After 17 whole seasons — and dozens of spin-offs — you might think you’ve seen it all on RuPaul’s Drag Race, but Hormona Lisa proves there are always more surprises and new stories to be told on the hit drag competition series.
Case in point: How Hormona made her way into the Werk Room to begin with. It wasn’t the queen’s audition tape that clinched her spot in season 17; instead, in an unprecedented move, Hormona found herself being hand selected by Mama Ru herself during the drag icon’s The House of Hidden Meanings book tour stop in Atlanta.
It was an entrance that caused a stir — and plenty of tension with her season 17 sisters. But that was just the beginning. This Southern queen continued to pull focus with her polished looks, delightful drag delusion, and “bless your heart” coded shade so sharp it could cut a b*tch.
While the Sea Sickening Ball challenge saw Hormona sashaying away, she left her mark on Drag Race history with her charismatic ability to take a joke, her unique personality, her nerve-y reads, and her comedic talent. Also, all the drama. PRIDE caught up with Hormona to talk about what really went down with Lexi Love and the infamous rhinestone-gate, how Suzie Toot was involved, and she clears the air about her connection to Dolly Parton and that offer she made to Acacia Forgot.
PRIDE: I loved watching you this season. You were incredible. You brought this “bless your heart” coded shade that I was just living for. How are you feeling about your time on?
HORMONA LISA: I feel good about it. I think that it really does represent me as a person, because I have many layers. I have that Southern, bless your heartness, but I’m [also] a very compassionate person, and I think that comes across in Untucked as well. I also don’t allow people to like, run over me, I think that that comes across too.
But I think that all those things come together ... there’s not really a contestant that brings those different aspects the way that I do. Across social media too, [people are] saying that I have the most unique personality that’s ever been showcased on Drag Race, which is kind of like a bold statement.
What else would we expect from someone who took probably the nerviest path of getting on the show, going up to Ru herself and being selected. But do you feel like it ended up adding more pressure for you?
I did not feel any additional pressure from it, because, at the end of the day, I got there based on my own merit.
Do you feel like it impacted your relationship with your season 17 sisters?
I definitely do, and I really didn’t understand why from the beginning, to be honest. I felt like their attitude towards me was because they didn’t think I deserved to be there. That’s what I initially thought. But then after getting to know some of the girls and talking, apparently it was more so that since I was personally hand selected, whatever you want to call it by Ru, that [it] more so meant I was a shoe-in to win. So it’s kind of the opposite, I guess, [since] I thought it was because I didn’t think I deserved to be there, but in reality, it’s because I thought I was so good that I was going to win.
One of the things I loved about watching you on the season is that you did have moments with so many of your sisters. Beautiful moments and dramatic moments. One that stands out of course is rhinestone gate with Lexi Love. There has been some back and forth about whether or not she “let you have it,” so I want to know if you could clarify that — and if Suzie Toot was wearing rhinestones as well.
Lexi did not let me have it. This is what happened in the moment. She had said earlier in the day, she thought ... out of me, her, and Lucky, one would be top, one would be safe, one would be in the bottom. She knew Lucky [Starzzz] would be in the bottom. She thought she was going to be in the top. And then when we left and came back, and I had a stoned gown, she’s like, ‘Oh shit, she’s going to be in the top over me.’ She was just saying, ‘Oh, you’re going to beat me.’ And then all of a sudden she’s like, ‘You’re not supposed to use that. So you’re going to cheat and get over on me, and win. Blah, blah, blah’ and that was it. There was no, ‘letting me have it.’ She didn’t raise her voice. She didn’t say something so clever that my body shut down. She just basically had a tantrum. Having a tantrum does not equate to letting somebody have it.
As far as Suzie goes, yeah, I saw Suzie’s stones before Lexi even said anything about mine. I saw Suzie had stones on her little head piece that she made in her hotel room. And, you know, I could have brought it up. But with cardboard, of course, if you E-6000 something on top of it, it’s going to rip it to shreds. So she would have had to start completely over. I’m just not someone that’s going to do that even if she had this crazy couture gown that I’m like, ‘Oh, she’s going to win,’ I still wouldn’t have done that because that doesn’t make me feel any better.
Up until that point, I liked Suzie enough where it would make no sense for me to make her take them off. And she was also so proud of it. I wish you could have seen her sweet little face. She was carrying it around like it was a big head of a buck, or a rack of antlers. It’s so big that she’s so proud of it that she’s bringing home to feed her family. That’s really how she acted with her little headpiece. I just could not take that joy away from that kid. I could not.
See, there’s the compassionate Hormona and the bless your heart shade all in one answer! This is why we love you. Okay? I gotta know: Do you actually know Dolly Parton, and would she really have done you a solid regarding Acacia Forgot if she had helped you out with the Rate-A-Queen?
As decent as I think Acacia’s music is, I do not think... in any solar system that’s going to happen. [Dolly’s] not going to do any kind of collaboration with Acacia. But yes, one of Dolly’s foundations... her nephew or something, he runs that, and I know him. I’ve not ever met her in person. To clarify, we don’t have dinner together, like I don’t go hang out with her. I’ve never seen her without her wigs on or nothing. But I do know the family, and they have a foundation that has sponsored me in pageants. Those are both true things. Would they have ever collaborated with Acacia? No. And to Acacia, I’m really sorry if it came across like I thought you had a chance to do that. I was really just joking, like, and not because she’s not good at whatever it is that she does. See, I just sound like a very shady person, but I did not mean it, because she’s a good singer, but she also, as we saw in RDR Live, she’s a good actress too. So whatever she does, she’s good at, is what I’m trying to say. But no, Dolly doesn’t collaborate with just anybody.
