd make a mistake. I was like, ‘Oh god, a producer's gonna come in and say, ‘Oh, sorry, everyone. We're just gonna put the right tape in. Give us a minute’. I've never won anything. I've never even won a raffle.

PB: Wow. Well, you’ve got that crown and sceptre now. How was it last night being surrounded by your sisters as you found out you’d won?

Oh, it was so emotional. It was so emotional. And, you know, I think we've all won this series. It was such a good series. Everyone had a great showing everyone made an impact. I think you can tell watching it the bond that we all have. I mean, Michael Marouli, Tomara Thomas & I have become really close, partly because we feel like we've known each other forever, even though we only met on the first day. We grew up within 20 miles of each other. But the first time we actually got to meet each other was in that big pink box at RuPaul’s summer camp for silly little girls. So yeah, it was wonderful.

PB: It was an amazing finale. I was really taken by what you said on the runway about how you had allowed yourself to “dare to dream” about winning. And now that you’ve made it on the show, you've got to find new dreams. I thought that was so beautifully put. Tell me a bit more about that feeling…

I think with my drag, I've never really competed much. I was gonna say I'm not a competitive person but anyone that's ever played Monopoly with me might say otherwise. But I've never really thought about my drag in that way before, partly because, you know, I am a bit of a weirdo. I do whatever I like. I'm always going to come from the side somewhere. I didn't know if Drag Race as institution was going to buy that off me. But I think they did!

PB: They wanted what you were selling.

No refunds!

PB: You also spoke about how being on the show was a dream you'd had for a long time. Had you then applied for previous seasons?

Yes, I had applied before. I actually started doing drag before Drag Race. Which is insane. Absolutely insane. But I remember so clearly watching that first series, when it came out, I was a student. We used to illegally watch it, by the way.

PB: Same.

Back then it seemed impossible that that would ever be me. But I'm such a huge fan of the show. You know, I just love drag and I love seeing queer people thriving and queer excellence. That is my jazz. That's the thing that I absolutely love. And that's what this show is about. And I think it's so important that queer people living their dreams are represented in the mainstream media. That's the biggest win of everything.

Drag Race UK's Ginger, Michael & Tomara React To Wildest Season 5 Moments | Drag Race Yearbook

PB: When you said you've got to find some new dreams now, do you have any idea? What are those new dreams?

Well, I've got note books full of them. There's gonna be no stopping me now. I’m going to need that guy…who's that guy that's slowly replacing all the cells in his body so he can live forever? Who's that weirdo? [Bryan Johnson] I’m going to need him because I'm gonna run out of time. I've got too many things to get done. You know, I'd like to live to 250 just so that I can get them all finished.

PB: I love that. I'm sure you've learned a lot through the process of the show. Let’s say you had a time machine, and you could go back and speak to Ginger just before she was about to leave for the show, what would you say to her?

Oh, buckle up. I kind of touched on it a couple of episodes ago. Charisma, uniqueness and talent: they're quite self-explanatory. But the nerve part of that is something that you cannot prepare yourself for. I think it's unique to the experience of being on Drag Race. And I've thought a lot about it since. Holding your nerve all comes down to trusting your instincts, knowing who you are, going with the gut. The second you start to second guess yourself, or think ‘what are other people thinking, what are they doing, how am I being perceived, what is this going to make people think of me?’ - which is the sort of anxious thinking that goes on in my mind all the time - the second you let that take over, your nerve is gone. You lose that connection with who you really are and that is what they want to see on the stage. So, I think the bit of advice I would give Ginger from 10 weeks ago, in TV land, I would say trust yourself. Just trust yourself. You've got it.

PB: That’s great advice. So, what are you most looking forward to about your reign?

Oh, well, I'm always looking forward to all of it, every single bit of it. I mean, I've got so many exciting things already coming: Angels of the North tour with Michael and Tomara, that went on sale today. That's going to be fabulous because we have a scream together, all the time. We just make each other laugh constantly. But before that, I've got a show at Soho theatre, Ginger All the Way!, that opens in 10 days, I suppose I better start thinking about that a little bit! And then after that, the world!

Watch all the queens from Drag Race UK season 5 on the Drag Race Yearbook here.