Victoria drag performer Jimbo won season eight of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars on July 21, taking home the crown and a cash prize of $200,000. She also secured a spot in the Drag Race Hall of Fame.
Global News caught up with Jimbo — out of drag — to talk about his big win. He credits Atomic Vaudeville, a sketch-comedy group in Victoria, for his rise in drag.
“I started working with Vaudeville, making some of the props and costumes,” Jimbo said.
“Over time, my director said I should be on stage. She invited me onto (their) show, and through my clown training I was able to understand performance and get involved.
“They were very encouraging … it was a perfect place.”
The drag performer said Victoria has a small, but mighty LGBTQ+ community, with a number of places where people can spend time.
“There is the Vicious Poodle, Paparazzi and Friends of Dorothy,” Jimbo said.
“There is a small but mighty gay scene happening there. Even Atomic Vaudeville … it’s not an LGBTQ+ show or space, but that community is part of the show and they are represented in the show.”
Jimbo said he shares his success with everyone who has helped him in his drag and personal life.
“My success is shared with everyone who helped me and believed in me, which is a huge, huge, huge amount of people,” Jimbo said.
“They were cheering me on when I was just doing my small performances in my home. I created a small stage in my house for people because I wasn’t booked out in the drag scene (at first).”
Jimbo offered some thoughts regarding public resistance to drag events and shows, such as drag readings at libraries, which have been making headlines across North America.
“Who is the problem? The person that is expressing themselves and helping children learn how to read or the people creating a public problem outside of a library?” Jimbo said.
“These efforts should be helped and celebrated … people should really stop harassing other people.”
For the Season 8 finale, Jimbo performed a new number, “I Remember Being Born,” and lip-synced “Do Ya Wanna Funk?” by Sylvester and Patrick Cowley to take top honours.
RuPaul, the show’s seven-time Emmy Award-winning host and executive producer, said he fell in love all over again with each of the competitors, “but in the end, Jimbo’s ginormous talents were impossible to ignore.”
RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars featured 12 queens in competition for the Season 8 title. The eliminated queens also competed for the Queen of Fame Games prize, which is voted by fans of the show. Atlanta, Ga. performer LaLa Ri gathered five million votes in just 72 hours to win the title and its $60,000-prize.