a&e features
‘Drag Race’ season 11 champ Yvie on her tour, sisters, adventures, love life and more
Oddly and arch rival Silky now close as ‘sister
‘RuPaul’s Drag Race: Werq the World Tour’
Sunday, Oct. 27
8 p.m.
The Anthem
901 Wharf St., S.W.
$52-62
Boasting three season winners (Aquaria, Violet Chachki and Yvie Oddly), the 2019 “RuPaul’s Drag Race: Werq the World Tour” features one of the stronger lineups the franchise has ever launched.
Hosted by Michelle Visage, a “Drag Race” legend in her own right at the judge’s table, the show features “mission leader” Asia O’Hara on a journey to save the universe with the help of Detox, Monet Exchange, Naomi Smalls, Plastique, Kameron Michaels and Vanessa “Vanjie” Mateo. The tour comes to Washington Sunday night.
Yvie (aka Jovan Bridges), the 26-year-old 2019/season 11 “Drag Race” champ, unleashed her throaty trademark cackle liberally during a phone interview last week from Williamsville, N.Y. Her comments have been slightly edited for length.
WASHINGTON BLADE: How’s the tour going so far?
YVIE ODDLY: It’s really fun. It’s definitely been a challenge just trying to adapt my drag to a whole other thing on a crazy, massive scale, but I feel like I finally got the swing of things and it’s just a stellar show. It’s so much fun to be a part of. I love the girls, I love the people we work with and they feed me well (laughs).
BLADE: Any queens from other seasons you didn’t know before you’ve bonded with?
YVIE: Well, basically the whole cast. Up to this point, I’d only had the pleasure of working with Vanjie and Plastique so it’s been really cool to get one-on-one tme and hang out with a lot of the girls. I’d say the people I’ve probably gotten to know the best so far would be, like Naomi is really cool. I never would have imagined being friends with a pair of legs (laughs). I’ve also gotten along really well with Detox so far. I’m enjoying this experience.
BLADE: You’re also touring with two past season winners. Is there any unspoken deference to you three from the other girls?
YVIE: I mean I’d like to think that I could probably get away with more shit if I wanted to (laughs). Uh, but no. It really does just feel like all of the girls, as much as the competition is the thing that elevated our careers to this point and in a way brought us all together, that’s all behind us know and we’re just working queens all in the same field, all trying to make a living.
BLADE: What’s the drama meter like on tour vs. on the show? I’m sure you’re gonna say you’re all getting along great but c’mon — it’s drag, there has to be some drama right?
YVIE: It literally has been like zero. Sorry to be the wet blanket. There’s something about being in a competition environment and not having anybody you can talk to at home, not having a phone and being put in isolation that really will just rattle up the most human emotions out of everybody. When you’re in that environment, it’s super volatile at points, but on tour, we’re all just working queens. There literally hasn’t been almost anything.
BLADE: There was some controversy earlier this year when Monet X Change was fired from the “Haters Roast: the Shady Tour” after she bailed one of the dates to accept an offer from Madonna. How has this tour promoter (Voss) been like to work with for you and what would you do if Madonna called you to be ditch the tour to be in one of her videos?
YVIE: I love working with Voss. They’ve been producing things for a very long time and have the capability to put on some of the craziest, biggest shows and spectacles and they just treat me nice, they treat me well, that’s why I’m here. The Madonna video, that depends, is she asking me?
BLADE: Sorry, this is just hypothetical.
YVIE: Well that’s why I love working with Voss. I would never have to leave a tour to work on a Madonna video. They want my career to be as beautiful and blossoming as possible so they’d figure out a way to make it work.
BLADE: Did anything jump out at you watching your season on TV vs. how it felt in the moment?
YVIE: No. I typically have a pretty good idea of what’s going on around me at all moments (laughs). So literally the only thing that was surprising was hearing the other girl’s confessionals. That’s the only thing I wasn’t in the room for.
BLADE: You were quite abrasive at times. You said you were trying to be helpful but some were offended. Do you regret any of it?
