S2 E5: Bananas and Lemonade - An Exclusive with Mercedes Iman Diamond - The Lemon Squeeze

Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
All right, children, welcome to another episode of the Fabulous,
the Juicy, the Lemon Squeeze.
I am so honored to have one of my best friends of like almost 16 years now,
the legendary Season 11's RuPaul Drag Race's Mercedes-Emon Diamond.

(00:20):
Hey, y'all. Look at this.
Thank you for having me. Oh, absolutely. And of course, you know,
I can't do this without my co-host.
I got Mysterio in the building and filling in for my drag, lovely drag daughter,
Lady Camille, is the, your majesty, the Empress Onyx.
If you don't know, you go check out Empress Onyx. You're on like Instagram,

(00:45):
you're everywhere, right?
Yep. Instagram, Empress Onyx 2 and on TikTok, One Woman Empire. Empire. Yes. The one.
One more empire. Yes. And you. Girl, you be crocheting fast on there too. I know.
I've been crocheting since I was eight. So, you know. Me? Okay. You do it quick.
I wouldn't have learned how to do it, but. I know. I've been trying to teach you, but I'm bad at it.

(01:10):
We just have to watch it. I try to watch it. I try to. Let me slow it down real
quick and see how this works.
I told her I want her to have me like on her show.
And like just let me do it badly like while we sit down talking about all my
issues together and whatever i make i make what you're gonna make a question we'll do it we'll do it.

(01:32):
I'm like a two-piece a two-piece two-piece bikini there we go crocheted honey
y'all but it is time to get juicy and uh first topic this brings me no pleasure
but i gotta talk about it because right now it's everywhere where we're going to talk about Monique.
We're going to talk about a little Oprah, a little Tyler Perry,

(01:52):
and not to mention Monique's scandal with her son.
It is not the best juice. This juice is sour, honey. Is it scandal?
Is it officially a scandal for her? I think it is kind of a scandal because Monique is on there.
What she's talking about is inequalities in the industry for Black people and

(02:12):
not receiving what she feels like she deserves.
But now that her son's shalom has come out and he also expresses i'm not receiving what i deserve.
You know what let me tell you something you ain't lying
he was like harry potter up on the yeah i didn't i
didn't even know she had a child and her first kid well anyway he went online

(02:37):
and expressed that him and monique have been estranged for a very long time
and he expressed the things that he did not enjoy about it and how it caused
him trauma in life as an older young man.
Keith, what do you think about it?
So I am conflicted about it based off of what I know.

(03:00):
And then, of course, based off of my own personal experience raising a child
and working through some things with my own child.
Right. Right. I understand where he's coming from. He was not raised by an attentive mother.
Yeah. but based off of what

(03:21):
i know what's going on with him and his mother an apology
was made but the work
has to be done to rectify the
relationship now do you feel like because i know a lot of people because she
shared like a text messages that he sent back and forth with her and they discussed
sydney her husband her daddy talking about life i know i think that's The relationship

(03:45):
is not between the son and the daddy and the stepdaddy.
That is just the man who also, by the way, did not want him to call him daddy.
But that's just I mean, there's got to be a better way to deliver that message. Of course.
I feel just by hearing everything that it was in the worst way possible.

(04:06):
When I heard that, it actually hurt my feelings because I feel like I've been
there before and I know it sucks. It was like, even if you wanted to play pretend
in that moment, you know what I'm saying?
I know you ain't my damn daddy, but once a child asks you to be their dad,
that's kind of like a, that's like a thing to, you know, it's a gift.

(04:27):
Like if someone asks you that to be their father, you know, to be called them
to be their father is a gift, you know?
And just like you said, you know, at that moment, just go with it.
But even if you don't have to clarify later, you have to process everything.
You know, like it's news, you know, it's a big news. And you're like,

(04:49):
oh, my God, it's excitement.
You should be excited. I would say it was an honor for a kid.
I mean, maybe maybe say, how about you call me Papa or something like that.
Instead of just a straight out rejection.
And Uncle Sidney. Uncle Sidney is the name. OK, but that's my mom. So are you my uncle?

(05:10):
Are you my dad exactly i think what was the worst part of
watching this whole thing for fold out like come
out was that the fact that monique and daddy sydney
addressed it and he did more than talking
like monique said a few words and he went on to talk about shalom's quote-unquote
and i don't know alleged mental illness and other issues that he had and him

(05:33):
helping a 30 something year old man negotiate car deal i just thought the whole
thing was gross you You know what?
Sometimes mental health is real. You know, it don't matter what age you are.
I say that. You know? But that shouldn't have been put out on the last.
Yeah. It should have been brought. Yeah. Well.
Yeah, I'll say this. I feel like in today's society of social media,

(05:55):
it was on him to reach out and speak out and say that, you know,
because I don't feel like he, you know, like condemned her.
He just said that what she acts like is not the truth. She does have another son.
We're not close. I had to go through this. I'm not saying she's evil,
but I feel like for her wouldn't have just been better to been like,

(06:15):
he's right. I wasn't there.
We haven't had conversation. station i'm too but to be fair she
did i've been on my you've heard to make money to be
fair in monique's credit she was honest about
not being a mother to him in that way and that she learned from her mistake
with him and tread her other two children better which is what you do when you

(06:36):
have got to be hard to hear that thank you i mean i would have left that part
out thank you i would I would have been like, you know what?
I was not the best mother.
I wasn't. But I apologized.
I'm trying to be a better mother. I'm trying to be a better person.
And just cut it off there. Stop it right there. Don't say, I'm a better mother to my other children.

(07:04):
That's like a slap on the face. I'm on the first one. But look at the other
ones. They turned out great.
And you know i think the sad part is he was also homeless by the way.
He revealed that himself well sydney daddy
sydney revealed most of this and also revealed
that he had issues with the law and and sydney

(07:27):
helped i just maybe you just uh
sydney is monique's current husband so okay
he's not just so you told him to not call me daddy why
are you talking about him they shouldn't talk about all of
his like it had nothing to do with you and why
is she letting him tell yeah oh she
didn't sit next to him honey when you watch the videos monique is talking that

(07:51):
this man is a prophet so he's seconding things and it's gross and she you know
some people and this is what i have a problem with and my listeners i I know
my listeners are multiracial and I appreciate that,
but I have a problem with the way sometimes Black people parent our children.
Not all Black people are bad. I'm going to clear the air, but it seems like

(08:14):
we're so dismissive when it comes to children's feelings because me personally,
I've had my own trauma with my mom.
I've also been able to realize that my mother wasn't so bad,
that my mom was human and she went through issues. But I think what really hurt
our relationship is my mom was also.
Dealing with issues with her current partner that

(08:37):
she was with and i felt the neglect from it while my
little brother received the love and praise even now
to this day you know i'm not saying that she was a bad
mom but when it came to my emotional needs my mama wasn't like so i think that's
the problem that i'm having with this whole thing it's like can we stop dismissing
our kids trauma no matter how old they are that's not fair you had me i didn't

(09:01):
ask to be in this world and that's That's where I feel like I'm with Shalom on.
Monique spread her legs and birthed him.
Right. And she should be willing to put as much effort as she can into the relationship.
I mean, you struggled nine months. You carried nine months, you know, like.
And you chose to neglect your child to be famous.

(09:22):
Well, you go ahead. You go. I think as a community, you know how I feel.
Yeah. As a community, Black people do not know how to parent when we're talking
about the boomers who were raised by the silent generation.
Or no, was it the greatest generation? And then the silent generation.

(09:47):
We're going back to slavery. And like we were talking about before the show,
they didn't have a chance to parent when we're talking about a nuclear mom and dad and 2.5 kids.
They didn't have that chance.
We were being sold. They were selling the children off. They were selling mom

(10:09):
and dad off. So they didn't have that opportunity.
And even if they were on the same plantation, everybody was working.
They were working sun up until they literally went to bed.
Yeah. So they don't know how to parent. They don't know how to have emotions
because they weren't allowed to have emotions.

