Logo’s The A-List may be a gay men’s lions’ den, but Nyasha Zumicha is not easily intimidated. The former beauty queen from Africa pulls a Heather Locklear and comes onboard on Season 2, premiering tonight.
How will the straight self-proclaimed diva spice up the boys’ club? Queerty editor Oscar Raymundo spoke with Nyasha about why she decided to join the guilty-pleasure-of-a-show and which of the gay housewives she thinks has the biggest balls.
Are you straight, lesbian, bi or trans?
Straight and lovin’ it!
So what’s a straight girl like you doing on a gay show like The A-List?
I think that question is very ’90s. It’s not illegal for gay people and straight people to hang out. It’s weird that people would be shocked to see a black girl hanging out with a bunch of gay guys. We know how gay men love their divas.
Well, the show’s producers did go out of their way to just cast gay men originally, so maybe the concept is what’s really ’90s.
Ok.
You’re right though, we do love our divas. You don’t seem to think of that label as negative.
Not at all. Diva is not a bad word. To me, diva is powerful and strong and makes a positive splash.
Reality TV, especially this show, doesn’t always portray people in a positive light. Did you have any concerns before coming on board?
There’s always an element of surprise. It’s the price to pay to get to impact 2 million people a week with your brand. I can’t control how people are going to react. There’s also the element of editing. True Entertainment, the production company behind the show, is very successful. They know what they’re doing. The client, Logo, is a great network. I liked the tone they were after when I met with them and they seemed to get me. Obviously you’re not going to see 360 degrees of Nyasha in 10 episodes, but that’s not the point of the show.
What is the point?
To show the different dynamics. I’m sure I’ll be upset when I watch some of it. But that’s what comes with a project like this.
How did you get involved in the show? Did you know any of the guys before?
No, actually I did not know any of the guys. I was working on another TV project when I was approached by the casting director.
You said in a previous interview that the show is so real that even straight women can relate. How so?
By seeing me. How I address certain situations as a woman.
You think that the producers brought you on to broaden the audience and reach out to female and minority viewers?
I’m not ruling it out, but I don’t think it was a defining factor. They saw something in me. And it’s a great way to show America how normal the show is. I cry, I get bloated, I get my period, I call my mom every day. I think people will be surprised to see how genuine these relationships are. It’s not just stereotypes. I don’t snap my fingers every time I finish an argument.
You did snap a little in that teaser scene when you met the guys. One of them asked you if you did white women’s hair…
That was Austin. Austin is an uneducated human being. Uneducated about hair.
Did it come off as a racist remark?
No, it didn’t. I think Austin is just insecure and felt threatened. He was trying to make fun of people who did hair. That’s why I mentioned Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. I wasn’t trying to brag or anything. I was trying to explain to him what I did.
How did the rest of the guys react to you coming on board?
I think at first they felt I was encroaching on their territory and not really sure what I was doing there. Maybe felt intimidated. But I didn’t go in there trying to compete. I don’t have to. It takes someone like Ryan to understand that. Now, I have built great relationships with some of the guys, and I’m even surprised at how personal they’ve become.
The show has gotten criticized for highlighting the worst characteristics of the gay community. Do you think it might also highlight the worst characteristics of the black community now as well?
No. Whatever I show, that’s who I am. Some people feel the pressure when the cameras are turned on them to need to be this character, confrontational or just a hot mess. I don’t.
Are you referring specifically to some of your cast mates?
Yes.
Recently we got an exclusive offer to buy a 20-min video of Reichen jerking off for $6,000. As a businesswoman, what do you think a video like that is actually worth?
I can’t comment on anyone else’s business.
The A: List New York premieres Monday, July 25, at 10pm on Logo.
Images via Logo
John
Wasn’t she a kiddie pageant judge on “Toddlers and Tiaras”???
sigh
Man, screw this stupid girl and screw this terrible godforsaken gay-minstrel-show. I’m severely embarrassed that this stereotype-reinforcing crap exists.
Jeff
This interview has done nothing to change my opinion that the A in ‘A-List’ stands for ‘asshole’
Jon Tom
Barf… sorry just got a little sick from realising I read this article. I should know better…
spider_orchid
Girl BYE! They brought her ignorant ass on the show so that she can SHOW her ignorant ass just like the rest of these wastes of space. Be gone and take Austin and that plastic faced one with you.
fredo777
I’m not sure why people get so upset about the way the gays are portrayed on this show. This is reality TV. It almost invariably casts people + shows them at their absolute worst. Specifically shows like this, modeled after the Real Housewives franchise. which we all know is just guilty-pleasure-hot-mess TV full of outsized, love-to-hate personalities. In fact, I’m sure that’s precisely why people like shows like this, because of the snarky/catty/messy drama of it all. You don’t tune into Real Housewives to see shining examples of lady-dom, so I don’t get why we depend on A-List NY to make the gay community look infallible.
Thom Freeheart
I love the show and I will keep watching. Rodiney is dumb and cute, Austin is rough around the edges, Ryan is sweet, I want a bf like TJ, and Derek is smart and so pretty it hurts.
David Ehrenstein
I’d like to see thme all compete on “Big Brother.”
Casey
The A list: New York is a bad show. None of them are famous and rich.
Cam
The A list….lets see, a bunch of broke guys who want to marry rich, and their hairdresser new fake girlfriend.
Apparently the definition of A List doesn’t mean what I thought it meant.
Shawn
Why could they not find a black gay man to put on the show?
Aiden
@Shawn: Right!!!
Cam
@Shawn:
Shawn, Didn’t even occur to me until you said it, but dead on.
Amber024
@Shawn: I completely agree with you. It’s almost as if the A-List is allergic to black gay men. I saw the season trailer and it looks like the same ole gossipy crap. I’ll watch the first couple of episodes and if it’s like Season 1, I’m done.
Mike
@David Ehrenstein: “NOBODY gets between me and my man, ESPECIALLY not another man!”
Chad
I’m sure that a show that portrays negative gay stereotypes like this one does will be perfectly reasonable in representing the stereotypes concerning black women. I’m sure that the new season trailer where she is shown as a hysterical, belligerent screamer are just an aberration, right?
Mike
Real Housewives already has two gay men on the show: Alex McCord’s husband, and LuAnn.
OrchidIslander
@Shawn:
Quote: “Why could they not find a black gay man to put on the show?”
Oh, hell no! I’m not proud to admit it, but I’m glad that there is no one on that show that looks like me!
So there, I said it…..
Royalpeach
So instead of casting a gay black guy, they hire a straight black female. Are black gay males really that undesirable in gay culture. le sighhhh.
Saywhatnow?
@OrchidIslander: I know that’s right!!!
Ray
OK. I changed my mind. Now I like her.
keithomis
She’s a fucknut like the rest of these people. She was shown out of control as hell. Now they have just thrown another stereotype in the mix. Another exaggeration of the worst of people. I know plenty of “Divas” that don’t act like this. She stuck that nose where it didn’t belong. I would’ve left when all that went down but oh no! She had to get in the middle of that crap and bitch and whine when she got in the line of fire.
Derek probably lost his career/job. I think his workplace had enough of that posturing and bitchiness. Now he is on a ground floor apartment? Nothing wrong with that but you know how “fab” he is..
TJ rattles off having to work for once and he feels like the help vs. a friend to Ryan. It’s called a job honey. I’m glad to see that trash get a dose of humble pie. I see Reichen got what he had coming to him. God, what a thin lipped man whore. I guess he’ll have to keep on with the webcam. Why would any man have his sorry ass. Yeah for Rodiney.
This season will have x10 the drama it had last season. Other than the gossiping I don’t see this much crap in real time. I would’ve like to have seen a black guy in the mix. Why was that too hard?
blaque
@Shawn: No sir.. let that show stay white.
blaque
@Royalpeach: it’s not that man. white gays just got weak game so i would prefer that they not waste my time.
bkforman
This is a travesty. Are there no black gay men that would fit into this group that they had to choose a black straight woman??? This just proves taht LOGO is raciat and does not bode well for integration amongst black and white gays. I am DONE with LOGO.