YVIE: I don’t care whether or not I came across as abrasive. It’s something that many people value and many people don’t and that’s all on their plates. I just wanted to live authentically especially when I saw how inauthentic others were being and if it’s abrasive to tell the truth in a world that’s more comfortable telling lies outright then so be it, let me be that abrasive bitch.
BLADE: What was it like performing at Pride in Denver (your home town) fresh off your win in June?
YVIE: That was actually unimaginable. It felt like coming home from war. I know that’s a really intense comparison, but I had worked so hard to get on “Drag Race” to get my career to that point and I never thought, there’s one part of me that never really thought about what it would feel like to win or to lose or what any of it would feel like regardless. So after it all hit, so coming back home after making my city proud and being only the second person from Denver on the show I felt like what I imagine sports teams feel like when they win their championships (laughs).
BLADE: Are you still based in Denver?
YVIE: Yes I am.
BLADE: Do you plan to stay or are you considering moving to one of the coasts?
YVIE: I’m not moving to one of the coasts … at least as it stands right now, I really like the idea of being home when I’m home so if I’m only ever home for short amounts of time, then Denver is where I want to be.
BLADE: Overall what’s life been like since you won?
YVIE: It’s been like I’ve died and been reborn a thousands times. It really has. Not only am I trying so many different things that never thought I would try but I wake up literally in a different city every day, meet a whole bunch of new people every day and just have some of the most insane experiences, so I feel like since getting on “Drag Race” and definitely since airing and 100 percent since winning, I feel like every day is a crazy-ass rebirth (laughs).
BLADE: I’m trying to think how to ask this diplomatically: you have so much insane flexibility in your performances. Does that come in handy in your, um, romantic life or is it just for stage?
YVIE: (laughs) Unfortunately not. You know that whole adage about ladies in the street vs. in the sheets? I’m a freak on the streets and a blouse in the sheets.
BLADE: Your lip sync against Brooke Lynn Hytes in episode eight was so mind-bogglingly epic. What was it like in the moment? Did you realize she was really turning it out as well? And how did you feel when you found out you were both saved?
YVIE: I definitely was hyper focused on delivering the best performance I could, so while I didn’t necessarily see Brooke Lynn during any of our lip sync except for maybe one split second here or there, there’s something to be said about the energy of going and fighting for your chance to stay and fighting for your chance to continue being seen that just flips a switch on in you and Brooke Lynn up until that point was already the fiercest competitor around and the one person I really didn’t want to have to lip sync against, so when both of us were called for the bottom, I could just feel the energy going full throttle. I could feel Brooke Lynn fighting to stay too and I knew I had to put up a damn good fight if I wanted to be there beside her. That being said, I feel like the fans sometimes get into this mindset, like, “Oh it’s obviously going to be a double save” or, “These things are predictable,” to them but when we were there on that stage, I never even considered like the possibility of a double save. I just considered was I good enough to beat her, was I good enough to secure my place in this competition, and if not, am I ready to pack my bags? So getting called at the same time felt like some strange act of God, like some weird miracle, like, “Oh yeah, by the way, this doesn’t ever happen but merry Christmas.”
BLADE: How are you and Silky now? That was such a “Drag Race” rivalry for the ages.
YVIE: I mean Silky is probably one of the girls I’m closer to from the show just ‘cause we did go through so much shit with each other in the experience itself and then having to watch the fans relive that in a way, so even though I only ever get to see her occasionally, she’s my sister.
BLADE: You drew a lot of ire for your selfie policy. Sorry if I missed some of it, but was it more about you being exhausted after a show or did you not think it was fair to be taking a bunch of selfies after a show to the people who had paid for the meet and greet?
YVIE: My thinking on it is that I didn’t want people to be selfish for me. It was always about the fact that regardless of whether it’s for money or for my body or for whatever reason, if somebody says no, you just have to be respectful of that and I was getting so many people who started to get to a really creepy, unsettling level when I would tell them no. They would follow me back to my hotel room, they would like be berating me because they felt they deserved something for having watched me on TV (laughs). It’s just not how I feel. So when I made the initial tweets, it was out of frustration of people not listening to that. It was mostly because I’m tired, I’m fucking exhausted after a show, and people would rather believe it’s about money or it’s about me being some spoiled diva who wants all the fame fortune and none of the work that goes into it when really I never wanted fame and fortune, I wanted to be an artist and I feel like that’s who fans appreciate and respect. I’ve had plenty of people who love the hugs I’ve ben giving out (laughs) in place of bullshit selfies, which will just fade away into a timeline of, “Look at me and vaidate my life.”
