‘DRUK vs The World’ star Mayhem Miller dishes on making friends, alliances & that cash prize twist

PRIDE: Congrats on Drag Race UK vs. The World, what a cast! How are you feeling about your time on the show?

MAYHEM MILLER: My god, the overall experience was exactly what I wanted it to be. I wanted to meet new people, I wanted to make new friends, and I wanted to learn more about myself. And it all happened.

I do love that about the show, how it offers you to cross paths with queens you might normally meet. But for you being “The Mayhem Miller '' walking in the door, do you think that is a good thing or a hindrance in a competition like this?

Definitely a target. Well, I guess it depends on the game players because sometimes girls will play the game the way it's set up. And some girls will play it safe because they're scared of what social media will say. I felt like being the Mayhem Miller, would it be a target placer. But I know being the Mayhem Miller is a good thing because I'm fun. I was really hoping that my personality would make the girls love me even more.

I am sure it did! I will say though I respect how you went straight for the alliance in the deliberation. My question is, would you have kept those alliances, and why do you think it didn't work?

I don't know why it didn't work because it's worked in the past. I was very matter-of-fact about it. 'I've done this before. I've made a promise. And I kept it. I'm a man of my word. If I say I got you, I got you. So please get me.' I really thought I could sell it because there is a track record. I made a deal with India [Ferrah] in on All Stars and I kept my word to the fucking end to the point where I sent myself home because I said I would not campaign against her because I made a deal with her. So I was like, 'Okay, the girls know she's who she says she is and I can trust her.' I really thought it was gonna work, but it didn't.

I know that getting ready for any season of Drag Race is a ton of work and costs a ton, so I am curious will we get to see the rest of your package?

You are absolutely right. It's very stressful getting ready for Drag Race and is extremely expensive. I've been a girl who the Internet has loved and hated some of my looks so this time around I spared no penny. I spent a lot of fucking money.

Can you say how much?

I dare not to, because I don't want to come across as douchey and be like, ‘I’ve spent all this money!’

Could you purchase a car with the amount you spent?

Oh yes! Definitely. A nice car. So part of me wants to share those looks because I spent so much money on them. But part of me also is like — no I’m not sharing shit! [Laughs] Also, I'm like, well, dang, what if I get called back? Maybe I can recycle some of these looks.

Yes, that part!

I'm a resourceful queen so I'm like, you know what, maybe I can just hold these in the arsenal just in case I can use them for something else.

That’s smart. And speaking of playing the game this is the first season where the UK girls have a shot at a cash prize. How did the mood change in the room when y’all learned that?

It shifted the energy like that! We all did not know. We all were approached about the show the way it has always been and we all knew that there was no cash prize. So we all signed up for whatever it was. I knew there was not gonna be any money involved. So I was just like, I’m just here to have a good time. But once money became a prize, we all were like, ‘Oh, okay, this changes everything.’ Now, the pressure is there to really try to win because that's a lot of money. [Laughs] It definitely did change the energy of the game.

Do you think that that may have influenced the way the vote went? Maybe they thought you were bigger competition?

You know, I never even thought about that until you just said it. Yeah, once you're in the way of someone's check, friendship is gone, rational thinking leaves, alliances don't mean shit. [Laughs] If it were me, I'd be like, 'Yeah, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, I need to get this money.'

I love the way the cast reveals were set up this season with the curtain rising and you all reacting. Who was the person you were most gagged to see on the stage?

To be completely blatantly honest, I was not surprised nor shocked because I was not familiar with my castmates. I'm a terrible Drag Race fan. I don't watch the other franchises not because I don't want to, not because it's shady or anything. My life is drag. Work is drag. And I like to have my personal time not connected to that world because I need a break from it. So like, even with like, a lot of people when they come to visit my house, they're like, where's your drag? And I'm like, you would never see it in the house. When I step into my house, there is no mention of Mayhem.

That's so interesting!

I think it's very important that you keep the persona separate. That way you can give yourself a mental break from that world. So like I limit my social media engagement, I limit my discussions when it comes to drag my consumption of drag because I don't want that to be my personality. It's a part of who I am, but I don't want it to be who I am.

Thank you for sharing that! That makes perfect sense. OK let's end on a really stupid question. Imagine this: You and your cast have somehow crash-landed on a desert island. Who do you marry?

Who do you eat first?

Oh, Choriza I am eating her first. The name alone lets me know that she is seasoned and is not going to be bland. So we're gonna eat her. But I am marrying — and I put this on social media, I already claimed her as my wife — Le Grande Dame.

Oh my god I feel like looking at her is like looking into the sun she is so gorgeous.

When she came down the runway I was just like, 'Wow, you're stunning.' She's really beautiful in person. Once the drag came off, and I saw what was underneath, and I heard the voice I melted. I was like, 'Oh, oh my god. Wow!'

I love it!