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Trixie Mattel
This episode is sponsored by Airbnb. Gather round, children, as I'd like to tell you a tale. A tale about a haggard drag queen who had just finished a whirlwind tour and was in desperate need of a trip. And as most of you already know, trips are simply better with Airbnb. Late one night, after returning home tired and barely able to keep my eyes open, I opened up the Airbnb app and searched for an escape. A place east of Los Angeles where I could relax, recuperate and rejuvenate all by myself amidst the peace and tranquility of the California desert. After checking out a few listings, I happened upon the place that dreams are made of. An orange frenzy of mid century post and beam architecture, complete with vintage details like period furniture, amazing art on the walls, and a conversation pit that would make even Don Draper swoon. I booked it immediately and set to packing for my glorious high desert getaway. After a few days of solitude, I invited a few friends and we made excellent use of the multiple bedrooms and bathrooms. A hotel would not have worked for us at all. With Airbnb, you can stay close and hang out in the living room rather than a crowded lobby. And while hotels are filled with strangers, we had the entire house and yard to ourselves, allowing us to enjoy the serenity of true privacy. It was the perfect trip and the perfect way to recover for an absolutely insane tour. If you want more space, more privacy, a better location and the most loved homes, check out Airbnb.com or download the Airbnb app. That's Airbnb.com take it from the queen of relaxation. You owe yourself a trip. And trips are always better with Airbnb.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Hi divas. As you know, Tritzee is on break, so I'm solo here on the podcast to tell you that we are bringing you more bald and the beautiful live shows this fall. That's right. We're going to be in Baltimore, Providence, Columbus, and a whole bunch of other east coast cities that I don't have.
Trixie Mattel
On the script in front of me.
Katya Zamolodchikova
But all tickets and info will be@trixian katyalive.com so get your panties in.
Trixie Mattel
Check for the best damn podcast you've ever seen.
Joel Kim Booster
But. So you've never done creep sex? I'm still waiting for how many people. How many people total at once?
Katya Zamolodchikova
Yeah, well, there was.
Joel Kim Booster
Four.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Okay, so like two pairs.
Joel Kim Booster
That's the best. That is the best number.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Two pairs. Like, but like. But they weren't changing.
Joel Kim Booster
I will say I used to love to. When? Before I Was in a relationship. Loved being the special guest star.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. Yes. So three. Three. But my rule is that I am the guest. Yes.
Joel Kim Booster
You have to. You cannot have to.
Katya Zamolodchikova
You cannot.
Joel Kim Booster
You have to. I love boxing out the weaker husband the whole time and just driving a wedge, creating a psycho sexual game, you know? But now. Now as a couple, a of all my. My boyfriend is six, two white and a bottom. I am, you know, five, nine or nine.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Five, nine.
Joel Kim Booster
Yeah. Yeah.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Get out of here.
Joel Kim Booster
I present. Is very tall. He's tall.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Presenting.
Joel Kim Booster
But. And so finding a guy that, like, no one wants to be the bridge.
Katya Zamolodchikova
How much do you weigh?
Joel Kim Booster
I weigh 165. Probably 165.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Almost exactly the same size.
Joel Kim Booster
That's.
Katya Zamolodchikova
That's so strange.
Joel Kim Booster
And it shows.
Katya Zamolodchikova
And I think of myself as like 5 to 112. And I think of you about like, 6, 5 to 10.
Monet X Change
I think it's the dysphoria.
Joel Kim Booster
Yeah, yeah, yeah. The dysmorphia is huge. But no, it's very difficult to find a guy that. Because, like, neither one of us wants to feel like the toll that the guy is paying to get to the one that he wants to hook up with. Like, that is not. That is not the vibe that breaks my heart. And it's so hard to find someone that we believe in our hearts. Wants both of us. We love couple swapping. We love a wife swap.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Okay.
Joel Kim Booster
You know, we're like, I'll go all the bottom and then the top will my boyfriend. And.
Katya Zamolodchikova
And that happens. Like, it. That's like. It's a field trip. It's not happening in the same room, is it?
Joel Kim Booster
It's in. No, it's in the same room. Okay.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Okay.
Joel Kim Booster
Okay. Yeah, yeah. It's in the same room. And like, you know, there's some maybe switch off here and there because my boyfriend is. Is like, you know, vaguely versed, but. But yeah.
Katya Zamolodchikova
What do you. What do you make of. I mean, I don't like labels, but I don't. I have a hard time with strict.
Joel Kim Booster
Okay.
Katya Zamolodchikova
This is a personal thing.
Joel Kim Booster
So you think everyone should be a little verse.
Katya Zamolodchikova
I don't think anybody should do anything I would prefer.
Joel Kim Booster
I think for empathy's sake. Yes. Everyone should at least do it one time to understand or a few times to understand. I think maybe I am a much better top because I bottom. I don't necessarily think I'm a better bottom because I top. But I will say that, like, for me, I am very much into, like, when I like my boyfriend has climbed up back there a couple times himself. Okay. Like, he, like. Because he knows I like it, but I know that he doesn't. Like, that's not his like, main desire. That's not the way he desires me. And for me, my versatility is so connected to how someone else desires me. Like, if I'm at the club and you start coming, dancing and rubbing ass on my dick, I'm like, okay, I get this. This is what this is, you know, Like, I get how you want me, how this to proceed. If it's the reverse is true, you come up behind me, you start rubbing your dick on my ass. Okay, I gotcha. You know, like, understood. And for me, like, I don't really like to flip fuck very much because I like to know that I like to go into it. I'm either big Dom, top or sub. Good boy. Okay, got you. There's a role and there is like a role. And like, it is like. And except with my boyfriend, I do like. Cause my boyfriend's ex is so different. It's so loving and it's so passionate and it's so like, it's more about connection than it is like, for me, the way I always explain to straight people, like, are not monogamy and like how I can have sex with all these other guys and it doesn't affect my relationship with my boyfriend is that like, I'm like, it's 4D porn for me as well. Like, I don't need to know this person's name. Like, it might as well be jerking off. Like, it just happens, happens. Like you're a life size flashlight. Like, I don't give a shit, I don't, I don't care. But like, that is actually, that's actually.
Katya Zamolodchikova
A great, that's a really good way to look at it from the point of view. Who's someone who tends towards insane jealousy such as myself.