(10:31):
They weren't allowed to acknowledge the emotions that they did have. What sadness?
You don't have time to be sad. You need to get to work. Right. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. And you know, just now, Gen X is just starting with Gen X and we don't
know what to do with them. Only half of us are going to therapy.
I'm making up that number. Only half of us are going to be the truth.

(10:55):
Like I'm in therapy now. I'm like, what am I doing with this?
I'm disassociating. OK, so.
Millennials forward are now like, I'm sorry, I've got emotions. You traumatized me.
I cannot deal with you until you deal with your emotions. And they're doing better by their kids.

(11:18):
Yeah, that's so true. true so basically what
you're saying is that monique needs to
work on herself and figure
out what issues she has before she tries to
tackle the issues that she has with her because she definitely to me has issues
you're sitting next to a husband calling him daddy
honey come on now definitely like you said earlier

(11:40):
before we got on the mic that's private absolutely
all you want to but to go publicly and like
yes daddy yes like it's like we do what
are you like you know
like i think monique is what she's almost 60 years old
no i'm just saying she's like 50s yeah yeah you're
not the eldest is good like i'm home now and it's like even with the tyler perry's

(12:05):
to segue just a bit it seems like sydney her manager because he's the manager
that's what she says is I think this man literally is the reason why Monique
is suffering so much. I agree. Oh, I agree.
She may not see it, and we don't expect for her to see it, but my grandmother
told me if one person says something, okay.

(12:25):
If two people say something, if three people are unanimously saying the same
thing, then you need to pay attention to it, because at this point,
Sidney seems to be the common denominator in everything.
It comes back to him every time. time and you know
i'm sure sydney was the reason why she recorded the conversation between
her and tyler perry oh yeah i'm sorry

(12:47):
no matter what monique said i didn't hear that man i didn't hear it either no
he did not i didn't hear it either mercedes you should listen to it yeah i didn't
i didn't hear an apology i heard that i am willing to give you money for whatever
residuals this movie made right and then i also heard them say oh we're not
looking for charity right okay Okay,
I thought we were on the same page. But I didn't hear an apology.

(13:10):
I didn't hear Tyler. Again. I also heard him try to offer her,
you know, movies and things.
Again, a moment where Monique should have just been like, okay, sure, you're right.
I'll take that. Thank you. Put money in the bank.
Then no more conversation. Thank you, Tyler Perry.
Yeah. But no, she was like, we, this is how you know that it's all.

(13:30):
For publicity. This is how you know it's all just a stunt. It's just to stay
relevant. I don't think you're going to get that.
With Tyler Perry, I feel like you will. I don't think that. I think she legitimately
feels like someone wronged her. I will give her credit on that.
You're not going to pull a... I'm sorry. No, you're fine. I don't disagree with that.
I genuinely believe that Monique felt like she was wronged from the beginning to the end.

(13:54):
She didn't get paid what she was worth.
Oh, she did. Yeah, that's true. OK, OK. Well, what I'm saying is that I don't
think that after a certain point, she's been handling it well.
And now we're still talking about it.
But in my mind, it's just a regular person on the street.
After hearing the conversation with Tyler Perry, it sounds like he was willing to give you what he want.

(14:19):
He just was not going to apologize for it. Yeah, that's what I hear. Here's what you want.
OK, have a good night. But they literally decided to pass up on money to make
a point about the fact that she wants him to publicly go out and get Oprah to apologize.

(14:39):
He's like, I can't speak for her, first of all. And she said,
so why would you say that I was difficult?
He said, I'm only speaking towards the things that we've had together,
the situations that we've been in together.
And you didn't want to promote the movie. You didn't want to do this.
You didn't want to do that. And to me, that was frustrating.

(15:01):
Right. He can say, I find you difficult. Right. Okay. That's his personal opinion.
That's basically what he said.
If you're in the movie, you're promoting it. That's more money,
more publicity. I agree. The bigger picture. Yeah, that's what it was.
But I do have to say, I do have to say, she's not wrong for asking for some money.

(15:22):
She's not wrong. No, she's not. No, never mind.
That's what I was saying. But if they say no, that doesn't mean like,
oh, well, then I'm not going to do it. No. Oh, no. I'm still going to go.
Yeah. It's still part of your job. Like, this is your image.
Like, this is your, you have your fans excited to see it. A lot of people.
But when you do this, your fans are like, what's going on?

(15:42):
Well, that's what Whoopi Goldberg told her to do. She totally disagreed.
Whoopi was like, you have to learn how to play the game because it's about the
bigger picture at the end of the day.
You're looking at this. You're not looking at all of this. You're looking at
right now, the gain from it immediately.
Maybe that's also, again, because she has a bad manager. Oh, stop.

(16:03):
You're right. Different glasses so she can see farther, not closer.
You know, just get your eyes fixed so you can see the farther.
She didn't get eyes searched, so maybe she was secretly going forward.
Because it was one of her first movies, like one of her first series.
And it blew up. It did. She got an Oscar for it. And she should have had more

(16:24):
roles after that, but she was painted as difficult. And here's the thing.
As Black women, you cannot be painted as difficult.
You cannot be painted as angry or then it's all over.
And we saw with Monique, it was all over. Sir, can I please ask you this?

(16:48):
When do you realize that a black woman is being difficult?
I think, OK, so I'll speak for this. Or is my industry difficult?
This is what I feel like I got from her recording Tyler Perry just recently,
is that in his mind, he genuinely believes that she is difficult.

(17:09):
You could hear that. Yeah. Yeah, that's what it feels like. And even though
he said, I personally didn't get, you know, the difficulties.
But all of these other people that worked with you that are around you said
that you were difficult.
So it's like when they speak up, I don't want to say too much because I don't
know that you're not. Here's an example.
Now, I've worked with people that I don't want to work again with.

(17:33):
Like, it's just like how they act, how they talk. It just comes across very difficult.
It's about the receipt. Yes. Yeah. It's not like what you, like,
you have to, you have to think about behind the scene.
It's not always like, you know, when you're on the stage or when you're traveling
in public, it's always behind the scene.
It's how you talk to people, how you treat, you know, that's how it comes across difficult.

(17:55):
Like, you know. And no shade if he's this cold to her son like this. I'm sorry.
Yeah. Can you imagine how she talked to, like, execs or anything?
Because I'm not saying that Monique is 100% wrong. Let's not do that.
Right. She's not. When it comes to movies, they should be, and this goes for
any entertainer, you should be, at least pay for my flights.

(18:15):
At least pay for my hotels.
At least I should not have to pay to go tour and promote a movie. That's not fair.
That was a fact. I feel like as Monique, me personally, if I was in her shoes,
I probably would still do my tour and be like, okay, I will deal with you when
I'm a bigger fish in the sea. Right. I'll come back to this.
Or do the tour and like you said, pay for my flight, pay for my limo,

(18:39):
pay for, you know, my food.
You should negotiate it. Yeah, you should always have a conversation.
I don't think she should have just not done it because look what the movie did
for a Gabor Cinnabon. Exactly.
She promoted that movie. She did. She did.
Everywhere. And she got not also her money got passed up being Cookie Lion.
So just look at her wanting the financial gain instantly. And thinking of what

(19:02):
she could have gained. Oh, yeah.
A huge. Oh, yeah. You know, because of and she went on to talk about that, too.
But we'll go into that another time about Taraji and Oprah and Oprah coming
back and taking care of Taraji.
But I'm like, look at what Taraji did for herself. She went,
she worked hard and she had a voice. And you always wanted her now. With a kid.

