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Credit: courtesy image<\/p>\nCredit: courtesy image<\/p>\n
Dollya Black is no more. But it wasn\u2019t an Extermination Challenge at the end of a Dragula episode that did her in; it was an act of self-preservation.<\/p>\n
This might seem counterintuitive for a performer seemingly at the height of her powers and notoriety. But after a strong showing on the second season of buzzy Shudder\/AMC reality competition The Boulet Brothers\u2019 Dragula: Titans, Dollya Black walked away from the show and then from drag. And that\u2019s only part of a pivotal year for this Orlando performer.<\/p>\n
In the midst of this maelstrom year of tremendous personal change, she found that the armor of being Dollya \u201ckind of wasn\u2019t necessary anymore, and it was time to put it to rest,\u201d Black tells Orlando Weekly in a rare interview.<\/p>\n
At first though, this seemed like an auspicious and long-overdue comeback. It would be the Orlando drag performer\u2019s return to the wildly popular dark drag underworld of the Boulet Brothers-helmed reality competition for the all-star Dragula: Titans competition. Black, a longtime local performer renowned for horror-inspired looks and dizzying performances, came up in the drag scene as part of Black Ha\u00fcs and had previously been a contestant on Season 3 of Dragula back in 2019, where she won runner-up. Aside from Black, 13 other horror- and alt-drag notables were competing to win the crown of \u201cQueen of the Underworld\u201d from Orlando\u2019s Victoria Elizabeth Black. Things didn\u2019t work out.<\/p>\n
As this very dramatic season of Titans unfolded, Black became weary of the conflicts and putting her \u201cart on the chopping block\u201d of reality television. She walked off the set during the particularly heated \u201cLast Supper Reunion.\u201d.<\/p>\n
But that wouldn\u2019t be all she was leaving behind. Toward the end of a weekly run of co-hosting viewing parties of Titans at Savoy with erstwhile Black Ha\u00fcs\u00a0 sisters Victoria Elizabeth and Opulence Black, she let slip on stage that she would be quitting drag. For Black, it was about reclaiming her persona and keeping it for herself, and a realization that Dollya Black\u2019s story, for now, was finished.<\/p>\n
Black says, \u201cDoing that last show \u2026 I had performed \u2018Everybody Dies\u2019 when the finale happened for Season 3, and it was an incredibly emotional moment for me. I remember I got off stage and I fell into my partner at the time\u2019s arms, and I was just so distraught about losing. And the juxtaposition to now, performing that same song as my final number was so cathartic. I looked at the audience and I was like, \u2018Wow, I love Orlando. What a beautiful story, from start to finish.\u2019 It felt complete, like it felt like I did what I needed to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
But a stint on reality television and leaving drag were not even close to the biggest leaps for Black this year. She also began her transition journey. Black started hormone therapy in January after months of careful consideration. Then she came out publicly as a trans woman in June, Pride month.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we filmed Dragula, I had the most beautiful conversations \u2014 I\u2019m sure that some people reading this are going to be like, \u2018What beautiful conversations?\u2019 \u2014 with Priscilla Chambers and Jade Jolie just about existing. Being perceived feminine and what it feels like. When I was out in California filming, I started using the women\u2019s restroom. That was a huge step for me. That opened the door for me to just be like, \u2018I think this is how I want to exist.\u2019 When I made it back from Dragula, I was like, \u2018I think I\u2019m ready to be Dakota,\u2019\u201d says Black. \u201cIt just felt really important to be visible during Pride Month this year, and also fuck Trump and fuck Ron DeSantis. I\u2019m not going anywhere, and I\u2019m not gonna just stop being
trans.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reactions from friends and the community at large were roundly positive, if not exactly surprised.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of my dolls in Orlando were like, \u2018Girl, gag. We were just waiting for you to realize it,\u2019\u201d says Black. \u201cMy friends have been so supportive. It\u2019s just crazy how blessed I am in that regard. And you know, my trans-masc and trans-femme [friends] and the cis women in my life have built me up in a way that, when I started transitioning, it was like I didn\u2019t have to build up this confidence. It was already there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though there are positive memories and truly memorable looks \u2014 like the stunning \u201cHalloween House Party\u201d and \u201cGothic Wedding\u201d attire \u2014 Black says if she knew then what she knows now, she would never have returned to Dragula.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just don\u2019t think that I really identify with the brand anymore,\u201d says Black. \u201cGoing back and doing it again, I was like, \u2018Oh shit, this is not your vibe at all. Girl, this is not you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Which makes it all the more surprising that for several weeks in the autumn, Black co-hosted viewing parties at Savoy with Victoria and Opulence Black. Seeing the reality-television version of yourself on a big screen in front of a crowd had to be tough. But not only was it an emotional reunion for the three members of the Black Ha\u00fcs family, it was a way for Black to \u201creclaim her experience on the show\u201d and find closure.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoing those Creature Features with Opulence and Victoria was such a blessing. They\u2019ve been a part of my life since the beginning. My whole Orlando experience is intertwined with them. I would not be the person I am \u2014 or the performer that I was \u2014 I wouldn\u2019t be any of that without the experiences and encouragement that they gave me and being able to come full circle,\u201d remembers Black. \u201cThat night, after we did photos and the lights went off and people started exiting the theater, I looked at Victoria and Opulence, and I just thanked them. I\u2019m so grateful for so many lessons and skills and memories made with two people who I know love me very much.\u201d<\/p>\n
But this isn\u2019t quite the end for Black on the airwaves. There\u2019s still the matter of Central Florida drag stars-go-ghost hunting show Shook on the horizon, getting its Orlando watch party at Will\u2019s Pub on Jan. 5.<\/p>\n
\u201cShook is such a fun project. We\u2019re premiering it in January here in Orlando with the pilot episode,\u201d says Black. \u201cI\u2019m not sure what the future holds with Shook. We want to film more episodes and continue to make it. But I host the show, and I haven\u2019t exactly figured out how I want to host it. Do I host it as Dakota? Do I bring Dollya back from the grave only for Shook?\u201d<\/p>\n
Questions of ghost-hunting and resurrection aside, looking forward to 2026, Black is content to take life as it comes. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI love to create. I would love to make looks for myself, curate photos. I really want to collaborate more and explore more modeling,\u201d says Black. But then, she\u2019s not really Dollya Black anymore.<\/p>\n
So for 2026, goodbye Dollya \u2014 and hello, Dakota Hartenstein.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Orlando\u2019s daily dose of what matters. Subscribe to The Daily Weekly.<\/p>\n
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