Late Sunday, as Hollywood’s finest hit the Red Carpet for the 72nd Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, thousands of dignitaries and lovers of free speech will be rallying in Paris to protest the recent terrorist attacks on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. To many, the attacks have come to symbolize a kind of French 9/11—targeting the freedom at the heart of democracy to inspire fear, self-censorship and the curtailing of creativity. No doubt someone from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association will reference the attacks during the Golden Globe telecast and declare in solidarity “Nous Somme Tous Charlie!”—“We Are All Charlie!”
Ironically, sitting in their midst will be international drag superstar Conchita Wurst—surely one of Europe’s greatest symbols of Freedom of Expression. The “bearded lady”— who won the televised 2014 Eurovision Song Contest— has annoyed Russian President Vladimir Putin and irked anti-gay “homosexual propaganda” law author Vitaly Milonov, who said Conchita’s very appearance on live television “is clearly propaganda of homosexuality and spiritual decay.”
But neither Conchita, nor her out-of-drag alter-ego, gay singer Tom Neuwirth, 26, are afraid of Putin or homophobic haters. Rather, Conchita said during a free-wheeling interview at the Los Angeles Press Club Thursday night, she’s afraid of Kathy Griffin.
“Are there countries you would be afraid to travel because of their policies?,” asked HFPA member Barbara Gasser, a fellow Austrian freelance journalist who invited Conchita to the Golden Globes, Conchita’s first trip to America.
“I’m not afraid at all. I don’t know if that’s a good thing,” Conchita said, noting that an early interviewer asked if she would like to spend a day with Putin. To which she replied:
“A day is not enough. I need a week. I need to understand who this guy is. I need to understand why he makes this kind of decision he does. So I really would love to spend some time with him.
I heard that one of his press assistants…asked him about my wish—a week with Vladimir in a house, I don’t know—I haven’t thought about that yet. And he just laughed. Just the fact that this president actually hears my name every now and then is quite nice. And for him, quite annoying.”
In my pre-Press Club interview with her, Conchita said Putin “must know this is actually quite stupid what he is doing,” imposing these “ridiculous laws.” So she would “love to get to know him and understand why they do what they do. Because I believe he’s not the only one making decisions. I have so many questions and so many things I want to say to him. At the end of the day, I would just love to give him the chance to understand our point of view.”
Conchita agreed with my designation of her as Europe’s symbol of Freedom of Expression in the wake of the terrorist attacks on Charlie Hebdo:
“Yes, of course. This is just horrible. I was on the plane flying here—I just couldn’t believe what happened because Freedom of Expression is so, so important. And when it comes to art and expressing your feelings and your thoughts, whether it’s drawing or singing—ˆ have no words actually for how awful that is. It’s just unbelievable but the only thing that came to my mind is I would never ever start to be scared because I do what I do.”
However, when Gasser shifted asked about the Golden Globes—which has several LGBT-themed shows up for awards—and asked Conchita what she was going to wear—she revealed a secret:
“I don’t know if anybody would care, but I will wear a beautiful gown, which—it’s quite understatement. And I’m a huge fan of Fashion Police. And I’m a huge fan of Kathy Griffin—but also very scared. And if I just make it into the show—that would be great. That’s my goal for the Red Carpet.”
Conchita says she’s also a huge fan of Meryl Streep:
I think, in my world, she could do any movie, I will watch it. I think she’s fabulous and so I’m very excited about maybe just seeing her. I don’t think I’ll have a conversation with any of these guys. But just being in one room with Meryl Streep is near to a nervous breakdown. So hopefully she won’t catch me starring at her.
She also hopes to have a conversation with fellow Austrian Christoph Waltz and would like to meet actor and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger—both of whom are “good examples that it is possible to become a well-known person, even if you’re from Austria.”
Conchita learned that a star from Golden Globe-nominated “Orange is the New Black” series became a fan of hers after she won the Eurovision contest—but she doesn’t know who so she hopes to meet that person on Sunday, as well.
Conchita Wurst says she has always been lucky to have the support of her mother and grandmother as both a gay man and a drag queen on TV—she’s been doing drag on stage since she was 14—as Conchita since 17— and both women want her hand-me-down gowns. Such love and support allowed her to be open and authentically create and pursue her dreams.
And in this Conchita also embodies the powerful influence of creativity and entertainment on culture worldwide—and on the psyche of those who may wind up changing the world by just being themselves. Conchita says:
I never been longing for a role model or something like that. I got inspired by so many different people and so many different situations and pictures and from a very little age on. I’m just so open to everything that catches my attention.
But when it comes to music, I think the first voice ever which touched me deeply was Shirley Bassey. I was like 9 or 10 years old. I had no idea who Shirley Bassey was. I had no idea what kind of language she was singing. And it just touched me. And from then on I started to love this dramatic big production numbers.