Joel Kim Booster
See, and that's the thing is we aren't jealous. Like, it's. Oh, I. I met a straight couple recently and they were telling me how they met and they were like, they, they both had partners at the time and they were like. But we didn't cheat. We didn't cheat. We just like, you know, we started talking every day and te. Every day and we'd meet up and go see these movies and then like when they were out of town, we'd like hang out. But we never touched or anything. We never kissed, we never hugged. Like, nothing. We did not cheat. And I'm listening to this story and I'm like, I could give a shit who he. If he was texting with someone every day and going to see movies with them. I'm sorry, that's cheating to me.
Katya Zamolodchikova
That's, that's cheating me jealous.
Joel Kim Booster
That is way worse to me than.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Him getting his dicks off, getting gaped.
Joel Kim Booster
For, you know, like however many guys he wants to get, you know, it just doesn't. And I will say the bigger thing that we have struggled with and had to communicate with is not jealousy, it's envy, which is slightly different, which is, oh, you're fucking that guy. I wanted to fuck that guy, you know, because again, we're very different types and like when we're in an environment like say Fire island, like it can be very like sexually charged and things like that. And it. And we've had to learn a lot of lessons about like checking in and like making sure that everything is okay and communicating. Because here's the thing, like we used to have rules. We don't really have rules anymore because the rules, they don't. It is so day to day contextual. Like there are days where I could be at a party, bopping around, sucking dick, making out with whoever I want, and he's off into the corner talking and so grateful that people have kept me busy. And then please take him. God. And then there are days, conditions could be the exact same. Day is the same, everything happened the same. But he needs me to be his boyfriend and it just requires a lot a shit ton of communication and checking in the post mortes we have after the discussions we have before. And like, listen, I don't think monogamy is better than non monogamy. I don't think the reverse is true either. What I will say is I do think that I communicate with my boyfriend way more than a lot of monogamous couples do.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Okay?
Joel Kim Booster
I really do. Because we are forced to every day practically to be like, how are you? Is this okay? And like, you know what I was asked? I was asked a question on Fire island recently by a guy that I thought was really smart. And I'm going to start implementing it because my theory is like, if you are fucking someone who's in an open relationship, not your circus, not your monkeys.
Katya Zamolodchikova
What do you mean?
Trixie Mattel
What do you mean?
Joel Kim Booster
Not your job to know what their situation is.
Katya Zamolodchikova
You have no involvement in their rules.
Joel Kim Booster
Or whatever, not your circus, not your monkeys, it's not for you to figure out. But I hooked up with this guy and he stopped me and he's like, you guys are open, right? And I Was like, no, I just brought you into my bedroom in full view of my boyfriend, and, like, we're, you know, blah, blah, blah.
Katya Zamolodchikova
But he was like, cheating. I'm in a 90s, like, erotic thriller, and I am.
Joel Kim Booster
But he asked me this question I had never been asked before. And he was like, no, I just want to make sure, like, you guys are in a good spot, though. Like, this isn't gonna cause a problem. Right. And I was like, you know what? That's a really responsible question to ask someone that I have never been asked. I've never asked someone that. And there were times, and that day it was fin. You know, we were in a great place, and he was off you know, doing whatever he was doing. But there were moments last summer where certainly if I were asked that question, it might have given me pause and might have made me say, you know what? No, I actually need to go home. And I think it's a really. Even if you're not asked the question, I think it's a really good question, and it's. And you have to be responsible and, like, really, you know, answer the question honestly if you're going to be asked it or ask yourself it. But it's an important one to have. But it's.
Katya Zamolodchikova
That's interesting.
Joel Kim Booster
Yeah.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Would you take. Would you say that you have a voracious sexual appetite?
Joel Kim Booster
Yes.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Really?
Joel Kim Booster
Oh, yeah. I. Both of us do. And I think that's why it works a lot of time. And I think that for me, it's just like, sex is a hobby, and it is. And the kind. And this is. The other thing is, like, again, the sex I have with my partner is so no one knows me better than he does. I. No one knows him better than. Than I do. And that kind of sex is so powerful, and I crave it, and I love it, but sometimes I want to be a fucking whore.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Okay.
Joel Kim Booster
Okay. And it's embarrassing to do that in front of someone who knows you so well. It's embarrassing to play that part. There was, for the first year of our relationship, I wouldn't bottom in front of him. And it wasn't a him thing. It was a total me thing. Because I was like, oh, if he sees me bottoming, it'll shatter the illusion of me is like, big, dumb top, you know? And, like, he didn't give a shit. He'd love to see it, you know, but. And we're over that now. Like, we've. We've. We've worked past a lot of issues, but, like, it is, you know, it just requires a lot of checking in. And the thing is, is who knows, it might be forever. It might not. We might decide to close things. We might, you know, narrow things.
Katya Zamolodchikova
How long have you been together?
Joel Kim Booster
Almost four years.
Katya Zamolodchikova
And you're getting married?
Joel Kim Booster
We're getting married, yeah.
Katya Zamolodchikova
You're getting married now.
Trixie Mattel
What do you think about gay marriage?
Katya Zamolodchikova
I don't think the gay people should be able to marry.
Joel Kim Booster
I think gay people should be able to get married. I don't think we should be having kids. Okay. No.
Katya Zamolodchikova
And that's it. That's the title. That's the title.
Bob the Drag Queen
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Trixie Mattel
This episode is sponsored by Airbnb. Gather round, children, as I'd like to tell you a tale. A tale about a haggard drag queen who had just finished her whirlwind tour and was in desperate need of a trip. And as most of you already know, trips are simply better with Airbnb. Late one night, after returning home tired and barely able to keep my eyes open, I opened up the Airbnb app and searched for an escape. A place east of Los Angeles where I could relax, recuperate, and rejuvenate all by myself amidst the peace and tranquility of the California desert. After checking out a few listings, I happened upon the place that dreams are made of. An orange frenzy of mid century post and beam architecture, complete with vintage details like period furniture, amazing art on the walls, and a conversation pit that would make even Don Draper swoon. I booked it immediately and set to packing for my glorious high desert getaway. After a few days of solitude, I invited a few friends and we made excellent use of the multiple bedrooms and bathrooms. A hotel would not have worked for us at all. With Airbnb, you can stay close and hang out in the living room rather than a crowded lobby. And while hotels are filled with strangers, we had the entire house and yard to ourselves, allowing us to enjoy the serenity of true privacy. It was the perfect trip and the perfect way to recover for an absolutely insane tour.
