Story Time With Nina West

Living our best Pride Month as Jonathan and Jaymes are joined by Drag Queen, Actor, Author and Activist Nina West. She shares how Drag Race changed her life, the unbelievable call that led to her starring role in Hairspray, her new Dolly Parton approved children’s book about kindness and so much more. Plus Jonathan’s embarrassing broadway celeb stories.Go big, be kind, be you. This is Pridecast. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
This is Pridecast with Jonathan Bennett and James v on
I Heart Radio. Hey, it's Jonathan Bennett and this is
I Heart Radio's Pridecast, your weekly dose of love, laughter,
and hopefully a little bit of inspiration and a reminder
to be proud of who you are. Welcome to Pridecast, everybody.

(00:24):
I'm joined with my husband who is in Virginia right now.
James Vaughan, Hi, baby, and I miss you Virginia. Oh baby,
I miss you too. It is your Virginia ing. You
went home because mom got the VID and so James
had to go home and visit vid mom. So we're
taking care of mama. We got we got her on
the men. Had to give my brothers a little bit

(00:45):
of a break, and uh, we're doing it. So I'm here,
You're there, and I'm we're here. We're queer. Get used
to it, the queerest. But baby, I'm excited, all right.
So maybe I'm not excited for me for this topic.
I'm excited for you for this topic. Be on it.
When you're married to somebody, you know their excitement means
the most of you. Right. So today we have on

(01:08):
the show Nino West, who's starring in Hair Spray on
tour right now, and that allows us to talk about
my husband's favorite topic in the entire world to start
this show off, and that is musicals. We're talking about
music calls. It's the best episode ever. It's musicals. My

(01:29):
baby loves anything with the song, anything where they're explaining
to you what is going on through music. Okay, First
of all, for the record, when I first met James,
he wasn't a musical theater fan. He like tolerated them
and sang them and like knew them, but he wasn't
into them. So I really was. It was a test
of love when I took him to see our first

(01:51):
musical direct first musical together. Babe. You remember the first
musical we talked together was oh wait, you took me
to see something right, Yes, and that wasn't rotten. That
was a good one to pull me into the musical
world on because it's funny. It's a comedy musical and
there's a son of a music Yeah, if there's a

(02:12):
song in it about making fun of musicals, so I
thought you would like that. Also, it's one of the
best shows ever ever written. Some of the best songs
Raymond Raymond's with us, are in studio producer? Are our
gen Z leaning fabulous love bucket? Raymond Raymond? Are you
a musical fan? Is this a gen Z thing? Is

(02:40):
it because I'm old and that gen Z ears don't
like musicals? No? I think that, Like I'm like young
enough where it's like you weren't closeted gay into theater.
You could just do a bunch of other stuff. You were, Like,
You're like, I didn't do musicals. I did TikTok. I
think TikTok. I mean I was definitely like I had
a my space for like a second, you know, not yeah,

(03:04):
Like no, but that that's what Raymond said right there,
Like that's such a good point, Like theater was outlet
for us. Like, yes, baby, as much as I was
not a musical gay, I did the musicals in high
school because it was a space where you could go
and be loud and be boisterous and be the most
and and perform and and get to be as much
of yourself as you you could or felt safe to

(03:25):
in that moment in time. So I think that doesn't
maybe speak to why the gaze of a certain age
love of musical so much because it was a place
where we could go, like did I really want to
be in Guys and Dolls? And I really want to
be in anything goes no, But I think you wanted
to be Hey, hey, I'll take it. They're always got
to go. I need I'm just it's but it is.

(03:52):
Musical theater. In high school, theater was your safe place.
It was the place you would walk into and you
would be celebrated for being different when everyone else would
would just not to no pun intended, but would rain
on your parade. When everyone else would rain on your
parade as you were going through your daily high school
activities and tell you how awful you are or make

(04:13):
you feel insecure. The musical theater room and like the auditorium,
was the place that you would be celebrated. You would
literally stand on stage and people would clap for you
because of your queerness and your weirdness. And so it's
definitely where I fell in love with musical theater. I
think I've been in probably like thirty two musicals in
my life, like through high school and through everything. Like

(04:35):
I it is my favorite thing in the world. It's
actually funny because most people say, like, what do you
watch What do you watch on Netflix? What are you
watch on Amazon? And James will tell you I don't.
I only watch YouTube videos of musicals. And people think
that's like I'm being funny, Like that's a joke. No,
it's true. Like if you look at my Netflix account,
like I don't watch anything except Ozark with James or

(04:58):
True Crime every thing else. I'm watching YouTube musicals because
it's just a place to escape, and there's so many
it just takes you to another world. You just get
to sit there and like fall in love with these
songs and these I love it. I can talk to
musicals all day long. I came to the bedroom a
couple weeks ago and Jonathan is watching a video of
all the girls from Wicked singing the high note in

(05:20):
a row. It's called Row five minutes segment of just
the same thing, and he's loving it. He's like all
climbing all over the bed, eating espinosa. Jackie burns. Uh,
I'm forgetting a couple that I love, so don't hate me.
But there's a lot of them that are my favorites. Uh.

(05:42):
And it is one of my favorite things to do
listen to people sing musicals. I could listen to Derek
Kleiner or Aaron Tobate sing anything for days. That's all
I do. Baby, Let's back to real quick. Why don't
you tell everybody how many times you have seen? I've
seen times. Two of those times I saw, and I

(06:06):
will sing every song to every lyric, to every word.
I know everything about every Jerry Mitchell show ever made
in the history of life. I know every word to
every song, I know all the choreography. I've memorized it.
I know everything. I am like what Star Trek people
are too, like like in Star Wars, like the fans
that are like the Trek ease and like that. I'm
that two musicals, like I'm that weird of a nerd.