Seeing you, Lexi, and Hunter Shaefer in Untucked together this week was so powerful, especially in a time when the world is getting scarier and scarier, particularly for trans folks. I’m curious, how are you taking care of yourself right now? Do you have any advice for others, for the dolls out there right now?
Love yourself so much where it doesn’t matter if somebody else doesn’t in your immediate life. But then I think that, as a broader look at it with legislation and the government, I really don’t know. The thing is, there’s a rainbow after a storm and that’s kind of what we’re in right now. It’s scary for me too.
PRIDE: I loved watching you this season. You were incredible. You brought this “bless your heart” coded shade that I was just living for. How are you feeling about your time on?
HORMONA LISA: I feel good about it. I think that it really does represent me as a person, because I have many layers. I have that Southern, bless your heartness, but I’m [also] a very compassionate person, and I think that comes across in Untucked as well. I also don’t allow people to like, run over me, I think that that comes across too.
But I think that all those things come together ... there’s not really a contestant that brings those different aspects the way that I do. Across social media too, [people are] saying that I have the most unique personality that’s ever been showcased on Drag Race, which is kind of like a bold statement.
What else would we expect from someone who took probably the nerviest path of getting on the show, going up to Ru herself and being selected. But do you feel like it ended up adding more pressure for you?
I did not feel any additional pressure from it, because, at the end of the day, I got there based on my own merit.
Do you feel like it impacted your relationship with your season 17 sisters?
I definitely do, and I really didn’t understand why from the beginning, to be honest. I felt like their attitude towards me was because they didn’t think I deserved to be there. That’s what I initially thought. But then after getting to know some of the girls and talking, apparently it was more so that since I was personally hand selected, whatever you want to call it by Ru, that [it] more so meant I was a shoe-in to win. So it’s kind of the opposite, I guess, [since] I thought it was because I didn’t think I deserved to be there, but in reality, it’s because I thought I was so good that I was going to win.
One of the things I loved about watching you on the season is that you did have moments with so many of your sisters. Beautiful moments and dramatic moments. One that stands out of course is rhinestone gate with Lexi Love. There has been some back and forth about whether or not she “let you have it,” so I want to know if you could clarify that — and if Suzie Toot was wearing rhinestones as well.
Lexi did not let me have it. This is what happened in the moment. She had said earlier in the day, she thought ... out of me, her, and Lucky, one would be top, one would be safe, one would be in the bottom. She knew Lucky [Starzzz] would be in the bottom. She thought she was going to be in the top. And then when we left and came back, and I had a stoned gown, she’s like, ‘Oh shit, she’s going to be in the top over me.’ She was just saying, ‘Oh, you’re going to beat me.’ And then all of a sudden she’s like, ‘You’re not supposed to use that. So you’re going to cheat and get over on me, and win. Blah, blah, blah’ and that was it. There was no, ‘letting me have it.’ She didn’t raise her voice. She didn’t say something so clever that my body shut down. She just basically had a tantrum. Having a tantrum does not equate to letting somebody have it.
As far as Suzie goes, yeah, I saw Suzie’s stones before Lexi even said anything about mine. I saw Suzie had stones on her little head piece that she made in her hotel room. And, you know, I could have brought it up. But with cardboard, of course, if you E-6000 something on top of it, it’s going to rip it to shreds. So she would have had to start completely over. I’m just not someone that’s going to do that even if she had this crazy couture gown that I’m like, ‘Oh, she’s going to win,’ I still wouldn’t have done that because that doesn’t make me feel any better.
Up until that point, I liked Suzie enough where it would make no sense for me to make her take them off. And she was also so proud of it. I wish you could have seen her sweet little face. She was carrying it around like it was a big head of a buck, or a rack of antlers. It’s so big that she’s so proud of it that she’s bringing home to feed her family. That’s really how she acted with her little headpiece. I just could not take that joy away from that kid. I could not.
See, there’s the compassionate Hormona and the bless your heart shade all in one answer! This is why we love you. Okay? I gotta know: Do you actually know Dolly Parton, and would she really have done you a solid regarding Acacia Forgot if she had helped you out with the Rate-A-Queen?
As decent as I think Acacia’s music is, I do not think... in any solar system that’s going to happen. [Dolly’s] not going to do any kind of collaboration with Acacia. But yes, one of Dolly’s foundations... her nephew or something, he runs that, and I know him. I’ve not ever met her in person. To clarify, we don’t have dinner together, like I don’t go hang out with her. I’ve never seen her without her wigs on or nothing. But I do know the family, and they have a foundation that has sponsored me in pageants. Those are both true things. Would they have ever collaborated with Acacia? No. And to Acacia, I’m really sorry if it came across like I thought you had a chance to do that. I was really just joking, like, and not because she’s not good at whatever it is that she does. See, I just sound like a very shady person, but I did not mean it, because she’s a good singer, but she also, as we saw in RDR Live, she’s a good actress too. So whatever she does, she’s good at, is what I’m trying to say. But no, Dolly doesn’t collaborate with just anybody.
Seeing you, Lexi, and Hunter Shaefer in Untucked together this week was so powerful, especially in a time when the world is getting scarier and scarier, particularly for trans folks. I’m curious, how are you taking care of yourself right now? Do you have any advice for others, for the dolls out there right now?
Love yourself so much where it doesn’t matter if somebody else doesn’t in your immediate life. But then I think that, as a broader look at it with legislation and the government, I really don’t know. The thing is, there’s a rainbow after a storm and that’s kind of what we’re in right now. It’s scary for me too.