Joel Kim Booster
I wasn't interested in marriage. He wasn't super interested in marriage either. I think part of it was, pitch me on marriage. Pitch me. We are. I came into money. I want to throw a party while I'm young enough to enjoy it, and I want to stand up in front of. I think the reason.
Katya Zamolodchikova
You want a flash mob, don't you, bitch?
Joel Kim Booster
You want a T15.
Katya Zamolodchikova
You want to bust out into Britney Choreo.
Joel Kim Booster
I want.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Down the aisle.
Joel Kim Booster
I want. Where's Kimbra? Okay, like, give me Kimbra.
Katya Zamolodchikova
I'm gonna tell you this, though. I'm gonna interrupt you right now, okay? If I catch a whiff or a clip or any kind of. Any kind of, like, gossip that there is some kind of choreography happening at your nuptials, okay, here's the deal.
Trixie Mattel
I will find you.
Katya Zamolodchikova
I will. I will be carrying an automatic rifle, and I will take you down, okay? I will kill you.
Joel Kim Booster
Here's the thing. Here's the thing. I think it is totally fine to choreograph and dance to stupid love. Where people go wrong is the impulse to want to share it with the world. There is. You will you will not see. Unless we get closer in the next two years, you invite me to your wedding, but I'm sorry, you won't see content from my wedding. You just won't see content from my wedding because I have cannibalized my entire fucking life. Yeah, totally. For my work.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Yeah, right, right, right.
Joel Kim Booster
There are some things that I would like to keep just for me.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Okay, so that's a really good point actually because you know, the Trixie and I often talk about this and I think that we're both discovering she a little bit more because she's so successful in. She's now discovering that there are, there are parts of her life where she really wants to keep private that it's like, oh God, do we really need to monetize every single second of our personal life? You know, because it just, it happens. Like if you're a stand up community, you're going to talk about your sex life, you're going to talk about your partner, you talk about this experiences. But what at 37, what do you, like, have you found that it is more important to like, you have to keep things private?
Joel Kim Booster
The thing is, the illusion that I have mastered is making people think I'm being 100% transparent about every single thing that's going on in my life. And it's about 30%. And that's the magic trick of standup. I think especially the kind of standup that I do is to go out there and be super confessional and be like, this is happening and this is how I feel and this is my dad's death and this is blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And it's not. But the problem with that is that when you present yourself as a comedian, that is 100% transparent. It does like I will say, going back to the six reasons why people hate me, it's like, those people don't hate me. Those people hate the construction of me.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Yeah.
Joel Kim Booster
The presentation that they have built up with limited context based off of one standup clip that they saw from seven years ago that I'm embarrassed about. One tweet they saw one thing they saw, et cetera, et cetera. And it's crazy to walk into. This is again, champagne problems. I'm so grateful for my life, as I'm sure you are. No, it is very much. But it's this weird feeling where like I walk into a gay function now and it's weird to know that a good portion of the people in that room hate my Fucking guts and have no idea who I am.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Let me fucking tell you why, bitch. Let me fucking tell you why. Gay people cannot take a handsome, successful gay man. It is not something they can understand. It's not something they ever want to deal with. They like drag queens and they like ugly people.
Joel Kim Booster
Well, you know what? No. They like drag queens and they like Go Go Boys. Because if they can completely sexualize you or completely desexualize you, that's the only way. Because this is the perfect story to explain this phenomenon. I went to a gay function. I was with my friend. In walks a. I won't say his name, but I will say a D list gay celebrity on my level. You know, like somebody that everybody knows. Okay, you know what? No, no, I won't say that.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Just come in later.
Joel Kim Booster
I'll tell you later. Nice guy. Okay. I've never had a negative experience with him. He's always been very kind. Like, he talks to everybody. He's not like, exclusionary. He's not one of those people who's only nice to someone he wants to fuck, et cetera, et cetera. Like, good guy. And my friend goes, that guy's here. And I was like, oh. I was like, well, what's your beef? What did he do? I was like, why do we hate him? He's always been really nice to me. And my friend literally goes, I don't know why I said that. And then literally 30 minutes later, they're making out on the dance floor. And this is the disease. This is the disease that I am diagnosing now today. The disease is, I hate you until I know you want to fuck me.
Katya Zamolodchikova
That's it.
Joel Kim Booster
That's it. Shit. That's it.
Katya Zamolodchikova
That's it. Okay.
Joel Kim Booster
That is the psychosis that so many gay men are experiencing because they assume, I think so many gay men go into encounters with other gay men assuming that they like projecting so much insecurity onto that other person that they are. That's them being reflected back because that person's super insecure too, about how they're view feeling. And it's like nobody is feeling good about themselves.
Katya Zamolodchikova
I know. It's like we're all. We're all Elizabeth Sparkle.
Joel Kim Booster
It's crazy.
Katya Zamolodchikova
And we want sue to walk into the room.
Joel Kim Booster
It's crazy. Yeah.
Katya Zamolodchikova
That's interesting. I mean, it is like such a funny thing. Trixie and I talk about this all the time. It's like the, the, the. The gay men love drag queens or like. But it is so often. It's such a common oh, God. It's such a weird, insidious, bizarre. But I think you just described it so well. It's like. It is that, like. Oh, that desirability factor.
Joel Kim Booster
Like, there's a safety, the fear of.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Rejection, or, like, I don't know. It's.
Joel Kim Booster
I would like to say too really quickly, the go go boy and drag queen dichotomy. That line, I did paraphrase a Guy Branham. Not joke, but Guy Branham really pioneered that idea that, like, it really is about, like, and gay men especially, I think, of a certain generation. I think it's getting better. But, like, specifically in talking about seeing, like, gay men on stage. Like when I used to work the Atlantis cruises. Like, I have never bombed harder than on Atlantis cruises.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Oh, my God, I can smell it.
Joel Kim Booster
Oh, my God.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Because I can even. I can feel the bomb dust.
Joel Kim Booster
The people, like, my age who are cool, who get my references, who want to see me do comedy, they're sleeping it off or they're pregame.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Right.