(06:28):
Here's my story of the time I broke out in
hives when I met Eaton Espinosa and Megan Hilty backstage
at Wicked at the Pentageous Picture It Hollywood two thousand,
let's say two thousand ten, whatever somewhere around there. I was.
I was. I went with my friend Robbie to see

(06:49):
Wicked and we were and I'm sorry. I went my
friend Ali to see Wicked and it was Eating Espinosa
and Megan Hilthy and I got to go backstage and
there because I had a friend in the show, and
she was like, do want to come backstage and meet
everyone after the show? I said, of course, Well I'm
sitting there. Megan Hilty comes up to me and it's like,
oh my gosh, I'm a huge fan. We watched Mean

(07:09):
Girls every time. We're getting ready, to which I replied,
you know who I am, and I started crying. And
then and she was Glenda. And then eat Enough Espinosa,
who played Alphaba, came walking out and started talking to
me and I said to my friend Ali, we have
to leave, and she said why And if you looked
on my neck, I was breaking out into hives because

(07:32):
I was so excited to meet eat An Espinosa because
she was my favorite that like I couldn't even speak.
And then she invited me to her birthday party and
I lost it and I was like, sure, yeah, I'd
like to come. Like I was so awkward and so
stupid and I had hives on my neck and it
was just so I was just such an idiot, like
such a loser. And then and then cut to like

(07:52):
I go to her birthday party and become friends with her.
Cut to like a year later where at pilot auditions
and eat An espa knows A comes walking out of
a pilot audition and I was supposed to be next
on the list to go in and I saw her
come out and I was like, oh my gosh, hi
and the casting director was like, Okay, Jonathan, you're next,
and I was like, no, you have to put someone

(08:13):
in between us. She's like what. I was like, let
that guy go. They're like, why I go? Because whatever
Eaton Espinosa did in that room, I'm not gonna come
close to doing in that room. And I don't want
to be the one that has to follow whatever eating
Espinosa just did. And they're like are you serious? And
like yes, and so they put someone else in the room.
And then I went after the next guy. So I
can vouse for how stupid you are when you meet

(08:34):
musical theater people. So we went to go Seela Rouge
on Broadway and Aaron ty I came to talk about it.
I can't you can't talk. I'm starting to sweat right now.
Look just talking about Aaron Tabate on Broadway, I have
sweat stains coming from. So when all the like thirty
year old women do when they meet Jonathan. That's what

(08:58):
he did when he met Aaron. To Vate comes out.
We wait after the show and like world stage reading
from to come out, and like Max Katon comes out
and the guys going from the cast and we're like, hey,
what's up, just just chilling, we're wrapping, having a good time, right,
Aaron comes out. Jonathan starts tugging on the bottom of
his shirt like a toddler and then like pulling it
up and out in front of him, like just stretching

(09:19):
his shirt out and and like moving in this like weird,
strange circle, and Erin's like, um, high, nice to meet you,
just like it was ridiculous. I've never seen my baby
do this in his entire life. It was the funniest
thing I have ever seen. And I was like, baby,

(09:40):
you literally did what all the mean girls fans due
to you. And it was hilarious because he's my number
one favorite and he just left Ulan Rouge my eighth.
But that's a whole another story. I can't wait to
see Derek Cleaner in it, because Derrik Cleaner is also
equally amazing, just different. Erron div err In debates voice
I think is a different tone, but I like both equally. However,
that's not the point. The point is what about the

(10:00):
time I met Kala Settle from the Greatest Showman at
the Hollywood Bowl. Okay, picture, so we go to see
anywhere that's the Hollywood Bowl. This is another final embarrassing story.
Jonathan took me to see Annie, which is a true
testament of love because like Annie at the Hollywood Growth,
it was amazing. It's amazing. So we go there and
then I see Kala Settle, who's from this is from

(10:21):
The Greatest Showman, The Bearded Lady, and she's she sings
this is Me the song, which is my favorite new
favorite musical song. And I see her and she's with
some people I know, and I walk up to her
and I start shaking, and I just go, you had
you had lapped for about ten minutes. I say something?
Do I say something? And then there's the way if

(10:43):
you're like an actor and you're working in the industry
and like people know you, you kind of have this
like unspoken thing where you're like, oh, I can kind
of walk up to anyone and be like hey, and
they're gonna be like oh hey, and you kind of
like know each other a little bit, but you don't,
and it's like this thing, so we chose the most inopportune. Okay.
So she's with a group of people like kind of
know and I walk up and I'm like, hey, guys,

(11:05):
say what's going on? And really it's just so I
can say hello to her, and until she has finally
started to put her hair. Okay, so she starts to
put her hair up likes. She goes to put her
hair up in a ponytail, and as she do it
does it I just put my hand out in her
face and go Hi, I'm Jonathan, and I hold my

(11:26):
hand out there. And as she does it, she has
her ticket in her mouth because she's using both hands
to put up her ponytail. And I have realized, oh
my god, she's fixing her hair and it's going to
take a second, but the tickets in her mouth so
she can't really respond. And I'm just sitting there with
my hand in her face. And so what do I do.
I don't remove my hand. I just freeze and keep

(11:48):
my hand in her face, just holding it out awkward,
locked arms, straight arm out, just locked hand, waiting for
her to finish, and she's just got these eyes looking
at me, like, who are you crazy person? And I
don't move and I just hold it there, and finally
she gets done putting her hair up, takes her ticket
out of her mouth and she goes, hi yo, and
I'm like, Hi, nice to meet you. And she's like,

(12:11):
nice to meet you two, and like, can I get
a picture? She's like sure, we take the photo. And
I scurry off like a mean Girls fan. I'm just
so awkward around people that they're new musicals because I
think they are the epitome of talent. Like I get
we do in movie making, we do hard work and
we're on stage and or we're in movies and we're

(12:31):
on sets and their twelve hour days and fifteen hour
days and it's exhausting. But at the end of the day,
what we do is nowhere near what these people do
seven eight nights a week, live like it's just a
different muscle and it's so impressive to me. And with
that being said, let's bring on our guest today, who

(12:52):
is in the national tour of Hair Spray with Jerry Mitchell.
Thank you, the one and only Nina West. We'll be
right back with her. Everybody. It's a huge day on

