{"id":68659,"date":"2025-12-02T22:35:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T22:35:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/68659\/"},"modified":"2025-12-02T22:35:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T22:35:11","slug":"how-st-petes-discord-addams-riffed-her-way-to-rupauls-drag-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/68659\/","title":{"rendered":"How St. Pete\u2019s Discord Addams riffed her way to ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ADiscord Addams performing at The Wet Spot during St. Pete Pride\u2019s Sunday Street Festival 2025. Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing<\/a><\/p>\n

Notably relaxed in delicately arranged armor made of spikes and studs, Discord Addams sat across from me, sipping some kind of mezcal concoction. It wasn\u2019t an unusual Friday night scene for us\u2014Discord and I have cackled over cocktails more times than I can remember (the drinks may have something to do with that). <\/p>\n

But something was different about tonight\u2014in just a few days, the entire world will be invited into the irreverent, punk rock world she\u2019s built over the last 13 years. After a decade of auditioning for the megahit series, Discord was finally accepted as a contestant on Season 18 of \u201cRuPaul\u2019s Drag Race.\u201d <\/p>\n

With so much on the horizon, we did what any good friends would do: sat down for a drink to chat about the long road that led her here and the path she\u2019s forging ahead.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It all began in the most unlikely of places: Akron, Ohio. Discord was well-embedded in the local punk scene, but didn\u2019t make her way into the realm of drag until she had seen alternative style icon Raja take the \u201cDrag Race\u201d catwalk.<\/p>\n

\u201cI loved seeing that drag is a medium that you can communicate any message through,\u201d Discord explained. Inspired by Raja\u2019s high fashion club kid aesthetic, Discord made her drag debut in 2012 at Akron\u2019s Interbelt.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always just been inspired by anyone that challenges authority.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Discord Addams<\/p>\n

Four years later, Discord relocated to Chicago with her partner, Gidget Von Addams (the other half of what is soon to be America\u2019s favorite quasi-lesbian couple). While she found plenty of opportunity in the Windy City, she felt there was still a need within the local scene to uplift women and people of color, who were often overlooked as drag entertainers. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always been a champion for people who aren\u2019t getting what they deserve. I think justice is a big core in the art that I make and also the way that I present myself in and out of drag.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

For Discord, platforming women isn\u2019t just about doing the right thing, it\u2019s also about giving back. \u201cIf you were to ask me point blank \u2018What men do you find inspiring?\u2019 I\u2019d be really, really hard pressed to give you an answer.\u201d <\/p>\n

When asked who does inspire her, Discord had an immediate answer: Rosie O\u2019Donnell. \u201cShe really, I would say, kind of changed my life. I have her Barbie doll.\u201d She tacked Lady Gaga, Kesha, and her own mom onto the list of inspirational figures. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always just been inspired by anyone that challenges authority.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Discord escaped the cold and found her way to the Tampa Bay area in 2020\u2014but was on a bit of a drag hiatus after experiencing social burnout in the Windy City. Thankfully, a healthy dose of southern hospitality from none other than St. Pete\u2019s own Adriana Sparkle was enough to get her back in the saddle.<\/p>\n

\u201cMeeting Adriana is what got me back into happily doing drag,\u201d she admitted. Discord credits the welcoming, noncompetitive energy of the Florida drag community as her motivation for pursuing drag as an artistic medium again.<\/p>\n

\"TwoDiscord (left) and Gidget Von Addams at Mari Jean\u2019s St. Pete Pride party 2024. Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing<\/a><\/p>\n

Years after finding a home bar at Cocktail St. Pete, Discord got the call that she would be starring in Season 18 of \u201cRuPaul\u2019s Drag Race.\u201d She described the experience as \u201cvery validating.\u201d Discord continued, \u201cI\u2019ve always been my biggest fan, but at some point you question yourself, like, am I delusional?\u201d<\/p>\n

Discord hopes that her run on \u201cDrag Race\u201d will inspire other artists to be authentic and speak loudly about what they believe in.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think due to being on the spectrum, I\u2019m incapable of being too far outside of who I am at any given time,\u201d she said. \u201cI wish more people would realize that if you do exactly what you want to do at all times, people will like it. Even if it\u2019s not everybody\u2014the worst artists in the world are the people who are adored by everybody.\u201d <\/p>\n

She also aspires to be a public example that high fashion does not need to be expensive or new. Each of her creations has been put together, pulled apart, and reimagined, with the majority of her pieces made out of thrifted fabric: \u201cWe refuse to waste any scraps.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Post-\u201cDrag Race,\u201d Discord is looking forward to creating art on a larger scale\u2014including the realization of her longtime dream of releasing a punk album. Other than making music, Discord has one simple wish for the future: \u201cI really want to find a way to cameo on \u201cWednesday.\u201d Making Discord Addams canon in the Addams family would be crazy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tune into the premiere of RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race Season 18 on MTV on Friday, Jan. 2. Live local? Don\u2019t miss Cocktail St. Pete\u2019s Season 18 Premiere Watch Party with live performances and Q&A with Discord Addams starting at 7 p.m.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\tThe pack is joined by more than a dozen other bands this weekend.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\tAfter a decade of auditioning for the megahit show, Addams is finally a \u2018Ru girl.\u2019\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\tThe bands are at Orpheum this weekend.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

This article appears in Nov. 27 \u2013 Dec. 03, 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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