Cork drag queen to follow in Danny La Rue's famed footsteps after landing TV gig with Comedy Central
It has been revealed that Candy Warhol, a drag artist from Douglas, will host the new Dragony Aunts series alongside renowned fellow drag artist Crystal Rasmussen.
Each episode of Dragony Aunts will see drag queens dish out tongue-in-cheek advice in response to life’s everyday problems.
Problem-solving will take on a range of different forms, from dating roleplay to miraculous makeovers.
Cork’s Candy beat off stiff competition from drag queens from all walks of life to secure the coveted role.
The Douglas native has been celebrated in recent years for taking Cork’s drag scene to new heights, performing both around the city and nationally with her queen family, Mockie Ah!
The performer, who has spoken out about bullying in the past, revealed why drag queens make the best agony aunts.
“As queer people, we have had to navigate our way through life very differently to the rest of society,” said Candy.
“If you are a cis white boy in secondary school, you are not going to face the same adversity as a young gay man who has been bullied.
“We’ve had to fight our way, both through our teens and through life. In a lot of ways, we are underdogs. We see the world from a different perspective.
“If someone comes to us with an issue, we are going to be able to relate and solve that issue much faster.”
As a teen, she refused to let bullies get in the way of his dream.
“I feel like I’m in a happy place now.
“It’s sad when anyone is bullied and faced with a situation like that,” said Candy. “Since I got my drag family, my confidence has sky-rocketed. You just try to move on and not look back.”
Candy hopes to relish the opportunity by working as hard as possible.
“Like any parents, they want to see me do well,” she said.
“Most parents have visions of their child attending university and becoming an accountant so when you hear that they’re going to be a drag queen, it can come as a bit of a shock.
“This has made me more determined to work ten times as hard so I can make both myself and my family proud.”
News of the big break is still sinking in for the performer.
“For the first time in years, I felt ready, it just felt right. I didn’t have time to be emotional or freaked out since I found out I’d got the job so soon after the audition.”
One of Candy’s favourite things about drag is that it allows for anonymity.
“People see Candy as this fantasy-type cartoon character so when being critiqued I can sweep it to one side.
“It’s still me underneath all the make-up but I still get to keep that bit of anonymity. Everyone’s going to have their own responses and opinions.
“I just hope they’re nice.”
Candy Warhol is following in the footsteps of her great-granduncle Danny La Rue, the Cork-born singer who was known for his cross-dressing performances in the West End and across Ireland in a career that spanned five decades.
However, Candy isn’t fazed by comparisons to her famous great-granduncle.
“I don’t think I could replicate that type of fame,” said Candy.
“Back then, he was the one and only. Now drag is becoming so mainstream, there are hundreds of queens. I won’t be able to achieve what he did in the ’60s and ’70s, but I’m happy to make my own path.
“It’s exciting to make my own name through my own work and I’m excited to see where this can lead. At the same time, I’m really proud that there was another big queen in the family.
“A lot of young queens would be familiar with RuPaul, but it was Danny La Rue who paved the way for queens like that.”
Despite all the newfound fame, Candy said she has no intention of leaving the Mockie Ah family in Cork.
“I am so proud to be from Cork,” she said.
“Up until a few years ago, there wasn’t a huge drag scene in Cork. Now I can work both here and in the UK and it might give me more of an opportunity to bring something bigger and better to Cork. I am in no way ready to take my hands off what I have created.”
Set in Candy and Crystal’s Dragony Aunt’s dream world, Dragony Aunts is set to air in the upcoming weeks and features additional musical performances from the twosome.
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