BLADE: Bianca del Rio …. (cuts off; Bianca criticized Yvie’s policy)
YVIE: That grumpy old bitch. Whatever. That’s why I was shocked. I wasn’t shocked by fans being upset by what I said but I was shocked when she and a few other queens kind of jumped on the bandwagon because they chose to believe the most (inaudible) part about it and being a part of “Drag Race,” there’s always a deeper level that not everybody is going to read into or will even want to read into sympathetically and being like, “This life is hard.” She turns down photos with fans as well, instead of being, “Life is hard, sometime it’s OK to say no,” she was like this spoiled bitch who doesn’t want to take any photos but wants fame and fortune and she wants your money. So good on her, she can give as much terrible life advice as she wants.
BLADE: You said on the show because of your (genetic connective tissue disorder) condition you won’t be able to do drag forever. Any idea how long you might have for this? And what would you be doing if not drag?
YVIE: If I wasn’t doing drag, I’d still be creating. I was an artist before I found the medium of drag and I’ll be an artist afterwards. I have to create to survive, that’s just how I feel, the only way that I feel like I’m living my life authentically so I have had to think about that and remind myself that even if I can’t do things the way I’m doing them now, there is always a future, however I don’t have a timeline. … It’s just some days my body is there for me and some days it’s not and I know that if I keep doing drag the way I do it right now, there’s going to be a lot more of those not days.
BLADE: How long did it take to film season 11?
YVIE: It’s like a regular filming schedule, Monday-Friday, all hours of the day. I honestly don’t remember how long I was there for the whole time. I know it takes a few days to film an episode.
BLADE: Did you feel pressed for time during the competition?
YVIE: No. Only during the time challenges when they make it quite apparent how little you have of anything.
BLADE: Have you been watching “Drag Race U.K.”?
YVIE: Yes I have.
BLADE: Any thoughts or favorites?
YVIE: Um, it’s too early for me to call favorites, especially since what their queens offer is such a different dynamic from what we’ve seen in the U.S. seasons. However I’m just in love with some of the camp and wit that goes into their drag. I love a stupid bitch.
BLADE: It was announced you were gonna have your own World of Wonder show. When can we look for that?
YVIE: It’s actually called “Yvie’s Odd School” and it’s already out on the World of Wonder plus app. I think we’re like four episodes deep. Go check it out.
BLADE: You’ve released several singles. Would you like to establish a long-running music career?
YVIE: I mean it’s something I’d never considered prior to “Drag Race” but I’ve really enjoyed exploring it so it’s definitely one of the routes I’d like to take artistically.
BLADE: Had you auditioned before you got on “Drag Race”?
YVIE: It was my third time. The old third time’s the charm thing.
BLADE: Who was your favorite celebrity guest judge?
YVIE: Either Elvira — because she’s like everything, or Troye Sivan, because he saw my penis.
BLADE: Was that on the show? I don’t remember that.
YVIE: I think he said it on “Untucked.”
BLADE: Hmmmm, how did that happen? You weren’t shy about parading it around.
YVIE: I mean, it wasn’t a parade necessarily. I only had a certain amount of time to get my whole body pink and I didn’t have time when you’re under those constraints, you just don’t have time for decency or shyness (laughs). I guess he was just watching through one of those mirrors or something.
BLADE: Are you just naturally super thin or do you work out and watch your diet?
YVIE: I mean I live a super active lifestyle and always have. Way more active than honestly I probably should be. But I eat like crap (laughs) and my only exercise is drag
BLADE: Are you seeing anybody? What’s it like trying to date when you’re on the road so much?
