DWV, the beloved drag comedy trio made famous by catchy singles like “Boy Is A Bottom” and “Chow Down (at Chick-fil-A),” has officially broken up, and it doesn’t look amicable. The world is a cruel place.
The group was casually formed in 2012 after Willam Belli appeared on the fourth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, when Willam, along with best friends and West Hollywood drag staples Detox and Vicky Vox, recorded a music video parody of Wilson Phillips’ “Hold On” to protest the anti-gay sentiment of fast food chain Chick-fil-A.
The group continued to create parody videos and perform together, packaging themselves as a threesome, even after Detox found solo fame on the following fifth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
As any successful drag trio would, the group has apparently disbanded over a series of passive-aggressive tweets, Reddit posts, Tumblr reblogs and Facebook updates. The whole saga is pretty daunting and quite confusing to follow, but luckily, drag bible site Dragaholic has it all laid out for easy consumption.
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The trigger seems to be this Reddit post from last week, asking if the group had split up. Willam and Detox allegedly entered the message board and immediately began throwing shade and spilling the cun-tea, henny:
User ‘talbotthefox’ posed a question on Reddit asking if DWV had split up and reported that people involved in booking the RuPaul’s Drag Race girls in their city had in fact confirmed the break up.
Willam chimed in to the Reddit thread after a user said that a cryptic Facebook status shared by Detox seemed to be directed at Willam. Detox’s message read “Bearded snakes on the grass will always bite you in the ass. There’s a reason so many people hate working with you….”
Willam responded on Reddit to the possibility of it being about him by saying, “seems to be? I think it’s pretty clear. fuck. you don’t have to be inspector fuckin gadget to see that. lol. WILLAM p.s. she can state whatever she wants publicly. I’m cool. Don’t care. Personally, I am cool with her.”
Two hours after Detox’s Facebook status, Willam took to Facebook and posted another cryptic message that said, “Say my name, say my name. When no one is around you say baby i love you if you aint running game. Say my name, say my name…. We all know how they ended up, don’t we ;)”
Though Detox has confirmed that the group will continue performing together to satisfy their previously-booked engagements, these are the last few times they’ll appear as a group. She complained on Twitter about being “pigeonholed” in DWV:
Remember when I was a very popular and fun performer before I was pigeonholed into the "D" from "DWV"?!
— Detox (@TheOnlyDetox) May 28, 2014
In April, Willam revealed on Tumblr that she and Vox were both working on solo projects. So far, the only statement Vox has offered is this tweet:
@Frankistarr it was fun for a while. We are finishing our gigs and I'm going on my way.
— VICKY VOX (@TheVickyVox) June 13, 2014
As expected, Willam seems to have the final say:
We never planned stuff really and we just don’t have anything coming up. We were just friends putting songs out who then turned into DWV. I would think of something and then we’d round up and do it (exception- Chow Down we all thought of and Gaycation was De’s idea but we all wrote). We no longer have time to make stuff happen like we once did. That’s the reality of it. I think when people paid us to be the supergroup DWV for their own products, the ending result video wasn’t as whoreganic and fun as what we were known for.The last two years have been a whirlwind of unexpectedness that I wouldn’t trade for anything but I am looking forward to dealing with one tranimal instead of three for a while professionally. It’s just less variables and I’m a creative despot.
The probing gents over at WeHo Confidential seem to think the breakup is just a rouse to plug Vox’s upcoming stint on Drag Race season 7. We could only hope to be so lucky!
Best of luck to the ladies! You may no longer be a trio, but at least we’ll always have this solid gem:
Nowuvedoneit
Detox seems to be only part of groups, on Rupaul she was part of that threesome with Alaska and the other one. So either way they got their name out there again with a break up so it’s not all that bad.
DarkZephyr
Aww. This is too bad. But to be honest, I had heard of DeTox pre-drag race because of her connection to Willam and not because of any solo popularity she supposedly had. I LIKED DeTox because of Willam.
redcarpet
@Nowuvedoneit: “The other one” lol! Love that shade! Seriously what ever happened to that bitch Roxxy? Even PhiPhi pops up at least once in a while.
