New Jersey drag queen, a frequent presence in Philly, attends public impeachment hearing

Pissi Myles, a drag performer and comedian from Asbury Park, was a special contributor to Happs News, a live-streaming app that partners with Twitter.

Pissi Myles (right), a special contributor with Happs News, a live news source that streams through Twitter, goes through security on Capitol Hill as she arrives for the first public impeachment hearings of President Donald Trump.Read moreJacquelyn Martin / AP

by Madeleine Ngo

Published Nov. 13, 2019, 2:54 p.m. ET

As Democratic lawmakers shifted their impeachment inquiry into the public phase on Wednesday, an unexpected figure made her mark on the historic day: a New Jersey drag queen.

Pissi Myles, a drag performer and comedian from Asbury Park, arrived at Capitol Hill on Wednesday for the first day of public impeachment hearings. Videos posted on Twitter showed Myles stepping through security in the Longworth Office Building, where the House Intelligence Committee hearing took place.

“It’s a crazy day in Washington! I’m flipping my wig over the high-energy proceedings today," Myles told NBC News. "Tensions are high, and the bar for who’s allowed in the Longworth House is very, very low.”

As a special contributor to Happs News, a live-streaming app that partners with Twitter, Myles was seen interviewing people in the hallway with a cellphone.

Myles frequently performs in the Philadelphia area, and was named 2014′s Best Drag Hostess in the city at the Beacon Light Awards, according to her website. Myles also won season four of Philly Drag Wars, beating out 14 other contestants.

“It’s a tremendous honor to have been crowned Philly’s next drag superstar,” Myles said in 2014. “After a very rewarding couple of months, I’m glad to have so many new friends and opportunities, and a very large box of Oreos.”

Myles graduated from Montclair State University in 2011, earning a bachelor’s degree in musical theater, and started a career as a drag performer after struggling to get a job in acting.

“I started doing drag because acting is hard! I wasn’t getting the jobs I wanted, and it felt like no one realized that I was funny, or that I had so much more to offer,” Myles told Baltimore Outloud. “My husband David was the one who finally said, ‘You know, you’d make a great drag queen.’ After that, I just decided to say, “Skin to the wind!” and do it! The rest is on the books.”

Myles was hired by Happs News to cover the impeachment hearings “in a fun way," NBC News reported.