Shea Couleé is a drag queen, musician, podcaster, and Chicago nightlife fixture from the United States. Merrell is best known for appearing on RuPaul’s Drag Race season nine and winning the fifth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars.
Naomi Campbell has played an important role in RuPaul’s Drag Race icon Shea Couleé’s life and career, from idolizing her at four years old to playing her in the season 9 Snatch Game — and the All Stars 5 champion finally got the chance to show off (in person) how Campbell shaped her aesthetic in an emotional scene.
“I’m trembling just thinking about it. There are few people I get starstruck around because people are people, but Naomi Campbell is a goddess. I’ve looked up to Naomi since I was four years old. Seeing her in Michael Jackson’s [‘In the Closet’] video and being like, ‘Who is this powerful, beautiful, statuesque Black woman with cascading locks? Whatever she is, I want to be her.”
“To have her sit there and see me walk and say that she’d give no notes…. To hear those words from someone like Naomi Campbell, that’s one of the most affirming moments I’ve ever had in my life.”
“I was gagged. You’ve heard of models making their own wind? When she did her runway walk, she was making her own wind. And that virgin hair, it was insane,”
Monét recall. “She’s creating that wind, but it’s almost like a cross-breeze,” Shea finishes. “I felt like I was being blown away, too.”
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