Munroe Bergdorf and Tayce spill the tea on Queerpiphany, Liz Truss and Yasmin Finney
Munroe and Tayce. (MTV)
Trans icon Munroe Bergdorf and Drag Race UK royalty Tayce are back with their joyous MTV show, Queerpiphany.
The show sees the pair quiz queer celebrities on the pop culture moments that influenced their identities and made everything click.
The star-studded guest line-up for season two includes Heartstopper actor Yasmin Finney, musician MNEK, Drag Race UK’s Kitty Scott-Claus, author Shon Faye, actor Layton Williams and rapper Lava La Rue.
Speaking with PinkNews, Munroe and Tayce opened up about their own ‘queerpiphanies’, their unending love for Finney, and Britain’s new prime minister.
PinkNews: Congrats on a second season, how has it been shooting off the back of such a popular first season?
Catch Queerpiphany on the MTV Youtube Channel. (MTV)
Munroe: When we shot season one Tayce and I had no idea what we were doing. I think that’s what made it so organic, because it was just us doing whatever we wanted. People got that and it allowed us to exhale a bit with season two, and just be a little bit more in the moment. In the end what the show is about is taking these formative moments that can be extremely hard and traumatic at times, but with a big dollop of humour.
Tayce: I’m really excited about introducing everyone to a fresh cast and fresh faces. Nothing has really changed, we are just more comfortable. We are ready to show up and show out.
Your first episode is with Yasmin, how did that happen and what was it like chatting with her?
Munroe: She’s like my little sister. We’ve been good friends for about a year now and it’s just amazing seeing how easily she’s taken to this meteoric rise. She’s inspiring young queer people around the world to be themselves and to go for their dreams as well. Having a Netflix show at 19 is a huge moment in your career, I know that I couldn’t have done that when I was 19.
Tayce: I knew Yasmin a little bit before she went on Heartstopper and to see her gain over a million followers overnight was incredible. I know, with Drag Race, how much pressure it is to be thrown into this world of everyone knowing who you are. She’s got amazing things coming up and it is so exciting to see what she’ll do next.
Do either of you have any dream guests for future seasons?
Munroe: Olly Alexander from It’s A Sin. He couldn’t do season two so it would be great to have him in the next season. And maybe Cara Delevingne. I shot a British Vogue cover with Cara and I think she has got such an interesting story. I love that she lives almost labeless. It’s really important to remind people that they don’t need to always adhere to a label, if it is something they’re unsure about. So I think Cara’s got a great message.
Rylan [Clark] kills me, we’ve been friends for a long time. And maybe Brian Dowling? I would love to speak to people that broke down the doors when there really wasn’t that much queer representation.
Tayce. (MTV)
Tayce: I would love to interview [model, singer and actress] Grace Jones, she’s one of my favourite people ever. She’s just an absolute enigma and pioneer. And if Prince was still alive I would have looked to speak to him.
Maybe in a parallel universe!
Tayce: Exactly, for sure.
Why is it so important to have positive queer media?
Munroe: You just don’t really get to see queer joy that much. We often talk about quite heavy stuff, because a lot of what is happening around the world to queer people and our communities is very urgent. But also being able to access humour and showing that our community is stronger when we plug into our own joy is so important.
In this industry, people are very quick to pigeonhole you. You either get stuck doing all of the fun stuff until it doesn’t even feel fun anymore, or you get stuck doing all of the serious stuff. I’m really glad I’ve got a balance in my career, that I fought really hard to have.
At one point there was so much responsibility on my shoulders being one of the only black trans women in these spaces. I was always talking about how bad things are for trans people in the UK. So it’s great to have this opportunity to have fun and make people laugh. It’s been a very, very healing show to be part of.
Tayce: It is a straight world and there’s just not enough representation going on out here. Especially on a major platform like MTV so it’s an honour and a privilege to have something like this on MTV.
And in the spirit of the show, what were your ‘queerpiphanies’?
Munroe Bergdorf. (MTV)
Munroe: I think there were two. The first, watching Paris Is Burning with Octavia St Laurent, who was a young black trans woman who was an aspiring model in the 1980s. It really pushed me to dream and to explore the fashion industry in a way that centred my authenticity rather than me trying to mould myself into something that I wasn’t.
Also Nadia Almada on Big Brother. It was the first time that I saw a trans woman on television really be celebrated. And for a big portion, it wasn’t even about her transness it was about her personality. I think that many trans people of my generation owe Nadia a big pint.
Tayce: I think it was watching Fashion TV as a child. I was just so enthralled and enamoured by all these models, Naomi Campbell especially. Watching people like Beyoncé and Janet Jackson as well, these fierce women, was really an awakening for me.
Why is this season so important for people to watch?
Munroe: You don’t often see queer people being their whole selves on television because they are often interviewed by straight people or trying to fit into a cis heternormative society. It is really exciting to see something that is created, produced and hosted by queer people. It just feels very free.
Things are very, very uncertain at the moment, when it comes to the future of the LGBTQ community. Our new prime minister, Liz Truss, in my opinion, cannot be trusted when it comes to legislation or policy around the LGBTQ community. There is an insistence on segregating us as a community and I think Queerpiphany shows how similar our experiences are.
Tayce: I think queer or not, everyone should watch it. There’s something you can learn from every single guest on this show. The next generation, I mean, for them to kind of grow up with queer culture and things like this. I think it’s just amazing for the next generation to be growing up with such a rich queer culture.
The first episode of Queerpiphany season two is available now on MTV UK YouTube.
