Tiffany Pollard Is Still HBIC

Old maiden shoes, “cock-sucking, cum-guzzling Republican cunts,” women named Pumpkin, Real Housewives stars — none are a match for reality television’s longest running HBIC, Tiffany “New York” Pollard.

The sensational and highly memed woman who shaped reality television as we know it is back on E!'s House of Villains season two, where she’s gone up against Bravo-lebrities and Survivor winners and failed Bachelor hopefuls alike. We’re catching up on the phone about her return to the buzzy villain showdown, and she tells me: “I'm in the house having a wonderful time, basking in the fact that I'm the only one that is there for a second round, of course, other than Joel [McHale], because he's the host.”

Here’s the premise: The most villainous people on reality television are stuffed into a house in Los Angeles, where they’re tasked with backstabbing each other and climbing over the corpses to the top of the competition. As of writing this, Tiffany finds herself on the “hit list” and up for elimination, something she’s dodged all season through her people skills and well-developed reality TV muscles. I joke that some of the “supervillains” on the cast required a quick internet search from me, despite my own overfamiliarity with the genre. “I thank God for the understated, underdog type of villains,” she says, “because when I walked in the house, I didn't know a lot of those people either, but they're supportive characters. You know what I mean?”

She says that “those are the people that you can run to, and those are the people that suck up to you and immediately want to make an alliance with you. The ones that are a little bit less known, I'm grateful for them. They helped me out!”

You just announced that you're going to be hosting a new reality show as well. Isn't it funny, to be hosting a new show while you're also competing on a separate one? It’s kind of like you’re the HBIC, as you might have referred to yourself as at one point.

It's very exciting to be announcing Slayers. You know, it's so funny, because sometimes you don't know when things are going to come out. It had its debut moment during the House of Villains. And I didn't know it was going to be set up that way. But oh my goodness, I'm really excited for that as well.

You've made a career for yourself since back before this was even a career people probably thought you could make for yourself. How's it feel to still be in the game 20 years later?

I don't think you could ever predict those types of things. You know, when I went to my set orientation, the actress who was teaching us things about the industry, she said, “It's just this thing of luck. It's this thing of fate, like you just never know if you're gonna hit or miss. It's like a flip of a coin,” you know? So to still be in the industry this long, honestly, you can't predict those types of things. I'm just really excited and blessed to still be here and be relevant, like little kids even know me. That took me aback all the time when I noticed that. How do you know me? You're 12.

It’s funny you say that. My nieces and nephews, I remember when they were in middle school, and one of them sent me a meme of you. I'm 12 years older than them — like, wait, you know New York? I was posting that when I was that age!

Exactly, it’s trippy.

Do you feel like people's attitude towards this as a career that you've chosen, or towards reality stars in general, have changed at all as the format has gotten only more popular?

I love it. I feel like the opinion has changed towards a more positive outcome, because it can be a very lucrative venture now. A lot of people in reality television are business owners, and they have products that they sell outside of just being on camera doing that particular show, or whatever season. They may be on season 12 or 20, it doesn't matter. They have business connected to that. So, I mean, it's really looked at as a staple. It's looked at as something to really get into. If anybody wants to get into the business, I would just say, be yourself, and also have a backup plan as well, and implement that while you're on television, because that's been panning out for the girls.

We’ve never had a show quite like House of Villains, where the conceit is people who are villainous all competing to be as villainous as possible. Going into this for the second time, and even in the first season, did anyone's attitudes or personalities surprise you at all?

I've learned a lot from them, but I don't think I was taken aback by anyone. Omarosa never shut up, like she would talk the whole time and strategize the whole time, she would act like she's your friend, and then all of a sudden she's no longer your friend. She goes up and down so much like an airplane. So her personality is really all over the place. Johnny Bananas was also crazy.

When Omarosa endorsed Kamala Harris, I actually saw your clip calling her words (that I probably shouldn't repeat here) making the rounds again. Did you know when you said those things to her that it was going to become a new entry in your pantheon of iconic quotes?

