Cocktails and Celebrity Tea with Ross Mathews

MATHEWS

Ross Mathews has never been afraid to be himself—openly gay, proud, and gut-bustingly funny. Launching his career as Ross the Intern on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Mathews went on to make weekly guest appearances on Chelsea Lately, joined the E! Network’s red carpet team, was the host of an interactive talk show called Hello Ross, and is a current judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race.

As one of Hollywood’s most recognized TV personalities, Mathews never misses an opportunity to name drop celebrities. Many of his stories can be found in his new book, Name Drop, and he is touring the country with his new show by the same name. People within the Denver area will be able to see Mathews lives at the Boulder Theatre on Saturday, March 28, and OUT FRONT had the opportunity to catch up with him and talk more about the book, tour, and his overall fabulous life. Get ready for some sharp wit and juicy tales.

Ross, thank you so much for chatting with me! Let’s begin by talking more about the Name Drop Tour. What can audiences expect?
I wrote this book called Name Drop, and I am obsessed with it. It’s the good celebrity stories I usually tell at happy hour. So, what I am going to do on stage is, I am going to bring that book to life. I’m going to do stand up; I’m going to play a game with the audience, and then I go into the audience, and they can ask me anything. Nothing is off limits. It feels like it’s 90 minutes of nonstop LOLs.

Without giving too much away, which celebrities do you talk about that have the juiciest stories?
In the book, there’s so many celebrity stories from Beyonce to Liza Minnelli, Lady Gaga, Celine Dion, Christina Aguilera, and more. So, at the show, I kind of decide, like, what day of which story I’m going to tell, but then there are a bunch of other names I drop, but I do read a little bit of the book as well.

What has been your craziest celebrity encounter?
Oh my gosh, the craziest one of all time I talk about in my first book, Man Up, which, by the way, is still available everywhere. I talked about meeting Gwyneth Paltrow, and I asked her to be my best friend, and she said yes, and now we have been best friends for, like, 18 years.

That’s the craziest, but there’s so many of them. I talk about Rosie O’Donnell in this book and how we became great friends. I used to watch her as a little kid, and just in my gut I knew that somehow, I would be friends with her. You know, I feel like everyone else had that same thought, but I just sort of look at them like, ‘Yeah, right, but I mean it.’

What inspired you to write this book?
Well, my first book was like five or six years ago and I have been approached about writing other books, but I just didn’t know what I’d say. I felt like I said everything I wanted to in the first one. Then, I was talked to friends one day and telling them something that had happened with a celebrity and they said oh my god, you’ve got to write another book and put that in it. I thought I could never do that, it’s so name dropping. Then I just thought, why not? That’s totally the kind of book I would want to read because really at the end of the day, I am the superfan who won the golden ticket. From time to time, I get to go beyond the velvet rope and see what it is really like and I have been so wowed by people, but then there has been a couple times that I have been very disappointed by people. So, I tell it all in this book. I’m not out to hurt or ruin anybody, I try to be as kind as possible. I am so proud that the reviews that have been coming in have been so good. They note that this book is funny, it’s hilarious, he goes there but is never cruel. 

Did you do a book tour for “Man Up?”
I did, but I did like 12 cities, and I loved every second of it. I just wish I could have done more. So, my goal for the Name Drop Tour was to do 13. So, I told my agents, try to get me more than 12. They came back and said, we got you 30 cities, U.S. and Canada. I thought to myself, holy crap! What am I doing? I just said yes because I feel like, you know, I have worked now 18 years in studios and on television, so my goal now, really with this, is to just go out and meet as many people as I can and say thank you for this incredible career that they have given me. 

You began your career as an intern working behind the scenes on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and later appeared regularly on Chelsea Lately. Did you ever think you would become not only such a well-known celebrity yourself, but also an icon with the LGBTQ community?
Well, you said icon. I didn’t say that, but I’ll take it. I’m not going to argue with you [laughs]. I tell you this. Yes, I did. I was the only one who thought I would, but I remember in high school being like, you guys go do pot, I’m not doing that because maybe there will be a picture one day when I’m famous. No, I just always knew in my gut. Everyone thought I was delusional, but I just knew that I had no other skill set. So, it was either this or my mom’s basement!

Do you keep in touch with Jay and Chelsea?
Oh my gosh, of course! I have been so lucky. These icons of television have been so gracious to share their platform with me. From Jay or Chelsea to Ru, I love them with all my heart.

What advice would you give to someone who hopes to climb the ladder of success like you did?
I would say be an original. I always think about walking along the beach and when you pick up a rock, you don’t pick up the one that looks like everyone else. You pick up the rock that’s a little odd. I would say lean into what makes you different. So many people, especially in Hollywood and I think everywhere, just try to fit in, especially when they are younger. Discover what it is that is different about you and really embrace it. People hare what makes them different, but it’s so much easier to just lean so hardcore. I mean, look at my voice. When I said I wanted to be on TV, people laughed and said there’s no way you can be a broadcaster with that voice. It’s 18 years later, honey!

