- I want to see more stories.
I want to see more
diversity on the show.
And I think by having
more stories of the show,
it's going to connect
even more people.
 I would just love to see,
like, more of our stories told
in different ways,
because clearly
we're slaying the competition.
[LAUGHS]
 Season 12 brought us our
very first and hopefully last
virtual finale.
So Jaida, how much time did
you have to prepare for that?
And what was your strategy move?
 We did not have a
lot of time to prepare.
I think they gave us like
the same amount of time
that you would normally
have to prepare,
but I thought it
was really super
important for me, especially
being in the finale,
with my drag style.
Because I know people
see-- like, they'll say,
oh, she's a pageant queen, girl.
She's going to be so boring.
She's not going to do this.
She's going to do that.
And I feel like it
was important for me
to be like, you know what?
Regardless of what
people think of who I am,
I still want to
showcase who I am.
But I also want
to still make sure
that the audience, whether
they liked me or not,
would still get the experience
that they deserve for a finale.
They would still get the
looks that they deserve
for a finale and the
performance that they
deserve for the finale.
And so that's what I
just wanted to make sure
that I planned to do,
like, with the reveal
of the costume and everything.
 We often say that,
you know, the fans are
the ones that pick the winners.
When we look at
social media numbers,
you are not as popular online
as some of the other girls
that were in the top 3.
Why do you think that is?
 I think we all know why.
But like I said, like, it's
one of those things where you
slowly teach people
over time about the way
that things-- that they can work
and the way that things are,
just by being who you are
authentically and letting--
allowing people to see that.
I know for a fact,
like, on your season,
I was completely
shocked that you
should be in the
million-plus club already.
And I did not see that.
And I was completely thrown
for a loop through that.
So I just was like,
well, you know what?
I expect going into the show,
based off of the way sometimes
a fan base is, is
that I'll probably
have a low number of followers.
I've certainly, like, exceeded
where I thought I would be.
All of us that are Black and
a lot of so many Black queens
that do drag, I feel
like there's not
a single Black queen who has not
experienced a racial situation
and, a lot of times,
that people will
pit our art against other
artists about our race.
And I don't feel
like there is ever
a place where our art should
equal the color of our skin
or who we are as a person
and how we live our life.
If art is good, then it's good.
Eventually, when you
continue to be yourself
and you continue
to do excellence,
people will have no choice
but to stop being a hater
and hopefully turn the
tide and come to love you.
 That hurts me that you went
onto your season knowing that,
like, no matter
how good you were,
you were going to be
less than these girls.
And we deserve more.
