As many have heard by now from both sides of the spectrum, “Filthy Gorgeous” (an LGBTQ sponsored event) was held this past weekend at Cornell. There has been a lot of back and forth on this particular event: some have said that it is too obscene, while others have expressed extreme excitement. It has often been referred to as Gay Slope Day, and as an attendee, I would have to agree. Willard Straight was completely transformed into an impressive scene complete with neon lights, Go Go dancers, backdrops, and porn stars. While there have already been several articles dealing with the event itself, I had the exclusive pleasure of going behind the scenes and interviewing Chi Chi LaRue herself. For those of you who are unaware of who this amazing person is, Chi Chi (born Larry Paciotti) is a porn director, entrepreneur, and drag queen. This is the second year she has DJed at Filthy Gorgeous, and she has loved every minute of it.

My friend Stephan and I met her in the Commons at Starbucks and since Chi Chi was going to be out of character, we did not know what to expect.  When I first saw him, I was a little surprised. He was tall with blonde hair, an impeccable sense of fashion, chic glasses, and just like any other businessman, he was standing their playing with his iPhone. As soon as he saw us, he gave us the biggest smile, shook our hands and proceeded to follow us into the coffee shop. Larry told us he was from a little town called Hibbing, Minnesota, which is known for turning out stars as it is also the home of Bob Dylan. After high school, he completed two years of college before moving to Minneapolis where he started doing “hag drag,” as he called it. He and his friends called themselves the “Weather Gals.” He confided in us that he grew up as an overweight, shy, gay kid whose only escape was drag. When he dressed up he became an outgoing fierce woman who made fun of herself to get some laughs. While he did drag for fun, he worked in an adult book store where he discovered his (healthy) obsession for the sexually obscene. In 1987, a friend of his convinced him to move to L.A where his career in porn began. Upon arriving in sunny L.A, Larry soon found himself back in the adult business. He originally had no intentions of working with porn, but he was familiar with adult products and started out selling them. When they saw how much he knew about the industry, they quickly moved him on up. He told us that at first he was mesmerized by porn because he was so “fascinated that these people were so open and free with their bodies.” Before he knew it, he was working on porn sets. However, the company he was working for would not let him direct, so he quit and took his business to Vivid where he started directing all types of porn. He is a self-taught director and claims that he initially had absolutely horrible movies and it took him time to acquire a knack for it. Larry then told us of the first porn scene he ever worked on. It was a girl on girl movie and he was completely embarrassed. At the time he was 24 years old and had never seen a naked girl before. He laughed as he told us he couldn’t even look at them and that while he was holding the mic and looking away, he accidentally let it fall right in their faces. “I’ve come a long way since then,” he said. Advocating safe-sex is one of Larry’s biggest priorities. He is a huge proponent of condoms and spreading safe-sex awareness, and has even issued several public service announcements (“Safe Sex is Hot Sex”). He referred to himself as the “catalyst for condom usage” because when he started in porn, condoms were rare. When Vivid told him that he wasn’t allowed to use condoms anymore in his movies, he refused to work there and quit straight porn and went out on his own. Despite quitting at Vivid, his porn directing is still thriving and he even divulged us his ideas for his next movie (which I won’t spoil, but trust me, it’s hot!). He started DJing 5 years ago and since then has worked in famous clubs all over L.A. working with various celebrities. He says that “being a DJ is narcissistic” so instead he calls himself a “Drag Queen Juke Box.” “I love to put on a show.”  Another addition to his growing resume is the opening of his own store in L.A., “Chi Chi LaRue’s,” where he sells all types of adult items including drag clothes. This past year has been especially rough for Larry.  Since last year’s Filthy Gorgeous he has lost 130 pounds after undergoing gastric bypass surgery. He was afraid that his rapid weight loss would ruin Chi Chi’s personality (which centered a lot on being a fat drag queen) and that he would lose his fan base. However, fortunately neither has happened, and Chi Chi is hotter and more fabulous than ever.

We were both surprised to learn that Chi Chi has appeared on screen on several occasions. Most notably she was in Prince’s movie “Purple Rain” and made an appearance in a Madonna video. Her celebrity contacts don’t end there; she is close friends with the likes of Boy George and has worked with Jenna Jameson on several occasions. In 2007, Out magazine listed her as one of the top 50 most powerful gay men and women in America along with the likes of Anderson Cooper and Perez Hilton. Needless to say, Chi Chi is a pretty big deal. Larry told us that he doesn’t believe in marriage and he finds a lot of straight porn to be very misogynistic. “It can be so degrading to women,” he admits, “A lot of straight porn has become like a Jackass video. It’s like whatever crazy things they can do to a girl, they do it.” He prefers directing gay porn, and many porn stars are requesting to be directed exclusively by him.

Once Stephan and I arrived at Filthy Gorgeous that night, we barely even recognized the tall blonde man with the scruffy beard we had interviewed only hours before. Standing before us working the stage was the fiercest drag queen I had ever seen. The event would not have been nearly as amazing as it was if it wasn’t for Ms. Chi Chi LaRue. She is, in every aspect, chic, fabulous, and gorgeously filthy.