With four maxi-challenge wins and six Beautiful Benefactress Badges, Angeria Paris VanMichaels made Drag Race All Stars 9 her (ugaly) bitch.

Over the course of the season, the Southern belle from ATL showcased the full breadth of her charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent as a pop star (‘Drag Queens Save the World’), stand-up comedian (The National Drag Convention Roast), actress (Meeting in the Ladies Room) and the supreme ‘Park-and-Bark’-er (Variety Extravaganza), rightfully earning a place in the final. There, she defeated Roxxxy Andrews and Vanessa Vanjie Mateo, winning a mammoth $231,500 for the National Black Justice Collective.

“I wanted a charity who was going to be very representative of me and what I believe in. I’m Black, I’m queer, and what they stand for is something that is gonna be needed all the time,” Angeria tells GAY TIMES, just hours before she serves her signature brand of pageant and glamour on the official All Stars 9 tour. “We all want to win the title, of course, but we were also there for a cause that’s bigger than us.”

As is the case with each season of Drag Race, RuPaul’s chosen inductee into the Hall of Fame was met with a marmite response on social media, with so-called ‘fans’ directing their vitriol towards Angeria, an icon who, 1) didn’t crown herself, 2) entertained viewers for 12 weeks straight and 3) raised a gargantuan sum for a Black LGBTQIA+ charity. (Make! It! Make! Sense!) Angie’s mindset, however? “I just say to myself, ‘I still won!’” (Again, icon.)

Here, Angeria discusses her All Stars 9 experience, as well as her three ultimate Drag Race lip-syncs and dream to inspire small town Black communities on a future season of HBO’s We’re Here. As she sang on season 14, “From the country to the silver screen, it’s Angie bitch, livin’ out my dreams.”

Angeria, condragulations on winning on All Stars 9. How has life been as Drag Race‘s reigning All Star?

It’s been absolutely amazing, especially because I’m on tour with the All Stars 9 live tour by Voss Events. It’s crazy, winning Drag Race and then going straight on tour is like… Oh my god, it’s a lot but it feels good because I’m highlighted a lot in the show, and the fans make me feel [loved] at every show and meet-and-greet. I feel like the winner!

What does the All Stars 9 tour look like for you? What can fans expect from Angeria?

My number is very me, very glamorous. Whenever I do a tour, I always just wanna make sure my number is reflective of me and very pageant! It’s what you would see from the talent portion of a pageant, so it’s very glamorous with feather fans, all that.

Is it coming to the UK?

It is not….

[Shrieks.]

But wait a minute! I am. I will be coming to the UK. I’ll be at Heaven the last weekend of September. I get to finish up the tour and then a couple days later I’ll be heading to London.

Okay, so I can expect ‘Park and Bark’ live in a few weeks?

Maybe! You know what, the owner [of Heaven] always tells me, ‘I want you to do something live for me.’ So I don’t know, I might!

You smashed this season. Four challenge wins, six Beautiful Benefactress Badges. Besides competing with all these incredible queens, what was your favourite moment of All Stars 9?

I think my favourite moment, honestly, was the very first episode. It was meeting Keke Palmer and winning in front of her because she’s someone I grew up watching. Having her as a guest judge, watching all of her TV shows and movies, I was like, ‘This is crazy and kind of full circle in the best way.’ That was one of my best highlights. On my original season it was Alicia Keys and then this time it was Keke Palmer.

This season, you raised an insane $231,500 for the National Black Justice Collective. What was it like for you to contribute such a hefty, life-changing sum for such a wonderful charity?

Amazing. I chose my charity because I wanted a charity who was going to be very representative of me and what I believe in. I’m Black, I’m queer, and what they stand for is something that is gonna be needed all the time. We need someone on the frontlines fighting for our rights. It just is what it is, especially now in this day and age. We need someone who is going to be there, fighting for the rights of Black queer people, and they do that. Me winning anything for them would’ve been amazing. Whether I had won $5,000 or the whole bucket, it was gonna be okay for me because I was giving back to a cause that I believe in. But, being able to win the whole pot for them – and then some! – was incredible. We all want to win the title, of course, but we were also there for a cause that’s bigger than us. I’ve gotten so close to the organisation over the course of the season. They’ve been so supportive of me and I’m so glad I was able to give back to them.

As is the case with every season of Drag Race, there’s been some negativity online from so-called ‘fans’, which feels even more baffling as All Stars 9 was for charity. I hope you haven’t spent too much time focusing on that negative, and have been embracing the positivity?

I have. When I first got on Drag Race, we all had calls with the producers where they check in on us and make sure we’re good. One piece of advice I’ll never forget is, ‘When you get the negative comments, know you’re gonna get just as much positive feedback, so let the positive feedback outweigh the negative.’ I’ve always kept that in mind. I can honestly say I got so much love. I’m still getting the messages, DM’s, phone calls. I couldn’t be more happy with my win. We all see the hate and the negativity, but I just say to myself, ‘I still won!’ I can’t explain to you how much that one saying gives me the motivation to not see any of the negativity. I simply say, ‘I still won, it’s fine, it’s okay!’ I’m proud of myself and that’s all I need. We have a saying in pageants, ‘I don’t crown myself’, and I didn’t crown myself. RuPaul, the judges, whoever, they crowned me. I did not crown myself so you’re not gonna make me feel bad about my success at all. I’m gonna soak in it, just like we all deserve to.

What was the response like from fans who are part of the communities that you represent?

I got so much [love] from small town queer Black people, and it just felt amazing to get that. I got it on season 14, of course, but to all those people that supported me then and even my new fans, it felt great to get that feedback from them. I got a lot of, ‘You really inspired me to go bigger, dream bigger than my surroundings.’ That’s what I’ve always tried and wanted to do, to encourage people to know that their dreams are way bigger than their surroundings. If I had just stayed in my small country town mindset, I wouldn’t have been able to get out and take chances on myself, so I just encourage everybody to do the same. A lot of the feedback I’ve gotten from the small town Black community has just been, ‘You represent us and we see you, if you did it I can do it too.’