(19:25):
Yes. And no shade, Monique Taraji, through all of her struggles, raised her son.
Yes. She sure did. Through all of her struggles.
Yes she did and while being a celebrity we're
about to talk about a strong black woman but that's a different conversation yeah
we'll definitely yeah because you taraji
monique shame on you i'm sorry i love you i think what you've done for yourself

(19:49):
is great i would never talk against you as a black woman but shame on you you
need to do better and there's no reason why you should be trying to come up
with excuses about your son feeling the way he feels no matter how how old he is.
Don't forget you had him and you did the damage to him.
Now, yeah, he's mature and he's older. He should grow up and move on like we

(20:10):
always say. But still, man, trauma is trauma.
You can never truly move on from trauma. And it's never too late to fix things.
Fix it, Monique. Fix it. And quit calling your husband daddy in public. It's gross.
You call that your boyfriend, honey. Yeah.
A side piece of something, but damn. I don't know.
Like some bedroom stuff. I ain't doing that. I'm sorry.

(20:34):
Oh, my goodness. But fix it, Monique. Fix it. Fix it. Please fix it.
Next topic, because I'm so happy.
Some people say they're not. Beyonce's gone country.
Oh, my God. I'm excited. You know why I'm more excited about it?
Because Beyonce went and did the research. Because people, when they think of

(20:54):
country music, they think of white.
Darling, there are Black cowboys out here. There are Black country singers.
They don't have as much recognition, but there are country singers before there
were country singers that are black people singing the music.
So I'm so happy she's doing this. She's from Houston, Texas.
And my favorite song right now is the Texas Hold'em. I love that.
That's my favorite song. That's my favorite song.

(21:18):
Okay. See how cute she looked at the Grammys. Yes.
I didn't see. I didn't watch the Grammys. I didn't watch it either,
but I looked at all the pictures.
I looked at as many pictures as I could. she was teasing her
with her outfit by yes oh yeah
it was just it was given at least her single when she
was on her tour remember she wore that cowboy look yes oh you're right it was

(21:41):
just like doing little by little but people would not notice she was like he's
just from texas that's all like he's a country girl not country but she's a
southern girl she's a texas girl they wear cowboy boots and cowboy hats.
I kind of think she is a country girl, though.
Because remember Daddy Lessons?
Yeah, Daddy Lessons. She did well, and the people, they were pissed because

(22:05):
she did that song with the Dixie Chicks, and they canceled the Dixie Chicks. No shape.
They canceled the Dixie Chicks because she did that song with them.
They were already canceled yep they were already
no way what they can't bring them back oh yeah
they were canceled because they didn't like george bush i'm so sorry too that did
now but they also dropped dixie from their name and

(22:26):
i feel like that was the biggest yeah they are the chair that was the big thing
just the chicks and they dated them and brought not only did she sing daddy
lessons on the country music awards but she brought back the chicks yes like
come i'm happy So will y'all go to a Beyonce country tour? Absolutely.
Yeah, me too. I'd have to hear the album. It all comes down to the album.

(22:47):
Think about Beyonce, y'all. Think about Beyonce.
Wait, wait, wait. Literally. Sorry. You asked a question. Who isn't excited
for Beyonce doing a country album? I did ask. This guy right here. And why?
Well, now listen, this is, I will start by saying this.
Obviously, I'm going to listen. It's Beyonce, right? I just can't guarantee
that I'll love every single thing.

(23:08):
That's just, I'm just saying. I have never been a country music fan.
But you haven't heard Beyoncé do country. I haven't heard it. No, I have not heard it.
But what I'm responding to is, are you excited about Beyoncé doing a country music album?
No. I want her to do a Renaissance Part 2. That's what I want.
But this is probably Renaissance Part 2. It is Part 2. It is Part 2.
But she's doing three parts. It's Part 2. And then I think Part 3 is...

(23:32):
Disney child no i said i don't think
so i said she might do rock or you know
greg says she might go into rock and roll which i love that still
excited about it because it's beyonce i think she's going to do
what she hasn't done right yeah and then
one country i love that yeah but i know
that beyonce always wanted to do country so i'm not surprised

(23:53):
but think about beyonce doing country beyonce is
not just going to do country music she's going to take songs that we
love and she's gonna remix them in our tour like think
about to the left to the left with a country twang that
would sound good as country it's
beyonce that would sound good as country you know we
were trying to we were looking at a michael jackson thing i

(24:14):
was looking at a documentary and i was like man you know what we don't have
a michael jackson replacement beyonce is
it i'm sorry yeah she's as close as closest yeah
she's the most innovative artist ever ever no
it's not taylor swift as much as they wanted it
is not i like taylor swift i know
you do i like taylor swift but she did not have one album don't you know me

(24:39):
she shouldn't i think taylor is an amazing love i think he makes great music
but he's not yeah i think taylor makes great music he's just not a visionary
like i said midnight was better than renaissance.
No, no, no. Not Renaissance.
Renaissance shouldn't have got it. I love Beyonce, but she shouldn't have been
album of the year either. What should have been album of the year was SZA.

(25:01):
Oh, you did that. They did that album. I think it was SOS. Dawn, am I right, Jasmine?
It's SOS. It was at the top of the charts for like 10 weeks, SZA's album.
No, should it have won album of
the year because it was at the top of the charts or because it was good?
It was a good album, period. She should have won. It was better than Midnight.
Because if album of the year should be because it is a good album and not based

(25:26):
on chart topping and not based on the fact that you are a skinny blonde white girl.
Y'all know I brought Empress on here just for this, so please.
Okay. I've got opinions. She knows I love Taylor, so don't worry.
And I've got opinions. And she got opinions. It's my opinion.

(25:46):
If you don't like it. I'm just saying. Well.
Like, me need leaks. There is no way in the world that that girl should have
more album of the year awards.
More awards, period. I think Beyonce has 29 Grammys.
And does she have an album of the year? No. No.
And let me stand there lemonade should have

(26:06):
been album of the year and I think that renaissance should
but that's my own personal opinion when Adele won the Grammys and was like album
of the year and she's like no Beyonce deserved that she sure did Adele got it
right but you know what Taylor shocked me though when she grabbed that Grammy from Celine,

(26:28):
now that shocked me how she grabbed that and just,
Celine Dion you should bow to Celine give her a hug you just grab the award
and walk to the mic first of all and I'll play devil's advocate I think she
was just excited to get an award sometimes excitement can make you forget things I know.

(26:53):
But later it was fine shame on you Taylor that's the one shame on you Taylor
you gotta get from me because I would have shown my respect like you said Empress
is my opinion but like that was one I just,
that kind of made me feel something I do I
have I feel multiple ways about it my honest opinion is who cares I love Celine

(27:18):
too but who cares y'all called me up here to take an award I came up and I got
the award I gave my speech and I went back to it but Celine is just a person
and I will make her have all the albums.
Swift is just a person. She just won an album with the band.
She is the bane of my existence.
I'm sorry. I felt that. What I'm saying is, obviously, yes, Taylor should have

(27:42):
at least said hello, gave her a kiss or a wave. It was like,
girl, what's your phone number? Let me text you.
But in my personal opinion, she went up there and was very respectful.
She just said hello to the people she knew, took the award and gave her speech.
Beach i don't understand why she had to get down on both knees and say i am,

(28:05):
i'm on your side i i would love to see her show celine some respect right what
about this and this is what i was saying i'm broken up into multiple things
about that what if she already knows celine dion right what if they're they're
judy's and she's like girl that's my trophy she She already knew she was getting
an album of the year because Selene was like, guess what?
I'm joking. I'm joking.

(28:27):
My other thing is, like you said...
Taylor Swift, she's a millennial, right? She's young. They were at their table. We all saw the videos.
They were at their table partying, whatever. Taylor didn't really pay attention.
They weren't really paying attention to what's going on. When she turned and
was like, oh, yeah. They were on their cell phones. Got up, went up there.
She didn't even know Celine Dion.

