Jackie Hernandez

Top-tier football player, Josh Cavallo, walks us through what being a judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race means to him and what he stands for.

Q: Were you a fan of RuPaul’s Drag Race before you got invited as a judge?

A: Absolutely, you know, I’ve watched it for years and years, and it was honestly a pinch myself moment to see that I got asked to be on the show and RuPaul’s had such an influence in my coming out and to be the person I am today. So it was really nice to have an opportunity to be in the same space as RuPaul and have a conversation and meet RuPaul and to, you know, to see what RuPaul’s doing in the industry with the drag queens and paving the way in that way. And that’s exactly what I’m trying to do in the way of football, you know, being the first professional top-tier footballer. That’s what I wanna do in my space, so it was really nice to see the two industries how similar and how much love and support we both have, and to be there in person was absolutely a dream. 

Q: Yeah, that’s great. I love that. Can you walk us through how you heard about the job like about them wanting you in as a guest judge?

A: So, when I came out, me and my manager, that’s from the US, David McFarland. We sat down, and he said, “Joshie, what’s your dreams/goals like what do you want in life?” and I said David, I really wanna be on RuPaul’s Drag Race. I am a massive fan of RuPaul, and that would be like, if you could do that like, I could die happy, like we’re good. And kid you, not like 6 months ago when I did get the call for it. I thought he was pulling my leg. Because it’s so different to my industry, to my world of sports, you know. I wake up, I go to training, I do gym, I do recovery, and then sleep, I repeat again. And to see I got invited to go on RuPaul’s Drag Race, Down Under was absolutely like a life-changing experience, and you know, the best thing about it was when I got the opportunity to be there, it was so different to what I’m familiar with, football, but I felt at home, I felt with my family. It was absolutely phenomenal. 

Q: And then just, How was it working with the other judges? I know you touched upon it in that last question. How was it getting on set being with the judges and the contestants like what was that like?

A: It was really cool, you know, I knew Michelle before through the Attitude Magazine award when she presented the Man of the Year award to me. So I met Michelle before, but it was really nice to see her again and Reese as well, Reese is such a lovely boy. It was phenomenal to meet him. And also the contestant, it was really nice to hear their stories and their journeys and what they’ve done in the drag race community and to see how they have embraced being comfortable in their own skin, so it was really nice to see all the different sides to everyone there, and yeah you just get this massive love energy in that room, and there’s just a lot of support going on there, and it’s really nice to see.  You know, being such a big fan of the show, it’s really nice to see the insides of it and to see how the production works and to see what’s behind the scenes and how things work, so it was a really nice thing to experience. It just went really quickly for me, like I blinked, and the day was over, I was like, no, can we have that day again? Can we replay it, replay it? It was really fun, it was great.

Q: Yeah, and what are you most looking forward to being like getting on set and actually being on the show before you even shot anything? What were you most looking forward to before getting there? 

A: I was looking forward to meeting RuPal because, yeah, Rupaul has been such a huge influence in my coming out. You know, being in the football world growing up, I didn’t have a role model that I could look up to that was gay and played in a top-tier division, and that was successful and paving the way and being inspirational inspiring millions around the world and that something I struggled with before coming out. And for me, RuPaul was doing in the drag industry. So it was so different to my world in football but so similar that I could look up to and take some aspiration from that and being able to, you know, speak with her and to get some advice from her and to see that I’m trying to do a similar thing eventually in the football world and trying to be iconic with football is what I wanna do how RuPaul’s done it with the drag industry so look I’m only 23 and I still got a long road ahead of me but to see my social platforms and how much love and support im getting from everyone. I won’t be stopping what I’m doing because football is such a big sport around the world. It’s the biggest sporting event that happens around the world, and in so many countries, you know, the LGBTQ+ community are criminalized, and our lives are threatened, and you know in Qatar was the world cup last year for football, so that’s a country that we’re not welcome in and we can’t be ourselves in and it’s really hard because these countries are huge soccer fanatics so the hate and stuff so the hate and stuff does come a lot from those countries. Is it acceptable? Absolutely not. I know me being the first top-tier footballer that came out, I’m gonna get this hate my way, but for the little Jackie or the little Josh that comes, you know, next in the future and wants to play soccer, I’m paving the way for that person and to say it’s ok I’m fine it’s absolutely normal it doesn’t matter who you are, what you do, where you come from like you can absolutely play this sport and there’s a space for you so you know all the attacks and stuff that’s coming my way is to pave the way for the future I’m honestly taking everything I can get because I want to make it easier for the next person. 

RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under” airs Fridays on WOW Presents Plus in the US and select territories worldwide.