Welcome back to King Street! Southern Hospitality returns for its fourth season on Bravo. Ahead of last night’s premiere, we interviewed Lake Rucker, the VIP host who quickly became a fan favorite with her willingness to be open with her journey as a Black queer woman in the South, her girl next door personality, and her fearless ability to remain truthful and honest, among the discourse with her fellow cast members. In a Zoom interview with Rucker, we spoke about her place in the legacy of Black women on the reality television show network, reception among fans, her brother-sister relationship with Michols, and what to expect in her dating life for season 4.
Autostraddle: As someone who loves reality television, I enjoyed your debut on the last season of Southern Hospitality. I’m working on a book about Black women on reality TV, so I’m intrigued on how we show up on the silver screen, particularly how the audience perceives us. I would love to hear from you about your experience being on Bravo, a network that is known for platforming Black women. Did you feel that you had some shoes to fill or could show up as yourself?
Lake Rucker: Going into any reality TV show is nerve-wracking in itself. You’re exposing yourself in different ways that is not normal for the majority of people. Plus, it’s nationwide, so [thousands of] people are hearing and relating to your story. I grew up watching the Real Housewives of Atlanta and the Real Housewives of Potomac. These powerful Black women who took their place and owned it. They were like, “I’m supposed to be here. I am here. I will speak my mind and I won’t be afraid to do so.” Because for so long, women, specifically Black women, were scared to share those parts of ourselves because of backlash. I saw these women growing up and now I’m comfortable to do that as well.
We know that as Black queer women, our coming out stories are different. When we think about queerness in pop culture, especially in the realms of film and television, there is a lack of nuanced depictions of what it means to be a Black queer woman. What I admired about your first season on Southern Hospitality is the way you presented your queerness: It felt very natural and genuine, not pressured or forced. Have you received any messages from women of color, notably Black women, who admired your courage and bravery from bringing that to TV?
It warms my heart because I work at the front of Republic, so fans will come up here and there. I’ve had women of color, mostly Black women, come to me and say, “I relate to you,” and I just want to give them a hug and tell them that it’s going to be okay.
I know it’s hard to have those conversations, especially in the South. Let alone having a Black father. It’s taboo. It’s something that’s not talked about, especially if your family is religious and had these set of ideals and practices for their whole lives. They have this mindset of I had to work 15 times harder to get where I am. It’s hard to express to them that you might have different sexual preferences than what they’re used to.
It’s been nice having people come up to me at work or when I’m walking around with Michols and people say “I love you, I know your story” or “I’m happy you shared it because it made me able to share mine and allowed me to feel comfortable talking about it with my friends.” I didn’t think I could make that much of an impact.
In the first episode of the new season, the relationship you have with Michols Peña is reminiscent of a brother and sister duo. I would love to hear more about your bond with him, since the both of you not only came onto the show at the same time, but have shared your respective journeys of being Black and queer with your family.
Michols is my best friend. I don’t know what I would do without him. Going into this is scary in itself, but having somebody that can relate to you on a deep level with both race and sexuality is so comforting. He is somebody that I can call up and tell about any issue and vice versa. The first episode is the most accurate representation of us at work. He truly is my comfort person. He spent the past two Thanksgivings with my family. My mom has a deep connection with him. My father has a deep connection with him. It’s more than just a friendship. He’s my twin flame. We’re twins. We’re twins. Even though he already has a twin, but we’re twin flames.
Autostraddle has covered Southern Hospitality in the past. The publication has described it as the queerest show on Bravo and described your queer journey, along with Michols’, as a nuanced look at what it’s like to be queer in the South. Last season, we saw you on dates with your best friend Shelby and fellow cast member Bradley, in which you ceased dating him because you weren’t feeling dudes at the moment. As someone who beautifully depicts a sense of fluidity in dating, what are you feeling for season four?
Season four is another wavy one. The spectrum is all over the place. I think defining sexuality is necessary for some people. For me, I’ve always been a person that loves a vibe, loves a personality. I’m attracted to a personality rather than what they have in their pants.
I don’t care if you have a vagina. I don’t care if you have a penis. I never thought I had to define it as bisexual. I’ve hooked up with trans people, so maybe I’m not bisexual. They’re like, “oh you’re pansexual. She likes everything.” I’m like I don’t like everything. I’m in this limbo of, when the season changes, so am I. I’m young, so I don’t know what I’m going to like or do, so I’m in that exploration phase.
I don’t think I’ll come near the defining phase because I don’t want anybody to define me, but myself and my character. I think this season you’ll see a little bit of both, as I’m currently all over the place again.
