
On Zoom from her home just outside Nashville, McEntire greets me on my computer screen with her signature Southern charm and a full-face smile. Strands of her fire-red hair are being repositioned by an assistant’s floating hand. "I’m never my own glam squad," she says. "I have (makeup artist) Neil (Robison) here with me. We were up bright and early this morning gettin’ ready, and I have my team to make sure I am decent."
Even amid a pandemic, the sight of an undone Reba is ... well, let’s just say there’s a better chance of getting a reboot of her hit TV series Reba (she’s on board). Because no-frills Reba? "I wouldn’t do that to ya," she jokes.
During our conversation, the superstar reflected on how "Fancy" solidified her gay icon status, what impresses her most about drag queens who have performed the song, and why she doesn’t "judge the book by the cover" when it comes to the queerness of out country artists Orville Peck and Lil Nas X.
GayCalgary: What do you remember about the photoshoot and that whole look for the Rumor Has It cover?
Reba McEntire: I don’t remember much about the photoshoot except (that) it was Sandi Spika who did my clothes and my hair back in the, oh, late ’80s and ’90s, and then all the way up until I went to do Annie Get Your Gun in 2001. She did my clothes, my hair, and it was her idea to do the rip-off inspired by the Barbra Streisand photoshop album cover. So we did that and everybody loved it. Of course it was the last setup of the day because she had...
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