J.
@ Blaque: Don’t flatter yourself. I know you are probably that queeny black guy in the corner voguing by yourself wishing a hot white man would hit on you. Oh well. Maybe if you lost the diva attitude and stop acting like you are Beyonce someone would want to date you. Whatever. You can keep your “game”….
J.
And I know the cast of A-List are full of stereotypes, some of them (Mike, Rodiney) have some redeming value. This woman just lives up to every stereotype about the bitchy black woman. She is doing no one any favors…
Amber024
@J.: Who the hell are you?? lol. You sound so dumb and angry. Still a closet case, huh? And please don’t try to speak for black women. We’re not offended by Nyasha because Nyasha speak for herself, not us.
You’re racism and ignorance is pathetic. I don’t understand why some gays always want blacks to support them and in the same breathe, stereotype and generalize us. Give me break!
J.
Still a closet case? WTF are you talking about? You sound like the angry one. Talking about you don’t want the white man’s “game”.That’s fine white/latino/asian/eskimo/martians don’t want your black ass either…..No love lost.
Amber024
@J.: And black/white/latino/asain/eskimo/martian reject gays as well. Instead of bitching and being racist maybe you should take a look in the mirror as to why you hate yourself. Get a fucking life, Or better, some dick. Stupid loser. DONE!
Afro Boricua
I just finished watching this awful racist show. Austin did hi this woman and he made a racist remark about her wearing white people’s hair. None of these white queens are A Listers and were born in New York City. These sissy acting men are an embarrassment to masucline gay men. All gay men don’t act like women and call themselves girls. I like men and enjoy having sex with them. However, I still consider myself a man, not a girl. I do have a problem with them having this black woman. She’s another angry black woman, like the character Tara on HBO’s ‘True Blood’.
vale-dictorian
@spider_orchid: How is she ignorant? Look at her closely. Pay attention to her answers, which are intelligent. “I can’t comment on somebody else’s business.” She knows what’s what.
julie
Why is this girl on the show? SO doesnt fit!
lol I watch this show
Umm but there is a gay black man, Ryan’s husband is a gay “black” (African-American) male, he just isn’t on the show that much
Cliff
Will someone please start a campaign to ban Nyasha off the Alist
DARKSKIN FETISH
@Yolanda: Come on Honey, Really? and you are not allowed to use the caps lock key again.
justme
@Jon Tom: I dont like her either but learn how to spell before you type.
Mel
I really thought the girl was a tranny. She is not cute. I believe they wanted to get a negative person with an attitude and could spice up the ratings. Of course they would find the angry black woman for a darn white gay man show. WOW a hot ghetto mess and combination.
Troy
I tried watching this show, and it was clear right away that the cast of the show might be A-Listers……of the “F” level.
Cassandra
She’s a ryhmes with “runt”.
n1spirit
Nyasha Zumicha is one of the biggest b!tches I’ve ever had the misfortune of seeing on television. If LOGO is going to keep the snotty, self-absorbed tramp on for any length of time, expect viewers to start changing the channel (I know I am). Add to that, the two-faced sniveling antics of Derrick Saathoff (well, “nausia” and Derrick ARE made for one another, that’s all I can say). Ryan isn’t “too bad” (though he’s no freaking saint); T.J., one can take him or leave him… I’m rather inclined to say that the only character on the show that “appears” to have any sense of decency would be Mike Ruiz. Everyone else? Your typical, jaded f%g who’s trying to be at the center of attention. As a gay man, I’m rather embarrassed to be represented by this sorry lot. (And sadly, if this is any indication of what LOGO looks for in shows like these, there’s little hope that The A-List: Dallas will be any better.
