Panti Bliss Will Always Be A Drag Queen But Never President – EVOKE
Panti Bliss has vowed to remain a queen for life but insists she has no intention of becoming president one day. The gay rights advocate and Dancing With The Stars contestant played a key role in the campaign leading up to the same-sex marriage referendum.
But Panti, aka Rory O’Neill, insists she harbours no ambitions of holding high political office or of entering the race for Áras an Uachtaráin in the future.
Panti, who is partnered with Denys Samson on the show, told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘It’s hard for me to behave, and to get into politics you have to be able to behave.
‘On Dancing With The Stars, during the live show, they practically have someone separately employed to run over and tell me how to behave, to stop talking when I’m not supposed to be, not to be making funny faces behind when someone else is being interviewed. Nobody invites me anywhere expecting me to behave.’
While the political fray holds a certain allure, the activist insists she does not quite fit the mould required for what she describes as the ‘gentile’ corridors of power in Leinster House or the Áras.
She added: ‘I do like some argy bargy. I’m not afraid of telling people what I think. But I’m not cut out for the supposedly gentile world of politics.
‘I’d go absolutely mental sitting in the [Phoenix] Park with nothing to do.’
While the presidency holds no allure, the 54-year-old entertainer and activist insists she’ll never get too old to squeeze into her trademark sequins and stilettos.
But, Panti admits, it does become more of a drag with age.
She said: ‘When I was in my twenties I’d be happy to run around nightclubs all night and fall into bed with my make-up on, that is never happening these days. As you do get older, it is even more uncomfortable, but I still enjoy it and the performing and the drag of it.
‘I look at [fellow drag queen] Mr Pussy – she won’t mind me saying – she’s fine vintage and Pussy can still do it. But at around 40 I found more controlled ways to do it, so I’m not throwing myself around the bar late at night – I get younger people to do that.
‘I focus on the drag in my theatre shows, I hope I’ll be able to continue doing that until my last breath really.’
Panti also said that her costumes puts her at a disadvantage to her rival contestants.
She said: ‘Not only am I the second eldest contestant, I’m also the only one doing it with a wig glued to my face, my eyebrows glued down, there are layers of foam rubber and padding that nobody else has.
‘It turns out there’s still life in the old bird yet.’
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On a darker note, the owner of the iconic LGBTQ+ venue PantiBar reveals the bar, its staff and patrons have been the target of vitriolic and sometimes physical attacks.
Panti said: ‘I’ve been speaking about the rise of the far right for a few years but nobody would take me seriously for a long time. Although all the stuff that’s happening at the moment is awful and depressing, one of the only silver linings is people are finally beginning to take these threats seriously.
‘We’ve been taking it seriously for quite a while, the bar’s been attacked, windows broken, we’ve had graffiti. We get weird letters and nonsense all the time.
‘On Twitter, the stuff on there is sometimes horrifying, a lot of it is from people who have a Celtic Cross and some nonsense on their bio, but more and more it’s people who are prepared to have their name and face out there. All the people involved in these anti-immigrant protests are well known to me. They’re not new names or new faces at all.’