Exclusive Interview - Gia Metric
My first question is, when did you discover that you wanted to do drag?
Oh my gosh, when did I discover that I wanted to do drag? I discovered I wanted to do drag probably after my parents’ divorce.
Oh wow!
Yeah, I've always been you know, ever since I came out as queer at around like 18, 19 I’ve always been surrounded by creative people, one of my friends Ryan Turner, he always would dress up, always do makeup, always do hair so someone that I always looked up to and then my parents got divorced when I was around 20 years old and I kind of fell into this experimental phase of how to protect myself. Gia was created years later as a way to be this superhero that I had inside me and I also went to a theatre program as well and so I've been singing and dancing ever since. Now I’m on Canada's Drag Race, everything kind of came to fruition and I was able to do everything at once.
You briefly spoke about your parents which leads me into my next question. One of my favourite stories on the season was where you told everyone about how your Dad was so supportive at your show and was at the back like cheering for you. How was that growing up with such a supportive parent?
Oh my gosh, it's interesting because when you're a kid I didn't realize what I had, I didn't realize what it was, how privileged I was, to have a family that supported my every move and cheered me on. It was when my Dad first saw me in drag, I was so nervous, he knew that I had done drag through photos, I'm from Toronto but I live on the West Coast, so there was always this gap between my family and there wasn't a lot of a visual version for them other than digital. When he came to the show I was so nervous and as I was on the stage with him literally in the background like at the bar being like yeah that's my buddy, it was just so beautiful and again it reminded me of how grateful I am to have a supportive family and for my Dad who's 60 years old to be willing to enter this new generation of art that he wasn't exposed to and so at the same time it was so inspiring.
Funny enough my Dad, he knows I’m obsessed with drag, clearly, he didn't really care for it, he's like you do you sort of thing and then for my birthday recently I forced him to come along to a drag brunch with me and he absolutely loved it! He was loving it.
It's so funny, the thing that I get a little awkward about is that my Dad has been to a few shows now and the thing that I get a little awkward about is that the other queens they sometimes call him out not knowing that he's my Dad, there was this one moment where one of the Queens go up to him and they're like trying to be flirtatious and then my Sister is sitting beside him and then she picks up on it and she's like, Oh that's Gia Metric's Dad and then they backed off just hearing that. I'm like oh god, that's where he's gonna get uncomfortable and that's where I get awkward. It's so funny, obviously it happens right, it's a drag show.
Yeah it's gonna happen. Moving to Drag Race, of course episode one came and you found yourself in the bottom two and I’m sure that is not what you envisioned your Drag Race journey to be. Did you feel that that drove you to then fight for a place in top four?
Yeah, it was so unfortunate and unexpected but it taught me a really great lesson at the beginning of the competition. I think I needed to learn to get to the point where I got to and that lesson was… listen and not be so protective of my drag, I feel like you know as we see in the competition, I’m a very focused worker and with that comes a lot of attention on myself. I think because of the reason why I started drag, which was like a protection for me and my feelings (it was like this safety guard), I think when I was asked to do things I would always try to make it more Gia rather than the criteria and I think that's what we saw in episode one. I defaulted into my drag, what looks good on me, rather than giving them what they wanted. It taught me that really good lesson not only for drag but in life, to know when someone is asking something of you, take some time to review it and give them what they want and then sprinkle a little G on top.
Well you survived and then you made it top four!
I did yes, how crazy. The storyline. That's been the coolest part about watching it back, being like oh my gosh, I get to visually see myself as that girl on the bottom week one and then to see myself sitting at the reunion top floor, I'm like two different people.
This week we saw you take on a lip sync battle for a spot in top 3! What were your thoughts when fate paired you with your brat pack sister?
