The Show
Tammie didn’t lipsync to Break The Dawn because she said that she didn’t have a niche for that song. She wasn’t in the right venue where she could clown off and have fun and she doesn’t regret doing that. She also said she was little bitter coming off Season 1 because they didn’t show her in the right light but that has changed now. She felt that the queens were allowed to express themselves in the challenges and it was lacking the art and camp aspects.
After Season 1 she would get a lot of hate and nasty comments and misunderstanding from people. But then thanks to All Stars everyone said that she is so cool and it has totally changed a lot how people viewed her.
She knows that some people understand her humor, some don’t. But she believes that she made for good TV with catch phrases to boot even though she got eliminated on Episode 2 on both occasions.
The complete infamous quote that triggered RuPaul’s rant in Season’s reunion was “Well I don’t see you walking children in nature and taking care of old ladies.” Tammie used to volunteer The Children’s Nature Institute, taking kids from the concrete jungle on nature walks. She also hangs out with people of all ages and her friends used to poke fun at her saying she hang out with old ladies. Although Tammie didn’t expect RuPaul’s reaction to be so crazy, she didn’t regret telling RuPaul how she felt because she thinks it needs to be said about negativity.
In the past RuPaul was an inspiration to Tammie and she had studied him. But she said that she has been viewing him 50/50 for the past few years. She threw a little shade saying,
I’ve seen him live, and you know, he is who he is and he does what he does. Sometimes when I see drag, I’m not as happy with some of the artists as I was watching them on TV or hearing about their legend. Sometimes they’re not up to par when they’re live.
And as her banter with Michelle during All Stars, she did have an Associate’s Degree in Fashion Design from Brooks College. Tammie said the show is trying to knock the queens down to make good TV and she’s not going to just sit there and take it.
Starting Drag
Drag is something that Tammie wanted to do as a kid when she saw the movie Tootsie. The light turned on when she saw the movie What’s Love Got to Do With It. She fantasize about entertaining when seeing Tina Turner and was obsessed in impersonating her. She did drag during high school in theater and lipsync competitions. She then started performing in local clubs when she reached 18.
Drag Inspirations
Tina Turner is her top inspiration. She also loves Josephine Baker and that’s where her wackier faces come from when she performs. She has gotten into and studied Joan Crawford and have seen around 60 of her 80 films. Tammie stated that it’s the female powerhouse attitude that inspires her and the uniqueness that they embody which helps her as an individual performer.
She likes the queens from the 90s like Lady Bunny, Jackie Beat, Lipsynca, Coco Peru, and Varla Jean Merman, where they have over the top personalities. Tammie likes to think herself as a high concept character. She leaves the house as the character and lives the lifestyle of the character. She is the character.
And that is probably why she acts so bizarre in the show and has a very unique character - Planet 9, Planet Tammie. She is very into character and you get comments from Adore Delano saying that Tammie is in character all the time. Tammie is not happy when she presents herself as Tammie and people calls her real name.
“Old Hollywood” Look
The Old Hollywood look was actually not intentional and just came along when she took makeup classes back during college at Hollywood Faces. The person who taught the class had her get a makeover done and that’s when her face started to transform into a more classic look. Her friend also started dressing her in vintage pieces and she liked them because it’s a little more different and fashionable.
Speaking Spanish
Tammie was able to speak Spanish quite fluently since she lived in Mexico over six years as a child including Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta and Rincón de Guayabitos. The reason that her family lived there is because her dad was a drug runner. Mexico wa a big influence on her drag as well including giving a lot of inspiration to be open and do different things.
Music
Tammie has already released two album including Popcorn and Hot Skunx. Her music inspirations includes Tina Turner, Dolly Parton, Amanda Lear, Dottie West, Jimmy Buffet, Tammy Wynette, Talking Heads, and a lot of disco and old time entertainers from the golden age of Hollywood.
She also has done her one woman shows including Walking Children In Nature and Lip-Synch Suicide. She also has her annual show, Holiday Sparkle.
Trivia