YVIE: I actually have been dating the same guy since literally the week before our show started airing. I feel like I’ve been lucky because I’ve gotten to enter a relationship in the unique context of he didn’t know me before, so he doesn’t have any claims to my previous identity or what I was like before “Drag Race” and he didn’t come to know me through the medium or through the time when I was on TV, so he like never had any like fan girl moment or anything, he was there with me fright from the beginning, so it’s been magical to kind of get to know somebody authentically as myself and just ride this whole experience with him. To answer your second part, yes, it’s super hard.
BLADE: Does he live in Denver?
YVIE: That’s what makes it even harder. He moved to Boston to go to law school like right when I left for tour. I will be seeing him shortly.
BLADE: Is his name out there publicly?
YVIE: I mean, I’m not ashamed of him, but I don’t want to put him on blast like that.
BLADE: Thanks and good luck with the tour and your other endeavors, this was fun.
YVIE: Thank you darling.
a&e features
Introducing the Torchbearers Awards honoring queer, trans women and nonbinary people
Meet the Legends and Illuminators lighting new paths
The Torchbearers Awards are more than recognition—they are a continuation of legacy. They honor the quiet architects of progress in our community: those who organize, advocate, build, and protect, often without fanfare but always with purpose. Rooted in a belief in intentional recognition, this honor names those who carry our movements forward—those who make room for others, who remind us that change is both generational and generative. In a time marked by uncertainty and challenge, these leaders push forward with courage, clarity, and an unwavering commitment to expanding opportunity and equity.
This year’s honorees reflect the full breadth of our community, spanning generations, backgrounds, identities, and industries. From Legends, with decades of leadership and having created pathways for others, to Illuminators, who are lighting new paths with creativity and innovation, each Torchbearer represents the power of intergenerational leadership and the strength found in our diversity. They are organizers, advocates, artists, policy leaders, healers, and changemakers whose lived experiences shape a shared vision for equity and liberation.
This award is our love letter to queer and trans women and nonbinary people who carry the flame when it would be easier to let it dim. To those who consistently show up, who use their voice and visibility and stand firm, often without recognition, so that others may live more freely and fully. The Torchbearers Awards celebrates not just what has been done, but the enduring spirit, responsibility, and collective care that ensure the work continues, and that the flame is always passed forward.
Co-Creators of the Torchbearers Awards: Shannon Alston, June Crenshaw, Heidi Ellis
Torchbearers Awards Advisory Board: Aditi Hardikar, Lesley Bryant, Jasmine Wilson-Bryant, Stephen Rutgers
ILLUMINATOR AWARDEES
- Representative Sharice Davids (she/her), (D, KS-03)
— U.S. House of Representatives - Greisa Martinez Rosas (she/her/ella)
— Executive Director, United We Dream - Paola Ramos (she/her)
— Journalist & Correspondent - Meagan A. Fitzgerald (she/her)
— Journalist & Correspondent - Jessica L. Lewis (she/her)
— Founder / Producer, Play Play DC - Savannah Wade (she/her)
— Founder, OAR Agency - Suhad Babaa (she/her)
— Filmmaker/ Former Executive Director of Just Vision - Ashlee Davis (she/her)
— Global Head of Inclusive Outcomes, Ancestry - Jazmine Hughes (she/her)
— Journalist and Former Editor at New York Times Magazine - Queen Adesuyi (she/they)
— Policy Advisor & Organizer, ReFrame Health & Justice - Michele Rayner, Esq. (she/her)
— Civil Rights Attorney, State Representative (Florida House of Representatives) - Gaby Vincent (she/her)
— Sports/Cultural Commentator and Community Leader - Jenny Nguyen (she/her)
— Founder & Owner, The Sports Bra - Denice Frohman (she/her)
— Independent Artist, Poet / Performer - Vida Rangel (she/her)
— Founder, Our Trans Capital - Roxanne Anderson (they/them)
— Executive Director, Our Space - Ann Marie Gothard (she/her)
— Co-Founder & President, Pride Live (Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center) - Diana Rodriquez (she/her)