(13:12):
Pridecast because we are joined by one of my favorite
queens of all time and by one of my favorite
leads of a musical of one of my favorite musicals
of all time. This is why I woke up today.
I don't know if it gets any better, but this
is this isn't right Here. We are joined by the
one and only Nina West a k a. Andrew Levitt, Andrew,

(13:37):
Nina Fabulous, Welcome to the show. Hi, guys, I'm so
excited to be here. Thanks for having me. Oh my gosh, Like,
there's so much I want to talk to you about,
because we're friends, and we went, we were we're we're
good friends. We've hung out a bunch and the more
the more I hang out with you, the more in
love with you I fall because you just are doing

(13:59):
the work and you're due in the deal and you're
the real deal and you're just There's so many things
I want to talk about. But first of all, you're
just got off of tour. You're on a hiatus right
from from the spray. Yes, around a week break. It's
a layoff before we jump back and finish our final
five weeks of tour with the show before we take
a full break and then go into our second year

(14:19):
of touring. Oh my gosh, So where where did you
just come from? What was your last stop? Philadelphia, the
city of brother We love? Helerb, helerb. It was fantastic.
If you guys ever been I've been to Philly once.
I saw like, isn't there a Liberty bell there or
something somewhere else? What is that? Not? Where it is?

(14:42):
That's where it is. So it's Independence Hall. There's a
bell with a crack in it. There's never been a
more Jonathan Bennett comment in your life. The major historical location.
Wanted to take a selfie? You know, yes, I do you?
You know what? You know? Your audience? Who you are?
So so okay walk walk us through it. We talked

(15:05):
about this after we saw you in hair Spray. We
we went and saw you in Palm Springs and it
was so epic. Wait where do we have? Where did
we have this conversation at afterwards? Where did we go?
You guys, these three butch queens that we are. We
went to Yardhouse. There's hockey on the screens. I felt
right at home. Hang with my bros. Just eating chicken

(15:30):
wings with her hands and dirty. We did that. We
we had then James, you're trying to be good. I
was like, fine, I'll eat it, Like, give me the pretzel.
I was a car. It's but um, so you get

(15:52):
the call from Jerry Mitchell to be in like the
national tour of Hair Spray playing a role that you know,
divine played. Yeah, like what goes through your head? Just
walk us through what that Paul is like, and like
I just tell the story because it was so good. Yeah,

(16:13):
you know, I was. So, I was on tour. I
was in Indianapolis, and I was doing tour post my
season of Drag Race season eleven, which feels like forever
ago now that we're in like we're going into season
it's I know, another Broadway reference. Thank you go on.

(16:34):
So I was on tour, I was in Indianapolis, um,
And so it all kind of fits together with the
fact that on my season for Snatch Game, I did
Harvey fire Steam is one of my two characters. UM
and Jerry Mitchell happened to be watching that season and
happened to be watching Snatch Game and slip into my
d M and said, wow, Harvey would be so proud.

(16:55):
Harvey would love this. So Harvey saw in Harvard in fact,
made some kind of really funny joke and and that's
all I heard from Jerry. And then fast forward to
August and I was in Indianapolis on tour and I
got a phone call from a New York area code
and I thought it was my agent calling me about
not booking a job. You didn't book that, so but

(17:19):
you can have a podcast, thanks, guys. Cool, that's my life.
So I answered the phone. It's Jerry Mitchell and he says,
Nina West, It's Broadways Jerry Mitchell. As if I didn't
know who it was anyway, I mean like you just
had to say Jerry. You could have said Jerry and
I would have been like Jerry Mitchell. Um, he says Broadways,

(17:40):
Jerry Mitchell. And I just want you know I had
a dream last night about you. And I was like, okay,
we'ere is this conversation going? And he said, you know,
you had a dream that you have to be Edna
nice and nice. I'm just like, I'm sorry what And
he was I can't He said, I don't know what
it means. More on it I'll be in touch, and
I don't hear from him for months. Months go by,

(18:03):
in August, n then a full circle comes. I sent
him an email like October. I was like, hey, thanks
to that, thanks for such a great phone call. It's
in checking in, you know, it's gonna make sure everything
was okay. Then yeah that, I hear from him in
December and he goes, hey, okay, here's the deal. We're
going to be reviving Hairspray on a national tour for
its twenty anniversary, and we want you to be Edna.

(18:25):
There's a couple of things we have to have you do,
but everybody's interested in you being Edna. And I was like, what,
I'm sorry, so mean yeah, so I mean the initial
phone call when I got to call in August, when
he says I can't talk about it right now, I'll
be in touch. I hung up the phone and I
started crying, and I was like, this is this is this,
this is how it happens, this is the thing they
talk about. Yeah, this is this the way to the

(18:48):
Great Broadway. Yeah. I didn't know how it worked, and
so that so my initial reaction was like just I
think I was just in shock. I was in pure
shocked that this Broadway legend is calling me about this
iconic role. And the process was really quite simple. I
flew to New York in January and I met Jerry

(19:09):
and Jack O'Brien, who was a very iconic legendary theater
director who's directed everything from the Full Monty to Shakespeare.
He's a huge catalog of Shakespeare. He was he was
the artist director at the Globe in San Diego. I mean,
he is just iconic. And he directed the original company
of Hair Spray on Broadway, and um I met them

(19:31):
for dinner and I remember going into the restaurant in
on restaurant Row in New York City and I was
walked into the restaurant and there sat Jack and Jerry
and Jaco that come up went. Then I sat down
in the boost and Jack obrien looks at he goes,
all right, what else? Okay, what are we having for dinner?
And I was like, look at Jerry, and I was

(19:52):
kind of like, is this it? Is? This it? And
Jerry goes, we's ordered. And it turns out, I mean,
like some people who are listening, don't think it was
just given to me. I had to go in and
I had a new work session with like Mark Shalman
and no big deal, I mean like Jerry and Jack
and the entire creative team who put Hairsprand Broadway originally

