Jinkx Monsoon spills the tea on Paula Abdul, going back to Broadway, and hosting the 2024 Queerties Awards

Photo by Mettie Ostrowski.

Jinkx Monsoon can truly do it all. 

From winning RuPaul’s Drag Race (twice), to starring on Broadway in Chicago, to headlining at Carnegie Hall, the drag superstar is taking the world by storm. Her next stop? Hosting the 12th Annual Queerties Awards, happening live on March 12 in Hollywood.

Jinkx is no stranger to the Queerties. She’s won three of them herself — including the Badass Award in 2023 and both Drag Royalty and Lockdown LOL in 2021 — and this year, she’s nominated in the Live Theater category alongside BenDeLaCreme for their hit holiday tour, The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show. But she’s never been to the awards in person, a fact she tells INTO she can’t wait to change when she emcees the ceremony next month.

With only a few days left for the public to vote, we caught up with Jinkx one last time to learn what she’ll bring as a host, how she feels about her newly announced return to Chicago on Broadway, and one very special celebrity reunion she’ll be having at the Queerties.

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Check out the conversation with Jinkx below, and don’t miss your chance to vote for all your faves at the 2024 Queerties Awards, once a day, every day, between now and February 22!

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Hi, Jinkx! We couldn’t be more excited for you to host the 2024 Queerties on March 12. You’ve won a few Queerties yourself in past years — what do the Queerties mean to you?

You know, I always really enjoy having won an award after I win it, but I don’t really ever think about it beforehand. The one time I was up for an award and I really psyched myself up, it was so disappointing when I didn’t win that I was like, “I’ll never do that to myself again.” So now I just kind of keep my head out of awards ceremonies at all. 

That said, I happen to have three Queerties right behind me! And I really feel quite proud of them, because I love creating queer work for queer audiences. And if some straight people come and they enjoy it, and they learn something, great, but I’m creating my work for queer audiences. Even when I’m doing someone else’s work, I’m trying to bring queerness into it so queer audiences feel safe to be there with me. So to have an awards ceremony that’s just celebrating the people who made a big splash this year, and helped us all feel excited and happy and proud to be queer, that’s awesome to me.

What excites you most about hosting?

I’ll have a front row seat to that moment where the winners are like, “Wow, queer people love me!” There’s no greater feeling in the world. 

When I was doing Chicago, my co-stars were saying, “We’ve never had audiences like this where they’re loud and responsive. They just are overflowing with joy and they bring it for every performer, not just one.” And I was like, this is my audience. This is what DeLa and I are used to when we take a show on the road.

Drag queens are used to audiences being crazed, because we bring it, so they bring it. So I’m excited for anyone who doesn’t work in live entertainment in this awards ceremony to feel what it is to have a whole audience full of supportive people. It’s amazing.

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What can viewers expect from you as a host? Are there any famous hosts that you might take inspiration from?

I’d look up that clip of Elizabeth Taylor on some kind of distant planet mentally giving the award for Best Picture at the Golden Globes. I aspire to be that. 

No — I’ll be like me. Actually before Drag Race, what I did the most was host drag shows. I liked being the one with the mic, because improvisation is one of my favorite things to do. So even though I’m sure I’ll go in with a script, and I’ll have some jokes locked and loaded, and I’ll have the things I have to do as the host, what I’m most excited about is just seeing what the f*ck happens when I get up there. Like, that’s half the fun!

Living legend Paula Abdul will also be there to accept the Straight Up Ally Award —

I know! Okay, so I’m so excited, but I’m also so nervous because the first time I met Paula Abdul was at Sydney Mardi Gras. And that was … well, I didn’t know I met her! I didn’t know for years.

How long ago was that?

Oh, wow, that was the year I won Drag Race, so 2013. 11 years ago, I met Paula Abdul for the first time at a big party, but I didn’t know that I met her until just about two years ago when a friend told me, “You know, you met Paula Adbul that night.” And I don’t need to tell you about the state of mind I was in, but the point is, it went completely over my head.

So bearing that in mind, are you excited to see her at the ceremony?

Hell yeah. I’m five years sober from alcohol. Let’s do this. [laughs] No, truly, actually. Because, I mean, think about someone that just gives you that warm, taken-care-of feeling more than Paula Abdul. That’s what she became known for: someone who helps you feel comfortable and safe. So as someone who grew up watching her be the one person who cared about these people having their hearts broken for everyone to see, I’m excited to see her receive the award.

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Voting for the Queerties closes this Thursday, February 22. Why should folks continue to vote every day until voting closes?

Because this is a time where we need to celebrate one another. DeLa said this at the end of The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show — I promise, this isn’t a ploy to get final votes, but if you saw it, if you were one of the thousands of people who saw it, hundreds of thousands — anyway!

DeLa would say that there is so much in the world that is about creating division and pitting one another against each other. Our whole world is at odds right now, and it’s terrifying. The last thing we need to do is foster that kind of energy within our community. The queer community includes members of a lot of communities, and that means we need to show up for one another and be an ally to one another. That means getting ready to take care of each other in what feels like an all out battle for our rights to exist.

It was also just announced that you’re returning to Broadway this summer, reprising your role in Chicago! How do you feel about returning to the show?

I’m really, really excited first and foremost, because it was such a profound, affirming experience the first time. And candidly, in Seattle, I played Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch the year that it was announced that I was going to be on Drag Race. And then a year later, after I had won and gone through the gauntlet a little bit, I played the role again, and it was astonishing how much you can learn about yourself in a year. If you apply that to the character that you’re already familiar with, starting from an already developed place means you can take it even further. So, I mean, we’ll see. We’ll see! But I’m excited to see if some new moments come out of this and excited to wear the suit and wig again — I mean, she’s freaking gorgeous.

So true. Is there anything else you’d like to say to your fans?

I just want to say, a big part of why I got to experience the last couple years that I’ve had, is because of the audiences showing up for me. I think during the pandemic, we realized how important that relationship between audience and entertainer is. And I’ve seen my audiences really show up, and I just want them to know how appreciative I am. 

What happens is, if live entertainment doesn’t get shown up for, it’s gonna go away — and if you’ve experienced that special magic that happens at a live show, then you know that we can’t let it go away. I love that this is an awards ceremony, but it’s also another moment to be in front of an audience and get to share that experience and share that gratitude.

See Jinkx host the 2024 Queerties awards on March 12, and cast your votes now for the 2024 Queerties Awards, once every day until February 22!

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This interview has been edited for length and clarity.