— Co-Founder & CEO, Pride Live (Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center) - Wendi Cooper (she/her)
— Founder / Executive Director, Transcending Women - Toya Matthews (she/her)
— City of San Antonio, Texas - Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones (she/her)
— Sports/Cultural Commentator and Community Leader - Charity Blackwell (she/her)
— Poet, LGBTQ Advocate & Community Leader - Wilhelmina Indermaur (she/her)
— Director of Communications, Tyler Clementi Foundation - Em Chadwick (she/her)
— CMO, For Them & Autostraddle - Kylo Freeman (they/he)
— CEO, For Them & Autostraddle
LEGEND AWARDEES
- Sheila Alexander-Reid (she/her)
— Executive Director, PHL Diversity, Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau - Cassandra Cantave Burton (she/her)
— Interim Director of Thought Leadership & Senior Research Advisor, AARP - leigh h. mosley (she/her)
— Photographer / Educator, PhotoFlo Photography - Jenn M. Jackson, PhD (they/them)
— Assistant Professor of Political Science; Author & Columnist, Syracuse University - Jordyn White (she/her)
— COO, Washington Prodigy / VP of Leadership Development & Research, HRC Foundation - AJ Hikes (they/them)
— Deputy Executive Director, ACLU - RaeShanda Lias (she/her)
— Digital Creator, RL Lockhart - Donna Payne-Hardy (she/her)
— Educator, EEO Specialist, Founder of NBJC, Former Leader at the Human Rights Campaign - Courtney R. Snowden (she/her)
— Principal, Blueprint Strategy Group - Gaye Adegbalola (she/her)
— Musician & Activist, Musician / Inductee of the Blues Hall of Fame - Cheryl A. Head (she/her)
— Independent Author, Novelist (Crime Fiction) - Letitia Gomez (she/her)
— The American LGBTQ+ Museum, Board Chair - Lynne Brown (she/her)
— Publisher, Washington Blade - Shay Franco-Clausen (She/Her/Ella/Queen)
— Political Strategist and Organizer - Melissa L. Bradley (she/her)
— Founder & Managing Partner, New Majority Ventures - Meghann Burke (she/her)
— Executive Director, NWSL Players Association - Victoria Kirby York, MPA (she/they)
— Director of Public Policy & Programs, National Black Justice Collective - Joli Angel Robinson (she/her)
— CEO, Center on Halsted - Jeannine Frisby LaRue (she/her)
— CEO, Moxie Strategies - Alice Wu (she/her)
— Film Director (Saving Face, The Half of It) / Screenwriter - Storme Webber (she/her)
— Interdisciplinary Artist / Educator, University of Washington - Kim Stone
— CEO of the Washington Spirit, Washington Spirit - Mickalene Thomas
— American Visual Artist, Mickalene Thomas Studio - Erika Lorshbough (any/they/she)
— Executive Director, interACT - J. Gia Loving (she/ella)
— Co-Executive Director, GSA Network
a&e features
D.C. springs back to life with new, returning events
Cherry blossoms, Rehoboth season kickoff, and more on tap
Longer and warmer days are back meaning: It’s time to get out of the house and enjoy Washington D.C.’s many events. Below are a few to check out this spring.
The National Museum of Women in the Arts will host “Making their Mark: Works from the Shah Garg Collection” until Sunday, July 26. This exhibition illustrates women artists’ vital role in abstraction, considers historical contributions, formal and material breakthroughs and intergenerational relationships among women artists over the last eight decades. For more details, visit. NMWA’s website.
Art in the Attic will host a pop-up on Saturday, March 14 at 6 p.m. at 1012 Madison St., Alexandria, Va. There will be a variety of vendors selling products across different modes of art. For more details, visit Eventbrite.
Play Play will host “Indoor Recess – The art of play” on Sunday, March 15 at 2 p.m. This event will embody classic recess energy, including opportunities to build and experience community and connections through games, movement, art stations, and creative freedom. Tickets are $12.51 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
Spark Social will host “Gay Bar Crawl on U Street” on Friday, March 20 at 7:30 p.m. This will be a fun night out in gay D.C. with other gay people, whether you’re visiting D.C., new to the area, or just looking to expand your social circle. Many crawlers have formed lasting friendships and even romantic relationships after just one night out. Tickets are $35.88 and are available on Eventbrite.