I did not know that it would be a huge moment. But I did know with someone like Omarosa in the house, there was going to be some time that she was probably going to try me. So you have to have the heavy artillery for somebody like her. So yeah, she tried me, and I had to lash out.

There’s this moment where Theresa [Guidice] says that you would be good on the Real Housewives. When you came onto the scene, shows like Flavor of Love were the bread and butter of reality TV, and now it is the Real Housewives. Would you ever take a shot at another show about your personal life, Real Housewives or not?

I am such a private person. I go back and forth about that concept for me. But if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I like having my personal life, and then being plunged into reality television once in a while. I don't think I'm cut out to be a housewife!

Do you ever feel like people approach you in a specific way, because of how you are on TV? A way that is divorced from you and your everyday life?

People think I'll enter a room and want to suck up and absorb all the attention and the energy. And I'm nothing like that, in terms of just enjoying the moment. I'm the type of person that walks into the room and I want to see what you're doing. I'm more interested in the people that are there than making it about me. Like, I really don't like a lot of attention, which is probably surprising, but I'm the one that wants to know what you do with your life. Don't ask me about mine!

You came out as queer last year, which was a big moment for a lot of people. How has that journey been over the last year, being more open about your sexuality, talking about it in public?

It's a beautiful journey, to express myself socially and publicly and not hide behind labels. I think that I'm in a place in my life where that's so, so important to me, because I have my father's masculinity and my mother's femininity, and the combination of those two. I'm 50% my father, 50% my mother. I can live my best life loving to be in the arms of a man or a woman, and I've been like that since I was probably 11 or 12. I just want to live out loud and not have any boundaries or any type of labels. I'm fearless right now, so I'm gonna live how I wanna live.

You’re also a staple now at a lot of different drag brunches and pride events. How did you start getting involved with drag brunches at all?

Oh my goodness, I love drag brunches. The drag brunches have ruined me doing nightclub appearances. That's how much I live for brunches. Now I'm like, you can't book New York to do no nightclub, but you can book her for a brunch, because we have so much fun. Corey Anderson is someone who is well known in the industry and in the business, and he approached me, and we have the best brunch times ever. There's a few more promoters as well, and I'm always open to do a good brunch. It's daytime. Everybody's in the mood for a mimosa, a stack of pancakes, and we just laugh our behinds off. It's the best time.

Do you have any favorite drag queens or queer performers you’ve worked with or in general?

I love Alaska, I love Trixie. I love all the girls. Ts Madison. I mean, she’s larger than life and doing so many wonderful things. I am so proud of Ts Madison and everything that she's doing right now, you literally can't thumb through Netflix and not see her face at least three times on a new project. But I love all the girls, as long as you're living in your truth and you're living your best life with no apologies, you have my vote. That's just how I roll.

If you could go back to any project that you've worked on, would you go back and do anything differently, or go back and relive any of those moments?

That's a great question. I feel like I can't overthink it. I spent so much time in my younger years second guessing myself and wondering if they're gonna like me, or should I have said that, or did this this way. I am on such a different plane now, in the way in which my mind works, I can't do it. I don't want to rewrite anything that's already written. I'm good with it, even if it was ugly, even if it was bad, listen, I'm good with it. I wouldn't change it.

How do you think you got to that sort of mindset? Because there are a lot of people that get caught up in the machinations of reality TV and drama and living in the past.

Well, it's not easy. It's a muscle, so it still has to be worked at. But I like to sum it up as being free from approval addiction, because I always used to have to be approved in some way. Be it family, friends, whatever circle you're in. But once you just really get that, and you’re free from that approval addiction, life becomes so easy, and it's almost like you become a magnet, and you attract everything you want. So that's where I'm at right now.

Can you tease any of your upcoming projects, Slayers or otherwise?

Photos courtesy of NBCUniversal/Getty