The velvet ropes are up, the spotlight is hot, and the queens are ready to slay. The Werq The World 2025 Tour is rolling into North America bigger, bolder, and more bedazzled than ever—with a red carpet twist that reimagines award show glamour through the outrageous, unapologetic lens of drag.
At the heart of it all? The one and only Jimbo, whose boundary-pushing comedy and surreal camp sensibility have made her one of the most unforgettable queens in Drag Race herstory. Sharing hosting duties alongside avant-garde icon Sasha Velour, Jimbo channels the unfiltered spirit of Joan Rivers as she guides audiences through a night of jaw-dropping performances, parody, and pageantry. With stops in 48 cities, the tour is a theatrical celebration of the drag icons we love and the cultural moments that made them legendary.
We caught up with Jimbo to talk about what it means to host the world’s biggest drag tour, where she finds her chaotic brilliance, and why drag remains one of the most powerful forms of performance art today.
I interviewed you before about the Drag Circus tour. What is the difference for you between doing a tour all on your own and then doing a tour like Werq the World?
Well, I think Werq the World – because it’s the variety show where you have a big ensemble cast – it’s definitely less lifting for me. In my solo show, I’m kind of carrying the whole show on my own. I’m doing every number whereas with this one I definitely have a lot more time to change in between and there’s other people to fill the time and make the show happen. So, it’s definitely a lot less expectation on me in terms of presenting an entire 90-minute or however long show. I love doing both obviously, but this one’s definitely easier for me.
You have brought back Joan Rivers for the show, which I think is amazing. How do you channel her energy into your performance on the tour?
Well, Joan Rivers is kind of a hosting role and I’m sharing the role with Sasha Velour. She’s hosting half the tour. So, the hosting segment will be as Joan Rivers, and that’s kind of a natural part of Joan’s character from the red carpet and QVC and all of that. Her character kind of naturally lends to that kind of host energy and that was one of my favorite parts of my solo show, Jimbo’s Drag Circus, that character and that component of the show where I really kind of break out of the script or the choreo and I really just kind of freestyle with the audience. I love that. That’s where I use a lot of my clowning and a lot of my improv. It’s because you kind of make up jokes on the spot dealing with the specific audience that night and that’s really exciting to me to be sort of in the moment and dealing with people and trying to think on my toes.
You’re working with a lot of queens in the show. Which queens were you most excited to work with on this tour?
Luckily, I’ve toured with a bunch of these girls already, so it’ll be fun to just hook up and have some fun on the road, but a lot of them are new to me as well. There’s going to be Daya Betty, who is Crystal Methyd’s sister. Crystal Methyd and I have toured so much together and she’s one of my best sisters, best friends. I love her as I’m hoping Daya and I have the same connection and vibe. Jorgeous, we both love smoking a little bit of weed and so I’m excited to hang out with her and have fun on the road. Jaida and I, we worked together on Drag Race Live in Las Vegas, so we know that we kind of get along. She’s got a crazy sense of humor and I love her energy. Vanjie. Crazy fun. I’m excited to be with her. She’s like a little Tasmanian devil. She talks so fast. You’re like, what are you even saying? And then the person that I’ve never met and never worked with is Kim Chi. So, I would say out of everyone I’m most excited to work with and meet Kim Chi because I’ve never met her and I’ve never worked with her, I’ve never toured with her and I think she’s so cool. I’ve followed her and I love her makeup brand and so it’s going to be super cool to get to know her.
This year’s tour is centered around award shows. What do you love most about award show culture and how are you going to add drag to it?
I love the award show culture because award shows are usually presented to an audience, so you kind of break down that fourth wall right after the start. It’s all about kind of including the room in what you’re doing, and so that’s a great way to invite the audience into the performances and into the night. I also love that a gala or an award show you kind of heighten the overall energy. It feels like it is automatically a special night because on top of it being a performance and on top of it being drag, you’ve got that other element of the red carpet and of elevation.
You know, the sort of award shows there where you’re kind of showing your best self and you’re showing off some really amazing red carpet looks. I think it’s a great opportunity for us all to be in our highest glam and in our most sort of expensive looking selves. I think in terms of the showcase for the audience, it’s really kind of an exciting level of drag and an opportunity for other people to kind of show up as the audience in their kind of best looks and in their kind of gala looks. I know that the fans of Drag Race and the fans of drag love turning a look for themselves and coming in their kind of best version of themselves. And so that kind of red carpet energy really lends to everyone kind of being in a fun, altered higher form.