Creative Suitland Arts Center will host “EFFERVESCENT: House of Swann” on Saturday, May 30 at 7 p.m. This will be a gay, good time where we will celebrate love, joy, wellness, and visibility for the LGBTQIA+ community. Tickets start at $17.85 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
SWAG Works DC will host “Unapologetically Her” on Saturday, March 14 at 2 p.m. at 701 E St., S.E. This event is a powerful celebration of womanhood, resilience, creativity, and self-expression in honor of Women’s History Month. This all-women exhibition highlights the diverse voices, stories, and artistic perspectives of women who create boldly, live authentically, and stand confidently in their truth. This event is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
9:30 Club will host “Gimme Gimme Disco: A Dance Party Inspired by ABBA” on Saturday, March 14 at 6 p.m. There will also be a “Donna Summer Power Hour – The Queen of Disco” segment during this event. It’ll be one hour of music with no skips. Tickets are available on 9:30 Club’s website.
Harder Better Faster Stronger will host “Heated Rivalry Rave” on Friday, March 20 at 9 p.m. at Howard Theatre. This event is open to all ages. Tickets are available on the theater’s website.
CAMP Rehoboth hosts its 25th annual Women’s+ FEST, April 9-12 in Rehoboth Beach, Del. Entertainers include headliner Mina Hartong, a comedian, storyteller, and founder of Lez Out Loud; and singer Yoli Mayor. There are dances, dinners, pickleball, and much more. Details and tickets at camprehoboth.org.
Also in Rehoboth Beach, the Washington Blade’s 19th annual Summer Kickoff Party is set for Friday, May 15 featuring Ashley Biden, who will accept an award on behalf of her brother Beau. State Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall will also speak. More speakers and the venue to be announced soon.
The annual D.C. Cherry Blossom Festival kicks off March 21 at DAR Constitution Hall and culminates with Petalpalooza on April 4, the day-long, outdoor street party with music and art, stretching across Navy Yard, and ending with fireworks over the Anacostia River.
a&e features
‘Queer Eye’ star Dorriene Diggs on life before and after appearing on hit show
Emotional January episode highlighted 40-year love affair with partner
Dorriene Diggs, 70, whose 40-year relationship with her domestic partner, Diane until Diane’s passing in 2020, the couple’s tense relationship with their respective parents, and Dorriene’s current living arrangement with her straight sister Jo, were the focus of a final season episode of the popular TV series “Queer Eye.”
In a recent interview with the Washington Blade, Diggs told of how her appearance on the show has impacted her life. She elaborated on the many aspects of her life experiences that she told to the five “Queer Eye” co-hosts who interviewed her and her sister in their D.C. home.
Although her parents and her partner’s parents, who have since passed away, were not accepting of their relationship, Diggs has said most of her family members at this time reacted positively to her appearance on the show.
“They loved it,” she told the Blade. “Yes, everybody that saw the show called me and said they loved the show, they really enjoyed themselves watching it.”
Through an arrangement with D.C.’s Rainbow History Project, the “Queer Eye” show featuring Diggs and her sister was presented in a special screening on a large video screen at the D.C. History Center in January.
“Dorriene, a 70-year-old Black lesbian living in Washington, D.C., had spent decades building a life with her partner while navigating silence within her own family,” a “Queer Eye” statement announcing the episode on Diggs states.
“The Fab Five did not arrive to introduce Dorriene to herself, but to help ensure her story was finally heard in full,” the statement says.
Blade: Can you tell us how your appearance on the “Queer Eye” program came about? How did they find out about you?
Diggs: You know, I still don’t have all the details. I think it was my niece, Missy. And she knows somebody there from “Queer Eye.”
Blade: So, did you first learn about it when someone from “Queer Eye” contacted you?
Diggs: No, the “Queer Eye” guy knocked on my bedroom door and started talking. I was in my bedroom watching television and the next thing I know my door opened up and there was Karamo [Karamo Brown, one of the “Queer Eye” co-hosts] with his big black cowboy hat on, opening the door grinning. … They contacted Jo first. And when they came here, they realized there was a gay woman in the house, too. Because my name was not mentioned at first. After they came here, they learned about me, because when Missy reached out to them, she reached out to them about Jo. But that doesn’t bother me. This was all about Jo in the beginning, and not me. … They started talking to me and Jo. And he said, Dorriene, ‘you’ve done so much for so many people, it’s time for someone to do something for you.’ That’s what they said. He said, ‘this is the day we’re doing it for you.’
