Heidi N Closet and Crystal Methyd

Four drag queens being stranded in a small town with suspicious locals sounds like The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Dessert or To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, but Slay bites into much more than their sisters did at the cinema.

Debuting on Tubi, a free, streaming service owned by Fox Corporation, Slay combines popular drag culture and vampires to create something unique.    

Winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Trinity the Tuck portrays Mama Sue Flay the leader of the group trying to handle a gig gone wrong. Two season 12 competitors are in the cast with  Heidi N Closet encapsulating the character of Robin Banks and Drag Race season 12 Crystal Methyd bringing “charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent” to Bella Da Boys. Cara Melle from the fifth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK plays Olive Wood.

Slay just death dropped on the Tubi streaming platform and two of the stars zoomed in to talk about it.   

JN: (Jerry Nunn) How did you get involved with the movie Slay in the first place?

CM: (Crystal Methyd) I knew Heidi was doing the film already when I was approached. That was the reason I was so into it because I just love her!

HNC: (Heidi N Closet) We do this thing where we work together often like with Drag Race and Fashion Week. Now we have done a movie together…

CM: We had to take a break from modeling and focus on acting.

HNC: My agent told me about the project. It sounded fun and campy, so I was hoping they would like me and I could be part of the cast.

CM: I heard that Miley Cyrus filmed a video in South Africa so I wanted to be like her and film there.

HNC: Oh my god, you and Miley!

JN: What is your favorite horror movie of all time?

HNC: I’m a sucker for the old-school campy ones like Freddy Krueger or leprechauns.

CM: Leprechaun was playing the other day because of St. Patrick’s Day and that face still terrifies me.

I love the Scream franchise. I once dated a guy with a big-screen TV with a Blu-ray player.

HNC: That was the reason?

CM: Yes and we never kissed. I left after I had seen them all. Shout out to that man!

HNC: She was like, “I got what I came for on TV!”

JN: Was there a scary moment on the set of Slay?

HNC: Watching us act was scary enough in and of itself, but…

CM: The scariest thing onset was the call time. Dressing in drag before sunrise was pretty crazy.

HNC: It’s not the same makeup from the night before and wearing fresh makeup at that hour is really crazy.

JN: I was wondering about the lighting during the day. Drag queens don’t usually like to come out in the daylight.

HNC: Neither do vampires!

JN: I met Trinity the Tuck in LA once at a fancy hotel in the daytime. Who was the most demanding on the set?

CM: One, two, three…

Both: Trinity!

CM: She had the Mama role. There were times that I was glad Trinity was comfortable speaking her mind 24/7 because it benefited me so I didn’t complain.

HNC: Not the trickle-down effect.

JN: Heidi, did you have to actually drive that rainbow Priscilla bus?

HNC: The question is can I drive? The answer is yes. Do I drive? No. Do I drive legally with a license? Absolutely not!

I fully had a stunt double drive the car for me. Honestly, the van scene was the funniest thing we filmed because we were simulating the driving ourselves and that we were moving in the car.

JN: Word on the street is that something funny happened earlier in this Slay junket day. Spill the tea!

HNC: I was told to wear drag today, but I came dressed like this.

CM: I also just rolled out of bed like this.

HNC: She showed up as Uncle Fester. This is an interpretation of drag today.

CM: We are on the queer spectrum.

HNC: I am gorgeous. You are alternative and a hot boo-boo mess.

JN: And I’m gay! So, Jem Garrard for Slay is a Canadian, non-binary, queer director. How was the atmosphere on the set?

HNC: I am so blessed to have had an opportunity to work with them. They were so helpful with directing and guiding us. They also allowed us to have playfulness while on set. We had fun and could improvise to throw things in. We could kiki and the energy was good overall on the set. It was incredible.

I appreciate Jem for their art and what they have brought us all together for to share with the world, so everyone can have a piece of this magic.

CM: They have written multiple scripts for TV. They were such a big fan of drag and they wanted to incorporate us into the project. I had met Jem in Vancouver before the start of the whole thing. I could just tell from their aura and energy that they would take care of me.

HNC: Are you an empath, Crystal?

CM: Yes.

JN: Crystal, there’s a line from you in Slay describing glitter as the herpes of drag. Can you elaborate?

CM: It is known amongst drag queens that glitter is similar to herpes.

HNC: It never goes away completely!

