She overwhelmed us in the ordeal of the “Comedy Musidrag”, by courageously embodying the character of a toxic father rejecting his child. She made us laugh to tears during the “Snatch Game”, putting herself with talent in the shoes of a completely crazy Brigitte Fontaine. Moon, the Swiss adventurer, left Drag Race France Friday at the end of the 6th episode broadcast on France 2, after the iconic test of the “Ball” on the theme “Queen of the ball (of high school)”.
A departure that she chose, explaining that she favored her mental health. “It was the best decision to make. I realized that I no longer had enough fun to continue, ”explains the 31-year-old drag queen on Monday to 20 minutes. The artist returns to the reasons for his departure and his career on the show.
Facing the jury, you explain that it is not a abandonment and that your mental health comes first. Is this an important message for you to pass on?
Absolutely. I feel like we forget that we are human with these entertainment and reality shows. We too have the right not to be well. We may be on TV and do lots of entertaining things for people, but it’s still difficult and intense for us. It’s completely normal to talk about mental health and I find it pretty crazy that it’s still so taboo.
It was quite disturbing and painful for you to embody this toxic character during the “Comedy Musidrag”. Has this played into the weakening of your mental health?
It didn’t help but that’s not at all why I left. I am doing drag king [les artistes qui performent et caricaturent la masculinité], but I haven’t since my transition. So it was quite complicated during makeup and rehearsals. But when I was on stage, I was so proud! It was truly my love letter to all drag kings from France and the world. For me it was very important to do so. I really went to do this show wanting to show the Moon that I am. In particular the “freaky Moon”, this Moon which is a bit of a creature, during the parade with the theme “Under the ocean” [épisode 4]. I also said to myself that if I had the opportunity to make a king, that would be great. Afterwards, the role was complicated, especially since I really had to deal with a lot of toxic men.
The other character who made an impression is that of Brigitte Fontaine, whom you played in the “Snatch Game”. Is it an artist you like?
I love it. I wanted to do a woman of a certain age because they are the ones I prefer. And then she has so much her own universe! She is so perched! I feel like that’s what people say about me all the time. It seemed obvious to me to try to make a strong woman like that. Brigitte Fontaine, I’ve seen her several times. I find her irresistible, incredible, it’s thrilling to watch her. It was a good opportunity to pay tribute to this woman that I adore and to have fun on top of that.
You took part in all the iconic events of the competition: the “Snatch Game”, the “Rusical” (the “Comédie Musidrag” in the French version), the “Ball”… Were you afraid of some of them?
What’s funny is that it’s not the “Ball” that I feared the most! I’ve always been resourceful. Afterwards, since I wanted to leave, I think it suited everyone that I was in the bottom. I dreaded the “Snatch Game” much more because I really didn’t want to mess up Brigitte. I really wanted her to be proud too, if she ever saw him. So it was way more stressful for me. For the “Ball”, I may have taken the theme too literally in my head. I kinda forgot about the look fashion and I’ve gone too far with the concept of the girl who wants to have fun at the prom. It was important for me to make a luminous woman. I’ve been to a prom before but at the time I was in a suit and I was with a girl… It wasn’t really my dream prom. So I said to myself that I was going to do it as I wanted to, that it was something fun. But maybe I forgot a little too much that you had to be pretty on top of that! I went too much into the concept and not enough into the execution.
During the first parade of the evening, you are wearing a dress that belonged to your mother and that touched the jury a lot. Was this outfit important to you?
As long as I can remember discovering my trans identity, this dress is the object I remember the most. We had a trunk of disguises at home, we dug into it every time there was a carnival. This dress was there when it was really my mother’s dress when she was young. She wore it to go dancing, she met my father with it. For me, she was a bit like this femme fatale. She also reminded me so much of Esmeralda who was, for me, the most iconic princess. Well, it wasn’t even a princess, even though it was the only Romani representation I had on TV. For all the women in my family [Moon a des origines tziganes], I felt like they had no representation except themselves and Esmeralda. Every time I could put this dress on, I looked at myself for hours in the mirror and thought I was so amazing. I felt like I could be whoever I wanted with. To be able to put her back on stage and mix her with this Disney icon, it was so beautiful. I was maybe a little too disguised for some, but again, I’m not here to do anything but have fun.
You were instantly adored by the public, who particularly praised your spontaneity. Did that surprise you?
Such. I’m the type not to open up at all, I don’t talk about myself in general. My heart and blood families are completely unaware of half the things I talked about in drag race. This is also what made me a little “spiral”. It was so hard to tell all that and to find myself in the evening, in my hotel room, and to tell myself that I had told all of France and all of Switzerland. To see myself so peaceful when I spoke, at least to seem so, it surprised me because I was in a state of anxiety. I thought that was crazy. But I’m quite proud of myself to have been able to put words so easily on such important and difficult things.
Very early in the competition, you explained to the other candidates that you were a trans woman, as well as having suffered from severe depression and suicidal thoughts. Were you in a setting where you felt confident enough to do it?
I thought to myself that I had to say it. Sometimes I didn’t feel like talking about everything but I was always thinking about how important it was going to be. That someone would hear it and thank me one day for talking about it. Even if sometimes I felt a little pushed, I was never forced into anything. I’ve always done it because I wanted to. I think that’s what made me go, I talked about a lot of scary and upsetting things for me in a very short period of time.
Since its participation last year, La Briochée has used its visibility to denounce transphobia. Are you also determined to be a spokesperson for your community?
Completely. I feel like I didn’t have much choice. We are still terribly lacking in representation. Just the fact that we say it’s a representation is that we lack a trans presence. As a result, you are a representation and a spokesperson despite everything. But it’s pretty crazy to think that I’m a spokesperson for an entire community just because I have a different identity than the so-called “norm”. It’s pretty crazy to me. Of course, I will fight until the end for my community and when it is necessary to stand up, speak and shout, I will be there.
Where can we come to applaud you the next few weeks?
Next weeks I will be in Lille then in Paris for viewing party and drag shows. At the beginning of September, the tour Drag Race France Live begin ! Take your tickets because it’s going fast and it’s going to be crazy! It will be throughout France and in Geneva too.
Do you have a message to convey?
You have to listen to yourself, that’s the most important thing. You should never be ashamed of exposing your weaknesses – at least what you think you are – mental health is essential and you have to love yourself. And long live the trans!