John Waters is Everything You Hoped He’d Be

In 1987, Playboy commissioned John Waters to interview his idol, Little Richard. “He had just put out an autobiography where he talked about being a drag queen, he mailed people bowel movements — he was right up my alley!” Waters told me. But the conversation was a bit of a bust. Little Richard wasn’t the campy, sprightly figure Waters was hoping he would be. “It didn’t end well. He didn’t have the mustache, he wore conservative suits, said anti-gay stuff,” Waters said. “I still love Little Richard, but there’s a thing where people say never meet your idols. That, maybe, is true.”