DJ Pierce, also known as drag superstar Shangela, was nominated for an Emmy this year for the reality TV series “We’re Here,” which she co-hosts. But because of the pandemic, she couldn’t walk the Emmys red carpet.
What’s a girl to do? One option is to hang out in Paris, Texas, and have the red carpet come to you! Paris is Shangela’s hometown, and Vogue magazine recently featured several photos of her at different local landmarks there.
“Well, I grew up in Paris, Texas, honey,” Shangela told Texas Standard. “I’m a Texan through and through. I graduated from high school here from Paris High. And I come back very often because my grandmother and my mother, my family all live here in Paris. … And now, since the pandemic, I’ve been living here for the past seven months, working from Paris to be close to my family.”
Going back home also meant she could take advantage of home-cooked meals.
“I’ll tell you, I had to order a treadmill from Amazon and set it up at my grandmother’s garage because I have been eating very well since being home,” she said.
Her friends back in Los Angeles don’t always understand the appeal of her hometown.
“They don’t know the joys of Paris,” she said. “There isn’t a huge amount of visibility, or least there wasn’t when I was coming up, for an LGBTQ person. … So people think like, oh, my gosh, you’re going back and you’re going to be shrouded into this small town again, you poor, poor thing. But I love my small town; I really enjoy it.”
