Today we’d like to introduce you to Pineapple Honeydew
Hi Pineapple, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’ve been performing almost my whole life! I was in multiple different bands in school; a rock band, jazz band, symphonic band. At one point I believe I played over 20 instruments. My passion when I was younger was always singing, and I would sing in the rock band, talent shows and very briefly, my own shows. I would also post singing covers on YouTube! After graduating high school, I fell in love with theatre and ended up doing about 8 or 9 shows in a year and a half, before moving to Cleveland in 2019. I thought I would be able to take the steps necessary to do theatre as a career when I made my move, but my work schedule at the time didn’t allow me to do that. I had a rare retail job that was Monday-Friday, and I needed a creative outlet. I had been a fan of drag for a couple years and had been posting drag looks on Instagram here & there, so I decided to start messaging some people in Cleveland asking about open stage opportunities. Before 2020, drag shows were pretty much always on the weekend, and since I only worked Monday-Friday, my schedule allowed me to basically be Hannah Montana. I would work my visual merchandising job Monday-Friday and then be a drag queen on the weekends. I continued performing locally in Cleveland and in the Youngstown area (where I’m from), until I had a social media blow up in the summer of 2023 and then another blow up about a month ago, in winter of 2024, From June 2019-June 2023, I gained 3,000 Instagram followers and by December 2023, I had 25K. It stayed that way until the beginning of November 2024, and now I have 41K on Instagram and 117K on TikTok. I make videos about drag but also just about my experience as a trans woman, most of them blending a serious topic with some humor.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I can’t say the road has been super smooth but I also can’t say it’s been too tough! I have a way of doing drag that some people don’t see as legitimate, and I get comments about that sometimes. Existing online as a vocal trans woman is also tough, because you can never control where your content goes and who it goes to. But I’ve been on the internet long enough to realize that 99% of threats are empty, and I’m not going to let anyone bring me down or tell me not to live my truth as loudly as I want to, I do struggle a lot with mental health issues, mainly anxiety, and a traumatic event that happened to me in 2019 has made me very dissociative, I often find it hard to be a public figure and not be able to remember names or faces. I’ve done many shows completely dissociated and that’s always tough. And even with 41K and the love and support of my community, I always have a voice in my head telling me it’s not enough or that what I’m doing is bad. Ever video I post I think is gonna be the one that flops, I’m very rarely satisfied with my live performances even though everyone else is; it’s a tough mental battle that I do my best to overcome everyday. I’m very lucky to have friends and fans and an amazing family to support me and keep me going 🙂
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a drag entertainer and content creator! For the longest time, my social media was just used to get people into my live shows, but after my blow ups in 2023 & 2024, I’ve really seen the power of using social media as a way to get your voice out & to connect with members of your community that you wouldn’t otherwise being able to connect with because you’re in different locations. I would say people know me in person as being a great performer/lipsyncer, and a great hostess (I host pretty much every show I’m in, and I’ve even hosted out of state before! In NY & PA) Onlne I would say I’m known for comedy and making videos about my experience as a trans woman. I try to put a little humor into every video I do even if the topic is something most serious or impactful! I just love making people laugh tbh. I’m most proud of getting messages from other trans people or allies when a video of mine goes viral telling me that I put their feelings into words or that I gave them a new perspective with something I said. Pretty much my entire drag career has been about being loud & proud and repping for the trans community. I think what sets me apart from others is that I do drag in a way that feels different and authentic and I cannot even bring myself to do or say anything that isn’t genuinely me. And that I can say a very profound, important thing while also giving the listener something to laugh at.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
People probably aren’t going to know about my mental health issues and how much they actually impact me everyday. I’ve wanted to open that conversation online for a while because I think it’s very important, but I’ve never figured out how to do that. But people might also know that I’m a collector! I have a very expansive Pokémon collection, candy dispenser collection and a collection of War Of The Worlds books (I’m obsessed with the radio broadcast and even though I collect the books, I’ve never actually read it) I even use a segment from the War Of The Worlds radio broadcast as an intro to my performances sometimes!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pineapple.honeydew
- Twitter: https://x.com/pineapplehoney_
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pineapple.honeydew
