The Vancouver queen talks to IN Magazine about being this season’s villain, the look she would defend on the main stage, and where she hopes to be in a year…
Xana made waves in the Canada’s Drag Race werk room as the blunt Two-Spirit queen from Canada’s west coast who never held back with what she said to the other queens, or on the runway. Xana was eliminated during season five’s seventh episode after a design challenge (you can read IN’s recap of “The Devil Wears Custom” here). Following her elimination, Xana talks to IN Magazine about staying true to yourself, standing by your word, and whether she and Makayla have made up after that instantly-iconic Untucked fight.
First of all, you look stunning, beautiful, gorgeous today.
Thank you. It’s my job (laughs).
I think it’s fair to say that you definitely got the villain edit this season…
Shocking! Shocking news. I’m shocked.
Honestly, it’s probably one of the best roles to have on a season of Drag Race.
I agree. Better than not being remembered.
Looking back, were there any moments that you truly regretted or thought you maybe took too far?
Absolutely not. I should have been meaner.
What do you believe was your most memorable moment or the quip that Canada’s Drag Race fans will remember you for years to come?
Unfortunately, my bad verse in the Girl Group Challenge will probably be one of those things that gets remembered. But honestly, I was featured so heavily in every single episode I participated in regardless if I was in the top or the bottom, there were episodes that I was safe, that I was still so heavily featured in. So, I think there isn’t just one thing that I did. I think my entire run will be memorable. I did something very unique for this franchise. I did something very different for the girls that were there and I think that will stand out and solidify. And, honestly, there’s people who don’t like me. Boo! I’m going to have this kind of Lana Del Rey renaissance thing where there’s a cult following for me now, and in 10 years everyone’s going to be like oh wait no we love her and I’m stubborn enough to wait for that.
If you could go back and defend one of your looks or performances against critique which one would it be and why?
I would defend my ‘90s glamour and grunge look. It was glamour. There was glamour there on that runway. I was in a gown. So, I would defend that. But if I could go back, I would defend my first bottom placement or my lower placement for episode two. I don’t think I deserve to be there that low. I organized that (the Greetings Queenlings skit). My entire skit for my group. I managed that set. We were first to go. We had nothing to go off of. And we worked so well as a team. We got everything done. We ended early. We had extra things to do. So, I don’t think I deserve the bottom placement for that. And my runway was fucking cool, regardless if it had anything to do with my culture.
It was a cool concept and runway, and I think it was executed beautifully. Starkers Corsetry from Toronto. Dianna, she did an amazing job for that. Like, we had no fittings in person. We did everything over Zoom. So, for her to be able to create such beautiful work over a zoom call and send it to me. And then for me to present on the runway, the way that we did, I’m very happy about that. And I don’t think I deserved any of the bottom placements or critiques that I received. [EDITOR’S NOTE: You can read our profile and interview with Diana here: Meet The Designer Behind Some Of Your Favourite Canadian Drag Queens’ Most Sickening Looks]
Fans online, myself included, stood behind your ‘90s grunge and glamour look too. From what I could see through the discourse on Instagram and Reddit was that you definitely should have been at least one of the top two for that look alone.
Yeah. The way that the fans, we were like, “that’s not right”, mmhm. But my performance in that challenge, I can’t defend (laughs).
In this latest episode, you changed your original design plans once you saw how much draping was being used in the werk room. Do you think that you should have stuck with your original garment, or would you have stood behind that front train if you had the chance to do it over again?
I still stand by what I designed. I think the fabrics I chose were not the best and it’s kind of funny watching back Canada vs. World seeing Tynomi do the same thing and also be in the bottom and go home for it. I was like, “I want to know what Brooke Lynn was thinking when she saw that”. She was like, “bro, another one?”
It was that pearlescent fabric, it got us gal! Yeah, I would stand by the design. I think the fabrics were too heavy for what I wanted to achieve. If I had something a little bit lighter and not that color, it would have actually come across differently. I changed my look a little bit based on what Suki and Brooke told me, but more or less for shapes and designs that would have fit Brooke Lynn’s aesthetic and silhouette. I just don’t think I executed it the way that it needed to be to be presented on that stage in that way.
In a perfect world, where you could pick your own lip sync song to do on the main stage, what would it be and why?
“Alejandro” by Gaga. There’s so many highs and lows to the performance in and of itself. I think the story behind Alejandro is amazing. I think just like the vibe of the music at that time was so iconic and if I had an opportunity to perform that on the main stage I would.