Exactly! You always seem to have such a happy and upbeat attitude with everything. How do you maintain such a positive spirit?
I’m lucky that my baseline is just kind of happy. I just got gratitude, it’s kind of my mantra. Even during tough times like when I’ve had my heart broken from work or personal life, I just let myself feel the sad, but then always go to gratitude.

What has been your hardest moment in show business and was there ever a time you felt like quitting?
Oh, yes. Absolutely. The hardest point for me was, I always wanted my own talk show, and I got it. I got the name on the building on E! and we did two great seasons. Then because of some reshuffling and things, it went away. So, what do you do when your north star goes away? Who are you then? I remember thinking, because I put so much of my heart and soul into it, I thought, is there anything left, will anybody ever hire me again and do I still have the drive? I certainly didn’t have enough money to pack it up and go, but you know, I’m good at real estate [laughs]. I just killed myself to come back and this book is part of bringing it back. This book and tour is a big undertaking, and for some reason I’m not scared at all. I’m just excited.

In addition to the Name Drop Tour, you also host the Dragtastic Bubbly Brunch. Can you tell us more about that?

Yes! What happened is, I went to a drag brunch with my best friend CJay, and I said, ‘Oh my god, what a shit show.’ I thought it was so terrible, and I started saying how I would do a drag brunch, and he said, ‘Well, get off your ass and do it!’ So, he helped me, and now we have 16 cities across the U.S. and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

How has your podcast, Straight Talk with Ross Mathews, been going?
The podcast started when the talk show went away. When you do something on television, there are so many focus groups and so many people who think they are smarter than you. They study minute-by-minute ratings, and I was on phone calls when they were discussing how distracting my belly was, so what can we build to put in front of it?

There were so many conversations where I wanted to scream at people who had jobs who shouldn’t have had jobs. They didn’t know what they were doing, and if I could just communicate with the audience, it would work. So, what I wanted to do is create something that had zero filter or opinion between me and the audience.

I started the podcast five years ago, and I did it just for me. I don’t even promote it; I don’t talk about it on my social media. I just do it for me, and I didn’t expect to gain this ginormous, loyal audience who have embraced me for all my oddities. The podcast is like my diary. I say things on there that really, if I was advising anybody else, I would tell them not to say, but that’s why people like it. It’s completely unfiltered. It’s just me and my friends, people that I think are interesting, and nothing’s off limits.

Now, I cannot do this interview without asking you a couple questions about RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Of course!

You were a fan of the show before becoming a judge, right?
I was not a fan of the show; I was a super fan of the show. I would sit in front of the TV and yell my opinion. They asked me to come on Season 3, and I got to give my opinion, and they asked me back, and then they kind of just said, ‘Do you want to stick around?’

I remember at the time being like, ‘Yeah!’ I mean, there were no negotiations; there wasn’t, like, a big meeting, no agents involved. Like yes, I want to! Then I joined Season 7, and then it went to VH1 during Season 9, and it exploded. It was big in our community and for people who were in the know, but then we watched it go from a show that people we passionate about to a show that everybody was watching.

It was so fun to see, and it was humbling. It was also fun to watch SNL talking about us and being nominated for Emmys. It’s amazing because the show has not changed. The show has maintained exactly what it was from Season 1. It’s grown, but in terms of the essence, it’s the same thing. I just feel the world and the culture caught up to it.

What is the best and hardest part about being a judge?
The best part is being a part of something that I think is funny and shifting the culture. That’s the best part. The hardest part is two things. One, you get invested in the queens, and you see people standing on that stage who just want to be loved, but somebody’s got to go, and somebody’s got to win.

Then the other part is, I want to be good. I want to make Ru, Michelle, and Carson laugh. I want to make the audience laugh. I want to be at my potential every day on that set.

Have you ever disagreed with one of Ru’s decisions on who should go home?
Yes.

Who?
No, God, are you kidding me? I’m not telling you [laughs]. I have opinions, and I sit on that judges’ panel, and I argue my opinion. At the end of the day, Ru takes it. Ru’s right; he knows what he’s looking for. It’s not that I question Ru; it’s just that sometimes, I’m in somebody’s camp that goes home, and it’s heartbreaking, but I have never disagreed with someone who should have won.

Which celebrity would you love to see participate in the upcoming RuPaul’s Celebrity Drag Race?
I want every celebrity to participate! I want Liza Minnelli;I want Cher; I want Madonna, and I think there’s no reason why we couldn’t. I mean, we have had incredible icons and legends come through on that show and lend their support to us.

What’s next for you? Any other, upcoming projects we should be on the lookout for?
The one thing I haven’t done yet, which I really want to do, is host a game show. That’s on my bucket list, but right now, I’m just touring these 30 cities, and I want to go out there and meet people. I want to hug people and tell them, ‘Thank you for buying the book; thank you for paying attention for all these years,’ and invite everybody to stay with me on the journey.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit bouldertheatre.com. To stay up-to-date with Mathews, visit helloross.com and follow him on Instagram and Twitter.

Photo by Ricky Middlesworth

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