(28:48):
Until she got on stage, she didn't know Celine Dion was going to give her that award.
I bet that. I bet she did. It was like, telling me when you walk into the stage,
you don't see the person out there. And again, I have to say that this is the edible talking.
How could she not know? Yeah, I'm stoned. How could she not know that Celine
Dion wasn't going to present an award when she was the one that was announcing it? Exactly.

(29:10):
Well, if she's not paying attention. If she's not paying attention.
Yeah, if she's not paying attention. It is.
Okay. And then all she heard was her name. But like Mercedes said,
you're walking up to the platform. And you see Celine.
And you see Celine up there. I'm like, you see a goddess up there.
Like, seriously. Seriously, like, honey, she was going through,

(29:30):
I literally was, like, worried about her because she's amazing.
It was nice to see how good she looked. I looked at her. Amazing.
Because all the other news you hear is, like, so horrible. Well,
they said she wasn't going to even make it, so I was happy.
Yeah, and then me and her, I got the chills. I was like, oh,
my God, Celine, are you serious?
Walking? Because she couldn't walk. Oh, I didn't know. You know?

(29:52):
Yeah. And I was like, she's walking. And that was her son.
I didn't realize that. That was her son. Oh, that's incredible, though.
And I was like, oh, my God. Knowing all of this, you go up there and you don't
get on your hands and knees and no respect.

(30:13):
You know, you don't have to get on your knees. At least you're going to be like,
oh, my God. Like, it's just a reaction.
Y'all. The reaction you get. Yes. Me too.
I feel like it's not fair to say that Taylor Swift should have had to do all
that because it's Celine Dion.
Celine is just a person let me say this what did
what did Nisi Nash say she said I don't

(30:34):
I don't thank God I thank myself but see you said
Nisi Nash she went up there when she got an award in her hand she said
thank you okay she did and that
person was a that was a no-name person I'm not gonna say no name
as far as like having there are no name as far as the industry they're
just presenting the award she still said thank you and gave the lady
the person a kiss on the cheek oh she did so you're

(30:54):
saying she just didn't she's not at all no she did not no it was not very apparently
i didn't want i watched that moment i saw the video of her not getting did you
need to get your eyes checked or something uh no i think you do with them contacts
in over there girl i can see you oh yeah and i see you.

(31:21):
Y'all got to go on Housewives to catch the references, honey.
But anyway, Jay-Z's speech.
Shade oh lord he he did what
needed what did he done jay-z did
not hold back he even said that he usually he
should give it to his daughter for a sippy cup but she's too old for it

(31:43):
now i was like can we can we not he might
as well took the water dropped it on the ground you know they left like oh yeah
they left yeah he was drinking shot booze out of the grammy yeah yes he was
the disrespect and to say not to top it off my favorite part is some of y'all

(32:03):
are nominated and don't need to be,
don't belong in the category boo Jay Z Jay Z gets my Miss Honey award okay.
Because I'm sorry because they know if someone else calls out you know they're
going to get you know They're not going to be there.

(32:26):
It probably won't be received the same way, but him doing it was definitely effective.
And they showed it. The fact that they didn't cut it out, they didn't edit it out. They're like, no.
Ooh, they scared of the beehive. They're not messing around like that.
I'm going to forget the beehive.
Ratings, okay. You know what? Okay, I'm talking ratings.
Yeah. People were watching because Jay-Z definitely, I'm telling you,

(32:49):
folks probably, girl, you're looking at the Grammys.
Because I watched her and I'm glad I did. The only thing I didn't like about
the Grammy was some of the performances.
I'm not going to lie. The dude that was tearing up the chairs on stage,
I was like, what the hell is going on?
You know what? I had my recorder, so I was just like fast forwarding.

(33:09):
You didn't see that part?
No, girl. I fast forwarded. Girl, he was throwing chairs and breaking them.
I was like, is this where we at?
Is this where we at? Is this where we at?
Miley Cyrus looked good. I didn't like her red carpet look. Oh,
no. That hair. That hair was foolish.
That hair was cute on her. Miss thing. Girl. It looked like they didn't have

(33:31):
enough time to finish her hair. It looked like she was giving fashion, honey.
Oh, she was giving fashion, though. That hair looked like a bomb.
She was standing right there. Do y'all remember the first Ghostbusters?
Sigourney Weaver's hair?
That's what it was. That hair. It was giving, baby. That hair was so cute.
It was giving, honey. It was good in her performance outfit.

(33:53):
Yeah, it was. Her red carpet outfit was a fool.
It was a fool. It was a lot of people. Taylor Swift, I love her,
but her carpet dress was a fool.
I did not like it. I want to get a different hairstyle on Taylor Swift.
The fashion one. I want to see a different hairstyle than the bangs.
It's like her signature. I guess it's probably.

(34:14):
Girl, we all have a signature. Nobody stay from the limit squeeze,
y'all. We read everybody.
So, I mean, if they're not right, they're not right. And Chris is over here giving looks.
I was going to say over Taylor. I have opinions. But anyway.
We were talking about Jay-Z.
And I will admit to the fact that I actually haven't seen Jay-Z go off.

(34:35):
Watch that speech. I need to watch the speech.
You put it in the mix, honey. But what I have read are comments on different
gossip blogs and everything.
A lot of people are torn. I guess the conversation now is, is Jay-Z the new
Kanye? Because remember, Kanye went off.
But everyone, the whole, the final consensus was everyone thinks that,

(34:59):
yes, it was effective, that it was Jay-Z.
He didn't say anything wrong and he didn't disrespect anyone else when he did
it. Kanye broke into Taylor. Well, I was going to read Kanye.
I was going to read Kanye, but Kanye definitely has mental issues.
And that's not me making it up. He does. So I try to let that go with Kanye West.

(35:20):
I don't know what place he's in, but what Kanye is doing is not nowhere near
on the level with what Jay-Z is doing. Jay-Z didn't interrupt anybody.
Kanye was rude. Like you said, he was respectful respectful
and he didn't say anything that was wrong
no he did not he spoke truths and i
said plural truth i might have taken shots out of my grammy when i got home

(35:44):
but oh you did it there own yeah he did it i would have waited but you know
each thorough i'd have bought me some lemons just right up in that thing honey
give me some lemonade yes i'm not the person that would,
to take shots out of my Grammy. But if somebody's pouring shots out to Grammy,
I'm taking a Grammy shot.
You're like Jay-Z. Yeah, you take a shot. What they gonna do?

(36:05):
That's probably all they do out of whatever Grammys they have at the house.
They're probably just like holding doors open. Bro.
He got 29 of them. He got a bunch too. I can see it.
The kids are probably like bowling with him. That's so funny. That is so funny.
But back to Beyonce. Congratulations, Beyonce. Congratulations,
B. Yes. Not only she came out. Congratulations.

(36:27):
She came out hard, Barbara, her songs are doing very well right now.
They're actually playing them on the country station.
I'm so loving it. I'm so loving it. I'm so loving it. I was reading an article.
There was a station that refused to play them. Oklahoma.
Backlash. Oklahoma. I saw that. I saw that.
They actually started playing it, though, because somebody posted it on TikTok and it went viral.

(36:49):
Oh, yeah. And now they had to play it. And my favorite thing is to see people
of all nationalities dancing to the music and making the TikTok video.
I know. Do we have a dance yet?
People are doing dances, but maybe it's time for me to do my first little TikTok.
There's a TikTok dance. Yeah. What's your dance? I don't know.
Stepu. The lemon drop. It's probably called the juice, honey.
It's not like a seltzer casted on tradition.

(37:11):
Music is supposed to bring people together. Yeah. It don't matter.
Why are we looking to color? But look at what, you know, and I'm not going to
call it. Music is supposed to bring. So I have opinions. Yeah.
I have opinions. While it should bring us together, there is some reparations
that need to be done before it brings us together.

