![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Myki-Meeks-Courtesy.jpg\")
Myki Meeks Credit: courtesy image<\/p>\nMyki Meeks Credit: courtesy image<\/p>\n
Maybe you\u2019ve seen her perform as one of the core members of Best of Orlando-winning drag night Off the Record. Maybe you\u2019ve seen her hosting Orlando\u2019s own take on Drag Race, YouTube series The Gig. Maybe you caught her as part of the Ren\u2019s Nosferatu aftershow, V-Bar. Myki Meeks is one of the busiest drag artists in the City Beautiful, and her calendar got a hell of a lot more full with the recent announcement that she\u2019ll be a contestant on Season 18 of RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race premiering Friday, Jan. 2, on MTV. Orlando Weekly caught up with Meeks right before things get wild \u2026<\/p>\n
Congratulations, and I assume you had to keep this news secret for far too long?<\/p>\n
It was very difficult! I mean, I just left town and did probably the biggest thing I\u2019ve done in my life so far. And to come back and act like I was just going to see Grandma for a few weeks, it was hard. But, you know, it felt very cool to just enjoy these last few months of normalcy before everything erupted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
How would you describe your drag artistry to folks who will be just now discovering you through Drag Race?<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve always said Myki Meeks is a theatrical, dynamic powerhouse. My aesthetic reference points are old Hollywood glamour and party girl. So I see myself as a cross between Ava Gardner and Charli XCX.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s quite a \u2026<\/p>\n
Very specific references, but it\u2019s true. I came up through the Orlando drag scene, which has very strong roots in pageantry. I\u2019ve done pageants a few times, but my weekly gigs are more \u201cparty girl,\u201d so I find that I like just going between the two.<\/p>\n
As you were moving farther along in the audition process, did you turn to any Orlando RuPaul alumni for advice?\u00a0<\/p>\n
So in between the calls \u2014 the first call was to say, \u201cHey, you\u2019re being considered,\u201d and the second call was, \u201cYou got it\u201d \u2014 I don\u2019t think I brought it up to anybody except Jewels Sparkles from Tampa, because we\u2019re close sisters and I didn\u2019t want to put too much energy into it without confirmation. But once I got the final call, I sat down with Roxxxy Andrews. We went through my whole runway package. She gave me some fantastic advice, and Ginger Minj gave me some really good words of encouragement.<\/p>\n
What was it like performing at OTR the same night the news hit the internet?<\/p>\n
That was overwhelming, for sure. This is a show that I\u2019ve helped promote and create for the past four years. This past year, we started bringing in queens from RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race, and now to be on the other end of that \u2014 to showcase the community in this way, to say, \u201cHey, your girl has made it to this big platform\u201d \u2014 it felt very, very special. I did my very first meet-and-greet with the community of OTR. It was a little silly, because it\u2019s the same people I see every week, but to see the love and energy come back to me, it was just a very special night.<\/p>\n
Speaking of television, did hosting The Gig prepare you for Drag Race at all?\u00a0<\/p>\n
You know, I don\u2019t think I brought up The Gig at all during Drag Race. So I love hearing these types of questions. The Gig was a special project in partnership with The Ren. There was a lack of competitions in the scene, and I\u2019ve always wanted to do my own. Donald Rupe, the producer of the Ren, was like, \u201cWell, why don\u2019t we take this to the next level and make this a whole YouTube series as well?\u201d How did it prepare me for Drag Race? Well, I was literally getting ready for Drag Race as we were filming and producing The Gig, both things at the same time. So if you saw me at that time, you would have seen the stress behind my eyes. It was such a special time. I mean, it really did prepare me. I had cameras on my face. I had microphones. We had to do confessionals. It also gave me the insight of what it felt like to be a judge and what I wanted to see from a contestant. I think one of the biggest takeaways was, everybody in the competition was fantastic, and that\u2019s undeniable. It\u2019s not about who is good, who\u2019s bad. It\u2019s about who shone the brightest that week. And I took that mindset with me to Drag Race and thought, well, if I don\u2019t have a top placement this week, I can\u2019t deny that I at least did it and I showed up the best that I could.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Myki-Meeks-Courtesy2.jpg\")
Myki Meeks Credit: Courtesy<\/p>\n
Do you have any plans for the holidays? Or anything leading up to Jan. 2?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I think this is definitely the time to catch up on sleep. I just came back from New York and Chicago for press week. It was four or five straight days of 8 a.m. drag. And this is definitely the time to enjoy with my family, before things get wild. It all feels a little unreal. So I\u2019m just going to be with my friends, visit my family, play a lot of videogames, relax until Jan. 2.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the promo grind like for this?<\/p>\n
Once we did the premiere party, there was a huge press junket, I think I spoke with like, 12 to 15 different outlets, and after I was done, I just sat back in the dressing room and thought, like, \u201cWhat the hell just happened?\u201d\u2019 It\u2019s a little imposter syndrome to me, because I\u2019m like, \u201cHow did I get to this point?\u201d But now that I\u2019ve been able to sit with it for a little, I\u2019m like, I\u2019ve worked so hard for something like this and now I\u2019m ready to receive that energy back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Where can we see you perform locally for now?<\/p>\n
Even during the run of the show, I will still be at Off the Record Wednesdays as much as I can. So we\u2019re working right now, if I can give away a little bit, we\u2019re working to bring in my Season 18 sisters during the airing of the show on Wednesdays. There\u2019ll be viewing parties on Fridays. I\u2019ll definitely be at the Renaissance Theatre Co. [at 54 W. Church St.] Jan. 2 for the premiere party for the first episode. And then when I\u2019m available, I\u2019m still on cast at Southern Nights on Thursdays. You know, there hasn\u2019t been an Orlando queen on a regular season since Season 9, and this is Season 18, so almost 10 years. It\u2019s a whole new generation, and I\u2019m just excited to represent them.<\/p>\n
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