A Drag Race Contestant Totally Called Out This Bar For Its Low Wages And “Mistreatment” Toward Drag Queens, And It’s Sparking Tons Of Discussion
“The owner has chosen to disband a written agreement in favour of being petty, cheap, and shameless.”
It all started when a clip from the first episode of the new season went viral online. In the episode, contestant Tara Nova reveals the wage she gets paid by a drag bar in St John’s, Newfoundland.
“In Newfoundland, we do six numbers, and we’re each only paid $37.50,” Tara Nova says.
“Wait, wait, what?! Shut the fuck up,” another queen replies, to which Tara Nova repeats: “THIRTY. SEVEN. FIFTYYYY.”
Then the clip cuts to an interview, where contestant Helena Poison exclaims, “Thirty-seven fifty?! It’s the fifty cents. What are you doing with that fifty cents? It almost feels like a ‘fuck you.'”
Tara Nova continues to explain how expensive it is being a drag queen — like having to pay for “a new look every single weekend.” “I don’t always see the payoff,” she admits, “but the thing is, I love drag so fucking much.”
To this, drag queen Xana says that in comparison, her rate is $200 “no matter what gig” or “where it is.” Then she says, “I don’t think that Newfoundland bar is owned by a drag performer. They don’t know what you’re going through.” And Tara Nova replies with, “No, he’s a straight man.”
“We fill bars,” Xana proceeds to explain. “We sell alcohol. We are entertainment; we’re promoters. We’re doing all of these things. To get paid thirty dollars to do all of that work, to fill your space, to make you money — tells us that you don’t care about us. Do better.”
And believe it or not, the story only gets more intense from here…so I hope you’re sitting down for this next part.
On Nov. 24 — three days after the episode aired — Tara Nova posted an “urgent” TikTok announcement, asking for St. John’s venues to host a viewing party for episode 2. She recapped the compensation discussion in episode 1 of the show, and said, “Apparently this truth was too much to bear for the owner of said establishment, who has terminated my contract to be able to host a viewing party for episode 2.”
“I told my story on Canada’s Drag Race with the expectation that I would never receive $37.50 from this establishment ever again, but did not expect such an extreme emotional reaction on the part of the club ownership when confronted with their employment standards,” she said.
She also made it clear that she was “not paid” for these viewing parties, either.
And THEN, a day later, Tara Nova posted another video with several interesting updates to the situation. One of which is that, after discussing the issue together, “the bar owner signed an agreement to increase each queen’s pay per show to at least $100.”
“Again, the owner has chosen to disband a written agreement in favour of being petty, cheap, and shameless,” she reminded her fans. “Sadly for them, my willingness to be mistreated by them has come to an end.”
But despite this part of the agreement, another issue came from this negotiation. “They tried to accuse me of ‘dominating’ the drag scene in the city by asking to be part of 3 out of 8 of the shows in a month,” she said.
“I was already in 3 out of 8 shows in a month, at least. But I was trying to grant myself some security, considering that the cost of preparing a drag race package was exorbitant.”
“Before this morning, I was prepared to post a video gushing about how everything has changed,” she said. “Now, I’m convinced that this whole meeting was a ploy to let them paint me as someone who is only looking out for herself. It hurts, and I stupidly expected better.”
Tara Nova also said the venue only agreed to increase the wages for a “three-month trial,” instead of the 12 months she asked for, “which was the only stipulation they absolutely would not budge on.”
“They wanted me to do another viewing party at Velvet, but I refused. This was a PR stunt, and a cash grab. You will never see me at this drag bar in St. John’s again.”
“If other queens continue to work there, I hope they exercise caution, and find a better way than I could to stand up for what they deserve.”
Fair wages for drag queens isn’t a new discussion, and this conflict only serves to underscore that. Many people online have shared their thoughts on this particular situation, and some have begun discussing their own experiences:
It’s so heart breaking because Velvet is literally the only queer bar we have and I spend almost every weekend there. Safe to say they really fucked up and have alienated a lot of the queer community here
— Queen Kai (@Queen_kai69) November 24, 2024
I don’t know how big is Newfoundland, but in my town, which is not that big, there have been similar issues in a local gay club. Shame on them.
— Estados Unidos Ferrera (@AlexBustillosCh) November 24, 2024
This is sadly the case in a lot of bars. My home bar pays their queens maybe a 20$ bill if you’re lucky or you walk out with no booking fee and maybe 10$ in tips, and you MIGHT get a free drink
— Whos Who? (@KalebMiller22) November 24, 2024
