What’s been your biggest fashion crime to date?
I’m from New Jersey so everything I have done has been a fashion crime. Everything that has been made fun of my whole life is now in vogue. My long acrylic nails that I’ve had since 1990 were made fun of; now everybody wants six-inch nails. I love being tacky. But again, now tacky is in vogue. I have made more fashion mistakes than anybody I know, and I will continue to do so because I’m just being me.
What book, film or album do you always return to and why?
Twilight and Showgirls. Showgirls for when I want to laugh – it’s one of my favourite movies. But Twilight, the first one, there’s just something about that movie. I also love High School Musical. I will always watch that over and over again.
What’s the oldest thing you own? And why do you still have it?
Probably my vagina, and because it’s attached to my body. But in material things – I probably have some makeup that’s 20 years old. And it hasn’t gone bad. My dermatologist has said “don’t use it” and I don’t listen. I definitely have perfumes that are 30 years old because they’re iconic and you can’t get them any more. I also collect a lot of really old eyewear from like the 40s and 50s – it’s my personal passion. I’m a bit of a hoarder when it comes to fashion.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
My mother wasn’t an advice-giving woman. She took the bull by the horns and was a mama bear and defended us and all that, when need be. But I think the strongest piece of advice she ever gave me, in passing, was to stand up for myself. And to never be afraid to stand up for myself. My mother wouldn’t let me sit silently. Speak up for yourself and never be afraid to speak up for people who can’t speak up for themselves.
What has been your most cringeworthy run-in with a celebrity?
This is so easy. Anybody who knows me knows that I’ve been obsessed with Sean Penn since I was a little girl, since pre-Madonna, before she started dating him and married him. I loved Bad Boys, which was one of his first movies, and Fast Times at Ridgemont High. I was obsessed.
I was working for VH1 as a red carpet host in 1996. And Sean Penn was at the hotel where I was working a premiere. So I go over to meet him and it just came out of my mouth: I told him, “People tell me I look like the kid that you and Madonna would have had.” And he looked at me like, “Oh.”
They had broken up. I had a crush on him and I’m telling him I look like his daughter! Ugh! So I just put my head down and walked away. It’s one of those moments that will live on rent-free forever in my mind. The time that I blew it with Sean Penn.
Do you believe in extraterrestrial life?
I do. No question. I think it’s pretty narcissistic for us to believe that we are the only ones out there.
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What’s your biggest beauty tip?
It sounds really boring but sunscreen and eight hours of sleep. It is super important and people take it for granted. Sunblock is your friend.
What is the ideal length of men’s shorts?
It depends on their legs. For the most part, it’s probably mid thigh. Although I do love a pum-pum short.
Who do you want to play you in the biopic about your life?
Miley Cyrus. Depends on what age you’re talking. Me in my 20s, I think Miley would be great. She’d be edgy enough, she’d embody me. I also think Julia Garner would be good.
If you had a sandwich named after you what would be inside it?
I’m coeliac so probably some kind of gluten-free bread, which I know some people will hate instantly. And some sort of vegetable concoction with cheese, pickles, lettuce and black bean. And sauces! I love saucy sandwiches. I love mustard. I would do an avocado mayo, or some kind of chipotle sauce. I like kick! I have also been turned on to chicken salt while in Australia. That is really something.
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Michelle Visage is taking over as host on Drag Race Down Under season four, slated to air globally later this year