The Shock and Awe of Desiree Dik
Desiree Dik causes a stir wherever they go, from "The Boulet Brothers' Dragula" to slaying at D.C.'s Red Bear Brewing Co.
Desiree Dik was already making one hell of an impression as a contestant on season six of The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula, the horror-themed drag reality competition on Shudder, even before the incident known as ChickenGate.
Bringing their own livewire energy to the Emmy-nominated series’ celebration of gore, guts, and glamour, the Falls Church, Virginia native proved a fierce competitor in a host of intense drag horror challenges.
Their “Killer Doll” drag won praise from guest judge and killer doll expert Jennifer Tilly, one of Desiree’s horror movie heroes. And for their performance as a pervy pilgrim fisting a raw chicken on the show’s Holiday of Horrors episode, Desiree was hailed by head judges Dracmorda and Swanthula Boulet for taking filth to outer space.
While Drac was a bit peeved that Desiree’s pilgrim brought a chicken to a turkey dinner, Swan declared, “I do think Desiree is very Dragula, in a punk sort of nasty way.”
Desiree also brought that punk rock spirit to her interactions with the other queens in the cast. Hence, their now-infamous episode three dust-up, which somehow resulted in Desiree, still in drag as a filthy pilgrim, throwing their chicken across the room at fellow competitor Yuri.
“It was a real chicken,” Desiree tells me, adding, tongue in cheek, “and it was out of season because we did not film during Thanksgiving. So I was like, where the fuck am I supposed to get [a turkey]? I wish I put a wig on it or something, I would’ve hid it somehow.”
Chatting from their home — while prepping for upcoming gigs at the Austin International Drag Festival and in San Diego with Dragula sister Vivvi The Force — Desiree says life’s been a little chaotic, but amazing, since the season started airing. “I’ve been traveling a little bit, thanks to the show,” they say, having recently appeared at the Boulet Brothers’ annual live Halloween show in Boston.
ChickenGate nothwithstanding, the performer’s time on Dragula was well-spent. “I had fun filming it,” they say. “Watching it back, it does show my fun, energetic, crazy, sassy side. There is a different side of me as well that I don’t think has been shown yet, but hopefully maybe in the future.”
There’s always The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula: Titans, the spinoff where returning contestants get another shot at impressing with their take on drag, filth, horror, and glamour. And Desiree, who honed her style in the drag underground of Baltimore and D.C., shows multiple facets as a busy drag artiste about town, hosting regular events at gay-owned Red Bear Brewing Co.
Through March, Desiree presents their own homegrown drag competition “Slay Them” at Red Bear. “‘Slay Them’ started a long time ago at Uproar,” they say. “It was an open-stage competition that I just wanted to pull the weeds out of the underground, and see who was willing to come, and it started becoming popular. There were so many people. Then it became from this lip-sync monthly thing to the pageant that it is now.”
Having crowned three previous winners, Desiree is excited to see who will become the fourth. They’re still raving with praise for the first queen they crowned, Evry Pleasure, who won partly thanks to a number featuring a vogue battle with a Power Ranger.
“She brought her own Power Ranger,” Desiree jokes. “It was really good. And I think she kind of levitated that crown, to be honest. Her just winning that, she was booked everywhere. And it wasn’t because of me, she did it herself. The crown gave her a spotlight and she just ran with it.”
Photo by Riley N. Sims/Riley Sims Photography
The same could be said for queens who break out — as victors or villains — on internationally successful reality competitions. Desiree grabbed the spotlight, now they’re ready to see how far they can run with it. And hoping TV viewers realize there’s more to them than ChickenGate.
“I wanted to be the person that I want to see on TV, which is sassy, fun, energetic, says stupid stuff,” they say. “I just wanted to bring Dragula back to the contestants not being scared [about] what they say or do, which also does have consequences in a way. And I guess that’s why people don’t do them. But at the same time, I was like, this is my favorite TV show and I’m just going to go crazy.”
The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula episodes are available for streaming on Shudder. Visit www.shudder.com.
Slay Them is every first Friday at Red Bear Brewing Co., 209 M St., NE. Visit www.redbear.beer.
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