(37:32):
There's a history of Black music being stolen, literally stolen,
word for word, almost melody for melody, just ripped away from us.
And we never got any money for it. That's so true.
Elvis Presley. Yep. Yeah. took from Rosetta Tharpe, took from it,

(37:57):
took from her, and she got no money for it.
A lot of the Black artists from the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, into the 70s had their
music stolen, and it was easy to do because Black artists were not played on white radio stations.
And really quick on Elvis. Elvis was.

(38:18):
You might as well say everything about Elvis was from black people,
like the moves from Chuck Berry, the dressing, his fashion style,
the way he played his guitar.
Chuck Berry was the first real rock and roll, pop kind of rock and roll entertainer that we had.
He was a person of color who never got his flowers.
Elvis Presley got all those flowers.

(38:39):
That's so true. That's true. That's another good thing to talk about.
We just talked about Taylor and Celine Dion. beyond
do we blame do we blame
elvis for being influenced
by and growing up around no what he loved
and imitating that to the best of his abilities no no
we blame his management team for not giving credit well it's

(39:01):
management yeah it's management did a lot
of that that's how they so real little real
quick history that's how a lot of those popular white artists that
were doing a lot of those really catchy songs they were going
out to like these juke joints for these clubs in
down south because they could nobody was going to bother
back then black people terrified of messing with white folk so they

(39:21):
could stand right there steal it when you don't have any
lawyer or any good yeah representation it's free
music it's like well let me go get this song elvis i
heard this song you can sing this and he blows up from it but there's somebody
who's been singing this song for years who got nothing from absolutely she did
she died pretty much poor correct yeah yeah so yeah it happened a lot you know

(39:44):
chuck berry was another story he was pretty wealthy until he passed away yeah
because he didn't believe in putting his money in bank yeah yeah.
There's frankie lyman frankie lyman well
frankie lyman died with a lot of money that they didn't know who to hear well
but think about it though but think about it though
they didn't give him is money because again no lawyer

(40:05):
nobody teaching them contracts right no real representation
a lot of yeah a lot of them artists didn't get their worth back
in those days they were selling like beyonce and them
speaking of being blessed because she
owns the rights to most of all of her stuff back then there was no way they
could they could have but they didn't even know no but no clue beyonce was one

(40:25):
of the first artists of our age to really do that no darling aretha franklin
we We got to give her some credit and a few others. See, Aretha.
Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson.
Yes, Aretha was her. Now, Michael, I will agree with you. Let me tell you something.
They said Aretha Franklin wouldn't even do a concert if you didn't have her
money. Right there, right there.

(40:46):
And then they didn't do cash. It need to be. Thank you. In cash.
Put it in her purse. Put it in her purse. And she carried it around.
And when she went to sing, whoever her assistant had that money with them right there.
Yeah. Yep. Aretha didn't mess around. She died a millionaire.
People don't realize that. I think they said she was worth $80 million.
That's unheard of for an article of time. Probably all in cash.

(41:08):
She didn't mess around. So Beyonce, to me, is a, I'll say she reaped the benefits
of people like Aretha Ging in the industry.
And Tina Turner and a few others who took their careers in their own hands. They had to. Yeah.
That's kind of, I just, I guess I feel like there's still other things to that.

(41:28):
Like where Beyonce got everything she got, Michelle A didn't get anything from
her stuff, right? Because her contacts were off. She was in an abusive relationship with Dr.
Dre. People don't like to say that, but yeah, she was getting her brains beat out. She was scared.
I just feel like if Aretha Franklin opened the door, that means that the industry
should be that way. Everyone should be able to do that.

(41:51):
So I don't want to say she opened the door in a massive way.
She kind of set the tone for, if you research Aretha Franklin,
you would know this. And I'm sure Beyonce has done that.
So Beyonce. Because we have to know. Exactly. You have to know that she was
capable of that. That's what I was asking.
So it's not like, so it's like an industry secret. Make sure you get your contracts right.

(42:13):
But artists like Beyonce who came up later could go to like Queen Latifah or
Aretha Franklin or Tina Turner.
She can do her research on it because she respected and loved them to see that
these women took their careers in their hands. So Beyonce's like,
ah, I'm going to do that too.
But really, it wasn't until TLC did an interview at the Grammys.
They were like oh my god yeah that's

(42:35):
exactly what that's a good number one song
on the chart like how's everything going and
one of them i think it was left eye we're broke we are
broke and mind you they had money but nobody told them that they were paying
for their own flights their own limousines their own expensive hotels their
own gourmet meals their own wardrobe like They had no idea that all of their money covered it,

(43:02):
and the company didn't cover most of it, mainly anything.
Yep. It was, black people don't realize, it was all stuff. It was Pebbles. It was Pebbles.
L.A. Babyface? Babyface. No, I don't think he, Babyface, L.A. Reid. L.A. Reid.
But what company, what mask company were they on? They were on the R-Star, Clyde Davis. Yep. Well.

(43:24):
Yeah, well. Yeah. I'm surprised I remember that. Well, that was some good tea,
though. That was juicy. We have to crack that open one day. Ooh.
Yes. But Beyonce, congratulations.
Congratulations. Congratulations. Hold them, baby.
Megan Thee Stallion, she owns the rights to her stuff now, too,

(43:44):
doesn't she? Yeah. Yeah.
And i think now nikki minaj because she's
not with cash money anymore and triggered
i kind of always assumed
nikki owned her stuff because of young money and cash money
not at first i don't think so because there was something like i
believe that birdman would want to keep all the rights

(44:04):
to all but i i believe that that wayne
would have been like no that's yours that birdman ran that company honey
that like we know that that's why he's going and i think
he's incarcerated now or he's out or he was a birdman i
don't he got raided by the he got a taxi he had some issues
he has some issues i think everything's fine now last time
i heard he was mary and tony brax tony brooke but i'm tony the engagement is

(44:28):
off i think they will see because their show is coming back i'm so excited about
that yeah now that's exciting i guess it's been so long since i heard about
that show it's coming back yeah it'll be okay oh is Is Tamar going to be on there too?
All of them except for, of course. Of course, Tracy. Tracy, she passed away.
No one knew she was, but we'll talk about that. I love Tracy.

(44:48):
I mean, I love all of the Braxton, so I'll just say that. But yeah, rest in peace, Tracy.
Yeah, rest in peace, Diva. How crazy was it that she was like the first one
out of all the sisters except for Tony to have like a for real number one song?
Because even Tamar didn't go like number one right away, didn't she? Who?
Tamar didn't. Tracy. Before Tracy. No, I'm not saying before.
I'm just saying like her first.

(45:09):
Couple of songs weren't number one. Who, Tamar? Tamar. I beg to differ.
She was doing really good in the R&B charts.
Tamar came out swinging. Tamar sounds great.
Because Tamar already had, like, you know, we old enough to remember.
She already had, like, one song that was, you don't listen to? No.
As I was saying. But anyway, Beyonce, again, congratulations.

(45:33):
Congratulations to you. Mysterio, keep bringing up.
We trying to move on, hon. Let the weed come. So we're trying to move on.
Braxton's is another time, okay? We love you, Braxton's, but that was Beyonce time. Yes. Yes.
Anyway, speaking of irk my soul, I cannot.

(45:54):
Sexy Red. Oh, my God. I was all about, and don't get it twisted.
I love music and women empowerment and what they are doing now.
But me personally I just don't understand this new phenomenon of like,
sexism and even ice spice I love me some ice spice but a fart I mean I just

(46:20):
you know I listened to this song and I was like,
what what's happening to the music thank you mercedes mercedes the weed was
moving me slow girl but you pulled it right out of my head because it's i'm
sorry i'm like girl the song is called fart it's called fart you ain't even
a fart that's what it's why is why does the song exists.

(46:45):
Sexy Red is F my baby daddy and So.
Sexy Red, I have opinions and they're stuck in my brain.
Explain to me Fart. The name of the song is Fart and I love me some ice spice.
I saw her before the cast.