Joel Kim Booster
I'm getting the Gen X and baby boomer gays who want to see Kathy. Kathy Griffin.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Yeah.
Joel Kim Booster
Or Joan Rivers or drag queen.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Yes. Or Bianca del Rio.
Joel Kim Booster
They want to hear a young, hot gay guy talk about his sex life for 20 minutes. They do not want to hear it. Then the guy who goes after me does Asian accent jokes. Standing ovation. I'm not kidding you. Standing ovation. And it's just. And it's that generation, I think, specifically because I do think a lot of my shows now are populated by young gay guys and young queer people. And it's changing because I do think we are learning how to relate to people on stage in front of us. But for that generation, it really was just drag queens or go go boys.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Yeah. And also, I mean, I think. And I hope. I just. I hope that I live long enough to see this. Maybe if it's an illusion, but I think it's happening. I just. I love. Whenever I can sense the dissolving of gay. I don't want there to be any more gay. No, I don't want no more gay, no more straight, no more bisexual, no more pansexual. Nothing.
Joel Kim Booster
Nothing.
Katya Zamolodchikova
You're either like or.
Joel Kim Booster
It's frustrating. It's frustrating. It is frustrating as a comic, too, because, like, listen, like, of course I did. Like, gay people are like this and street people are like that jokes when I was in my early career because there weren't a lot of us. And that was a field of material that was, like, rife for the taking. You Know, I'm so excited now that there are so many people doing that, I don't have to do that as much. But what gets me still is that people still are like, you do a lot of gay jokes and it's like, well, I talk about my partner and I talk about relationships and I talk about sex and I talk about all these things and they happen to be involving a man. Do I. Does that make it a gay joke? No, because I. Even in the gay jokes, the comedy for especially stand up comedy, I think. But most comedy really only works if it's. If you recognize and are surprised by the truth of what the punchline is saying.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Yeah.
Joel Kim Booster
You know, it's the combo of, like, recognition and surprise that gets you.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Yeah.
Joel Kim Booster
And like, if I can do that while talking about, like, my fucking my boyfriend in Nashville, Tennessee, at Zany's and I get a big laugh from it, then obviously there's a universality there.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Right.
Joel Kim Booster
You know, like. And so it's not just a gay joke. It's just.
Katya Zamolodchikova
It's a sex joke.
Joel Kim Booster
It's a sex joke. Yeah. And look at fucking Nikki Glaser. She is brilliant and she gets away with it. And she, like, nobody says boo, you know, but I am like, you know, seen as this big, like, gay. I will say no one hates me more than, like, gay Asian men. Damn. Like, bar none. No one hated my movie. More vitriol from gay Asian men than anything. Which I get. Because I completely understand. Because when the media tells you, this is for you. Right?
Katya Zamolodchikova
Right.
Joel Kim Booster
This is representing all of you.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Here's your Shelby. Drink it.
Joel Kim Booster
Yeah, here's your thing. And then you don't see yourself reflected, because I never said that about the movie. I was always like, this is my story. This is a very personal story about me and Bowen's friendship that I decided to write about. And if you happen to see yourself in it, then fuck, yeah. But, like, I get why the way the media presented it, it's like, this is representation for every gay Asian person who's ever lived. And so, like, you're gay and Asian.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Get your fucking ass to the theater.
Joel Kim Booster
Get in line.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Yeah. And if you're. If you're. If you stayed home, kill yourself. And if you didn't like it, fuck you. Yeah, it's crazy.
Joel Kim Booster
And it's like, I get it and I get it. And it's not. It's not the creator's fault. It's the media's fault and the way they frame it. And I always tell people who don't like my movie. I'm always like, then find the creators that you do. Like support the shit out of the terrifier three and then go fucking make it yourself.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Yeah, there you go.
Joel Kim Booster
Yeah, like get off your ass and do it yourself. Make a TikTok. It's real easy now.
Trixie Mattel
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Monet X Change
Welcome to Monet talks with me. Your girl, Monet x Change, a weekly podcast where the only thing hotter than the tea is our topic. Zwarling. Every single Thursday, we'll be bringing you candid interviews, fun segments, and games featuring a dazzling array of guests, including fellow queens, other celebrities, pop culture icons, friends, and maybe even an ex boyfriend or four.
Joel Kim Booster
You want to hear something horrible? Tell me I was out.
Monet X Change
Outed.
Joel Kim Booster
Yeah.
Monet X Change
Say their name.
Joel Kim Booster
I think I found sobriety through my fans.
Monet X Change
That's beautiful, bitch.
Joel Kim Booster
I love those little whores. I'm normally not this nasty.
Monet X Change
I bring it out of everyone. That's the tea. To watch the podcast in studio, see exclusive content, and get a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes, head over to YouTube.com monethangeofficial and tell all your friends you can listen to Monet talks completely free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or anywhere else you get your podcast, period. Hey, everybody. My name is Bob the Drag Queen. And I'm Monet X Change. And we are the host of Sibling Rivalry. This is a podcast where two best friends gab, talk smack, and have a lot of fun with our black queer selves. Yeah, for sure. And you know, we are family, so we talk about everything, honey, from why we don't like hugs to black lives matter to interracial dating, to other things.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Right, Bob?
Joel Kim Booster
Yes.
Monet X Change
And it gets messy, and we are not afraid to be wrong. So please join us over here at Civic Bribery, available anywhere you get your podcast, you can listen and subscribe for free. For free, honey.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Okay, really quick, a couple of a few rapid fire questions.
Joel Kim Booster
Who's your favorite comedian right now? Jacqueline Novak.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Okay.
Joel Kim Booster
Oh, yeah. Hell, yeah.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Oh, my God. When I saw on your knees.
Joel Kim Booster
On your knees. Yeah.
Trixie Mattel
The best thing ever seen.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Ever seen.
Joel Kim Booster
The way her mind works. Go watch it on Netflix, unfortunately, if you have a chance. Yeah.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Oh.
Joel Kim Booster
If you have a chance to see it live, go and see it live. Also, have you seen Cinnamon in the Wind Caper Lance Special, directed by Bo Burnham? It's on Hulu.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Okay.
Joel Kim Booster
You will fucking love if you, like, get on your knees. You will love it. Those two are just genius, genius, genius.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Favorite movie?