The costuming could be sickening too for that if you went all in.
She’s got like seven looks in that music video. Any of them would be great.
In your exit clip you said that you had wished you had the opportunity to work through and apologize to Makayla after that Untucked moment. Have you since had the opportunity to do so?
Yes, literally as soon as we were able to use our phones again, we had a conversation. And it wasn’t us apologizing to each other. It was just more like, “Girl, what the fuck just happened?” So, we were always good. Obviously, things got heated in a moment. It’s what Drag Race is for, it’s meant to happen. And I wasn’t going to stop Makayla from feeling those emotions. I would never want to suppress her feelings that holistically. And yeah, we’re good. We watched that episode together. It was very fun to watch and laugh at.
We saw that you never hold back from sharing your opinion, and I do think that the audience could tell when it wasn’t coming from a place of malice.
Well. Some of us felt that way! (laughs)
What did being in this pressure cooker environment teach you about harnessing your own bluntness and honesty?
I don’t know if it taught me anything, but it definitely gave me the platform to use it. I felt good about it. I, it would be inauthentic of me to lie to those girls to their faces. And from what I heard from just like other people’s experiences, some people were saying things that they didn’t really truly believe and that they do regret or they said it to say it, but they didn’t actually mean it. I intentionally did everything on this show the way I wanted to.
Nothing would have come across as inauthentic because that’s just not what my journey is about. Sometimes Drag Race is a kick in the pants for some people. It’s a reality check.
It’s a reality TV show! What is real and what isn’t real is up for debate, but there’s real moments on that program. Like Sanjina talking about her body dysmorphia. Me and Jaylene having our beautiful moment together. Me and Mikayla having that intense fight. That was still real, but it was about something that realistically isn’t that deep, you know?
It’s just words. They’re just comments and Mikayla just had words. That’s it. So, I think that’s something we get to experience on our own and if you understand how the game is played and you know how the soup is made you can kind of add your own ingredients and make it happen.
You are passionate about creating safe spaces for your community. What do you think is the most important part about creating a safe space for queer people?
Standing by your word, and having actions to those words, because you can say things, that’s great, but if you have nothing to stand behind it with, it doesn’t make any difference. And showing up for those people that you will speak about. You can say, “Oh, I, I stand up for the trans people in my life”, but if you don’t actually show up for them, you’re not. That’s a beautiful sentiment, but you have to actually be there in person, or you have to support them in some way. And I think that’s something that these fans don’t really understand either, is that they’re going to comment on all of these things that they think, or they see, or they think that they’ve seen on this show, but, they realistically have only seen a snapshot of what we are and who we are as people.
And some of them get to see a lot. Some of them don’t get to see anything. It really comes down to what are you doing for your community back home? As soon as I got off of the show, I raised money for Sanjina. Had that sorted out before we even got announced. And like, it’s not stopped me from still working in my communities here in Vancouver and across Canada as well.
You were the only queen keeping it Canada’s Drag Race. Now it’s really just Toronto’s Drag Race as we head towards the final. What sets Vancouver drag apart from other Canadian drag?
Since I’ve been all over Canada, I can kind of speak on this as an experience. When you go to a show and you see the same performer go up four times in a row, different names, different fonts maybe, but it’s all kind of the same thing. Vancouver specifically, you will see four different performers, aesthetically, diversely, come onto the stage and do something different. You’re not going to see the same four acts at the same time. You’re going to see someone who presents differently. You’re going to see someone who paints differently. You’re going to see someone who performs differently. You’re going to see different interpretations of songs that you’ve heard before, but presented differently in a show.
And I think that’s what makes, that’s what makes Vancouver so unique, is that we will have. Someone who does drag, you’ll have a drag king follow up and it won’t be a token drag king. This is, we’re representing the art of these artists on this stage. Can’t say that for every single show in Vancouver, but consistently across the board, a lot of us are on the same page that like every show should be unique. You should be doing something different. That’s what makes you successful here in Vancouver. If you do the same thing over and over and over again, you actually see less success.
Finally, where do you hope to see Xana in a year’s time?
That’s a really good question! I would love to see Xana doing other tv shows. I would love to see Xana making lots of money. Love money! I would love to see Xana just being on every single stage meeting all the people that have supported the show and supported me. Something that this opportunity truly holds is that there’s no bounds and you can kind of take it wherever you want. I’ve heard this repeated a lot and I echo this sentiment that “the race starts when the show ends” and we should continue that, and I’m excited to do that.
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