Coma White: Bringing Shocks and Delight to NYC Nightlife

6th October 2023 John Hernandez

New York City’s resident spook queen, Coma White, has been shocking audiences for the last couple of years as she’s honed her craft. With Rockbar NYC as her home bar she’s brought glamour, camp and filth to the stage time and again. And unlike most queens, Coma does horror looks year-round, not just on Halloween. And its not that she can’t do other looks either, just check her Instagram.

With polish and talent such as hers, it is only a matter of time before we see her on the Boulet Brothers’ Dragula or even RuPaul’s Drag Race, should she want to go that route. And although she doesn’t identify as a bear per se, out of drag Coma could be considered quite the cub. Regardless of that, however, with her residency at Rockbar she has most definitely been adopted into our community as the Goldilocks of our nightmares.

We sat down with Coma to discuss her love of horror, her most daring performances and just what she’s up to this spooky season.

John Hernandez (JH): Hiya Coma! Happy Spooky Season! Thanks for joining me. Let’s get into it! How did you develop the look for Coma White?

Coma White: My look is an amalgamation of everyone and everything that inspires me. My drag is very referential, and I find certain traits and aspects in different people and see how I can apply it to myself and make it my own. I may like the way someone does their eye makeup or how they do their contour or style their hair and then I try it out on myself and see what works and what doesn’t.

JH: And what is it about horror that intrigues and inspires you?

Coma: I’ve always been attracted to things of a darker nature. I grew up watching horror movies and was introduced to it at a very early age from my sister. It’s something we bonded over. In a weird way, horror is very comforting to me.

JH: I totally get that. Tell us about a favorite performance you do.

Coma: One of my favorite performances I do is my ‘Creature From the Black Lagoon’ number. I love mixing camp and horror. Picture This: A stunningly beautiful big breasted woman is laying on the beach suntanning when all of a sudden, a monster creeps up behind her. To her surprise, he has a huge penis! It’s love at first sight. “I’ve Had the Time of My Life” comes on and they start dirty dancing, but it gets too dirty. She’s looking for love but the monster just wants to get in her panties. Since she’s not ready to go all the way with him just yet, she sucks him off instead and it finishes with a big happy ending!

JH: Yesss!!! That’s what I’m talking about. That’s pretty extreme so it begs the question – does Coma have any limits? What is the craziest thing you’ve done on stage?

Coma: I’ve done it all from giving myself an abortion dressed as Mia Farrow in Rosemary’s Baby to being strapped to the hood of a moving car and head banging to “Thunder Kiss 65” by White Zombie while dressed as Tura Satana. I have a number where I perform the song “Garbage Man” by The Cramps, and I have a trash can on stage with me and just pull out the nastiest things and eat it. It’s very Divine inspired in that I’m just trying to be as filthy as possible. It ends with having my friend throw up in my mouth. It’s a real crowd pleaser.

JH: Who’s hungry?!?! HAHA! So, tell me, what are your thoughts about bears and the community?

Coma: I don’t consider myself a bear, but I love a man with a hairy chest. My home bar is Rockbar which is located in the West Village of Manhattan. It’s primarily a bear bar but welcome to all. I’ve been so welcomed and embraced by the bear community.

JH: Very true. We love you. So then, horror movies should bears be watching this spooky season?

Coma: I watch a lot of obscure trashy stuff. I’m a big fan of shot on video horror films which is not for everyone. It’s an acquired taste for sure but every month Visual Vengeance hosts these screenings at Nitehawk Cinema in Williamsburg and it’s one of my favorite events. I go every month and it’s a lot of fun getting to experience these movies with an audience. Sometimes they will also have a director come and do a Q&A and then we all hang out in the bar downstairs afterwards. It’s a really great event. Some of my favorites I’ve seen are Vampires and Other Stereotypes, The Abomination and Lunatic.

JH: I’ll have to check that out sometime. What does the art of drag mean to you?

Coma: I first discovered drag at a time when I really needed it. It’s helped me in more ways than I could’ve ever imagined. From coming out to dealing with social anxiety to finding a community of chosen family, drag has been such an integral part of me. It’s also allowed me to push the limits of expressing myself creatively in ways I didn’t know were possible. I’ve always been an artist and drag has allowed me to become my own blank canvas and explore different creative outlets. I can be the makeup artist, the hairdresser, the fashion stylist, the photographer, the editor, the videographer, I can do it all.

JH: It takes so many different types of talent to do drag, it’s incredible. Where can we see you performing this October?

Coma: I host horror trivia every month at Rockbar with Justin Lockwood. I’m really grateful to have been given the opportunity to host a queer horror event such as this. It’s really amazing to have this space to come together with other fans and celebrate these movies. There’s one thing horror fans love more than watching movies and it’s talking about them. I love getting to share my love of certain films and recommending them to others. I’m super thankful to be part of the horror community in New York. This event has also allowed me the opportunity to collaborate with companies that I really idolize and look up to as well as discovering new brands which I couldn’t be more grateful for. With that being said, the next horror trivia event is Wednesday, October 25 and it is sponsored by a brand that I’ve looked up to for many years, Something Weird Video!

You can also find me on Halloween day back at Rockbar hosting my Halloween party! More details on that are still to come but it’s guaranteed to be a real scream!

JH: Spookalicious! I can’t wait to see what you have in store. Thanks again for chatting with me Coma and have a very Happy Halloween!