Jinkx Monsoon Opens Up about Her 'Doctor Who' Villain, Maestro

If you've caught Episode 2 of the latest season of "Dr. Who," titled "The Devil's Chord," and thought that singing villain Maestro seemed familiar, you're not wrong: American drag icon, Broadway star, and "RuPaul's Drag Race" champion Jinkx Monsoon plays the part.

Monsoon opened up in a recent interview about the part, telling Variety that the "Dr. Who" baddie is "in the same realm as the Genie in 'Aladdin,' and just exists entirely on their plane, entirely antagonistic."

Monsoon went on to explain what she meant: "They can reference anything they want. They can break the fourth wall."

As Radio Times explained, Maestro is "the personification of music" and part of a "pantheon of gods" that exist in the Dr. Who universe. They are also the offspring of a longtime Dr. Who nemesis named The Toymaker.

"To be trusted with such a character, I still don't know what I did," Monsoon said. "I don't remember selling my soul to the Devil, but it sure feels like it."

Monsoon may not have needed supernatural intercession to win the role of a "god of chaos," but it can't hurt that she gets along so well with out showrunner Russell T. Davies, whose TV work also includes the original British "Queer as Folk," as well as the more recent Olly Alexander-starring miniseries "It's a Sin."

Davies, Jinkx told the entertainment outlet, "is just one of the nicest and loveliest people I know. As far as writers go, he's one of my favorites.

"All of his writing is so prolific and important," the drag star added. "I know we're talking 'Doctor Who,' but anyone who has not seen 'It's a Sin' needs to stop what they're doing and see it. Be prepared to cry, but it'll be worth it."

As for what the drag icon drew on to realize the part of Maestro, "I didn't have to do any Disney villain research, because that's just ingrained in me as a drag queen and queer person," Monsoon – who has made no secret of her desire to be the baddie in a Disney flick – wisecracked.

"But I will say being a fair-weather fan of 'Doctor Who,' I have seen enough episodes to know the aesthetic, acting style, and the level we're playing at," Monsoon added.

Noting that the show's titular Doctor is currently being played by Black, queer actor Ncuti Gatwa – who previously portrayed Eric on Netflix's "Sex Education" – Variety asked Monsoon how she responded to trolls who reacted to Gatwa being cast as the beloved sci-fi character with "a barrage of racist, homophobic backlash," and the fierce queen answered as you might expect:

"Who gives a fuck what bigots think?"

Added Monsoon: "A more optimistic way and idealistic way of looking at this is that popular opinion is not on their side. They are a very loud group and they're growing louder as they grow smaller. With every way they lash out in this way, the Conservative Right has decided to take an all-out war against trans people, queer people and people of color, and claim that's not what they're doing, but that's clearly what they're doing."

Monsoon went on to note: "For every transphobic, racist, bigoted 'Doctor Who' fan that we lose this season, there are going be three to five new fans who are coming in for the representation. So to those fans – who are not fans – I say, 'Don't let the door hit you on the way out.'"

The long-running series has had 14 earlier actors portraying Dr. Who, and established that in his (or her, depending) various incarnations, Doctor Who can be male, female, or nonbinary. Last season it was also strongly implied that this incarnation of the Doctor is, if not gay, then bisexual. In other words, this non-human fictional hero is fluid in every sense.

Have a look at Jinkx Monsoon as Maestro below, and check out what fans are saying on X: