When life hands you a coronavirus and shelter-in-place orders you make lemonade—or at least a salty talk show. Facing the uncertainty of statewide shutdowns and job losses, Queerality creator Rick Hermansen collaborated with QLife to create an all-new web based talk show for the queer community.
Hosted by Hermansen’s alter ego Rikki Blank, Queerality has already featured guests including American Idol star David Hernandez and Jacqueline Lord, RuPaul’s Drag Race Alum Shannel aka Bryan Watkins, and actor/comedian/activist D’Lo.
In a statement from Hermansen: “I wanted to create a program to continue to amplify the voices of the queer community. We live in such divisive times, and many don’t have access to basic resources, or the ability to interface with their own community. It’s my hope that encouraging guests to share the stories of the reality of living a queer life will embolden our community to remember that they’re not in this alone. Our views may be different, but our path is the same. Everyone in our family is loved, they’re valid, and their stories deserve to be heard.”
As far as future plans for the show, Rikki plans to turn the show into a weekly podcast, and continue to explore the boundaries of how Queerality can continue its mission of covering everything queer, from politics and media, to pop culture, and beyond.
Queerality’s first three episodes streamed live and are available on QLifeStream. Future episodes are in production, including the interivews with Neon Trees lead singer Tyler Glenn and Tom Goss, featured in this issue of QLife Magazine.