(As of yesterday, I’ve removed LOGO from the lineup of channels I pay for. Scr#w ’em if they can’t do any better a job at representing the LGBTQ community than this!!)
sandra
Nyasha is awful…She comes on too strong…She is crazy and mean and in real life gay men would never be in her company…Bad choice…The show seems a bit fake now.. Get rid of that ugly woman….
lynn jones
What a fake Nyasha is. Why no mention of her illustrious career as the toddler pagent judge? I see her gay friend, the former emcee made an appearance this week for her big “hair show”. Did you count the paps lining the street? How about all the crowd inside the club waiting for the fab hair piece show. What a joke. She does walk off when anyone says anything that isn’t what she wants to hear and I hope that she soon gets put in her place. Her hair looks as fake as she is. I love Rodiney this season – he has such a little mischievous look as he speaks. I tend to believe he doesn’t want to sleep with her because she is black not just a wig-wearer but I could be wrong.
Is Mike Ruiz’s boyfriend the spokesman for the computer virus commercial that runs during the show? Sure looks like him. Also, what’s with the Fleet Enema “backdoor” cleaner ad that is playing during the show?
kczj
You? A diva? Don’t make me puke.
mr gay
you can’t take the jungle out of the monkey
JOSH
@mr gay: U ARE A COMPLETE ASSHOLE
JOSH
@mr gay: U are trashy low class individual and a complete asshole
N1spirit
@mr gay: racist much? I’ve my own prejudices but at least I don’t usually go out of my way to offend an entire race of people, f#cknuts.
Skip
Nyasha. An African woman whose hair I’m sure is as nappy as my own. She owns a company called “Embrace Your Hair.” Does it sell products designed for the nourishment and care of natural hair of African descent? No…it sells wigs of textures EXCEPT African, so that you can cover up – not embrace – your own hair. And I thought a woman who is known as much for her weaves as her voice being a spokesmodel for hair color took the cake! No pun intended, I just can’t wrap my head around it. Maybe she should rename her company “D’Illusion.”
On a show that is for me a guilty pleasure full of familiar but avoidable potholes, Nyasha is an annoying speed bump.
susan
Please, please , please get rid o Nyasha. She is the Danielle Staub,Camille Grammer of this show.
It is uncomfortable watching her non-sense.
I am a straight woman and can’t stand her. Everone else is great!
susan
Please, please , please get rid o Nyasha. She is the Danielle Staub,Camille Grammer of this show.
It is uncomfortable watching her non-sense.
I am a straight woman and can’t stand her. Everone else is great! Derek you are a closet
jerk!
Patrick
I concur with Susan’s comments on Nyasha 110%. I can’t stand her either. This woman, if you want to call her that, is a nasty, evil,ignorant human being. For someone who’s just ‘keeping it real’, which, by the way is annoying every time she says that, is a total fake bitch. LOGO, please get rid of Miss Thang!
Mike Ruiz is the only cast member I like and respect. I had the pleasure of meeting him this summer in Texas and he’s just as nice and welcoming in person as he is on the show. Same goes for his partner. Now, talk about someone who keeps it real….true class act. Unlike Nyasha, who could take a few class act lesson’s from Mike. She’s young and will live and learn the hard way. But, I won’t hold my breath.
All the other train wrecks I can take or leave. These queens are somewhat of a guilty pleasure and remind me how NOT to act. I have to admit though, that I love Rodiney this season. His adorable personality and bi-sexual orientation have really come out and he’s holding his own with Miss Thang and all the other train wrecks (Mike Ruiz excluded).
LOGO, keep it real and get rid of Nyasha!
Jo Ann
What? Seriously? She’s not a tranny? Her wigs are so far down her forehead I thought she was new to the big hair. You’re kidding, right?
Desy
Get Ni Oh Shit off of The “A” List. This was a super series. Why did LOGO put that “female” on the show??????!! I must say, it is rather great to see someone who has NOTHING going for itself, rave about itself as much as Nyasha. She is an ugly trannie, correct???? The wigs are ridiculous. It is really a young boy made up to look like a female right???? Talk about building up my own self confidence. If “she” thinks highly of herself, then I am Marilyn Monroe, Sister Teresa, Princess Diana, and Einstein all rolled up into me. GET THAT SCUM OFF THE SERIES.
Pamela
I am a straight women who enjoys watching the show, that is, until Nyasha joined the cast. I wonder why she is no longer a “judge” in the children’s pageant show anymore. She runs a wig company and her launch party consisted of 4 photographers, approximately 50 people, 4 different wigs and her old co-star for an MC. It must be nice to walk around completely delusional about her status and not be embarrased by the way she presents herself. She is rude, confrontational, mean-spirited and fake. Also,if she is 25 years old than I am Miss America and I can assure you I am not. I am so happy to know I am not the only one who wants her removed from the show. Please please take her off the show and let me go back to enjoying this guilty pleasure!
Andy
nyasha was a judge for toddlers and tiaras she is the farthest thing from a diva she and her management staff begged logo to be a part of a list new York, and everybody know black hair is notoriously hard to work with it’s not something racist to say when it’s a fact. watch GOOD HAIR a documentary about black hair and the bullshit they have to go threw. nyasha wears extensions she gets her face rubbed by lasers and sonic scrubbers she wears fake contacts that change her eye color fake eyelashes she injects her lips and her skull looks flat in the front. all of this doesn’t matter but she is a just the most fake person i have seen but then again i have not seen the little white girl playing dress up and ”diva” on a list dallas ( which looks horrible btw )
ellie
@Shawn: i actually like this guilty-pleasure show with two noteable exceptions: 1) not only do i find it racist that they have not included a black gay man in the cast but also 2) i find it sexist that nyasha (or “nausea” in all her aspects) perpetuates that austin was actually trying to hit her when he was clearly aiming at rodiney and slipped while she insrted herself to get attention. it seems i’m not the only one who is completely turned off by her, she should stick to “singing & dancing” without using this show as a launch pad.
Sally
QUOTE: [You said in a previous interview that the show is so real that even straight women can relate. How so?
Nyasha: By seeing me. How I address certain situations as a woman.]
I agree that straight women can relate, but I don’t agree that it’s because of Nyasha. There is one scene where Reichen needs to talk, so he invited Nyasha, and she just got huffy and walked out. I thought that was just plain rude and not how a mature woman would have handled it. I may not always agree with my friends, but I will always listen. Nyasha just cut him off. Personally, I don’t think she adds anything to the show. If the show hired her to instigate, then kudos to them cuz that is what she’s doing.
Tony
Nyasha is one Nasty Fag Hag!!!
Will
I feel that you all forgot this is a reality show. It’s not about being racist, it’s about creating drama. It’s sad how people make personal attacks on a woman who made such a big name for herself. Stop complaining about logo stereotyping itself as the comments in this feed are just reconfirming that American gays are bitter and bitchy.
charles
To Logo: Please get that hideous Neosha off of the show. It was unwatchable when the scenes with her came on and we won’t be wasting time watching it next season if she returns. Adding her to the cast made no sense to anyone and really ruined season 2.
Nairobi
I think she there to point at the stone thrower fags that leave there Midwest prejudice town and more to an open minded city. I’m a Kenyan American who grew of in the silicon valley. I was raise by diversity that how my parents were able to meet. I’m openly gay that use to love Castro (which shortly will become Folsom). People that travel don’t need a gay section of Midwest people just love. You mix white people need to love being Yourselves. so i don’t have to explain your ignorance to people of your ancestry.
Desi
Everyone is getting on Nyasha but I’m just amazed at the anger she’s stroking. She’s a 26 year old kid who lived through a civil war and now has come up and made SOME name for herself so she is self centered and overly critical. That’s totally due to her insecurities, hoping she is as good as others. In time, making the sort of money she is making will come off normal and she will not feel such a need to brag, but until then it’s normal for someone her age who experienced what she’s experienced to act like this. And just to be clear, Austin is a kid too and he’s obviously defensive and needs time to mature also. But I don’t see the outrage over how HE acts in these responses. I think he got the raw deal this year but he’s not without blame and Nyasha and him both need time to grow up. But I’m happy with the show’s dynamic and am okay with them having a female on the show. Everyone is so upset with it. Get over it. Every group of gays I know have a hag anyway so it’s not that unique.