She cites Bassey singing “Diamonds Are Forever” as one of her favorites. “I would love to sing a James Bond-theme song,” she says.
Conchita also admires Celine Dion, who’s voice is “almost perfect,” and Beyonce, who is “not able to sing in the wrong key. I don’t know if it is allowed to be that perfect.” And she chose Cher’s “Do You Believe in Love” in Vienna just after her win, walking onstage with her trophy to screaming fans and waving Rainbow Flags.
I asked Conchita what message would she give to the world if the press stopped her on the Red Carpet.
I would just keep on telling my beliefs. Because, as a bearded lady, I learned years ago that this effects people more than I thought and I realized I could say something with this persona. So for me, it’s just basically do what you need to do and make a life fabulous and if you’re not hurting anyone, you can do almost anything what makes you happy. Especially when it comes to your look, you know. There shouldn’t be boundaries. So just live your life as you want it, and if you’re not hurting anyone, Just embrace it.
That’s cheesy. We’ve only got one life, you know. But that’s the main thing I always keep on saying because people tend to hide themselves or beliefs because they’re scared or they’re insecure. And think it’s a whole process to find yourself, definitely. And I think this is something you have to do your whole life for yourself and what you truly want. But I think it gets better and better and I reached a point years ago where I said, well, I want to be in the public eye but I want a private life, as well. And I love the way I look with a beard—(snaps fingers) let’s do it.
Conchita is also very clear for herself about the distinction between doing drag and being transgender:
First of all, I’m a drag queen. I’m a gay man in a dress. This is what I do or what we drag queens do. This is show, this is entertainment. But when it comes to being a transgender person, this is real life. This is so hard. And I cannot imagine what these people have to go through. So this is the big, big difference and people, unfortunately, don’t get it because they think that’s just the same. It’s definitely not.
And it’s such a big topic, especially these days because there are so many horrible news coming in when it comes to transgender people.
So unfortunately, the only thing we artists can do is to take this opportunity to reach through one microphone, one camera as many people as possible and tell them our opinions about things and hopefully they share them or they understand what this is all about. And at the end of the day, it’s about receiving respect—whether if you’re a transgender person, if you’re a drag queen, whether you’re black or white—whatever. It’s about being respected, you know, and show respect to others. I think basically, that’s a big, big problem in our society—just forget about that each and everyone counts the same.
Conchita said that she would like to get involved in helping a non-profit doing work on behalf of the LGBT community and perhaps something related to the UN. She was impressed by her meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, whom she described as being “actually very funny” and “very easy-going.” Ki-Moon described Conchita as a “cultural icon.” He added: “Everyone is entitled to enjoy the same basic rights and live a life of worth and dignity without discrimination. This fundamental principle is embedded in the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Conchita is a symbol in that sense.”
Conchita Wurst is a symbol of inspiration to thousands—including many in the US.
Eugenia Nekrasova, 31, a Russian immigrant from New York City, flew in the day before the Press Club event especially to see Conchita—and caught the red-eye back immediately afterwards, expecting to deplane and go right to her real estate job on Friday morning. “I wanted to welcome her to the United States,” Eugenia told me. “I’m inspired by her idea of just being who you are. And that you have to enjoy your life.”
Straight twin sisters Cynthia and Rebecca Reyes, 30, brought flowers. “We like what she says about being true to yourself,” in Conchita’s winning song “Rise Like a Phoenix.” “We fell in love with everything about her,” Cynthia said.
Joey Boyd, 55, said he and his mother have a Swedish friend with whom they wanted the entire Eurovision Song Contest, including the voting, which he said was “very exciting.” Boyd shared with Conchita that his mother was too ill to attend the Press Club event, but she “adores you.”
HFPA journalist Barbara Gasser, 51, who also sits on the Press Club board, was also thrilled and inspired by the contest, as were her many LGBT friends. Gasser, who told me she has twice survived breast cancer and has the cancer gene, said “you have to be stronger than that. You only have this one life.” And while life can be tough, it’s important to overcome obstacles, something she knows the LGBT community understands. “And once you’ve overcome them, then you’re humble, but happy and grateful and then you can pass what you’ve learned on to others.”
Conchita Wurst, Gasser said, “is a symbol of overcoming obstacles. And it’s important to have inspiration.”
The Official Lesbian Crew from LGBT Hollywood—filmmakers Renee Sotile and Mary Jo Godges from Traipsing Thru Films—shot the Press Club event and an interview I did with Conchita. Here are video excerpts:
Conchita singing a few seconds from “Heroes”:
Is Conchita single?
Conchita on being afraid of Kathy Griffin:
Excerpts from my interview:
The entire “Heroes” video: