Trixie Mattel knows that anything is prettier in pink — almost.
She had no qualms about drenching the Palm Springs resort that she and her partner, David Silver, redid in 2022 in bubble gum hues, but their private residence was another matter.
In “Trixie Motel: Drag Me Home,” out on June 1 on Max, Mattel — who won the third season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” — and Silver transform an old craftsman in Los Angeles into a pie-in-the-sky fabulosity.
“We really wanted sexy Hollywood Regency, but it’s not just my house, so it can’t be all pink and girly,” Mattel (real name: Brian Firkus) said in a video call. “Let’s just say it definitely looks like two gay men live here now.”
“There was something very emotional about building your home with your partner that you’re going to spend your life in,” she added before talking about her obsession with Amanda Lepore, the resonance of “Watchmen” and the bonding power of “The Office.” These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
1
Blondie
When I was 15 or 16, I had my first job at a chicken restaurant, and I used to drive around in my ’94 Dodge Intrepid, listening to the best of Blondie with the CD that I got at the Target in Sheboygan, Wis. I guess a female-fronted rock band for me was really a big deal. I’m gay. And so something with a woman in the front who’s glamorous but powerful and the voice is beautiful — it just blew my mind.
2
Purple Disco Machine
It’s the gayest music. It’s so fun and glitzy and sexy, and it has so much flourish, and it has so much style, and he riffs on a lot of classic disco elements but kind of updates it. His remix of “Praise You” by Fatboy Slim is just amazing. He has a new single out called “Beat of Your Heart” that I’m in love with. I play him all the time in my DJ sets.
3
Amanda Lepore
Oh my God, where do I begin? Amanda Lepore, in her words, is the most famous transsexual in the world. She basically created art with the way she transformed her body. She has what most would consider extreme plastic surgery. And she’s absolutely sweet as a church mouse, such a soft-spoken, little compassionate angel. I am completely enslaved to her beauty.
4
Dole Dippers
I need some kind of ice cream frozen thing before bed. It’s banana dipped in a thin shell of deep, deep dark chocolate, it’s four slices, and it’s a 100-calorie pack. And it’s made with 67 percent cacao so it’s non-G.M.O. naturally.
5
Eda Birthing
She’s a designer and her vibe is birthing new creations. Every look is like part-alien, part-cartoon, part-clown. She really plays with the ideas of what is clothing and what is costuming and where is the line. One of my dreams is to get a piece by her.
6
RuPaul
We are alive at the time of a true visionary who changed the world. You and I are only talking today because of the entire economy and art form that RuPaul rocketed to the moon. She took drag, a subversive art form, and used it to teach people to have fun and accept each other.
7
Darian Darling, Makeup Artist
Darian could talk about pink lipstick for four hours. Her knowledge of style and fashion and beauty is so cultivated, and I find her commitment to it so inspiring. She’s so glamorous. She dresses like a Barbie every day. Sometimes I can’t believe I know her.
8
‘Watchmen’
Few pieces of media have ever had such a significant impact on me as “Watchmen.” Something that really resonates with me is there’s a line from the book where they’re talking about how there’s few things more dangerous than a man putting on a mask. Because when people put on a mask, they’re hiding. They’re trying to do something without being accountable for it.
9
Grady Hendrix’s ‘The Final Girl Support Group’
I think they should have this book in the bedside table at hotels instead of the Bible. It’s about a world where all these slasher movies were based on real events, and these real women who sold the rights to their experiences to Hollywood get together once a week in a church basement in Burbank with their therapist to talk through their trauma. The truth is, if you’re a teenage girl and someone kills all your friends, you wouldn’t exactly bounce back.
10
‘The Office’
When I was in college, me and my heterosexual roommate had nothing in common. But we bonded over “The Office” because that show, it’s so funny. I mean, workplace comedies are really family comedies. The father-daughter dynamic between Pam and Michael, the love story of Jim and Pam — every time I watch that unfold, I find something new to cry about.
