Some of the most popular queens from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” will perform live at National Harbor outside D.C. on Aug. 6 as part of the official “WERQ THE WORLD”tour. 

In recent months, drag queens have received significant media attention, much of it from right-wing figures criticizing events like Drag Queen story hours and brunches. However, the colorful, creative performances continue to be wildly popular, and this year’s “WERQ THE WORLD” tour marks the return of RuPaul’s live U.S. tour after a COVID-enforced hiatus. 

“In this year’s live production, an experiment gone wrong sends audiences spiraling through time with no way of returning to 2022,” publicity representative Jeff Dorta said in an email to the Blade. “The queens will whisk fans on a magical journey through iconic periods of history in hopes of returning them safely home.”

The Blade spoke with Daya Betty, a Season 14 finalist on “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and one of the queens who will be performing in D.C., who talked about getting started in drag, her “WERQ THE WORLD” experience so far and how drag performance unites audiences.

“I’m a Type One diabetic — that’s actually where my name comes from — and I started out in a small town called Springfield, Missouri,” Betty said. “There’s not a lot going on there, except for a college and lots of little dive bars, which is actually where I got my start. I didn’t get my start in a gay bar like a lot of other drag queens do. I got started in a biker bar, which is pretty fun and very telling of the Midwest.”

“Being in the Midwest and growing up queer, you kind of have to create your own family with your own friends and build your own community,” Betty continued. “That’s really where my passion for drag stemmed from and what caused me to audition for the show.”

BLADE: Drag has gotten a lot of media attention lately — some of it negative. In your experience, what is the best part of being a drag queen?

DAYA BETTY: Being from a small town, I didn’t really see a lot of queer people on TV or in magazines, I felt like I was kind of sheltered away from that. So, the fact that drag queens are literally being showcased on TV shows, on billboards, in fashion spreads, they’re walking in fashion week — I think it’s cool to see not only drag in the regular sense but drag in the mainstream and in common things.

It’s so true what people say — as long as we are putting ourselves out there and we’re letting our faces be shown, there’s always going to be critics and people that that don’t want to look at us. But I think that in a sense this makes us work harder, and when we do get to be featured in mainstream things, it makes it that much sweeter.

BLADE: What is it like to be part of “WERQ THE WORLD 2022,” and what features make this year’s tour special?

BETTY: It’s not just queens from one particular season of “Drag Race” — you can see queens from as early as season 6. We each have our own personalities, and that is very much reflected in the numbers that we create. That’s something I really like about WERQ THE WORLD — we have a huge say in what we perform, what we do and what we get to showcase — and ultimately just get the best representation of who we are and what we stand for individually.

We did Radio City last night, and I think we almost sold out Radio City Music Hall, so just the fact that that’s a thing right now is insane and super, super cool. It shows the level of professionality that not only the queens have, but everyone — the tech, the crew. We like to say it’s as if drag and a Broadway musical were somehow mashed together. It’s a production, it’s more than just your local bar gig.”

BLADE: Have you had a favorite part of the tour so far?

BETTY: I think just being able to be around people again — being able to see people and being able to connect with people one-on-one. During the pandemic we did a lot of digital drag, but it’s not the same as having a face-to-face performance or a face-to-face conversation. Not to sound too cliché, but really we live off of that live energy that the crowd likes to give us.

Although WERQ THE WORLD did a European tour during summer 2021, this summer is the first time the live tour has performed across the United States since 2019. Daya Betty said that stopping at cities throughout the country has made the world feel much smaller, as she notices what their audiences have in common.

“You think the world is such a big place, but the more you travel around and meet people, you realize that everybody just likes to smile and have a good time,” Betty reflected.

BLADE: How does drag performance bring people together, and what makes it such a beloved space for the LGBTQ community?

BETTY: I think it’s just watching people be authentic and be true to themselves — people putting themselves out there and then being recognized for it and being able to create a career and support themselves financially off it — that’s such a cool thing that we’ve created as a community,” Betty said. “Just like when you watch a television show, you connect with certain characters because you see little parts of yourself in them — I think that’s why.

It is so fabulous to be on a huge stage and have this big platform, but I think at the end of the day, we’re all drag queens; we come from the same place, we all started in bars or local clubs. I think we need to put just as much respect on people that have been on TV or drag queens that are in mainstream media and on local performers as well, because that’s where we all start and that’s where we all learn.