There's a mixture of pride and self-loathing in Jewish female comedians that I've always admired and wanted to bring into Jinkx.
— Jinkx Monsoon
Well, I think 'Addams Family Values' is definitely a gay icon movie and definitely a drag queen icon movie that no one ever talks about.
Sarah Silverman has always been a huge influence on my comedy.
A lot of people just feel really impacted and inspired by drag in ways that I don't think we, as self-absorbed drag queens, think about that often.
I think this is a trait that runs throughout the queer community, the obsession with the hyper-feminine female villains. And we see it in Disney movies and in movies like 'Death Becomes Her,' and in characters like Poison Ivy and Catwoman.
If I'm in drag, I'm playing Jinkx in some way.
I've been dressing like a girl my entire life!
I want people to see that you don't have to be catty and mean to be a superstar.
Australian audiences seem ready for anything you throw at them.
Drag is very much an art form, and all art goes through ebbs and flows and trends.
I feel that drag queens impersonate very strong, independent women who inspired us throughout our lives.
I really don't consider myself a man or a woman. I just kind of float in between and that's how I've always felt.
It was like I have always had big dreams for my drag aspirations, and I talked myself into doing 'Drag Race.' I'm like, take a chance.
When you are living your truth, you will meet people who love you for that truth.
Growing up as a gay boy during the holidays, there's the things you want to ask for, and then the things you ask for because you're afraid of asking for what you really want.
I am a transgender identified person.
I think my favourite thing about doing conventions is the parents taking their kids to see their favourite drag idols, because open-minded, progressive parents are making such a change in the world right now. The more open-minded these kids are being raised, the more hope I have for the future.
It's not enough to just be a good singer. You have to know where your roots come from. If you sing jazz, you should know all about jazz. You should look into, as much as you possibly can, the history of it, so that you're and educated and well-informed performer.
I did 'Hedwig and the Angry Inch' two years in a row in the winter in Seattle, and that was an amazing experience both times.
I was raised Catholic primarily by my mom's side of the family. But at 18, I found out there was an adoption in the family, and that I was of Russian Jewish descent on my mom's side. After that, I started to look more into the philosophies and culture of Judaism.
I'm going to release whatever feels right and what I think is going to spread a good message about my artistry and what I believe.
I find a lot of joy from legitimate theater. But Jinkx is my passion project.
I basically can't go to any gay bar in America without getting mobbed, which is fun and tiring.
I want a computer that's bigger than my TV at home!
I want to be a role model and an advocate for social change.
If you hide, you won't find the eccentric people who will be your best friends.
I very much treat my stage persona of Jinkx as a character I've created. Some drag artists do a look-based glamour act, and when they talk they're mostly just being themselves. In my case it's not Jinkx the drag queen, it's Jerrick Hoffer as Jinkx Monsoon.
While I'm out of drag, I'm still extremely effeminate.
No matter who you are in your day-to-day life, and no matter what you look like, and whatever insecurities you're dealing with, you can fully transform yourself. It's as easy as deciding to transform yourself.
What I love that has happened for years now with 'Drag Race' is the queens can go on to have any kind of career.
I am only really attracted to people who are very open-minded and embrace and celebrate people who live outside the gender norm.
Christmas used to be my favorite time of year. But as an adult, it's a time of year where it's like, do I have to go through this again?
I prefer to be gender fluid or non-gendered and I dress in drag almost every day of my life even if I'm not in my full Jinkx Monsoon persona - I'm the kind of person who does not dress like my assigned gender and I wear makeup every day and sometimes wear wigs as a boy.
I've had some really great experiences in London and the fans are really loyal and always happy to have us.
You can't believe that you're the best at everything.
I can't speak for the Jewish population, but I attribute my sense of humor to the tragic moments of my life. The best way to overcome certain tragedies is to develop a thick skin and sense of humor about things. Of course, I am very politically conscious and careful about my comedy. But when I do push an envelope, it's with a purpose.
The idea behind Jinkx is that she's a single mother and failed actress. One time she went out to a gay bar with her son, who's a gay adult, and started singing torch songs on the bar and became a hit. Now she's every gay boy's favorite cabaret act.
Almost all the Disney villain witches are gay icons.
I've always been into the music of the 1920s and 1930s.
We like to take pop songs that have really cool, complex melodies or lyrics and strip away all that fluff and electronic noise, and put them back as if they were written for a singer and a piano.
Gwyneth Paltrow - she always looks like she's about to cry.
I used to watch 'Death Becomes Her,' and I knew I wanted to become Meryl Streep.
The more you embrace the weird crazy things about you, the more you find your tribe.
When I'm doing an exaggerated character, I hope it's clear I don't think this is how women do, or should, act. There's aspects of Looney Tunes in drag. But there's something poignant about a man dressed as a woman, talking about gender. It can make you realize how similar the genders really are.
We should not be assuming anything for anyone else's gender, because gender is defined by the individual.
I started drag at 15 years old.
I hope people realize that drag queens and queer people, we're not just archetypes and stereotypes. We're human beings with a lot to share. And a drag queen doesn't have to just be a clown, she can also be like a cooking TV personality or like a DJ, or a talk-show host. We should be able to infiltrate TV everywhere.
It's hard to have a fruitful romantic life when I'm never in one place for long.
First, it was a big deal for girls to dress more like guys. Then it was a big deal for straight men to be metereosexuals and care about their appearance in the way that a gay man would. Now we have to take it a step further - men should be able to not wear men's clothes if they don't want to.
My long-term goal is to play a drag role or a female role in a Broadway production.