And so, they put me and my sister up in a hotel for a week. They gave us a personal driver to take us anywhere we wanted to go. And then they took us to a bunch of places. We didn’t know why they were doing all of this. We had no idea that they were renovating the house and renovating our bedrooms. We had no idea.
Blade: What was your reaction when you saw the home renovation?
Diggs: It was amazing. And they bought us all new complete wardrobes – clothes, shoes. But most of the stuff they got me I gave away to a women’s shelter. But it was so nice. Actually, to meet the guys. I’ve been watching the show for 10 years. I have watched it from the beginning. And actually, it brought me and my sister closer – really. We’re closer now than we’ve ever been. She’s my baby sister – not the baby, but next to the baby. She’s the younger one.
Blade: What has been the reaction to your appearance on the show? Do more people now recognize you?
Diggs: Yes, yes. I’m getting phone calls and it’s almost like I’m a celebrity. And I don’t want people to make a fuss over me. All the things I did I did from the heart. I really did. And I don’t want people to think I’m more than I am. I’m just a good Christian woman that believes in giving back.
And I do. God gives me help giving. That’s what I do. And I don’t want anything in return from anyone. You know, because I know what it means to not to have. I know what it means to go to bed hungry, with no food. Going to school with holes in your shoes. I know that. I know that feeling. I’ve been there. And I promised myself as a kid I would never live like this again. And when I got bold enough to leave home, I left home at 14, and I moved in with a drag queen. Damen was his name.
Blade: Did your appearance on the show change your life and your relationship with your sister?
Diggs: Yeah, yeah, it actually did. We are actually closer now than we’ve ever been. Because, like I said, I moved away from home early and I never went back. My parents had a problem with my lifestyle. They really did. My mom looked at me with such hatred. When I was old enough to say goodbye, I never looked back. And to come back around now in the last few years after Diane died, that’s when I came back here.
And at one point I stayed with my nephew Todd and his wife – but he got killed in a car accident. I couldn’t stay at his house anymore. So, then I called Jo and told her I need to get out of here. And without hesitating she came and picked me up and brought me to her home. And I’ve been here ever since.
Blade: Can you tell a little about when it came about and how you met your partner?
Diggs: We lived on 18th Avenue in condos. I just bought one. Hers was above mine. I bought the bottom one. When my brother came over, she was getting out of her car. She was driving a Vega. And I turned to my brother and I said – this is the God’s honest truth – I said Keith, that’s the woman I’m going to spend the rest of my life with. Just like that. And he started laughing. He said, girl you’re crazy. I said I know I’m crazy, Keith, but I’m telling you that woman right there is who I’m going to spend the rest of my life with.
Blade: And when was that?
Diggs: It was 1980 actually. And then I started going to the laundry room to do my laundry. So I started talking to her. She said, ‘I’m not speaking to you.’ Isaid ‘why not?’ She said ‘because you’re nothing but a female gigolo.’ And I said I’m not dating anymore. I’m waiting for you. ‘No, you’re too fast for me.’ I said, ‘well, I’m not giving up.’
And I didn’t give up. So, I was playing an album one day and she knocked on the door and asked what I was playing, I think. I said you liked that. She said yeah. I said OK, I’ll bring it upstairs and we can listen to it together. So, when I went up there to her apartment that day and whenever I went up there, I never left.
Blade: So, your partner’s name was Diane?
Diggs: Yes, Ruth Diane Robinson. But she hated the name Ruth. So, the only people who called her Ruth were at work, the people she worked with. Everybody else called her Diane.
Blade: And how many years were you together?
Diggs: Forty. Forty years together
Blade: And where were you living with her most of the time?
Diggs: We lived in Hagerstown the longest, Hagerstown, Md. And so, if Diane hadn’t died I probably still would have been in our house in Hagerstown.
