Drag Race's Hershii was 'shocked' by her ball critiques

Out: Generally speaking, how would you describe your Drag Race journey?

Hershii LiqCour Jeté: Oh my god, emotional. It was more emotion than I was prepared for. I thought I walked into that room ready, and then the second I slipped up and got off my game, it was pretty much downhill from there.

It's a lot of pressure, so that's understandable! I love the way that you talked about your kids on Drag Race. Have they been able to see you on the show?

They have. I just don't think they comprehend that it's on TV. Because I get dressed and do my makeup in front of them all the time, as far as they're concerned, I'm just at work. That's what they call it. 'Oh, baba's going to work?' And I go, 'Yeah.'

So they still don't really 'process' that it's their parent on television?

No, I don't think it means anything to them. I'm just at work as far as they're concerned. As a matter of fact, when I got back home, they kind of looked at me like, 'Where have you been? You've been at work?' And I was like, 'Yeah, I've been at work. It's a different work.' They were like, 'Okay… that was too long.'

That's adorable. You were one of the queens who were unsure about Plane Jane after meeting her in the werk room. Now that you've seen episode two, do you think that you were right about your first impressions of Jane, or do you feel any differently?

I will be completely honest with you. When I first saw Plane Jane, I completely underestimated her. I was like, 'Okay, so she won't be here long. She will not be here long.' And then, as the days went on, I saw what type of time she was on. Plane is not only a really good drag queen, but she's also here to play the game a little bit. She wants to play the game of Drag Race, and I think that's important in context with everything that we have going on as well. She's smart. She knows what she's doing. So, yeah, I was completely wrong about her.

I loved watching you and Plasma developing this immediate bond after entering the werk room. I could've honestly watched the two of you chatting for hours. Is Plasma one of your closest friends from the show?

I would say so, yeah. I wish I knew what that was too. For me, it was like, that was the first person that came in after me, I'm going to cling to this person. But, I don't know. I wish I could explain what that chemistry was. It's just so… whenever we get together, on and off camera, it's just a natural back-and-forth thing that we have. It's very effortless. We should do a TV show together, actually.

Couldn't agree more! So, some fans didn't understand the jungle theme of your Variety Show number. You've probably seen this response on social media. Can you clarify what your idea was for that performance?

I tell people all the time that I like being stupid, so it was a dumb idea [laughs]. The idea was… the girls needed a new wig glue, so I went through the forest, through the Amazon, searching for wig glue for the girls to wear. Why that makes sense? I don't know either.

A special glue that you can find in the jungle. Yeah, that makes sense.

You can only find it in the Amazon!

When I interviewed you for the RuPaul’s Drag Race season 16 cast junket, and during one of your interactions with the judges, you talked about Kornbread's advice to you being, 'All she told me was: don't embarrass me on TV.' What has Kornbread told you now that she's getting to watch you on Drag Race?

She said, 'So you did embarrass me, great.' [laughs] But no, she's been a very proud big sister the whole time. During the premiere parties and everything, she's always sitting in the corner like some type of drag coach, watching everything that I do. So no, she's not actually embarrassed. She supported me and pushed me through this whole thing because she knew how hard it was going to be for me. I have terrible nerves and I am very emotional, so she knew what I was about to go through. She's been very supportive.

Kornbread is so wonderful. She seems like a person who will throw a little bit of shade while also keeping it real with everyone, which is amazing.

Absolutely.

Which queens did you develop the closest bond with during your time on Drag Race?

I would say Plasma, Plane Jane, and Megami. Megami and I got really close after the show… after everything was over with. I think we had similar experiences [in the sense that] it was really hard to just throw your heart out there and not have it be well-received. It's like, you don't know what to do. Everybody wants to go on the show and be loved and appreciated for what they do. And Megami understood that. Amanda [Tori Meating] also got me through a lot of my emotional moments off-camera. She told me a lot of times, 'B*tch, you're doing fine. Get your shit together.'

In episode three, you were ranked by the queens to be in the bottom three. Did you expect that placement, especially coming from the Rate-A-Queen format?

To be completely honest with you, no, because I thought my outfit was cuter than a couple of girl's outfits. I thought I was being judged on how I put my look together as opposed to what the look ended up being. I'm going to stand on this until the end of time: I was the only queen there who was in-theme for the ball challenge. The challenge was to be over-the-top and avant-garde. In my mind, I was like, 'Well, who else is going to be a better mother than me?' So I was a little shocked, but then also not shocked at the same time, because these girls are also very shady.

I always like to clock these poetic moments on Drag Race, and it's not lost on me that the queen who is a literal parent to children went home in the Mother of All Balls challenge. How do you feel about that?

Ain't that cray? At the time, I would say that I kind of felt like a failure, to be completely honest with you. I walked in feeling like I had a lot to prove with my background, with everything I had going on. I just felt like I had a lot to prove. And at the time I didn't feel like I did that. But I love watching how everybody related to me in some shape, form, or fashion, and at least saw my heart. People have their opinions on everybody's drag, whether you're in the top of the competition or in the bottom. But I love the fact that people saw my heart, saw that I was genuine, saw that I really love drag. I'm not just doing this just 'cause. I'm glad they caught that, and it made me feel much better.

Hershii, you are absolutely not a failure! So many fans fell in love with you and your drag on the show. I honestly didn't expect to be talking to you this early. Unfortunately, this is how the competition played out, but I think you should be proud of what you've done on the show. Fans got to know you and I think that's what matters. For my final question: is there anything you'd like to promote at this time?

Just make sure that you tell your friend to tell a friend to tell a promoter that you want Hershii to perform in the club. That's what all of this has been about for me. I just want to work. I love being in the clubs, I love performing. That's been my whole goal, especially after getting on Drag Race, and I'm doing that. So, yeah, book Hershii!

RuPaul’s Drag Race season 16 airs every Friday on MTV.