Werq the World is going to 48 cities. What’s it like connecting with fans on such a massive scale night after night?
Well, the best part about drag is really the impact that it has, especially now more than ever, with the challenges for the LGBTQ+ communities and the trans communities and the attacks on our rights and what it feels like kind of steps back in terms of progression and, and people’s rights and freedoms.
Pride is a protest. Being in drag is a political act, and now more than ever, it’s all about being visible and being unafraid and about being strong in our communities so that people can see like, okay, like the drag queens are still out there. They’re not afraid. So, we can be unafraid and we can be ourselves and we can still continue to show up and show out and be visible and in a lot of these communities where we’re going, there isn’t a lot of queer culture to begin with. So, when we bring our show into these communities, we’re really providing another space for people to come and feel themselves and to feel however they want to feel in terms of their freedom or their sexuality, or their personal expression, or their creative expression.
And so, you know, when you’re in bigger cities, the opportunities for our fans and for those communities are much greater. But when you go into some of these smaller cities, which a lot of our tour is in, it really is sort of like a traveling gay circus where we come in and we bring the vibe and we bring all the gayness and all the queer people and the allies and the people that love drag, they’re able to come out and celebrate and be in a space where they feel seen and celebrated.
What do you think makes drag such a powerful storytelling tool?
I think the at the root of drag is about fearlessness. It’s about believing in yourself and in your truth at against all odds or against your environment or against what you’ve been taught and that’s inspiring for all of us who are in various ways in our lives, maybe dealing with situations or scenarios where we’re not feeling totally ourselves or we’re not necessarily on the path that we had wanted to choose for ourselves. And so, drag is really about reclaiming that. It’s about reclaiming what your truth is.
It’s about reclaiming what is appropriate for you and your expression. You know, a lot of times people and queer people are told that they’re too much or that they need to tone it down. And drag is really about celebrating being too much and it’s about turning it up. And I think that’s what people love about drag is that is seeing other people go against what we’ve been taught, which is be small or be conservative or hide who you are to fit in with everyone else.
The nail that sticks out gets hammered down and drag is about being that nail that sticks out. It’s about being that person that says, I’m going to be myself in the face of everything. And that’s inspiring.
You’re quite accomplished at roasts, and you’re obviously portraying the queen of roasting in the show. If you could roast any celebrity in an award show, who would you want it to be and why?
Well, I think the person that comes off the top of my head, like of course we all would want to roast Trump right now. I think the things that are going on in the world and in America due to just the ridiculousness of his ego and his total blindsiding of all the other cultures and people in the world. I think he would be a great target for a roast. I don’t know how well he would take it, but I think he’s the person that needs to be roasted the most right now.
I think like we could also roast JK Rowling. I’d love to get her in a room with a bunch of queer people and trans people and just let us all just take shots at her, make fun of her. We want someone we can get.
Between your international fan base, live shows and your iconic merch, your brand has grown beyond Drag Race. What is next for the House of Jimbo?
I am working on a few different ideas. I really love working in film and television and I love character work.I’ve been dreaming for a long time about my own variety show, House of Jimbo, based here in my apartment, and kind of within the realm of kind of a Pee Wee’s Playhouse scenario, where you’re invited into a world that’s mine. That’s sort of where I went with my live show, Jimbo’s Drag Circus.
I really wanted to create a magical environment where people are kind of welcomed into a world. And so, my hope is to do that, but on a film scale, either a TV show or some kind of movie. So yeah, I’m working on writing and I’m just in the middle of a course on screenwriting, so that’s kind of where I’m looking to go is creation and storytelling on even bigger levels.
I literally just got home last night from like four months on the road, so I haven’t had time to even clean up or look around. I’ve got a stack of mail over there I can’t wait to open. But yeah, it’s a magical place. I love being at home. It’s so special to be here and to recharge for a minute and repack before I head out on the road. And this is kind of why I imagined I would film a little series. So, fingers crossed, that happens.
Tickets for Werq the World are available now at WerqTheWorld.com. Follow Jimbo on Instagram and https://houseofjimbo.com/
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