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'RuPaul’s Drag Race' Interview: Silky Nutmeg Ganache: 'RuPaul Understood Me. He Felt My Energy Of Me Trying To Change My Life'

Silky speaks on her haters, the perfect Oprah, and filming a video with Lizzo

By Christopher Rudolph

Whether you loved or loathed her, everyone had an opinion about the Reverend Dr. Silky Nutmeg Ganache — but how does Silky feel about her time on the show?

MTV News spoke with Silky about the haters, feelin’ the love from RuPaul, how she perfected her Oprah impersonation, and what it was like filming a video with “Juice” goddess, Lizzo.

MTV News: Hey Silky! How are you?

Silky Nutmeg Ganache: Great, how are you doing?

MTV News: Great! So when I met you at the Season 11 RuVeal, I came away saying you were one of my favorite queens from this season. How has your experience been with the fans this season?

Ganache: Well, the fans hate me online, but they love me in person. So I’m fully bitch, fully blessed, and fully bougie.

MTV News: You really do not have time for the haters, do you?

Ganache: No. I’m trying to get a job, honey!

MTV News: You just went to your first DragCon, what was that experience like — meeting all of your fans?

Ganache: It was a great experience. You never know what little things [you do] touch people. I mean, I’m not a girl with 4-5 hour lines. But I made sure I gave every person who stood in my line the chance [to meet me.] I gave love and encouragement. I feel like that’s what I owe people. You know? I got this opportunity a million and one girls would’ve loved to have. And RuPaul took a liking to me. I feel like I would be doing people a disservice by not showing them the love they need from me.

MTV News: I think some of the viewers thought that you were a lot on the show, whether that’s good or bad. Did you get that impression from other girls while you were filming?

Ganache: It honestly wasn’t like that on set. Yes, I was loud, and I was obnoxious, but I was very afraid to be there. And actually, one of the girls said to me after the show, “I wish I would’ve lived in the moment like you did. When you were on the show. Maybe I would’ve been there a little longer.” When I was on the show, I never second-guessed myself, you know? I just did. I was like, I’ll pay for it later. I think the girls love and adore me. They know me and my background, and they understand why I did what I did. Because I wanted a career that will last me for the next 20 years, and I think that I’m going to have that.

MTV News: Did you see yourself going all the way to the finale?

Ganache: Yes and no. My goal on this show was just to represent myself well and to do my best. And wherever I land, I land. I feel like the crown is the bonus, you know? You can become a winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race without taking the crown. Look at Alyssa Edwards. Look at Shangela. Look at Willam. These girls have made long-lasting careers from doing drag. And why? Because they were themselves. They had a business mind. And they weren’t afraid. And I wanted to follow in those girls’ footsteps.

MTV News: It seemed like Ru really liked you. How did that feel?

Ganache: It felt really good. Because at the very end of the day, no matter what my fellow competitors had to say, the only thing that mattered to me was RuPaul. And I felt like RuPaul understood me. He saw through all of my craziness. He felt my energy of me trying to change my life. I feel like RuPaul enjoyed that.

MTV News: I loved your Oprah! How did you nail her?! What did you study?

Ganache: Actually, one of my Snatch Game characters was Oprah.

MTV News: So you already had the impersonation down...

Ganache: I don’t want to say that I’d completely practiced, but the Oprah routine was in the back of mind. I’ve been an entertainer. I’ve been doing drag for years. For all queens, they say, “Find someone good to impersonate.” The reality of that [“Trump the Rusical”] episode was I didn’t want Oprah because the part was only 40 seconds, and never could I imagine that I could turn something out in 40 seconds like that. That just never occurred to me. I think that was a learning point for me — it’s not the role that you get, but it’s how you portray the role.

MTV News: You love education. You love teaching. What do you want to teach the children out there if you could teach them one thing?

Ganache: How to love yourself. It’s something that I would love to show the fans and people in general. When I was a kid, I was — I don’t want to say fat or chubby, because my boyfriend don’t like when I say that — but I’ve always been heavy-built. No secrets, no shame to it. When I was a kid, I used to look in the mirror, and I used to pick one thing a day and tell myself that I loved. Like, I would get in the mirror one day and be like, I love these eyebrows. I love this cheek. I love my shoulder. And it was something I had to deal with constantly within myself.

I think that people don’t understand that nobody owes you anything in this world. You have to claim it yourself. And that’s how I was able to love myself. And you know I had to love myself completely naked on national TV. And I don’t have a body like [the other girls], so… I really had to love myself. That’s something that I would love to teach people. Because when you fully love yourself, you can truly dive into anything. Even Drag Race was a dream. It was destiny. I always knew I would get on it one day. I just didn’t think it would be so soon.

MTV News: Are you still using Sharpie to draw on your eyebrows?

Ganache: They ask me this at every interview! [Laughs] Absolutely, I just did them for DragCon. I’ve done drag for a short period of time, but one of the reasons that I’ve been so successful is that I study drag. And when I do, I ensure that I know all the tricks of the trade. Maybe people don’t know this, but a lot of plus-size queens are taught to use a Sharpie. Because I sweat a lot and my eyebrows won’t go away. That’s the reason I use it.

MTV News: Last question: What was it like filming that video with Lizzo?

Ganache: Let me tell you something. I had just moved to L.A. I wasn’t supposed to be in that video. But somebody called out, so they called me and said, “Can you be here in an hour?” So I painted my face on the way to the studio. It was surreal because I think Lizzo is the hottest thing in the music industry right now. And I am so honored that someone like me — someone who truly loves and cherishes their body, and is an intellectual and truly talented — has that platform. Hopefully, I can work with her one day again. Oh, yes — I am looking for a job! [Laughs]

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