(47:07):
She was pumping but like this new song, I'm like, did you run out of things to write about?
Yeah, it was It was just like, it sounded like it was thrown together last minute.
That's what it sounds like. Yeah.
Like she wasn't taking it serious at all. And perhaps that's what it feels like.
Like, why would you? Like, girl, you know, do you fight around people? That's disgusting.
Some of the best songs are artists just playing around, trying to be funny.

(47:30):
And then they're doing it for TikTok, though. That's the problem. Oh, now that is true.
You do, now music is not made because we want to hear it.
Because I'm sorry, Mercedes, we're the drag queens.
I will not be performing any of that when I see the girl like people perform
songs from Tic Tac I'm like the crowd only go like crazy for like that 10 second

(47:52):
after that 10 seconds done they done with it the rest of the song.
We don't we don't I'm so sorry you only know the catchy chorus that's it yeah
that's it and that's it that's crazy like like make that I love that part of
that song that's Drake's song But then the rest of it, we don't know.

(48:14):
Like, there's more to that? You're like, what? Time to go smoke a cigarette.
You're thinking, like, it's just like, oh, it's only this part.
And it's like a whole song. You're like, wait, there's a whole song like this?
Like, wait a second. There's more?
But yeah, it's crazy. I don't know why she wrote that song or whose idea was it.
If it was her idea for it or if she was drunk or high. What are the lyrics?

(48:37):
We got it. We got it. Yeah, we got to. This, and again, this is,
we're not trying to take anybody's music.
What is the copyright disclaimer, Aaron? This is for research.
And we just. And I do not own the rights to this song.
Thank you. we don't own the rights to this song I don't want to own the rights
to this song definitely don't want I don't even want for free.

(49:01):
Am I saying this out loud you can say you can say some lyrics yeah there we go,
this is I don't even know what these words are come on drop some bars Empress
ready to drop some bars on us y'all Empress the I spice,
I'm not saying that first part because I don't even even to start at, Oh my goodness.

(49:25):
You can change the lyrics. That's not how we do in the studio that I know. Okay. Here we go.
If you see me and you trying to see what's up, ski. Yeah.
Okay. Okay. Let me start again. Let me start again. Let me start again.
If you see me and you trying to see what's up skiing, there we go.
If, if you want to fuck me, then I'm trying to have him stuck. Skia.

(49:52):
Bitch looking bad and got a stupid butt. Ski.
Jewelry on your, let me do that again. Jewelry on your wrist. Fuck it. Hold it up. Ski.
When I holla, ski. That mean pull up. Ski.

(50:12):
Cars 75 and they fast as fuck. Ski. Skii.
I'm looking good when I'm hopping out that truck.
Skii. That was sexy red. What are the eyespines white?
Where are the hood niggas at that getting bucka? Skii.

(50:35):
This is sexy red by.
That's not the fart song. That was a dramatic reading by.
I loved it though. You gave it to me.
You gave it to me. thank you for that yes that's how i get class i might i'll
listen to your version of it,

(50:56):
i'm gonna have to record that now you should literally go on like for real empress
you should go on oh yeah this is the fart song you should literally go sometimes
and do something like for fun like recite some of the crazy new rap Yeah, that was genuine.

(51:18):
Because we've been doing some heavy stuff. I'm going to try to do it. Oh, we need some joy.
Let me try to, I don't know. See, I don't need to know the beat.
How does the beat go? Boom, boom, this is fire.
What the fuck I'm going to say in the intro? She said, I don't know.
I don't, I don't know what she means by that.
You want me to say something so bad. Stop playing with them. Right. Right.

(51:38):
Can you please thank you to shit bitch. You're not even a far.
I've been going hard. I've been breaking their hearts. Like bitches be quick, but I'm quicker.
Bitches be thick, but I'm thicker. She could be rich, but I'm richer.
Taking her man don't give her a fuck out in the yams out in the yams.

(52:07):
Sorry I can't keep going I don't see this going to be on the chart at all now
some of iSpice's lyrics are cute I like some of them she said I'm thick but
I'm thicker I like that that's kind of cute that's cute iSpice some of your
lyrics make a lot of sense but girl why would you do fart,
why did you come with a different name I just don't know But that's the whole point I'm making.

(52:29):
Like Mercedes said, where is music going?
They talk. That's where it's going. This is why I still listen to Nina Simone and Billie Holiday.
I was with the whole singles.
Like, why can't you just drive a whole album?
Who listens to a whole album anymore, though? Oh, we did, beyond me.
Me. I mean, that's beyond me.

(52:49):
If it's right, it's right. How many artists can put out a whole album and have
the entire thing be listened to?
If it's not about art, it would be good. Some people don't like it,
though. That's how music is now. Now it's all about the TikTok.
If you can make something hot on TikTok, you might be successful.

(53:10):
Right now, iSpice is probably the most successful new rapper out right now because
of the Barbie World remix, which I absolutely love that.
That was hot. Now that was not sexy red. I'm going to say something.
When they talk about black exploitation, sexy red is like number one to me because
the people at the top that are making the money are probably Caucasian.

(53:33):
And they're making tons of money off of this ratchetness.
And sexy red, no shade to her. Get your money. I know you're doing what you
got to do. But I just don't...
An empress coming from a feminine perspective.
Like, I have to say this. What do you think somebody like sexy red does or what do you think about?

(53:56):
So again, I'm conflicted. Okay. Because when I see sexy red,
and it's only because of what I have been researching over the last three years.
I'm heavy into researching the exploitation of black women in the United States
since we arrived in this country, right?
So I know the history of black women in this country.

(54:19):
So when I see sexy red, i see the exploitation
of black women in this country that's what
i see and on the flip side i see
a black woman taking control of her sexuality okay i like that i do love that's
why that's why i'm glad you hit it right this is wonderful because right that
i think was going to be i don't love it either but i don't blame sexy red for

(54:43):
talking about what she knows if she She ratchets, she ratchets.
If she can make money off it, make every dollar, sister. Make every single dollar.
Because historically, Black women have not owned their sexuality.
Everybody else has owned their sexuality.
My conflict comes in that nobody knows the history of the exploitation of Black

(55:08):
women in the United States.
Black women might know.
That's one. Number two, it's like you said, the company, the music company,
it's probably ran by white men, and they were the number one people who were
exploiting black women.
That's conflict number two. But at the same time, I feel as though,

(55:34):
and it's just a personal opinion, Sexy Red is doing it to regain her own sexuality.
Sexuality she's expressing her sexuality regardless
of what everybody else is saying or doing right that's
well said i like that i like that that's why that was good i do
like this yeah the perfect thing about having a podcast is to

(55:54):
hear different opinions about this because from my from me saying it like i
i like asking my mom about stuff my mom thinks it's absolute trash oh it's trash
that's trash honey no thanks i'm not listening that's what she said She was
like, boy, I don't even listen to that mess.
No. Exactly what she said. I try to listen to what the young folks are listening

(56:18):
to, because I've officially reached that age where I'm like, all this music is trash.
But I try. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I try. But same way I'm a drag queen,
I'd be like, goodness, grief.
Yeah. I just don't care about what it is. Mercedes, you got to work tonight.
You going to do some sexy red on the show tonight? No. You know.
What about that? What about that new I Spice hit?

(56:45):
Where has music gone i spice we love you but please don't fall into you know,
yeah keep it a stack diva because i love me some i spice just don't fall into
that trap of just making music that has no meaning you say i'll give i spice
one her props she's a lyricist and i can hear her lyrics and i appreciate that

(57:06):
six red same thing i can hear your lyrics well we We know who you are from your lyrics, but.
That's on with something she shouldn't just don't let them take y'all
so far where you can't come back from right that's what i'm saying and i like
what you said empress about it so shout out to both of them i love them both
i just have to talk about it because it's a podcast yeah now before we move
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(59:26):
All right, we are back again, you all. Thank you so much for listening to the
Lemon Squeeze. Make sure you like, share, and subscribe and leave comments because
we definitely want to know how we're doing and what you think.
And if there are some topics you would like to hear us talk about,
let me know because you already know I love me a good juicy glass of lemonade.
Speaking of juice, it is time to squeeze the juice out of Mercedes-Evans.

