From KCRW Santa Monica and KCRW.com, it's The Treatment.

Welcome to The Treatment. I'm Elvis Mischu for some reason in Seamy Valley.

Sitting across from Emmy winner, best-selling recording artist,

star of one of my favorite movies of all the time, Star Booty.

And, of course, the star of Rupal's Drag Race, now celebrating its ninth season, now on VH1,

the Emmy-winning Rupal. Thanks for being here.

Thank you. It's a pleasure.

We were just talking before we got started.

And one of the things I've always thought was so great about you is, again, I was saying

that you never brought an element of tragedy to what you do.

And I remember something you said in your book, you talk about breaking the fourth wall.

And you also talk about how people, basically everybody's in drag.

Once you're born, you put on a closure in drag.

And maybe the difference between you is that you talk about people who never break character,

even if it kills them.

And later on in your book, you reference both Edie Sedgwick and Sid Vicious as examples of that.

And is it that idea of breaking character that sort of keeps you from being tragic about all this?

I believe so.

I think once you understand what we're doing here on this planet, all us humans and other

life forms, you realize it's really not that serious.

And it's to be taken lightly and to have fun with it and it's important

to experience life and you listen there's tragedy there's there's always tragedy in fact yesterday

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