Joel Kim Booster
Favorite movie. I mean, but, like, the answer that I always give. The answer that I always give is my best friend's Wedding.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Okay. Favorite song currently.
Joel Kim Booster
Favorite song currently is I like Alaska by Maggie Rogers.
Monet X Change
Is that bad?
Joel Kim Booster
It's a song I wake up to every morning.
Trixie Mattel
Oh, that's nice.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Is that. What kind of. What genre is that?
Joel Kim Booster
She's like crunchy white girl guitar Oberlin.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Okay.
Joel Kim Booster
You know, like, she went to Nyu you might have seen, like, there was a famous, like, viral clip of Pharrell visiting her, like, music production class, and she plays him the song for the first time, and he's like, oh, shit, you're a genius.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Okay.
Joel Kim Booster
And she's. Yeah, she's fantastic.
Katya Zamolodchikova
If you could acquire a fluency in any foreign language by chopping off a finger.
Joel Kim Booster
I love this question.
Katya Zamolodchikova
I really do, too.
Joel Kim Booster
What would you.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Would you do it? When would you do?
Joel Kim Booster
Yeah, I absolutely would do it. I would do. I think. I think I would do both of these ring fingers. The ring fingers. And I would do Spanish. And I would do. You know, it's crazy, unfortunately. I think I would do Mandarin. That's exactly what I would do. I have so much trauma coming back from Korea and not being able to speak the language, and I know that people would expect me to say Korean, and I would love to be able to speak my native tongue. But in terms of functionality, I think.
Katya Zamolodchikova
I'm absolutely on board with you. I would do. I would do. I was going to say pointer fingers, but I think you're right.
Joel Kim Booster
I mean, I don't even. I don't know. I mean, the thumb's the last to go. I engaged and. Oh, who cares?
Katya Zamolodchikova
You wear a necklace.
Joel Kim Booster
No, no, no. Yeah. It's again, like.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Yeah, just the two.
Joel Kim Booster
Just the two. Yeah.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Okay. And then if you could have. If you could have, like, a side piece, ongoing relationship with an A list celebrity, a living or dead, who would it be?
Joel Kim Booster
Like?
Katya Zamolodchikova
You could say Cary Grant in his heyday.
Joel Kim Booster
Oh, Riz Ahmed. Oh, yeah, yeah.
Trixie Mattel
Okay.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And if you had to kill an animal by strangling it, which. Which animal?
Joel Kim Booster
I was really thinking about it. I was really thinking about it.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Mine would be mu dang.
Joel Kim Booster
Mu dang. That would be hard.
Katya Zamolodchikova
I know. I think it would be awesome.
Joel Kim Booster
I get around there, and it would.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Be a lot of infinity.
Joel Kim Booster
Mine would be a chimp for sure.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Oh, yeah.
Joel Kim Booster
Because fucking horrible. Have you seen it? No, I will not watch this chimp crazy bullshit because I have. I have a real fear of chimps. Because I will never forget. I will. Is in my mind firmly. Spring break 2009, sitting in a motel room watching Oprah interview the woman whose face got ripped off by a chimp. We should not be fucking with these animals. They're too smart.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Yeah.
Joel Kim Booster
They're too much like us. Leave them alone.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Yeah, Enough with the primates. It's too. It's too scary.
Joel Kim Booster
I won't do it. And I asked somebody. I was like, I'm really afraid of chimps. Can I. Do you think I'd make it through Chimp Crazy? And they were like, oh, no, I can't. That just too heavily featured. Yeah, that is too heavily featured.
Katya Zamolodchikova
I stay. I have, like, yeah, no way. Not a chance. Well, think. Where can people find you on the Internet?
Joel Kim Booster
You can find me on. I hate Joel Kim on Instagram, and I think that's, like, the only thing that I'm super TikTok. TikTok, yes. But I actually can't remember. I think I'm Joel Kim booster on TikTok. I just started doing that, and then. Except I did that, and then the first video that I put. The most recent video that I posted, everyone was like, well, he's clearly going through a manic episode. And I'm like, he's obviously. And I was like. I thought I was just mimicking the, like, editing rhythms of TikTok, but it could be a little column, a little column B. A little column, a little column B. I was like, manic. But also, the rhythms of TikTok also lend itself to mania.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Also having a fan base. They really. I mean, and they encourages mania.
Joel Kim Booster
Yeah.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Oh, absolutely.
Joel Kim Booster
Yeah. And then I'm on substack, too, at jkb. I just started a substack because I'm getting rid of Twitter. And I decided I was like, you know, maybe I should start writing long form, and that will scratch some of that itch. And, like, you have great courage. Yeah. I mean, it's going okay so far.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Do you like writing?
Joel Kim Booster
I do. And you know what? It's crazy. I used to. Back in the heyday of. Remember when there were all these, like, online magazines, like, the Toast or like, the Cut.
Katya Zamolodchikova
The Cut.
Joel Kim Booster
And, like, all these places that would pay you $250 for a personal essay about going to fucking Sweetgreen? And that was like, a whole real thing in the, like, you know, 2012 to 2018 or whatever. Vulture doesn't exist anymore. I used to do. I actually recapped your season of All Stars for Vulture for Vulture. Get out here. You should definitely go back. I don't remember if I supported you or not. Fuck. Oh, wow.
Katya Zamolodchikova
That's right. I mean. Oh, God. We didn't even talk one bit about Drag Race. That's okay.
Joel Kim Booster
It's fine.
Katya Zamolodchikova
It's fine.
Joel Kim Booster
Bonus episode. I will say the one thing I know. You won't look up the reviews. The thing is, you have to understand, they give you the screener the day before. They don't tell you who wins the lip Sync. And the experience of watching Drag Race alone versus watching Drag Race with either a group of friends or in a bar is night and fucking day. That show is not meant to be watched alone.
Katya Zamolodchikova
No, it's not.
Joel Kim Booster
It's not. I hated every episode I watched a little bit more than when I'd go and watch it in a bar with my friends. Because it's just not meant to be watched alone.
Katya Zamolodchikova
It's not also just tying it. Tying a little. A ribbon and a button. On some other subjects we're talking about. Talking about gay hate. There was. I was at a viewing party at a friend's house. There's probably 15 of us. Everybody was a gay guy. And it was there. It was the Lala Ri episode. Do you remember where the.
Joel Kim Booster
With the bags.