(59:52):
This is our ex-Mercedes section of the show. So, Mercedes, first off,
how long have you been doing Drag Diva?
Do I have to answer that? You wanted to. I am joking.
I will be celebrating 16 years.

(01:00:12):
Right? Yeah, you've been respectful. Yeah, 16 years may. This may. I thought of that one.
Yeah. And you now are the show director at the legendary Day 90.
And me and Mercedes, we've been working together for a long time.
So it's like, did you see yourself ever being show director?

(01:00:32):
You know our journey no i did not just
thinking about like the beginning mean i
like you know getting banned from the 90s
like what almost a year no it was going through years yes like all this scandal
all this lies that happened when i came to the scene you know i didn't speak
english that's when i met a lot of girls you and a lot of other people you know

(01:00:56):
that and people were But it's someone like,
it was a couple of people, not a couple, more than a couple of people.
It was a handful of people that lied about me. And the first lie didn't go through.
Then they came through with the second lie. And that was. Yeah,
they tried to say you stole it. And then the third one, I was set up. Yeah. And they knew.

(01:01:18):
The lies. What were they, girl? What did they do? Well, one was she tried to
steal a business. So, you know, I did not drink.
The first one was like, oh, Mercedes is not drinking because she has fake ID.
What oh what i was like what and then i
was getting ready and this kiddie
came to me and was like mercedes where's your id and i was
like in my car wait are you saying because you're foreign originally or like

(01:01:45):
no i just never drank okay no but i'm saying like what was the like what was
the point of the life they said i had a fake id to get into the bar but i was
scared to drink I didn't want to get caught drinking.
So that's why I never showed my ID. I was like, what? So when he asked me my
ID, I literally had a foundation.
And they're like, oh, yeah, you got to pack your stuff. You got to go.

(01:02:06):
And I was like, what are you talking about? Yeah, they were just being messy.
Yeah. And he's like, if you don't have your ID, you have to pack your stuff
and go. And I was like, well, let me go to my car.
I ran to my car with literally just foundation.
Cross the street, go to the parking lot, looking like a ghost girl.
I went and grabbed my ID. And I was like, is there an issue?
And he literally looked at my ID.
He's like, nope, you're good to go. You can just go finish getting ready.

(01:02:30):
And I was like, wait, what is this about?
And he was like, well, we got a call that you had a fake ID. Oh, wow.
Who? And he was like, what?
Watch your circle. Yeah, it was rough. I was like, watch your circle?
Ooh. I was like, wait a second. Does that not everybody's your friend?
Yeah. Huh? Not everybody's your friend. Not everybody's your friend.

(01:02:53):
True. And then they came with another lie.
I don't want to get into that one. Yeah. Yeah.
Someone took a picture of my social media and they used it and,
you know, and they made it about me. And I was like, what?
I was like, can I read that English? Does it look like my English?
Girl, I barely speak English that way. You think I can type? Well, this good.

(01:03:16):
And this time there was no series that you can talk to and type it for you,
you know? Somebody made a fake account with your name.
No, they didn't. Yeah, they made up all kinds of stuff. And then the third one
was I was set up to come into the 90s to cover for somebody.
And I did. But I was working. I was a manager at a bank, you know.

(01:03:38):
So I came in and, you know, I'm covering for somebody.
And I left right away. I was like, I was done with the show.
Because, you know, I got to be up at 7 in the morning getting ready for work.
I'm not going to kick in. I'm not drinking.
You know, there's no reason for me to stay late.
So I packed my stuff and I left. And the next day was like all this stuff on Facebook.

(01:04:01):
Mercedes, you did this or you took this. And I was like, what are you talking about?
And then I don't want to bring people's name up. Oh, you don't have to say the
name. We know the tea, honey.
So I'm not going to say no names. But then I called the person and I was like,
hey, like, you know, the person that booked me and they blocked me.

(01:04:21):
And I called other people and I was blocked. And then I was like, what is going on?
And then I went to the 90s that weekend. I remember this. And I was literally
escorted out. I remember this. What did they say you took?
They said that she stole, like, because we were all in a meeting about it. See, this is a good tea.
It's tea. They said she took a dress from somebody who I know for a fact,

(01:04:44):
at the time, a bank manager who can afford to get nice dresses,
who always wears nice drag,
was accused of stealing someone's drag, who could not afford that kind of drag.
And if you saw the dress, you would be like, wow, on earth would anybody want to steal this?
I think I do know it. It was a rumor. It was just because Mercedes was already
not really cared for. Back then it was rough.

(01:05:07):
Oh, yeah. If you were a little popular, yeah.
If you were a little popular and especially you were a person of color,
no shade. Back then it was rough.
Oh, yeah. Did everything to suppress it in some form, whether it was pay inequalities.
It was a lot. You know, it's very fascinating considering that we live in a

(01:05:28):
blue state. Yeah, that is fascinating.
So, yeah, and then I was escorted out of New York.
I sent a message and no one was talking to me. Everyone blocked me.
And I was like, oh, well, I'm not kissing nobody's ass. The truth is the truth.
Everyone has their side of the story. So y'all don't want to hear my side?

(01:05:49):
Now that's kind of fucked up. Like, you don't want to give me a chance to talk.
But no shade says, like all true diamonds, they need pressure to become one.
And you went through everything you went through. Fast forward. Let's keep jumping.
And he's not only been a part of flip phone events and we are out in nine to

(01:06:10):
ten different states right now you also went on in your career because you believed
in mercedes and went on the show.
Rupaul's yeah drag race season 11
the first muslim american
drag queen ever on the show Mercedes thank
you how was that experience it was amazing

(01:06:32):
it was life-changing I am
grateful for the opportunity it changed my life and
not only me but to show the other you
know Muslim queer out there that it's okay to be you
yeah like don't listen to people
don't listen to other voices get out of your
head do you like the only

(01:06:53):
person that can ever make you happy is yourself not money
not love not partner not
family your true love is yourself you got
to love yourself first and follow your heart
and not listen to other people spoken like
a true diamond thank you
yes and what was some

(01:07:16):
of of the things that in drag race like right
now fast forward to now you're now the show director okay 90s
yeah do you miss drag race do
you want to go back would you do all-star i would definitely
do all-stars i'll definitely do all-stars now that i know how the system works
yeah well i was just about to ask you what would you do different you know what

(01:07:38):
what would i do different is y'all know I talk a lot and the editing did something
different, which is totally fine.
But I'm not going to hold it back.
And then being the first Muslim, I was so scared. I was nervous.
I didn't know what to expect, you know, after one of the show airs.
And I did get a lot of hate mail, but I turned out to a positive because they

(01:08:00):
are behind the keyboard.
They can't say that to my face, you know. Well, but, you know,
I was like, you know what, now that I don't have to, you know, hide or anything,
like, everyone knows, you know, that I'm Muslim, you know, I'm a proud Muslim,
you know, I'm not going to be in my shell, I'm going to be out of my shell and just be, like.

(01:08:22):
Open and the normal mercedes that you guys know and to me you're one of the best drag performers,
that i've seen like for real like in my life you're
one of the best and i say that when it comes to drag race there
are some fabulous caucasian performers
on there but most of the black entertainers have
been like yes but it's sad

(01:08:43):
to me i think that's the only thing that i hate that you haven't received
like the vegas tour and like all of the
stuff that i think you should get it because you are such a good
performer and i'm not saying it because you like my best friend
i'm saying it because you can capture a
crowd i've seen it we'd be we'd just be in there
boom we'd be at the 90s sometimes it'd be 15 people
in it i guarantee you mercedes is gonna get five dollars from

(01:09:06):
each of those people you can literally just because i've been there too you
can literally because i'm usually standing there you can literally just stand
there literally And people are screaming and waving money at you.
I know this because I'm one of them.
But just waving money at you.

