Carson Kressley

Jim and Hannah Rae chat with Jim’s longtime friend Carson Kressley about the upcoming brand new season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, plus his and Kristine W’s show at Joe Pub’s in New York City!

Listen to part one of Jim’s interview with Carson here!

JB: So I’m excited today because Carson Kressley is here with me, right off the slopes of Lake Tahoe…Hi, Carson. 

CK: Gosh, all your listeners were hoping it was Celine Dion, but it’s just me! Good to be on your show, FINALLY! I thought we were, like, best friends, and this is my first time on the Jim Brickman program?! What is going on?

JB: So Carson, I know you always have so much going on, but the season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, season 10- I can’t believe it’s been on that long, especially since I’ve never seen it-

CK: That’s OUTRAGEOUS.

JB: I know, it really is… but I’m handicapped, however, that’s going to be rectified because my cohost Hannah is here to save the day.

HL: Yes, I am! Hello Carson, how are you?!

CK: Hi Hannah, I’m super, thanks for asking!

HL: I’m soooo excited to talk to you today about Drag Race as I am a massive longtime fan- season 10 starts March 22nd, what can the fans expect this time around?

CK: There are so many rules about what I can say about the show, so many plot twists and reveals, sometimes I do interviews and then I get a call from the network and they’re, like, “yeah, we hadn’t told anyone about that”- but I can tell you, we have ten new amazing queens, I mean, the art of drag is so fun and funny and entertaining and impressive, but I think why people really enjoy the show and why it resonates with so many people from age, like, eight to eighty, is that people sometimes struggle, then they do great, and sometimes they struggle, and you realize that, you know, most people are pretty different from drag queens, but at the end of the day they realize, how we’re pretty similar, and they realize that [drag queens] have the same struggles and dreams that we all have, so I think that’s why people like the show so much.

Oh, and one thing I forgot to mention…Christina Aguilera is our first big guest judge on the season premiere on March 22nd, so that’s always fun, cause I get to sit next to them for the whole show! Christina’s pretty amazing, and in the past we’ve had people like Olivia Newton-John, and by the end of the day, I’m like, “Aw, yeah, Liz, we’re gonna be best friends, I can’t wait to come visit you in Australia!” The guest judge is normally saying things like, “um, I don’t know who you are.”

Listen to part two of Jim’s interview with Carson here!

JB: The last time I saw you you were leaving for Africa or something, for a month-

CK: Oh, I was! I was doing a TV show down there where I had to live in the jungle for a month, it was really really great…not really. But it pays the bills.

JB: Are you allowed to talk about what that show is?

CK: That was an Australian show. For some reason I’m really big in Australia, I don’t know…I’m huge down under, and they asked me to do this kind of Survivor-y show with a bunch of Australian celebrities, and it’s called I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here: Australia, and I did that last year and I survived. And now I’m back to doing my usual gig here, which is RuPaul’s Drag Race, but I’m also doing a live cabaret and comedy show with my great friend and your great friend Kristine W.

JB: Love her!

CK: Yeah, at Joe’s Pub in New York City on March 16th, and the Razz Room in New Hope, Pennsylvania on March 17th! I’m basically learning how to sing right now!

JB: Uh, yeah, cause I don’t recall you asking me if you…wanted me to accompany you or teach you a few tricks or-

CK: Yeah, cause I’ve never done it before! Kristine said we should do the show, and she’s so talented, she’s the dance music artist of the decade, and she just had a number one dance song with “Stars,” so I’m actually going to do more…I don’t neccessarily call it stand up, but more comedic storytelling and she’ll do more of the singing, BUT! I may bust out my accordion and do a number or two.

JB: Did you learn accordion when you were growing up in Allentown?

CK: Not yet, but I have almost a week to practice! JB: We are talking with Carson Kressley, and the new season of RuPaul’s Drag Race starts…

HL: March 22nd at 8/7c on VH1 and I, for one, absolutely cannot wait.

CK: Well thank you Hannah, we certainly appreciate your support and you better get Jim placed in front of the television-

HL: Oh yes.

CK: -so he can get his schooling on all things Drag Race.

HL: It’s priority number one.

JB: Oh my gosh- Carson, thanks so much for talking with us today.

CK: You’re so welcome Jim- bye, Hannah!

HL: Byeeee!

More on Carson Kressley

Emmy-Award winning TV personality, style expert, fashion designer and New York Times best-selling author are some of the credits of the multi-talented and unforgettable Carson Kressley.

Kressley started his career as an independent stylist and became invaluable to major designers such as Ralph Lauren. A few years later, he took a leap into television when, in 2003, he became a breakout star as the fashion savant on Bravo’s Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, which won a primetime Emmy and gained a worldwide following for Carson.

With his close relationship and collaborations with Oprah Winfrey over the course of the years, Carson revolutionized America’s personal fashion sense of style as he filmed OWN Network’s Carson-Nation. During this celebrated and entertaining show, Carson travelled to small towns throughout the U.S. transforming lives -one person at a time- with his signature style, humor and heart. He also hosted multiple TV shows including Lifetime’s How to Look Good Naked, ABC’s True Beauty and competed on several reality competitions shows such as the 13th season of Dancing With The Stars on which he was a fan favorite.

Aside from his own television shows, Carson has frequently appeared on talk shows as afashion critic/commentator including; Good Morning America, Live with Kelly, The Wendy Williams Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show and to name a few. Recently, Carson was a key judge-always standing out with his great wit and ability to be in the moment-for Logo-TV series RuPaul’s Drag Race, RuPaul’s All Stars and Gay for Play. Last year, Carson competed on Food Network’s Celebrity Cupcake Wars (which he won) and ABC’s Celebrity Family Feud against Paula Deen-another success for his charity. Carson also shined as one of the judges and mentors on GSN’s Window Warriors hosted by Garcelle Beauvais. Carson was the break out star on the newest season of NBC’s hit show Celebrity Apprentice, again raising money for his charity- the True Colors Fund.

Carson is a New York Times best-selling author with three books to his credit, including You’re Different and That’s Super and Off The Cuff: The Essential Style Guide for Men and The Women Who Love Them. His latest book, a women’s style guide Does This Book Make My Butt Look Big? A Cheeky Guide to Feeling Sexier in Your Own Skin & Unleashing Your Personal Style was released on October 11, 2016 [St. Martin’s Press] to rave reviews.

A strong supporter of many philanthropic causes, Kressley useshis celebrity to advance different concerns such as The Trevor Project, The Human Rights Campaign, AIDS WALK, and the Al D. Rodriguez Liver Foundation. Kressley is also a trustee on the board of The True Colors Fund, The American Saddle Bred Museum and Philadelphia University. When Kressley is not starring on stage or screen, he can be found astride one of his American Saddlebred show horses, with which he has achieved World Champion status.