Qjersey
“I think when people paid us to be the supergroup DWV for their own products, the ending result video wasn’t as whoreganic and fun as what we were known for.”
You mean the Gaycation video that came off as a commercial for Key West and specifically the Island (whore) House?
Nowuvedoneit
@redcarpet: Probably back at the bus stop looking for mommy.
Cam
Gee, a group with three Attention Queens didn’t end well?!
Look, here’s me pretending to be surprised. 😉
Seriously though, it will all depend on the bookings. If they book well solo they won’t make-up if they don’t, they’ll get back together and doing shows together again.
Cam
@Nowuvedoneit:
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, The SHADE of it all!!!!!!!!!!!!
Riotgirl41
@Cam: I think you’re right. Let’s hope. DWV needs to stop their fussing and get paid.
OzJosh
Where does Queerty get the idea that this group is “beloved” or that most gay men are even interested in news about drag “artists”? In my gay life over the past thirty years and across three continents the obligatory drag shows in pubs and clubs are almost invariably met with utter indifference or hostile annoyance by 80% of the crowd, with the other 20% engaging with something like ironic amusement mixed with barely disguised pity. Watching some extravagant parody of a woman mime to tracks recorded by someone with actual talent is rather akin to watching someone masturbate in a shopping mall. It’s embarrassing, not entertaining. Articles like this merely perpetuate the myth that anyone cares.
DickieJohnson
Oh, Boo-hoo-hoo. THIS is your lead story, today??? I’d much rather had a follow-up story on Big Earl’s “we don’t serve fags” BS.
ocdj63
@redcarpet: Ya, Right? Where’s Rolladex
DarkZephyr
@OzJosh: Holy Out of Touch with Reality Batman!! 1) are you totally blind to the huge Drag Race phenomenon that has been WILDLY popular for the last SIX years??? 2) Did you not watch the video? These queens do their win singing! This isn’t lip syncing dude! Wow get with the times!
DarkZephyr
@DarkZephyr: own* singing
Josh in OR
@OzJosh: Come down from your pedestal, buddy. No one asked you to speak for all gay men. I’ve been to drag shows all over the country and had a great time at all of them, be they lip synching, singing with their OWN voices, joking with the audience and one another, or some mix of all three. Drag queens are a part of gay history, gay culture, and were instrumental in getting the gay rights movement going here in the States. Learn your history and stop acting like your ignorance makes you cool.
Sebizzar
What a shame 🙁 Ever since Boy Is a Bottom I’ve always waited for another funny song/video. I always wondered why Willam did a Selfie parody without the other 2 (which is still just as funny lol):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRJUvIgQtak
maxdadmark
Ahh, legends in their own minds. “Remember when I was popular…”? NO.
maxdadmark
@DarkZephyr: Whose “reality” are you referring to?
maxdadmark
@OzJosh: Amen! But a small, loud section of this website will disagree with you and make some VERY unflattering personal comments about you. I’ll add something else, as a behavioral health professional. There is a disproportionally higher rate of mental illness and drug abuse in this group.
Matt G
They were an independent group of transvestites that were able to make a pretty decent bit of coin thanks to modern distribution platforms like iTunes. Can you see something like WalMart in the 90’s carrying a CD with “This Boy is a Bottom” on it? That song is better than the original imo
Bobby Christina Crawford
@maxdadmark: I think I want that on my tombstone…..Remember when I was popular……Just that someone would have the balls to say it. Now, my comment could be totally out of line as I don’t follow the show so please don’t “shade” me for it. And even worse than that is that I have not a huge fan on Beyonce which I understand makes me VERY shade worthy.
DarkZephyr
@maxdadmark: Real world reality bub. Deal with it.
cvdixon29
Too bad that they broke up, Hopefully maybe something can be worked out and they can resume their group. I love them! Especially Willam! Surely they can work this out! boy is a bottom is the best song besides blurred bynes!