(01:09:28):
You can always tell the difference between a professional, which you are gifted,
by the way, and somebody who just is new or just not that into it. It's an aura.
Yeah. It's an energy. yeah yes one
of my favorite things about watching perform but even better getting to

(01:09:48):
hang out with you and watching you meet fans and stuff
is when the muslim kids
come up oh i know they're just tears streaming oh they were so happy to have
representation on the show like oh my goodness that every single time and but
if how many years was it since you were on there to this day you you still get

(01:10:10):
people that come up and be like, thank you so much. Thank you.
Yes. For being seen out there. Cause we've been at a bunch of brunches and it's
been, they'll come, they're like, Oh, Mercedes is, I'm coming.
Yes. You know, we have a lot of Muslim, a lot of Muslim people that come to
brunches now because of that, by the way, we really do.
You know, the crazy thing is though, before drag race, you know,

(01:10:32):
Before Drag Race, there were people like were coming from Ohio.
Really? To come see me here. Like, no, we don't believe there's a Muslim drag
queen. There's no Muslim drag queen.
Oh. And they would literally come to the 90s and see me at the 90s.
I would be like, we heard about you.
Or they would come from Michigan, you know, Illinois, South Dakota. It was crazy.

(01:10:56):
And I was like, yeah. And they're like, oh, my God, thank you.
This is amazing. he's saying like thank you for being you see what you are doing
what you're representing.
It is amazing it's a blessing and i'm
grateful for everything yeah you should be
and you worked hard for it and i i
honestly 100 wish you many many

(01:11:19):
many more years with drag performing i cannot
wait to see your all-stars because like i was taught by
my mom you have to name it and claim it because i
know you'll make it and you will always continue to
shine bright and tell everybody where you're
from because i didn't say that where you originally from
originally from mombasa kenya

(01:11:40):
yes honey the motherland yes the motherland i would say you are so blessed to
as and speaking as a black american you're so blessed i would have loved empress
you too like would have loved to like know what it was like to be in our country
because that's where we are originally from.
I would like to know where I'm from in our country. Yeah, yeah. I would too. Yeah.

(01:12:03):
Mercedes, thank you. Thank you for having me. It's an absolute pleasure.
And if you want to see more of Mercedes, you know where she's at. She's at the Gay 90s.
She will also be in some Drag Brunches with some more legendary drag divas. What we got?
We got La La Ri. La La Ri. We got Widow Badu. Widow Badu.
And we have have why can i never remember her name she's sickening too by the

(01:12:27):
way like i just got done i cannot remember her name it's the weed y'all.
The listeners know well let me tell you something i had took an edible and i
hit my boyfriend's stizzy you don't know what a stizzy is a vape so it's lala
ria would have undo robin fierce robin fierce yeah that's enough that's march the march 17th,

(01:12:51):
March 16th and 17th is Rihanna drag brunch.
And then the next one is Beyonce. Rina, Rina, Rina songs.
Yeah. Oh, boo. Let me tell you something. If I'm not hype about a brunch,
I'm hype about that. We finna turn them cheering out. baby.
They have no idea. Baby. Mercedes, you know, I'm bringing out my big Beyonce. Oh, yes, daddy.
Yeah. I might start dressing up for them. Let me tell you something.

(01:13:14):
We are about to put on a show. Y'all.
You are going to have such a good time. Make sure y'all get those tickets.
Yeah, get those tickets.
It's going to be fabulous as always. It's going to be a sick night.
But yeah, you can catch Mercedes at all of our drag brunches.
She also has an Instagram, Mercedes Iman Diamond.
Follow her. Show her some love. Let her know how much you want to see her own all-stars.

(01:13:36):
We're ready to get our African princess back on TV. Mercedes, it's been...
Right. I can't do that. It has been... If I do it here, the speakers might blow up. So...
Mercedes thank you thank you thank you for
having me I love you so much quick show shout outs before we go because we're
about to go make sure you check out the Gay 90s you can see the legendary ladies

(01:13:59):
of the film I'm also a part of that cast they also have shows at Lush a brunch
of drag and oh hey sis and what is it Lush After Dark,
Mirage Mirage I see it right here Erin thank you again I'm spammed,
let's see at the Gay Niners you have the Lil' Femme show and then Wednesday
So You Think You Can Drag and also our new All King review,

(01:14:24):
Flavor March 1st March 1st is the first show and every first Friday of the month
I also think they have revamped they have it's what's the thick girl show that's
over Fat Fat is there and then is Burlesque still over there.
Yeah, but last show is still there, too. So check out the game. Stupid Sales.
Stupid Sales also hosted by

(01:14:44):
a lot of shots. Yes. I used to pronounce that so wrong. Me, too. My God.
I thought it said Stupid Sales. I said Stupid Sales. I didn't know that show was there.
But anyway, also we have shows at Roxy's. Friday is Who's Coming to Dinner.
Saturday, Flamboyant Sunday is Beauties and Bubbles.
Tuesday is Charity Bingo. Thursday is All That Drag. Monday is karaoke with

(01:15:08):
Genevieve Ramona Love and Mysterio and Mysterio are you DJing those from now on?
Not every single Monday it's every other Monday for me I'm talking to them to let me do every Monday.
Okay okay okay you're interrupting and you know I'm stoned.
Anyway we have shows also at
flip phone events you already know our drag brunches be pop pop
poppin so get the dickies as big as you can and then

(01:15:31):
Saloon we have Friday night's drag we have a
drag race viewing party on what says
it's on friday on fridays on fridays at 7 p.m then
they got hot pink on tuesday and saturday then
they have booked then they have black ass friday and
w2f film party and then black hearts
i'm not sure i'm not gonna lie black hearts i love y'all you're not

(01:15:53):
sure check out black hearts i'm sure they have an
instagram or facebook you can see what shows are over
there and that's that it has
been a pleasure there is one more starting this
Sunday February 18th is the beginning of Drag Duel Cycle 3 I would love to just
go right ahead and announce that me and my drag son Suture Fancy are going to

(01:16:16):
be competitors in that show so please I love everybody but you already know
I'm team Suture and Mysterio.
What days is it?
So it's going to be every Sunday night for the next eight weeks starting February
18th. What time does the show start?
The show starts at 8. At 8 p.m.? Oh, unless you get ready for the show.

(01:16:37):
Yeah, I can pop there and go after.
At least see the present. That's going to be fun. I'm excited about it being at Lush, by the way.
Yes. But anyway, y'all, it has been an absolute pleasure. I went to a couple
of their viewing parties at Lush.
What, the Drag Race View? Yeah. Do they do Drag Race? Yeah, they started it

(01:16:59):
at the beginning of this year.
Oh, that's right. Demita and Luna does it every time.
Oh, yeah. Check that out, too. I love me some Demita y'all love me some Demita Demita Demita,
listen to this I love you so much I can't wait to have her on us again she's
gonna be fun I have to get her wackiness on here I will join her that time I

(01:17:20):
wanna be on when she's on that's gonna be wacky so just to be seen as naked,
it's like we'll just all be crowded around yeah definitely huddled in the background.
But y'all it has been an absolute Absolute pleasure. It is time for us to go
and do my favorite thing of the evening, smoke more weed, play video games,

(01:17:42):
and, of course, go home and drink my juice.
And teach you how to play video games. And teach Mercedes how to play video games.
Thank you again for listening. Sasha Casadine signing out. Smooches.

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S2 E5: Bananas and Lemonade - An Exclusive with Mercedes Iman Diamond

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}S2 E5: Bananas and Lemonade - An Exclusive with Mercedes Iman Diamond