First Colorado winner of RuPaul's Drag Race talks 50 years of Pride, personal journey
The State of Colorado is celebrating 50 years of Pride for the LGBTQ+ community. For one local drag queen from Denver, expressing Pride means accepting everyone's backgrounds and culture.
Yvie Oddly is a Denver native who won RuPaul's Drag Race Season 11 in 2019. She is also the first-ever Colorado winner. Oddly met up with CBS Colorado Your First Alert Traffic Tracker and said the win still feels pretty fresh.
"It's a lot to live up to," Oddly said.
After winning RuPaul's Drag Race, you receive $100,000 and a year's supply of makeup. Oddly tells us she purchased a house with her winnings.
Oddly's journey didn't stop there. Oddly made a guest appearance on All Stars 5 as a lip sync assassin and then All Stars 7, an All-Winners season. She's known for what she calls alternative drag. It is the kind of look that changes your perspective and makes you ask questions.
"What is normal about any of this," Oddly said. "I really like pushing boundaries. That's the love I have for drag. I found out that I could dress up in different ways and kind of control the attention that people directed at me."
Oddly made her start in drag on Auraria's Campus at Colorado University. After she fell in love with drag, she started performing at Rainbow Alley in the basement of the Center once a month. Oddly tells us while in drag, she has one motive.
"To always push for a place where weird is normal, said Oddly. "Where you can do whatever. Where you can tell stories and I was trying to get on Drag Race and show other girls that we deserve our place. Let's appreciate all forms of drag."
Now Oddly, along with the State of Colorado is celebrating 50 years of Pride. Oddly said showing your Pride doesn't come without sacrifices and risks.
"It's insane for me to think about 50 years because that's 50 years very out," Oddly said. "We had loud vocal struggles and we are finally starting to see the benefits of that. Queer people deserve to live just like anybody else."
Oddly tells us there are two very big events that come to mind when we talk about fighting for equality in the LGBTQ+ community.
"Seeing gay marriage get passed was pretty amazing," Oddly said. "Seeing Don't Ask Don't Tell being repealed. Things like that gives me hope that we can still push forward even if people are trying to push us back."
Now, Oddly continues to fight for equal rights. Oddly tells us you shouldn't have to explain who you are. You should be accepting it.
Oddly has a new book coming out in June titled "All About Yvie." Readers can follow her RuPaul's Drag Race Journey episode by episode, and hear about her rough childhood and how she is still growing. The book is set to be released on June 19.
