Fayetteville-born Tatianna Matthews on what it's really like to be a full-time drag queen

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect that the event at a Wilmington library in June 2022 was an LGBTQ+ story hour and was not hosted by drag queens.

At more than 6 feet tall (in heels) and dressed in jewel-toned velvet, Tatianna Matthews commands the attention of patrons at monthly Carolina Drag Brunch shows at Gaston Brewing taproom in Fayetteville. Self-assured and elegant with a magnetic presence, all eyes are on her when she takes the stage.

Out of drag, however, Alex Gay said he's shy and awkward.

“I have the worst social anxiety,” he said, but in drag, he's more assertive. “I would say (Tatianna Matthews’) personality is bougie and confident, but not rude.”

Born in Fayetteville and raised in Robeson County, Gay has appeared in drag on TV dramas like “Hightown” on Fox and “Our Kind of People” on Starz. He is also a national drag pageant titleholder and performs in about 16 shows each month.

Now living in Wilmington and working as a full-time drag queen, Gay said, he’s come a long way since his first drag performance 15 years ago at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, where he was attending college at the time.

"I didn’t know anything about makeup at that point,” he said.

That’s when he was introduced to Stacey Layne Matthews, a fellow Robeson County native who later competed on "RuPaul’s Drag Race," an MTV reality series where queens compete for a cash prize, a crown and the title of America's Next Drag Superstar. She helped Gay with his makeup for that show and became his mentor and drag mother, he said.

Gay observed the time-honored tradition of adopting his drag mother's stage surname. His first name, Tatianna, came from actress Tatyana Ali, who played Ashley Banks in the NBC sitcom ”The Fresh Prince of Bel Air," who he said he “always thought was gorgeous.”

With a stage name and makeup skills in hand, Gay said he continued to perform in drag after college when he moved to Fayetteville. It was a creative escape from his former jobs, which included teaching color guard at local high schools and working in customer service at Verizon Wireless.

Now, he performs up and down the East Coast at nightclubs, breweries, bars, universities, festivals, weddings, birthday parties and occasionally on television sets.

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Becoming Tatianna

It takes a little over two hours to transform from Alex Gay to Tatianna Matthews, he said. About an hour and 45 minutes for makeup and another 30 minutes to put on hip pads, foam breasts, five pairs of tights, a corset, costume, jewelry, wig and heels.

Even before show time, there’s a lot to do behind the scenes. Gay said he spends weekdays washing and styling wigs, repairing costumes, shopping for shoes, bedazzling bodysuits and promoting his shows.

He said he hopes his hard work will someday result in a spot on "RuPaul’s Drag Race," which would be a major step toward becoming internationally known.

“I want to build a name for myself,” Gay said.

Drag under attack

Gay said he's had multiple run-ins with drag protestors throughout his career. He was part of the cast at a December 2022 show at Sunrise Theatre in Southern Pines that drew large demonstrations from supporters and opponents.

During the show, coordinated attacks on two Moore County substations left tens of thousands of Duke Energy customers without power for days. There have not yet been arrests in connection to the attacks, The Pilot reported in December.

In June 2022 in Fayetteville, a group of Proud Boys showed up at a story hour held in Festival Park at Fayetteville’s PRIDE Festival, where Gay was performing.

He had to be escorted out of the event by three police officers, he told the Seahawk, UNC Wilmington's student news site, last year.

“It’s crazy that we had to get armed security to read a book,” a PRIDE festival organizer told The Fayetteville Observer at the time.

Similarly, an LGBTQ+ story hour at a public library in Wilmington in June 2022 was interrupted by a group of Proud Boys who shouted obscenities at children, accusing them of child abuse and pornography, WECT reported at the time.

Gay said that the anti-drag accusations aren't based in reality.

“People need to realize the things that some people claim that we are doing we’re obviously not doing,” Gay told the Seahawk. “If you actually experience drag, you see it in a completely different way.”

Where to see Tatianna Matthews perform

Gay’s next Fayetteville appearance is at the Valentine’s Day-themed Carolina Drag Brunch show at 11 a.m. on Feb. 11 at Gaston Brewing Taproom, 421 Chicago Drive. Tickets to the show are $20, or $35 with brunch, and can be purchased at carolinadragbrunch.com.

Previously: 'We're here to stay': Carolina Drag Brunch finds a new home in Fayetteville

Gay also performs regularly in Wilmington for bingo nights at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Hi-Wire Brewing, 1020 Princess St., and karaoke nights at 10 p.m. on Thursday at Coglin’s, 206 Market St.

Reporter Taylor Shook can be reached at tshook@gannett.com.  

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Tatianna Matthews, born in Fayetteville, is a full-time drag queen