Katya Zamolodchikova
With the bags. There were the. The hateful things that were spewed from the mouths of all of us gay guys during that episode was so frightening. Like, it was like when I. I imagine it was just on the same. In the same vein as someone, like, yelling at the jets or the Mets or the. Or the.
Joel Kim Booster
Yeah.
Trixie Mattel
Utah Jazz.
Joel Kim Booster
Why? Because you wanted Joey J. To stay or whatever. No, no.
Katya Zamolodchikova
I don't know. They were just like, kill yourself.
Joel Kim Booster
You're ugly. But here's the thing.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Like, it was crazy. It was.
Joel Kim Booster
I think there's a catharsis to that. No, no. And my thing is, is, like, keep it to the group chat.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Yes.
Joel Kim Booster
90% of what I see on Twitter, I'm like, oh, you didn't need to tweet about Ashley Tisdale in that way. Keep it. You have. You have a plethora of gay guys that you can share with with that. In that little bit with. And they'll go, ha, ha, ha.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Yeah. And Sylvester Swanee, you look amazing, by the way.
Joel Kim Booster
And that should scratch the itch. Yeah, that's my.
Katya Zamolodchikova
That.
Joel Kim Booster
Yeah. And I, of course, obviously, I'm seeing it from the other side. And I'm like, oh, they. They were human, too. And so now I'm keeping most of it to the group chats.
Katya Zamolodchikova
But were you overly critical in any of your.
Joel Kim Booster
Oh, I was a fucking faggot on Twitter. Are you kidding?
Katya Zamolodchikova
Wait, wait, no. In your Vulture reviews.
Joel Kim Booster
Oh, in the Vulture review, I. I think I was, like, pretty pro. I mean, it was clear from the edit that Alaska was going to win. I was pro. You.
Katya Zamolodchikova
I don't understand. Well, I. I guess I can't really be objective about it. But let me ask you this, though. Or let me tell you and you agree with me. Okay. There's the best season of Drag Race.
Joel Kim Booster
Yes. Abs bar fucking none.
Katya Zamolodchikova
I recently I would listen to Alaska's podcast because I think they. She and Willem, like went through.
Joel Kim Booster
Yeah. Yeah.
Katya Zamolodchikova
And I was like, like, this is amazing.
Joel Kim Booster
No, the. The.
Katya Zamolodchikova
The season.
Joel Kim Booster
It was the perfectly cast if. The only thing that could have made it better is. Is if Ador stayed.
Katya Zamolodchikova
I think that I always forget cuz she. She bat out so early.
Joel Kim Booster
Knows what would have happened.
Katya Zamolodchikova
So two things. What if? Two big what ifs. And this is no shade to any of the girls. No shade to Roxy in particular. But I don't know about the singing part, but Reggie wrote you with Alyssa instead of Roxy. The singing part would have. Her verse would have been very suspicious. But can you imagine the group number, the dance.
Joel Kim Booster
The group number would have been. It would have been so amazing. But saying that. Have you been watching Global All Stars?
Katya Zamolodchikova
I.
Joel Kim Booster
Because we finally have seen an Alyssa verse. And I gotta tell you, I don't know, it might have been a lateral move away from Riju Rochu.
Katya Zamolodchikova
No, it's regurochu.
Joel Kim Booster
Reggie Rochu. Sorry.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Which I recently learned.
Joel Kim Booster
Oh, wait, hold on.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Okay, so I have been. Me and my friend, we've been like in my sewing studio, sewing stuff and having it on. We have Global All Stars on the tv. And first of all, making them do a Snatch Game is so sadistic.
Joel Kim Booster
End Snatch Game. End it. End it. End it. End it.
Katya Zamolodchikova
End it.
Joel Kim Booster
No more. No more characters or you're given a list of people you're allowed to do. I don't care. But, like, especially the ESL queens, like, sadistic.
Katya Zamolodchikova
You cannot.
Joel Kim Booster
It's really cruel.
Katya Zamolodchikova
It's really cool for a person like myself, who is very fluent. I went to college. I've read tons of books. I consider myself to be funny. Sometimes improv in that context is so hard, so difficult. It's so stressful.
Joel Kim Booster
Well, I said this about Nymphia during her season too. I know we're running long, but this is the thing. People gave her shit for getting help writing those verses. Do you realize how hard it is to write poetry? No. In a language. Because they were like, oh, she speaks English. And it's like, bitch. It's not the same. It's not even a little bit the same.
Katya Zamolodchikova
No, I'm trying to. I mean, my fluency in French is at the level of many of those contestants, like, fluency in English. So, like the girl from Italy, for example, Margarita pizza.
Joel Kim Booster
You know, the margarita pizza thing is crazy. It is crazy. The thing about Global All Stars that I have learned is that RuPaul wants every single one of those girls to be a 1940s caricature of their ethnicity. That is what she.
Katya Zamolodchikova
I mean, England, hello, governor. And then that's like every. It is truly that, like, Charlie Chaplin silent movie reduced the country down to its.
Joel Kim Booster
And by the way, Ru, I would love to come back and judge. I would love to come back and judge. No comment. Like, no disrespect, but, like, the. It is.
Katya Zamolodchikova
They need memes and sound minds. They need memes and sound bites.
Joel Kim Booster
Yeah, but that is.
Katya Zamolodchikova
I thought it was so sadistic to have these poor queens have to improv as characters in a foreign language. I think it's so mean. I think it's so cruel. I think it. And it didn't. It turned out so badly.
Joel Kim Booster
So badly. So badly.
Katya Zamolodchikova
It wasn't even watchable.
Joel Kim Booster
The scripted one was fine, though. This. Or even. Was it improv? No. I don't even know. I just remember the one with the pirates where Nehelenia should have won. I remember that. Anyways, it is. I think, like, if they're gonna continue to do these franchises, which I do love and I do think the exposure is great, they have to figure out a way to make it more fair.
Katya Zamolodchikova
And they gotta have. They have to figure out a way to make them shine. Because I am sick of seeing drag queens fail on television, especially in that format. Like, it's like, oh, my God, like, when you know people are gonna bomb. Switch it up, switch it up. We gotta talk about Alyssa's runways for two seconds.
Joel Kim Booster
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's.
Katya Zamolodchikova
She is so crazy. Her runways, I think, are so incredible.