(20:14):
two thous and two. And so I went and I
did a work session with them for about an hour,
and I walked away, and I was walking down the
street my phone rang. It was it was my agent
this time, and my agent said, congratulations, You're going to
be going on tour. And that's I mean, that's that's
the story. And but you, I mean you you asked
the question. Is it? The biggest thing that I think

(20:35):
I'm still trying to wrap my head around nine like
eight months later, and after we've opened the show and
toured around the country, is like I've a friend. I've
become friends with Harvey Fierstein, who is an idol of
mine and who is someone who I really love and
really respect. To originate the role on Broadway. In Philadelphia
not five days ago, we had original company casts members
of the original John Waters movie in attendance who met

(20:58):
us afterwards to talk about Divine, who they called Divvy,
who I've never you know, they called Divine Divvy. That
was his nickname to them, and they're sharing stories and
relating these really wonderfully powerful, trashy, fabulous John Waters isms
to us as a company, and the whole thing still
feels really very surreal, and I feel really grateful that

(21:19):
I get to be the one who is walking in
this right now. You know, like it's pretty fantastic. And
I didn't. I always wanted this, and I didn't see it,
And I mean I visualized it, right, I think, like
I think we've talked about this, the power of like
visualizing and speaking into existence the things that you want.
Somehow this I wanted this, but I didn't necessarily think

(21:40):
this was on my path. And here we are. I mean,
I have chills, I have tears, tears, tears, honey, and
it's it's it's just because I know, like I get it.
Like I you're from Ohio. I'm from Ohio. We were
those theater queens in high school that like, like, I

(22:01):
know what your Saturday nights were like. Your Saturday nights
weren't out at the games. Saturday nights were like with
you and your hags in your basement, listening, putting on
you know whatever, singing rent and pretending to be Angel
and like whatever it was like or watching The Crow
and having all these emo feelings and then listenings for
Rent and going, yeah, so they get me, they get me,

(22:24):
they understand like that was my weekend. You understood, Yeah,
you get me. Yeah, that's like that's what we did,
and like and like tonya word Knight forget it, like
it was like everything and so like to be that
that kid in school and then to just go on
drag Race and then have Jerry Mitchell call you and

(22:44):
say that like there's two things I understand, like don't
understand in the world. I don't understand how airplanes fly.
And I mean, I they tell me, but I don't
get it. I understand, but I don't. And then this
conversation right here like I understand what you're saying, but
I don't get it, Like I'll never get it because
it's just so freaking surreal and awesome and I'm just

(23:06):
it's it's just so entrolling and like, but then you
get you you have this phone call that happens where
it's like is this how it happens? You just get
a call from a Broadway producer and next thing you know,
you're edding a turn black, like you get that phone call.
But then you go to something like Drag Race season eleven,
which you were on and you know you originally like
tried out for like what nine times. Yeah, so it's

(23:28):
just like such a yang and yang of how you know,
like how the businesses and how the world works. So
you audition nine times to be on Rue Paul's and
finally made it season eleven. What was it like going
back every time for those auditions? You know, well, I
mean every as we can ever take. Yeah, as we
know this now. Every season, the momentum just kept building.

(23:49):
Everything felt more, It felt more important for me to
keep auditioning because you know, I just I was I
was inquired about for season one and no one knew
what this group paup ject was. Ha ha, look at
us now, you know, so that they had inquired about
me and see someone and I was like, I can't.
I was a national title. I was reading I had

(24:10):
won a pageant, a national pagem. Sorry I'm doing a
pageant And no I didn't know. I mean, I'm sorry,
I'm sure I'm doing Who hit Nelly with a flounder
in Wichita? It's opening night? Can't be there. Sorry, I've
never been, but we're going UM on the national tour
of Hairspray. For tickets, go to Hairspray dot com. Um No,

(24:33):
But like every season, it became more important, I think,
and I think, I mean, I'm there's so many different
things I want to say. Drag Race became and has
become this thing with which people like me UM can
really get exposure around the world for something that we
do and something that we love so much. But otherwise

(24:54):
UM would often be relegated, I think, to bars and
to nightclubs, and and that's where I kept, like I did.
I've done work in bars and nightclubs for seventeen years
prior to my ever being on drag Race and UM.
And so I think that the show is so powerful
that it has absolute for me specifically. I can't speak
for anyone else's experience has changed my life drastically, you know. Like, so,

(25:17):
I'm glad I auditioned all those nine times, and I'm
glad I got on when I did. I was on
the season the last season before the pandemic, and so
I got to travel the world like two and a
half times over before and I'm in a nine month
period before COVID hit, and so in season twelve and
thirteen haven't had that experience yet in season fourteen is

(25:38):
getting that experience, you know. So it's like everything happens
for a reason, and my time was when it was
and hopefully I'll get to go back and experience that
magic again. But um, all I know is I'm eternally grateful.
And I tried to say this every time I talked
about a new project or something I wouldn't be I
wouldn't have happened without for Paul, and it would have
happened without the casting, producers and directors. It wouldn't have

(26:00):
Like you know, Hairspray came from this, and the book
came from this, And I mean, all these wonderful opportunities
and things that I've done have come from this. And
I know that, and I am very grateful. I love
that about you because you I think we share the
same quality there, and I think it's such an important quality,
like with mean girls, like I know my whole life
is dedicated to Tina fe and Lauren Michaels, Like I

(26:22):
owe them every single job, I get, everything I do,
it's because of them, And because then believing in me
and get taking a chance on me that opened up
every single door. So I get that. And when I
think it's so funny is like some people, as they
get success and it grows, they want to shy away
from like the thing that made them, and I just
think it's so rude. I'm like, guys, you wouldn't be

(26:43):
here without that. Like that's why, Like I whenever there's
like a Mean Girls reference or people want to do
something Mean Girls related, I always lean into it because
I'm like, of course, like you, this makes so many
people happy, and this is what started my career. Like
anytime someone wants me to say it your hair looks sexy,
put back, or like, ask me what day it is,
like I will tell them in October three. Because you