Blade: Can you tell me a little about what you were doing career wise during those years?
Diggs: I do computers. I used to do computers. And before that I cooked. I love to cook like my mom. And then I wanted to do something else. So, I taught myself computers. I taught myself how to build computers and stuff. So, then I got my own computer business called Ida One Computer Consulting. And so, we helped build computers for people.
Blade: Around when was this, in the 1980a or 1990s?
Diggs: Yes, in the 1980s. I think I stopped I would say around ’96, when I stopped. Because we both said we were going to retire at 55. And we did. We both retired at 55. And then she started diabetes. Every day I had to give her an injection because she was afraid of needles. She couldn’t give it to herself. So, I had to give her an injection every day One time, I don’t remember when, she had a mild stroke. And I had to take care of her. I’ve always taken care of her. And I don’t regret it. I never regretted it. It’s taking care of the one you love.
Blade: When was it that she passed away?
Diggs: In 2020. I found her on the kitchen floor.
Blade: How did your family and your extended family react to your relationship with Diane?
Diggs: Well, her family, oh my God, they hated me – her mother the worst. Because I put a stop to them treating her really bad. I told her mother – I said never in my life – my mother raised me well. Never disrespect someone’s mother. I said but this time I’m going to disrespect you because you are going to start treating Diane like you ought to. This is a wonderful woman and you and your son and you it’s always about your son. You never, ever say anything good about your daughter.
I said it isn’t going to happen again. You’re never going to disrespect her again. I said you take a damn good look at her because you’ll never see her again. I meant that. I grabbed Diane. I said it’s time to go. They don’t care about you.
Blade: Can you tell a little about your family?
Diggs: Yeah, I’m a triplet sister. So, it’s Dorriene, Chorine, and Chrissy — we are the triplets. So, my mom had a set of twins and a set of triplets within nine months. One of the twins died at birth. So, the other twin is Margaret.
Blade: So then how did your family react to you and Jo being on “Queer Eye”?
Diggs: Most of my family really had no problem with it.
Blade: Were you out to them?
Diggs: Oh yeah. I was never in the closet. I didn’t give a damn what people felt about me, sweetheart. I really didn’t. I didn’t care. Because I was going to be me. And for people who didn’t like it, I wasn’t living for them, I was living for me. I’ve always been out. I had a brother who was also gay, Marvin. God rest his soul, too. But he stayed in the closet. He was in the closet until he was about 55 years old.
But everything I said on the show was the truth – my account. The things that I went through with family … You can’t tell me how I felt. If they try to make mom and dad out as perfect, they weren’t perfect. They were the worst parents. That’s my account of it.
So yes, everything I said on that interview was the truth. That’s one thing people who know me know – I do not lie.
Blade: What are some of the things you like to do these days?
Diggs: I’m a sports lover. I love sports. So, my baseball season is getting ready to get started. Baseball is my favorite sport. Yes, I love baseball. I like the statistics of it. And watching the guys. I wish they had a women’s professional baseball team, honestly. … I’m a D.C. sports fan. The Wizards, the Nationals, the Mystics, the Caps. … And see, I’m a diehard Redskins fan and I refuse to call them the Commanders. They’re the Redskins. They will always be the Redskins to me. I love my sports teams.
Blade: Can you tell a little about the history of the house where you and Jo now live and where they did the filming of the “Queer Eye” show?
Diggs: Jo had a house on 17th Street, I think it was Northeast because it was over there by H Street, N.E. And I think somebody wanted to buy her house. I don’t know why she moved. So, she found this house. Because she wanted to buy something where she could buy a house straight out. She didn’t want a mortgage on another house.
Blade: What are your thoughts on being on the last season of “Queer Eye?”
Diggs: Yeah, we were the last ones. We took it out with a bang, me and Jo. That was it.
Blade: Can you say how you and Jo appearing on the show impacted your life?
Diggs: I don’t know. I’m the same person. I’ve been getting calls from people saying I saw you on the show. And friends who I haven’t seen in years have been calling. … So yeah, the show, people I haven’t seen and talked to in years have been calling. I think that’s a good thing.
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