How Drag Race star Luxx Noir London is ‘throwing it back’ at her ‘vicious trolls’

“I’m a little very gagged” is the appropriate (and only) way to react to Luxx Noir London’s new anthem. Produced by RuPaul’s frequent collaborator Skeltal Ki, ‘Let It All Hang Out’ is a thumping alternative-dance banger that sees the queen tackle her newfound status as a “famous person” and, of course, “America’s angel”. “It’s like a diary entry of how I feel a lot of the time,” Luxx tells GAY TIMES. “I definitely think I’m changing something in the world by telling people you should not be afraid to speak your mind.”

Luxx made her RuPaul’s Drag Race debut at the outset of 2023, where she immediately emerged as a viable contender for the ‘America’s Next Drag Superstar’ title as a result of her sharp wit, viral catchphrases and innovative runway package. Sadly, since sashaying into the werkroom, Luxx has been met with an onslaught of vile rhetoric and misogynoir online from so-called ‘fans’ who are “intimidated and spooked” by her “catty cunty” disposition. Luxx, however, will not allow the trolls to “walk all over” her.

“I was not expecting to be super well-received because I know that, a lot of the time, being myself can be a bit jarring and abrasive to people. That didn’t stop me from being myself because, if I can’t be me, who’s going to be me? I think that me is very necessary in the world and in the sphere of culture,” she explains. “As an artist, it’s not my job to tell you how you’re supposed to perceive me as the art piece. Luxx is an art piece. She’s an artist. She’s a piece of art.”

To commemorate the release of ‘Let It All Hang Out’, we caught up with Luxx to discuss new music, her legendary run on RuPaul’s Drag Race and why she’s “probably better than the next 20 people in line”. This interview is guaranteed to gag her haters, for sure.

Tell me about the Drag Queen Christmas Tour. How’s that going?

It’s a lot of fun. There’s eight of us and we all do two Christmas-themed numbers. My first one is a RuPaul Christmas mix and in my second, I’m dressed like an angel. I have these massive angel wings and it’s really gorgeous.

Is your angel attire a “f**k you” to the haters?

I kind of think it is. When I first signed onto this tour, I knew I wanted to dress as an angel because everyone sees me as such an evil person sometimes. So I was like, ‘Let me be the prettiest little angel ever.’ I’m throwing it in their face like, ‘You’re not going to tell me I’m not America’s angel,’ because I think I am.

I love how you rile up these trolls. More of it, please!

Currently, we live in a society where everybody’s scared to say how they feel because they’re scared to be perceived in a certain way. I like to be perceived because, as someone whose goal is to be famous, you aren’t famous by people not knowing who you are. I like to show the people who think they can tell me how it is, that I can throw it back at them too. I never do it out of a place of anger or hatred or being truly upset. Most of the time, I do it because I know I can say something equally as nasty, if not more nasty. People say that negativity is never the answer, but I have to show people that you’re not going to be able to walk all over me.

I saw what you quote-tweeted before this interview and it blows my goddamn mind how so-called ‘fans’ can be so hateful when that’s the opposite of what Drag Race stands for?

It’s very hypocritical, the way that some of these people think. They’re like, ‘How dare you be such a mean and vile person. You absolutely horrible human being! You should throw yourself in a ditch.’ You’re being the person you’re claiming I’m being, which is just hypocritical. You can’t tell someone to stop being mean while insulting them.

If you’re not prepared to watch drag queens throw a bit of a shade at each other, you’re watching the wrong show. Go somewhere else.

This is going to come off a bit big-headed, but I think it’s fine when drag queens who are not as good [at throwing shade] as I am do it because they see it as, ‘They’re just being whatever.’ But, when you’re actually talented [at throwing shade], it becomes a thing of envy. They don’t want to admit I’m better than a lot of people they’re fans of, so they don’t want to acknowledge my greatness. They see me as being nasty, cocky, arrogant or rude, but I’m just doing what everybody else is doing. You’re mad because I do it a little bit better.

You and Mistress Isabelle Brooks are responsible for some of the most entertaining moments of season 15. It felt like earlier, unfiltered seasons of Drag Race. As we’ve mentioned, however, you and Mistress were met with a lot of backlash online. Before you sashayed into the werkroom, did you expect that?

I did because I’ve seen how other people who look like me have been treated on the show. I was not expecting to be super well-received because I know that, a lot of the time, being myself can be a bit jarring and abrasive to people. That didn’t stop me from being myself because, if I can’t be me, who’s going to be me? I think that me is very necessary in the world and in the sphere of culture. There needs to be more people like me who are unabashedly themselves. If you’re going on TV, you should showcase yourself and not a diluted or different version. I walked into the werkroom doors and didn’t have any plan besides kill the competition. I didn’t say, ‘I’m going to be the villain.’ However they internalise what I’m giving them, that’s on them. But, that’s why I am the artist and they are the public – to quote Lady Gaga! As an artist, it’s not my job to tell you how you’re supposed to perceive me as the art piece. Luxx is an art piece. She’s an artist. She’s a piece of art. It would be backwards for me to tell the consumer how they should feel about me.

Do you think queens on Drag Race, and reality contestants in general, suppress who they are out of fear of backlash?

I do. I know for a fact that people do. Because of how vicious these trolls are, it makes you want to do everything you can to please them. It factors into your livelihood if people hate you. People think that if fans hate you, you’re not going to work. If you don’t work, you can’t really survive. You don’t want to be seen as the girl who went on TV and is now, like, a flop. A lot of people will do everything in their power to make sure they’re not one of the Drag Race girls who you don’t hear from a year later. I never have that worry because if this all went away tomorrow, I’d still be the same artist I am – working or not, y’know?

You are authentically yourself in your new single ‘Let It All Hang Out’. I have to ask, why is it not metal?

There’s some metal influence! I was already wearing the metal hat, so I didn’t want to go full metal. The mood is there.

Luxx, the part in the video where you swing that enormously huge hair around is satisfying as hell. 

That’s one of my favourite parts of the video, actually. I’m used to flipping my hair all around.

In the song you sing, “Is it truly a crime to say what’s on my mind?” I assume this is, once again, directed at your haters?

Yeah, a lot of the song is about how I feel about being famous or in the public eye. I consider myself a celebrity. I consider myself a famous person.