Ginger Minj nearly “exploded” when she learned she’d been cast in Hocus Pocus 2, but nothing could have prepared the drag queen for Bette Midler’s first words to her when she stepped foot on set. The RuPaul’s Drag Race fan favorite opened up to PopCulture.com about taking on the role of a drag queen version of Midler’s Winifred Sanderson in the sequel to the beloved Halloween movie ahead of its Sept. 30 release on Disney+, reminding us all why Midler continues to be an icon.
Ginger was initially asked to appear in Hocus Pocus 2 by director Anne Fletcher, with whom she also worked on Netflix’s 2018 comedy Dumplin‘. “[Fletcher] goes, ‘I’ve created a role just for you in Hocus Pocus 2. You’re going to play a drag version of Winfred Sanderson and you get into a fight with Bette Midler,’” Ginger recalled. “And I said, ‘Sign me up, fly me over. Let’s do it.’”
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Fletcher then asked Ginger to come up with a list of queens she would want to co-star alongside as Mary and Sarah Sanderson, which ultimately resulted in the casting of fellow Drag Race alum Kornbread and Kahmora Hall as drag queen versions of the characters played by Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker, respectively.
“The next thing I know, I’m there. I’m getting fitted for a costume. We walk on set for the first time,” Ginger recalled of their first day on set. “All three of us are like, ‘What are we going to do? There’s going to be Bette and Sarah and Kathy. It’s going to be crazy.’” The trio were quick to welcome in their drag counterparts, however, and made it clear that they are big fans of their work. “They did not give us an opportunity to get nervous because the first thing out of Bette Midler’s mouth – it was right after [RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 6] aired – she goes, ‘You were robbed.’”
“Then they all start talking to each of us. Our counterparts are coming to us and talking about what they love about us and why they’re a fan of us,” Ginger remembered with awe. “We’re like, ‘Is this real? Bette Midler is talking to me about my career and what I’ve achieved.’ I’m like, ‘You’re Bette Midler, stop talking to me about me. Talk to me about you.’”
It was an unreal experience and one that didn’t hit Ginger until the end of her week filming. “We’re standing on the lawn. It’s like four in the morning. It’s freezing cold outside in Newport. And they just scream, ‘One, two, three, fly!” and all three of them take off and they’re flying over our heads. I just started to cry,” she told PopCulture.
“I was like, 9-year-old me is living their best life and dying a little bit all at the same time because this is happening in front of my face,” Ginger explained. “And it’s something that has been so important to me for so long, not just to me, but to the queer community. The drag community has really embraced the original Hocus Pocus. It was like, I’m a part of this, and this is really, really cool.”
Hocus Pocus 2 premieres Sept. 30 on Disney+, the same day Ginger premieres her “loving tribute” rendition of Midler’s iconic song “I Put A Spell On You,” complete with an original music video. You can also catch Ginger as Winifred Sanderson in the Hocus Pocus Halloween Bash tour alongside Gidget Galore, MR MS Adrien and Aria Hard in select markets.