(27:04):
gotta just pay the respect, like gotta pay the piper,
you know. And I think you do that with ru
Paul always like, you know, blowing up how great the
show was and how how much it did for you.
And I think that's so important. And I think that's
really respectful, respectful and a very good quality for someone
to have in the business. So good job on that,
thank you well. And it's nuts too. I think if
you look at the universe so like we went and

(27:26):
saw you in hair Spray, and it is an absolute
no brainer that you would be in that role in
that capacity like you so absolutely fantastic. I mean the
number the whenever you guys do where you get the
standing ovation in the middle of the show every time,
I mean, come on, it's called timeless. Okay, it's timeless
to me, not a musical person, but I just remember

(27:46):
that number and being like, well, damn, this is real good.
But but you look at like like you should have
been holess to me with Nina West on Broadway or
the National Tour Broadway Tour, and you're like the song
where they get this an e ovation, it's timeless, James,
it is timeless to me, and it's one of the
best songs. My point is that you should have been

(28:09):
in this role, like you always should have been in
this role, And it's just so crazy sometimes the road
that the universe will take you want to get there
because it's such a no brainer. But had you not
Harvey Firestein during snatch Game on Drag Race, which you
auditioned for nine times, you might have never been exactly
where you were supposed to be everything so nuts. I
really believe it, James. Everything does happen for a reason,

(28:30):
even when it feels like the world is ending and
it's been I've been there. I mean, there was a
there was a time when I auditioned for Drag Race
and I think it was like season eight, and I
don't know if I've ever shared the story, because it
was like season eight and I didn't and I was
kind of being held on the line and They're like, Oh,
don't worry, we're going to get back to you. And
then it found out like they were already all the
girls were gone already and they were a weak filming

(28:51):
and I was like why. So I was kind of like, well,
why is that happening? Why are they kind of keeping
me on the line? And then I didn't addition for
season Like I took nine off from the audition and
I was like, I'm not going to do this, don't
And then everything just happens for a reason, Like everything happens.
I truly believe that. I truly truly believe that. So
we remat you on the Bob the Drag Queen season.

(29:13):
Oh my, that was season eight. That was season That
was season eight and I'm glad I wasn't on that season.
Bob was like, Hi, welcome to my show everything. Thank you. Yeah,
I know Kitten with a Whimple. Well, I wasn't gonna
that's the first track gate by the way, with a whip.
Oh fun facts here on preadcast. Oh alright, guys, I

(29:40):
hate to interrupt you, but I think it's time for
this week and gay history. Oh it sure is. But baby,
I need the fancy introduction so I can do it.
Please take it away. Every week we like to celebrate
something in gay history because in order for us to
move forward, we always have to remember where we came from. So, James,
what happened this week in gay history? I think it's

(30:01):
important to do some stuff that's not so long ago,
to remind everybody that our rights and our privileges are
very new and we have to continue fighting for them.
So this week in gay History. In the year, Secretary
of Defense Ash Carter announced that the military Equal Opportunity
Policy had finally been adjusted to include gay and lesbian

(30:26):
military members. So, just back in the equal Opportunity Policy
did not include our l g B t Q plus family,
but now it does. That is progress, and that is
this Week in gay History. I want to talk about

(30:51):
why you are so different than all the other queens,
and I think it's so important because it's not your shoulders,
it's I did watch a second episode of All Stars
with the Vivians Red Solder up and I was like,
I'm surprised I've heard any references yet it's called out.

(31:12):
I'm just so surprised. I'm like waiting for it. But
when you you have a book coming out in October
called The You Kind Of Kind It's a children's book,
and that I want to talk about the book, but
I also want to talk about why you're able to
do these books and why you're so special in the
drag community because the drag community has so many colors
to it. It's such an eclectic group of people, and

(31:34):
the content that has shared is very eclectic. And what
you do that's different than I'd say any other queen.
I've never met another one like you. Is that your
your family friendly and you I never see you throwing
shade at anyone, even if it isn't a roast or
in a you know, the library is open type of situation.

(31:58):
You handle your drag and approach your drag with a
certain positivity and a certain uh almost childlike wonder for
for for almost to inspire kids. And I think that
is so important, Like was this a conscious decision you
made when you you went on the show or because
I see you you know you're doing like the aquarium

(32:18):
in Columbus, You're doing you know, there's so many things
you do that are kid based. And I noticed that
in your drag, you don't you don't cuss, you don't,
you don't make, for instance, that much like it's a
different type of drag, And I think it's so special
and interesting. I think that, Yeah, I think I make uh.
I think that I make conscious choices and decisions based

(32:39):
on the audience that is buying a ticket. So if
I know that I am doing an Eating and Over show,
the content is going to be different than uh say,
a family event at um a library, right. And I
think that they're I think that they're like like we
allow like drag is under a very specific and kind

(33:00):
of uh I think, a very self determining microscope by
the by the viewer, and that that says that you know,
queens are x y or Z and I have had
a very long career that I have done very adult
material I used in a lot of a lot of
my shows and a lot of my I have used
and have used adult language. Um Like, So I don't

(33:23):
think that it is ah, I'm not like, I'm not.
I don't think I am disneyfying drag. I think that
I am. I think I am. I am providing content
and entertainment based on the audience that is requesting it.
And I think that I've been very decisive and how
I do that, and I think that that's you know,
I think people, I mean people hold me to There

(33:43):
are some people within the lgbt Q I plus community
who don't agree with what I'm doing, and I they
think that I am, again, like I said, using the
term disney fying drag, trying to make drag clean and
palatable for everyone. And actually I kind of I think
it's an interesting conversation in that we have in this
in our and let's say the last seven years where
we have had marriage quality uh and and kind of

(34:06):
a watershed of of rights given to us, and now
we face like we sive these rights potentially and being
pulled away from us. UM. I know that I have
queer friends who are coupled, who are not coupled, single parents, parents,
queer parents, parents of lgbt q I A plus children
who are identifying younger and younger, who are looking for

