If she was your girl, oh the things she’d do to you. I’m not talking about Janet Jackson — I’m talking about Peppermint.

The “RuPaul’s Drag Race” season 9 runner-up has parlayed that success into a diversified career in music, theater, LGBTQ advocacy, and more. From her work with RuPaul as the first out trans woman competitor on that hit show to her groundbreaking role in “Head Over Heels” as the first trans person to originate a starring role on Broadway, to her work as a GLAAD board member, Peppermint is a force in the LGBTQ movement.

She’s not shy when asked about recent controversies involving Republican attacks on drag queens, such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announcing he would pursue legislation making it illegal for a parent to take a child to a drag performance. In Arizona, the Trump-endorsed candidate for governor last month also attacked drag queens.

“I think the attacks are terrible and dirty,” Peppermint told the Blade. “They are trying and succeeding in distracting us from protecting the most vulnerable of our population — trans children. The drag entertainers are adults and it’s a fun celebratory scene that is inclusive of everyone and certainly not harmful. The only people supporting this are insidious and flat out lying or have probably never seen drag in real life.” 

Peppermint this week announced plans for a November tour of her new show and music. Specific dates are listed at the bottom of this article; visit peppermintonline.com for more information. 

But the main reason for a recent conversation with the Blade, was Peppermint’s viral video recreation of Janet Jackson’s iconic “If.” The song was the second release from Jackson’s 1993 “janet.” album, peaking at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Its accompanying video and choreography have proven timeless, influencing many other artists, including Peppermint. Her recent meticulous recreation of the video won tens of thousands of fans on YouTube and even led to a re-Tweet by Janet herself.

Jackson’s video created a stir when it was released, revealing a bold and overtly sexual Janet that many fans weren’t expecting. “If” features intricate choreography that depicted Janet grabbing the crotches of male dancers who simulated oral sex on her. The original video was also groundbreaking in its depiction of technologies that weren’t invented in 1993, such as web cams and touchscreens. 

“This song, the choreography is so iconic, professional dancers have seen it in other pieces over the years and it’s been a blueprint for so many songs and videos by other artists,” Peppermint said. “Just as people borrowed from Michael Jackson and ‘Thriller.’” 

Peppermint fell in love with Jackson’s music following the release of “Control” in 1986 and says she learned all the dance routines over the years.

“There’s something about the way her music and live performance is packaged and presented, it came off as memorable and iconic and forward thinking and progressive and made a big impact early on in high school,” Peppermint said. “I learned the moves to ‘If’ immediately and remember every chance I got in high school and in summer camp, if you were around me you were not safe because you were learning the Janet moves, I would force everyone around me to do the routines.”

Peppermint estimates she spent $30,000 on her “If” recreation and paid for it out of pocket. The video features 10 dancers with about 30 crew on set. It was filmed in one day and she says she studied all angles of the original performance to match the choreography. It took three takes to nail the iconic breakdown dance at the end of the song.

Angel Ayala created the costume; she hand-rolled the bones on the vest (Kim Kardashian recently purchased the original costume at auction for $25,000). Peppermint says she studied Janet’s jewelry and replicated it, scouring the internet looking for similar pieces and ultimately making some by hand to match the originals perfectly. 

“My look in replicating Janet’s look, I wanted it to be as close as possible, which I nailed except for the six-pack abs,” Peppermint said, “but I look sexy.”

She noted the importance of finding talented dancers since every moment in the video is tightly choreographed.

“I wanted to update it a bit and make it as inclusive as possible with trans and nonbinary dancers, queer dancers, people of color, which is similar to the original video with its mostly Asian cast,” she said. 

She says “If” is, of course, her favorite Janet video; while her favorite Janet song is “Throb” and her favorite Janet tour is the “Velvet Rope.” 

Peppermint says she’s never met her idol Janet, but hopes to one day, adding, “I did this for myself, it was a passion project.” Will there be another Janet tribute video? Peppermint says yes, sometime next year, but declines to specify which video she plans to recreate next. 

In the meantime, she’s focused on her upcoming fall tour and her own original music about a breakup titled “Letter to my Lovers,” a trilogy about the beginning, middle, and end of a relationship. “I wanted to do something that’s a love letter to the trans community and letting people know you’re deserving of love and deserve to hear a trans woman singing about love to some ‘90s R&B throwback.”

And for those who haven’t seen the Hulu rom-com “Fire Island,” Peppermint stars in the film.

Peppermint tour dates:

November 2 @ Chop Suey – Seattle, WA

November 3 @ Hawthorne Theatre – Portland, OR

November 5 @ The Chapel – San Francisco, CA

November 7 @  Troubadour – Los Angeles, CA

November 20 @ City Winery – Atlanta, GA

November 23 @Evanston SPACE – Chicago, IL

November 27 @ Ardmore Music Hall – Philadelphia, PA

November 28 @ Brighton Music Hall – Boston, MA

November 29 @ City Winery – Loft – New York, NY