Oh sh*t, but also it was about time that it happened, I guess the only time that I worked with one of my sisters was with Synthia in the mini challenge, the rest of the competition I was quite independent which was one of my goals going into the competition. When we both pulled the same lip sync song you kind of at that point… you kind of have to eliminate your friendship and you just have to look at them as a competitor. I knew and I knew Kendall knew that neither of us were going to give up and this is both our dreams. We're both incredible lip singers and it was just about doing our best, putting on a good show and what was meant to happen was gonna happen. I feel like we kicked ass together and she looked like Beyonce and I looked like GaGa, it was the Telephone part two that everyone has been waiting for.
Of course Kendall sent home both of her sisters, you and Synthia!
You know what she technically didn't send me home…
Okay, yes I suppose so!
That's actually one thing that I’m grateful for, I'm grateful that we had the first lip sync because she actually didn’t kick me out. That's how I view it, there can't be any hard feelings, it wasn't up to us at the end.
One thing that you're most remembered for on Drag Race of course is your Oscar speeches (but I actually think you've been on it today). Are you aware that you're doing it in the moment or have you always been that way so it’s just natural?
It's so funny, I know that I talk a lot but when I get serious or when I’m super grateful for something I’ve done or something I’m saying can impact other people, I just ramble. I feel like I have to explain myself in so many different ways, I think that comes from again always having to explain my feelings. I was always having to explain my concepts, so when I was celebrated I felt like I really needed to express my gratitude and to say thank you so much! In the moment, I didn't know that they were gonna edit like that, but I am so freaking happy that they did because I’ll be giving speeches for the rest of my life!
I can talk for England too, so I fully sympathize. If I get too passionate you can't shut me up.
Yeah and that's it! It's passion and what some people see it as is them screwing me over with the edit and I was just like nah man, they're just making great tv and I’m a part of it. I’m here for it, and they're not wrong, I don't shut up! That's just my character.
I loved it! Now, we have our top three, who would you personally like to see be crowned and why?
To be honest the calibre of drag this season was so insane and I remember all of us unpacking and we kind of all had this mentality oh yeah we're going to be the winner and then as soon as we saw everyone unpack we kind of… not shrivelled up but we were just like okay, this is this is going to be a competition! I know you know we want the tea, we want the drama, but I do think all three of them would be incredible winners and bring so much passion and life to Canada with the title. I'm rooting for all three of them and I can't wait to see what the winner brings and what they do after with the crown on their head.
It's definitely a very different season, it's a different round of queens and I think this winner will be definitely different to Priyanka, actually, when we spoke to her she said that she wants the next winner to actually be completely different and do their own version, you don't want another replica.
Everyone has a completely different take on the winner, of course that comes down to individuality and that also comes down to you and who makes it into the top three. They're all so different and going to bring completely different things.
What is your favourite memory from the show?
I think my favourite memory was the number of times that I got to sing, I love singing so much and I've been singing ever since I was a little kid. I’m not classically trained or anything but just in my shower or on my karaoke machine. To see all of my worlds collide where I was on the biggest drag stage, in drag, singing my heart out. I think that was probably one of the most exciting memories. Jim Carrey was so fun for me. I've never done anything like that in my life and I don't even know where that came from. I kind of just pulled it out of my ass as we saw on the screen, so that was probably like the funniest thing to watch back, I was like oh my god I’m hilarious!
I challenged myself, I think I stepped outside of my comfort zone, did things that I didn't even think I was able to do, that's what I’m most proud about.
The way I like to end my interviews is with a shout out, a space for you to shout out another Queer performer, King, Queen or anything in-between and why they deserve it.
I am going to shout out two people real quick. One, The Girlfriend Experience from Vancouver, she is my sister, she is an amazing trans queer artist who is so passionate not only about what she does but the impact that she has on other people. Girl if you're listening to this or reading this I love you so much, keep doing what you're doing, you're such a shining star.
My other one is going to be Miss Moco from Toronto, she is so kind, hard working and she's one of those queens that has both feet on the floor. She knows who she is, knows what she wants to do and she's doing it! So keep rocking it sis, I love you.
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Photography - Courtesy of World of Wonder
Note: Some of this interview has been edited from the original transcript to help with readability.