(34:27):
and craving content that is representative of their community that
is not necessarily UM. It's also it goes hand in
hand with blues clues, or it goes hand in hand
with um drag race in a sense, right, And so
I'm trying to so I'm trying to fill that gap
and provide that kind of content that I also love

(34:48):
UM consuming myself, you know, like I am a I
am a self proclaimed Disney nerd. I love you know
what I mean. I love I love working with that company.
I am proud to say that I have been working
with company on how to have conversations surrounding the issues
that are important to lgbt q I plus cast members
and their fans. UM after the after the colossal uh

(35:12):
failure of the don't state gay bill in Florida, you know,
and there's and I think that I was able, I
was able to have those conversations because I have also
proven that I am willing to show up for this,
for this part of our community, Um, I'm not turning
my back on people who are parents or parents of
queer kids who are that to me, that is an

(35:32):
important and vital aspect of growing up. My whole goal
when starting DRAG was wanting to be representative of the
things that I love and also provide voice and space
for people who might not have it. And my career
shifted and changed and evolved, and I'm grateful for that,
and I'm asking people to come with me. And of course,
along the way, I'm going to lose some people and

(35:53):
on the way, I'm going to gain some people. But
the process of growing and and learning is, you know,
trying to be my best all. Am I gonna make mistakes?
Of course I am and uh, And of course I
ask for grace and forgiveness in my missteps, but I
also ask that in my journey that people will see
me for my intent and what I'm trying to do,

(36:14):
which is trying to really provide space and voice for
those who might not feel like they have it. And
we're in such a dangerous time right now where people
who are mothered are very much under attack, from women,
to people of color, to our specificallyre lgbt K. I
plus community that affects all of us so greatly. But
if one has impacted all of us are and so
we have we have a responsibility to really, I think,

(36:37):
take a step back and go that this fight looks
like and comes in many different shapes, sizes, and forms.
And I'm part of that. And and the longest and
a long history of my work within my specifically my
Columbus community and now post drag race, the global community
and having conversations that lead to equality and equity. Your

(37:00):
definition of a leader, you, I mean a simple a
simple yes would have done. But no, it's it's it's
you know it's but it's it's still it is such
a multifacet prom right because I do feel like, um,
the religious right hates me because I'm because I'm a
man in a dress who is talking to kids. The

(37:21):
amount of times that I've been on Brightbart feature on
Brightboot on their landing page is insane and and and
the kind of and what that does is focus, It
lays your points to focus on me. That it makes
it unsafe for me in specific situations when people know
where I live. And that's proven that time and time again,
people have shown up at my house, left things in
my yard and uh and harass me in that sense

(37:43):
because of the work that I'm doing. So the far
right hates me, and then people within my own community,
specifically other Dragon entertainers, like she's a sellout, and it's like, well, actually,
like you have to look at where you have to
look at the work that I have done and the
work that I'm doing, and it all tells the story
and it all does really go into hand, and the
work that I'm doing is only really truly serving and
servicing my lgbt Q I A plus community. And so

(38:06):
like I'm I'm in this. I'm like this really weird
conundrum that's kind of walking in its own in my
own lane. And I think it's more punk than anything now.
Drag is always a punk middle finger to the status quo,
and I think that that's exactly what I'm doing with
by releasing a children's book that talks about the importance
of kindness, by releasing a children's album that has songs

(38:28):
celebrating our queer uh a queer attributes to our community
like drag um, and I think that it's it's just
a it's trying to I don't need to convince anybody
I believe that what I'm doing is right. But hopefully
someday some of my L G B t Q I
A plus uh counterpart to also work in this same
world of drag, will see the importance of the work

(38:50):
that I'm doing. Listen, Andrew, there will always be critics,
we know. Yeah, anytime you're doting, there will be critics.
But remember there's also some the that maybe it's still
too shy to say it or doesn't say it for
whatever reason, that had their life changed because of what
you're doing. So just remember that, and I'll face on

(39:11):
hun critics all day long for that one dm of
that person that says, oh my gosh, seeing you guys
living your love loudly and authentically helped me find peace
within myself, help me find hope with them myself. So
go ahead, critics, do what you gotta do to get
it out of your system, because we're doing what we're
doing to try to make change for somebody so their
life has more hope and more meaning and they have inspiration. Andrew,

(39:34):
I think I identify with you so much in that
space for the fact that, oh, by the way, Andrew's
drinking ice coffee right now. This is the Ice Coffee
Gay Podcast. We are well, we welcome all ice coffees
of any kind. No, it's okay, it's literally my favorite
thing in the world, so we well, yes, can I
just swirl it? Yes, it's the swirl for me. It's

(39:54):
that's sound. It's a mating call. Um. So I think
that I identify with you so much in so many
respects to what you were saying, because in a way,
what James and I do and specifically what I do
is very similar in the acting world and kind of

(40:15):
on social media with you know, my target audience is
like Food Network and Hallmark and doing you know, being
the first gay couple to do a Hallmark movie and
being the first you know, gay storyline, first gay kiss.
To go and break the mold, which is what James
and I have done, not only on social media, but
just like you know, we were the first gay couple

(40:35):
on the cover of The Not magazine, which is also
always a hetero you know, hetero magazine if you will,
for a year for since its birth. And to go
in and break all these these stereotypes and to just
break the mold is what we've done. And so we
get the hate as well, so we understand. But it's
like I always say this, I go the people that
already love RuPaul, they're already on our side, whether it

(40:57):
be an LGBTQ plus person or an all. If they're
fans of Ruphole's drag race, we already got them. They're
gonna help us, they're gonna support, they're gonna stand up
and fight for us. It's the people that that don't,
that aren't on the Ruphole side, that aren't Rupole fans,
that that need that kind of I don't want to
say safer in I don't want to say like a