Joel Kim Booster
I mean, how much money?
Katya Zamolodchikova
I would say a hundred thousand dollars. At least.
Joel Kim Booster
At least. Because you have more context. You have more context, though, for what that would cost if I had to get.
Katya Zamolodchikova
If I'm on the prices. Right? And the. The thing up for. Up for a question is Alyssa's global all stars package. I would guesstimate that. I have no idea. I know that people are probably gifted a lot. I have no. I literally have no idea. I'm the worst person to ask. But, like, I was. She comes out on the Runway.
Joel Kim Booster
I screamed up that light up out there with the. With the suitcase, I could not believe. It's like it's on a different level.
Katya Zamolodchikova
The mugging, too, is on a different level.
Joel Kim Booster
It is. It is so fun to see her. And it is so unfortunate that there is this, like, clear favoritism for the English speaking girls, because Queen Kong, I think I Think had Queen Kong only has maybe one win that I disagree with. She is so root. I would. I think she's so easy to root for. For the win.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Yeah.
Joel Kim Booster
But because she keeps getting lumped in with these queens that are. That are Rue girls.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Yeah.
Joel Kim Booster
And it's like, it's.
Katya Zamolodchikova
It's not a level playing field.
Joel Kim Booster
It's not. And.
Katya Zamolodchikova
And Alyssa's like. I mean, yeah, Alyssa's. At this point, Alyssa would be more appropriate on a guest panel, a judging panel than in the. In the race. Do you know what I mean?
Joel Kim Booster
Like, bring her back for a regular All Stars. You're bringing back everybody.
Katya Zamolodchikova
I bring it back.
Joel Kim Booster
Ginger Minch.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Like, it's crazy.
Joel Kim Booster
Bring her back for a regular.
Katya Zamolodchikova
But when she came on, the. Her runways are just so incredible. They're so over the top. And I just, like, I was screaming.
Joel Kim Booster
Screaming the steampunk look too.
Katya Zamolodchikova
A fucking bird.
Joel Kim Booster
And then we watched season five afterwards, and it's like. It's a different universe.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Yeah, different universe.
Joel Kim Booster
Different universe of a show.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Crazy, crazy, crazy.
Joel Kim Booster
Can I see one last thing?
Katya Zamolodchikova
Yes.
Joel Kim Booster
That's kind of connected to Riju Wrochu Red, you roach, you. That does not sound right.
Katya Zamolodchikova
It doesn't sound right.
Joel Kim Booster
But it is that Reggie Rochu.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Because Rote.
Joel Kim Booster
I will say that that is clearly, obviously, the best.
Katya Zamolodchikova
I still think so.
Joel Kim Booster
Group number second. I think Kitty Girl is. Kitty Girl is fun. I don't think any of the other ones have been good. But I will say this. This is what I. We noticed. We watched All Stars 4 recently, and I will give props to Monet in a way. Monet X Change is the only contestant, I think, who has ever pulled it off and made it look cool. Like, actually, like, done a verse in a group number. And I've been watching it and been like, that person's cool. Like, that person. Like, what was her? I don't know. It was the bad, like, country superhero one. But she's rewatch it.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Okay.
Joel Kim Booster
Because it's remarkable that she manages to make something out of nothing. And it is legitimately. It's so hard to make. You guys did it. Well, other than, you know. And, you know, I think Kitty Girl did a really, really fun job because it's like, it's campier with BB not barely being able to be lifted.
Katya Zamolodchikova
And also, like, the production of.
Joel Kim Booster
The production was cool, but like, Monet, literally, I'm like, that person is a star who can make anything seem cool.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Well, she's super charismatic. Yes, she charismatic.
Joel Kim Booster
And that is the thing. She can do anything well on that note. Wow.
Trixie Mattel
We're done.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Thank you so much for being here.
Joel Kim Booster
This feels like not enough time. It feels like not enough time.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Wait, you told me to wrap, right?
Joel Kim Booster
They want to go home. These fucking bitches want to go home. They're like, you cannot talk about Drag Race for one single second.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Wait, who's your favorite Drag Race winner?
Joel Kim Booster
Simone, hands down. Hands down. Because Simone is. I think we're getting to the point now where they walk in and you're like, oh, this is their lane. This is their lane, their bobo, you know, Dusty Ray bottoms. They're bobo. So and so. You know, Simone, I truly think is in Elaine on all her own. Like, there are queens that are similar. There are queens that are sort of similar, but I do not think stylistically, energetically and talent and in terms of distribution of talent and charisma, I don't think anyone touches Simone. I really don't.
Katya Zamolodchikova
She's so magnetic.
Joel Kim Booster
Yeah, she's super magnetic. And people give her shit for her step down look. I thought it was brilliant. I don't remember. It was the wet jeans, the crystallized top.
Katya Zamolodchikova
It's cunty.
Joel Kim Booster
The thing is, it doesn't read as well on TV as you want it to, but it's so her. And it's like, that's, like her culture, her thing. And I love the whole house of Avalon.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Yeah, that's what I love about her and her crew is that they have a real. They have like a modern day gay factory vibe. You know, that's like a very, like, a group of artists. Like, it's like. And this. I don't.
Trixie Mattel
Sounds pretentious.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Even, like a group of young artists that, like, collaborate together, but it really is that.
Joel Kim Booster
No, it really is. And they escaped Alabama together. Like, it's. And they're Arkansas.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Literally, like the back.
Joel Kim Booster
Really? Truly, Truly. Mark Styles. Mark styled me for. For fucking Drag Race. And it's the reason I look so fucking good. Can I tell you, okay, that mother.
Katya Zamolodchikova
I promise that I'm still waiting for the sc.
Joel Kim Booster
When was the last.
Katya Zamolodchikova
How can you look that mother? How can you be that hot, that nice and that talented, not be a serial killer?
Joel Kim Booster
When I tell you I was watching my episode with a room, my house, full of gay men. I don't know when the last time you were on was, but the filter that they put on, I was so embarrassed watching it because I was like, these people can turn around and look at me in the face, and they know this is not what I look like. They know this is not what I look like, you look like they know.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Hallmark flashback.
Joel Kim Booster
I was like. I was humiliated. I felt like I was catfishing the entire nation. I was like, what filter are they putting over this camera? Because, like, literally, people would, like, look at the screen and then kind of, like, look back at me and be like, huh, huh, huh.
