"I haven't changed that much," Nicole Paige Brooks tells Exposed: Dragged Out's Joseph Shepherd about her trajectory since appearing on Season 2 of RuPaul's Drag Race. "What I'm willing to show has changed."
And that's because, back in 2010, we saw a more reserved version of the Atlanta-based queen. With the show in its infancy, Nicole says she was guarded, careful of what she exposed to the world. "I was hit with all those cameras, and had the immediate realization that everything I say, my child was going to have to deal with," she says, noting her son, Lukas, was entering kindergarten at the time. "I had completely edited myself."
This, then, led to an early exit for Nicole, who placed 11th on the season. "I was seeing all these other girls do the most for the cameras," she says. "And I was just like, 'This is my reputation here.'"
There's more to the episode — Joseph and Nicole talk about how Drag Race tried to rile Nicole up, what it was like almost being chosen for Season 1, and why the series should give early season girls the chance to come back.
Listen to the brand-new episode, sponsored by ZocDoc, below, or on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Sashay your way to that play button!
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