(41:20):
safer introduction, but they need something that helps their brain
digest differently what it means to be lgbt Q plus.
And if we can help their brain digest it easy more, easy, easier, easier, easilier.
Why do I saying easilier easier. That's how we change
the hearts and minds, right, Like, if you're already a
fan of Ruphole, then you're good to watch that, But

(41:41):
like what if what if you know the aunt that's
sitting in Texas or sitting somewhere that might not be
very down with lgbt Q plus but has a nephew
that's gay that she knows is gay, and all of
a sudden she sees me and my husband in a
Hallmark movie adopt a kid and start a family and
see what the love look like between two people, where
all of a sudden, she's just seeing two people fall

(42:03):
in love and it just happens to be that it's
two guys, but you're she's seeing the love between them
and what a family looks like. And she goes, oh, okay,
well Billy's gay. If that's what gay looks like, then okay,
maybe that's not so bad, you know what I mean? Like,
what are those people that were changing the heart's mind?
Because you can't just come at everyone with and you know,

(42:25):
you know, a giant flyswatter, being like it's everything's gay
and you're you have you can't just beat people over
the head that that don't respond that way something you know,
you have to you have to respond differently. Yeah, and
he's a man, I think, But I think you're right
because that was my drag names as a man. Think.

(42:48):
It's the whole point of you know, when we as
we go into Pride months, it is really important that
we we all are craving for wanting to be seen
and one thing, to be heard for who we are
and what we what we do, and who we love.
And I think that that is intrinsic to I think
the conversation here, which is, you know, I might be

(43:11):
very different than say Bianca Doria, right who's who is
Who's incredibly since we're very different, but we're all we're
both working towards the saingle and that's and that's and
that's really the bottom line. There's really like and it's
kind of like when people, uh, it's it's a difference.
It's a different analogy. So I don't even know if

(43:31):
it's gonna make sense. But there's pie for everyone, right Like,
It's not like there's like it's not like there's only
finite pieces of pie. Actually, there's pie for everybody. And
once we all kind of come to the fact that
I need to make it easier for people to have
access to the pie, not to try to hold the
hold the whole pie for me, you know what I mean,
That's that's really where I think it also comes down to.

(43:52):
It's like, oh, well, I see this pie in front
of me, why wouldn't I want to share it rather
than say, because there's plenty of pie, we just had
to make sure people have access to the three point
one four. So we're going into Pride month by the
way I would. I'll vote for you for any office
you ever run for, just so you know, um I,

(44:13):
what you're saying is is so important because I think
we have to remember because we all get so caught
up in the fight, right, we all get so caught
up in it that when we see someone doing it
differently than us, we can go, wait, but we're doing
it this way. I think it's important to let everybody
do activism the way they do the activism because our
goal is the same at the end of this. So

(44:35):
if your activism is creating children's books and doing family
friendly drag baby, do it because there are hearts and
minds that are going to be changed. There are lives
that are going to be changed because of that. Because
that is a lane that needs to be done while
other people are doing the other lanes. And it's it's
strengthen numbers. Like if we're all tackling different spaces, boom,

(44:55):
next thing, you know, we got an army. That's right,
that's that's right, what is officially Pride month? You were
on Pridecast. What does pride mean to you Andrew over
the years. I think it's it's all evolved. Uh, you know,
like I grew I when I was in college, I
think having the like the term like coming to this

(45:18):
term of knowing who I was was I think enough
for me not even being able to speak it out loud, um,
but knowing that I could acknowledge the back that I
was gay was in its own way pride to me.
And then I grew up and I was reared and
kind of cut my teeth in gay bars, and I
was surrounded by lgbt Q I plus people who are

(45:39):
very different than me, who lived so loudly, and it
made me really try to. I think received pride in
a different way, and it meant um a found family
amount and meant coming together. It meant having uh, the
ability to be who I was and feel whatever I
was feeling in any given moment. And now as an adult,

(46:02):
having those different lived experiences, I think that pride to
me means that, uh, it's not you know, it's it's
so it's gonna sound trite, but it's true that it's
not just a weekend. It is not just a month
long celebration. Pride really is something I think as as
one of the pillars of our community. It's not the

(46:23):
pillar of our community that allows us to have our
own ability to express our identity, express our truth, uh
and do that safely and um equitably. And so for me,
pride is about I think reminding those of us who
might have who might be out or have the privilege
of living an outlife, um, to make sure that we

(46:45):
provide access and again, like I said, space for those
who might not have the ability to do so on
a day to day basis, so that they can at
least feel comfortable, like, you know, like I did initially
when I was in college, just acknowledging the fact that
whether or not I ever said it out loud, that
I who I was gay, where I was queer. UM.
So I think pride and pride is like a lifelong journey.

(47:06):
It's gonna take us, you know, it's it's a lifelong
journey for an individual to feel an understand pride um
and so many different ways that it comes into our
lives and the way we come into contact with it,
you know. And so I think that that's I'm just
on a different journey right now than I was when
I was eighteen years old. And I really love the
fact that I can hopefully be a light for pride

(47:28):
and hopefully allow people to feel their own power within
themselves to be who they are. It's ever changing, pride
is ever changing. And that's something we hear all the time.
And what a what a beautiful answer to what pride
means to you here on podcast. Something else we do,
because this is something we love doing, is sharing people
that are doing amazing things. We love to share. Oh

(47:57):
my god, I love it. Only in the West would
pick up on that. Um, the first person to the
first person, you win. That's what we're doing from now on. UM.
We love to share people that are doing amazing things
for the l g B t Q plus community, and
we should like to shine our big gay spotlight on
someone that maybe the community doesn't know is doing awesome things. So, James,

(48:18):
who is this week's big gay spotlight? Who are shining
it on? Oh? This week we are shan in my
big gay spotlight on Xander Morrit's. So we touched on
this a little bit earlier. This stupid, hateful, dumb don't
say gay. Bill in Florida happened and so Xander, president

(48:39):
of his graduating class at Pine View School, UH, was
set to speak at his graduation it's an aspree. I
think that's how you say it, Um. And before we
went to speak, he said, his principal called him into
his office and informed him that in his graduation speech
if he referenced any activism or him being gay, that
they would cut his microphone and end his speech, halts

(49:01):
the ceremony, if you will, so um Xander, who was
an outspoken advocate for a community, I always say, the
kids are gonna save ah. All the kids are going
to save us. So he did his speech, and because
everyone knows him and knows who he is, he used
as a euphemism for his gayness, his queerness, his curly hair.