Katya Zamolodchikova
So you're ugly here. And then. It's wild.
Joel Kim Booster
That glimmer glass. It is.
Katya Zamolodchikova
They get that book club budget.
Joel Kim Booster
I wish I could look like that every day.
Katya Zamolodchikova
You know about the book club?
Joel Kim Booster
No.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Like, half of the book club.
Trixie Mattel
The movie book club.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Oh, the book went to post production of Glimmerglass. Them gals. Yeah, but when you're 85 years old.
Joel Kim Booster
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Anyways, okay, so thank you so much for joining us.
Joel Kim Booster
Oh, wait, can I say I'm on tour? When does this come out? Oh, perfect. Literally, I think, like, today is my first day of tour. I'm going all across the US And Canada. I'm doing Europe in December. You can check out all the dates. It's on my Instagram. It's also link tree at ihatejolecim is the.
Katya Zamolodchikova
There's a website.
Joel Kim Booster
Yeah. Linktree slash. Yeah. And then it's a whole list of all the dates, and you can come.
Katya Zamolodchikova
What's the. What's the most expensive ticket? What's the cheapest. What are the tickets going for these days?
Joel Kim Booster
I actually don't know. They're not that cheap. They're not that expensive. They're not expensive because this is the workout show. To be like. No, it is a complete show. It's called Rude Little Pig. It's Jolkin Booster Presents Rude Little Pig. And it is now I've been doing tryout workout shows for the last two years. I finally have a closer that I like.
Trixie Mattel
Fabulous.
Joel Kim Booster
And so I was like, okay, now it's time for it to be a named show fierce.
Katya Zamolodchikova
So please go buy tickets and go see Joel in concert without Glimmerglass. Yes. Thank you so much, and have a lovely day. Bye.
Podcast Summary: The Bald and the Beautiful with Trixie and Katya
Episode: Joel Kim Booster's Atlantis Cruise Matinée Nightmare (Part 2) with Katya
Release Date: October 22, 2024
The Bald and the Beautiful with Trixie and Katya dives deep into the intricate dynamics of open relationships, the challenges of community perception within queer circles, and personal anecdotes from Joel Kim Booster and Katya Zamolodchikova. This episode, featuring a candid conversation between Joel and Katya, offers listeners an unfiltered look into the complexities of modern relationships and the pressures of public life in the entertainment industry.
Joel Kim Booster opens the discussion by sharing his experiences with non-monogamous relationships, highlighting the delicate balance between personal desires and relationship boundaries.
Envy vs. Jealousy: Joel explains the difference between jealousy and envy, emphasizing that their relationship struggles more with envy. He states, "the thing that we have struggled with and had to communicate with is not jealousy, it's envy" (03:09).
Role Flexibility: The conversation delves into the importance of versatility in roles within their relationship. Joel mentions, "I'm either big Dom, top or sub. Good boy" (05:10), illustrating his preference for clear roles while maintaining flexibility based on his partner’s desires.
Continuous Communication: Emphasizing the necessity of daily check-ins, Joel shares, "we are forced to every day practically to be like, how are you? Is this okay?" (08:51), showcasing the proactive measures they take to ensure their relationship remains healthy amidst open relationship dynamics.
Joel and Katya tackle the issue of representation within the queer community, particularly focusing on media portrayals and their personal experiences with Drag Race.
Misrepresentation in Media: Joel criticizes how media often presents queer individuals, stating, "they completely sexualize you or completely desexualize you, that's the only way" (21:00). He reflects on his experiences at gay functions, noting the superficial judgments based on appearances.
Drag Race Experiences: The duo discusses the challenges faced on the show, especially with the Global All Stars edition. Katya remarks, "making them do a Snatch Game is so sadistic," (39:12) highlighting the unrealistic expectations placed on contestants.
Favoritism and Bias: Joel points out the favoritism towards certain types of contestants, saying, "there is this, like, clear favoritism for the English speaking girls" (42:55). This critique underscores the lack of a level playing field in competitive drag platforms.
The conversation shifts to Joel’s personal life, touching on his views on marriage and his upcoming tours.
Views on Marriage: Joel candidly shares his reluctance towards traditional marriage, mentioning, "I wasn't interested in marriage. He wasn't super interested in marriage either" (15:10). However, he also reveals plans for his relationship, "we're getting married now," (11:41) indicating a shift in his perspective.
Tour Announcements: Towards the end, Joel announces his tour, "I'm on tour. I'm going all across the US and Canada. I'm doing Europe in December," (48:35). This highlights his active engagement in his professional endeavors alongside his personal life.
In a light-hearted rapid-fire segment, Joel and Katya share their favorite comedians, movies, songs, and other preferences, adding a personal touch to the episode.
Favorite Comedian: Joel enthusiastically recommends Jacqueline Novak, saying, "Go watch it on Netflix, unfortunately, if you have a chance." (29:58).
Favorite Movie: He cites "My Best Friend's Wedding" as his favorite movie, reflecting his taste in films that resonate personally.
Favorite Song: Joel shares his appreciation for "I Like Alaska" by Maggie Rogers, explaining, "It's a song I wake up to every morning." (30:34).
Language Fluency: Both express their willingness to sacrifice a finger for fluency in a foreign language, with Joel choosing Spanish and Mandarin due to personal trauma and functionality (31:10).
Joel and Katya explore the broader implications of their experiences on their sense of identity and community within the queer landscape.
Identity Exploration: Joel discusses the tension between public personas and private selves, admitting, "I felt like I was catfishing the entire nation" (47:51), revealing the internal conflicts faced by public figures in maintaining authenticity.
Community Interaction: Katya emphasizes the often hostile environment within gay functions, stating, "They're making out on the dance floor. And this is the disease that I am diagnosing now today," (19:58) critiquing the superficial interactions driven by insecurities.
Joel Kim Booster:
Katya Zamolodchikova:
This episode offers a profound look into the complexities of maintaining open relationships, the struggle for authentic representation within the queer community, and the personal vulnerabilities of public figures like Joel and Katya. Their honest discourse encourages listeners to reflect on their own relationship dynamics and the broader societal perceptions that shape queer identities. The blend of humor, candidness, and critical analysis makes this episode a compelling listen for anyone navigating similar personal and communal landscapes.