CM: I remember one time a nurse was living with me and they were straight. Some of my glitter wound up in the washing machine, so my roommate's clothes got all sparkly. They asked me how it happened and I told them it would never go away.

HNC: It is still there to this day.

JN: It is always in my car or in my bed!

CM: Drag queens use it more than the average person.

HNC: Yes, very liberally using it and there’s always a lot of it.

JN: An endless supply of glitter.

CM: There was a shortage for a while.

HNC: Because you bought too much of it.

CM: I never thought about it.

HNC: That’s what it was.

JN: Who is a favorite drag queen that you would like to see appear in Slay Part Two?

HNC: Alyssa Edwards.

CM: Alyssa would be good because she could be in a rival house from our Mama Sue Flay haus with Trinity the Tuck.

HNC: That is true to life.

CM: Life imitates art. I will say Gigi Goode because I love her.

HNC: I love her too.

CM: Maybe an international diva like La Grande Dame or Tayce.

JN: So y’all are still watching all of the Drag Race shows?

CM: Oh yeah. It’s our job to keep up with Mama Ru.

HNC: We have to. We are so ingrained into it now that we have to keep up with it.

JN: Do you have a podcast together?

HNC: I have a podcast with Jaida Essence Hall called Hall & Closet. You can catch us anywhere you listen to pods. Season three just started today actually.

We could do something though, Crystal.

CM: I can be a special guest.

HNC: Crystal has been on before and she probably will be again. We should try to Trinity and Cara in town to talk about Slay on one of the episodes. Sorry, I am getting off the subject, Jerry.

JN: We are creating things right now.

CM: This is how the magic happens.

JN: Jaida is such a nice person that I have interviewed in the past.

HNC: She is and beat both of us.

JN: RuPaul was in Chicago last week after a long time for a book tour. Are you going to read her book The House of Hidden Meanings?

HNC: I have a plan. She is going to be in LA on 4/20.

CM: I have been wanting to go to that!

HNC: I am bringing some Mary Jane and a book to sign.

CM: I have to read this book before we cross paths again and now I know my deadline is 4/20.

JN: What would you like to tell people about Slay to get them interested in the film?

CM: It is so legit. We had the same stunt people and makeup team from a film on Netflix. It was incredible to work with people who have been on incredible projects.

I can’t believe that people are going to see drag queens slaying vampires!

HNC: We are literally Buffy the Vampire Slayers in drag. If you are not into it just from that description alone then you are the problem!

JN: What were the rednecks in Slay like in real life?

HNC: They were all such lovely people. Remember Travis? He was so sweet!

CM: It was funny because most of the cast besides us was South African. Having them do southern accents was fun. You, Trinity and Cara are all from the South now that I think about it.

JN: What upcoming projects do you have?

CM: Well, we have our eye on a sequel, so hopefully everyone on Tubi is really obsessed. We have already talked about a script, but we can’t reveal that yet.

Otherwise, you can catch me touring around the country. I have been doing a little one-woman show. I also have an amazing TikTok account. My neighbors at my apartment complex said they recognized me from TikTok.

HNC: TikTok only?

CM: TikTok only!

JN: Not OnlyFans?

CM: Nothing else! [laughs]

HNC: I am on social media and touring the country as well with gigs. I am working on a couple of big projects as well that I can’t talk about yet but maybe we can do another interview sometime.

CM: Heidi was on the Super Bowl.

HNC: I was on an e.l.f. Beauty commercial that aired during the Super Bowl and it was on the Oscars as well. People loved the commercial so hopefully I will be doing more things like that in the future. Keep your eyes out. You will see me around!

JN: Any final advice for folks that want to be on RuPaul’s Drag Race?

CM: Watch all my YouTube channels about makeup so you will be the prettiest one there.

HNC: Is that how it goes? Why didn’t you post the videos before our season? I would have shown up better looking.

I would tell them not to quit halfway through RuPaul’s Drag Race.

JN: You don’t have regrets do you, Heidi?

HNC: No. I’m in a movie!

JN: You were such a frontrunner though and such a likable person.

HNC: Thank you. I feel like everything happens for a reason in the world and everything goes the way it is supposed to. I am just blessed that things are going in a great way for me. It was all meant to happen and that is fine by me.

JN: Come back to Chicago soon.

CM: I love Chicago. That is where Data Betty lives now.

JN: There are a lot of drag queens flocking to Chicago.

CM: It’s a bit chilly, but I love it there!

Visit tubitv.com and see these queens Slay today.