(49:22):
So he constantly referenced his curly hair, saying, the first
thing you probably think of when you think of me
as a human being is my curly hair. And he
just kept referring to it as his curly hair, which,
by the way, has a beautiful head of curly hair.
Curly hair people unite. But we're referencing his curly hair
throughout the speech, and at the end of course, says
the kids gave him a standing ovation because the kids know,

(49:46):
the kids know what's right, the kids know what's good.
It's just these silly, silly adults that haven't haven't found
the love in their hearts yet. I call him assholes,
but you know what, I guess we'll agree to disagree.
The people that were hugged enough loved enough, but Xander
found a way around it. Xander still inspired those who
needed to hear it, and everyone who heard it stood

(50:08):
up on their feet and applauded him. So Xander, we
are we're applauding you. Take all of my big gay
spotlight this week. It belongs to you. Andrew, is there
anyone you want to shine your big gay spotlight on
this week? Do you have any a friend? Anyone? It
could be anybody, maybe a friend. So when you've worked
with anyone that you just feel like needs a little

(50:28):
spotlight on them, I went, well, you know, last week,
last Monday, I went to New York City to do
just to hang out being part of the glysten Um
Respect Awards. And they have a new executive director whose
name is Melanie William Jaggers, who is just UM such

(50:50):
a light and so incredible and UM, I think that
the work that they are doing for Glysten is so
important listen as an organization that helps students K through
twelve UH find footing and also allows for some advocacy
work for students in UM those grades to be able
to have space to be UM safe in schools and

(51:11):
learn just basically learn or support g ESAs across across
the country. And I think Melanie is UM so incredibly
awesome and so wonderful, and I was in awe to
be in their presence and to watch them UM. I think, UH,
in this in this environment, take hold of an organization
and lead this organization so proudly and so fiercely, and

(51:35):
so shout out to Melanie for all the exciting work
that they're going to do with listen. All right, if
you don't know or look her up, get to know her.
That's right, all right? Before we go, Andrew, we want
to talk about your book, your books coming out. It's
the you kind of kind tell about what this book
it is. Yes, So over covid UM, I worked on

(51:56):
a couple of projects and the most exciting project that
I guess the opportunity in the privilege to work on
was a children's book that's illustrated by my friend Hayden Evans,
who's a brilliant, brilliant illustrator. You can follow him at
Hayden Evans Art on Instagram. Um at Hayden Evans Art
it's a weight and Hayden at Hayden Evans Art Exactually

(52:17):
that clearly, I hope I did. UM. But the book
is about um, little Nina going out into the world
and um experiencing kindness in the world and how to
learn how to give kindness. And it's UM. It's really exciting,
it is really beautiful, and it's really fun and it's

(52:37):
already been given a solid review by Dolly Parton. So
just a yes, So Fred's what are you waiting for?
It's available for preorder now if you go to my website,
you West dot com and it comes out October alright,
October twenty The You Kind of Kind by Nina West

(52:58):
Dolly Parton highly reviewed children his book. Go get it
right now, pre order it like what more do you want?
In the part and recommends part recommendation okay, five stars.
She did? She did? She listen maderna uh Mexican pizza kind.

(53:19):
That's it. Your friends, they are okay, you know, there's
so much there's so many times in the community that
we have to stand up and we have to fight,
and there's so many times we talk about how hard
it is to be a member of the l g
b t Q plus community. But I'm pride and those
are all valid and very true and very real. But
also there's the flip side to that that we like

(53:40):
to highlight on podcast. So we have to ask you,
what's your favorite part about being queer and in the
lgbt Q plus community. What's the best part about it?
I love the people, are you kidding me? And we?
I love who we are. I love that we are
all so different. And I love the fact that ROLI
to come together and have conversations and challenge one another

(54:03):
and still hold each other and support each other. Literally,
it's and we're all and we're so different. We're also different.
And that's what makes I think this being queer and
my my lived queer experience so fantastic is that it's,
like I said, the journey of pride is always happening
because this community is always growing and evolving. The people

(54:24):
are the best part of being queer. Um, I feel
loved and I feel supported, and I feel safe and
seen every time I'm around another LGBT DR plus person
and it's so that's so important. It's the people. Yeah,
we are kind of the best, aren't we. Well. I
love us, I love us. If you're listening to this
in you're part of the community, I love you, I

(54:45):
love all of us. Were so freaking awesome and do
so many cool things. And thank God we're gay. That's
all I say to James every morning and go, thank
God we're gay, babe, because a our relationship probably won't
work out if we weren't. But you know, it's may
be we're to be super weird. But I just I
love being gay and I love us, and we love you.
Nina West for joining us on Pridecast. Thank you so

(55:10):
so much. And you know, at the end of the show,
I usually have my saying that I love to say,
but this this week, I want you to tell everyone
you're saying and I'll give you a hint because it's
my favorite. It's just your three little things you say
and they're on a T shirt, So go ahead and fit.
Let's wrap this up with the Nina West of it
all and her advice to you, Nina, go big, be kind,

(55:35):
and most importantly, be you. All Right, there you go,
let's do it um. Thank you so much, Happy Pride,
and have a great rest of your tour. If you
haven't seen Nina in hair spray, go check out the
website now and where where do they go to? Check
out the website hair Spray Tour dot com. Hair Spray
Tour dot com. Do yourself a favorite run do not

(55:57):
walk to see Nina West as a turn let in Hairspray.
The national tour coming to a city near you. Thank
you so much, Nina, Happy Pride. I love you guys,
Happy Pride. Thank you for having me. Thank you Dad.