“Dear Insecurity” is a letter to self doubt. Fresh off of out country singer Brandy Clark’s latest album, the song features the iconic Brandi Carlile and a music video directed by Trey Fanjoy. The music video is a moving tribute to anyone who’s ever experienced insecurity of any kind.
GLAAD’s Anthony Allen Ramos was joined by Clark, Fanjoy, and Tavarus Taylor (who performs as drag queen Vivica Steele) and plays a key role in the video.
“We’re all more alike than we’re different,” Clark said in regard to what she hopes people take away from the video.
Clark revealed that watching the video made her extremely emotional, which wouldn’t have been possible without Fanjoy and Taylor. “I find myself in every character, including my own self at the end.” She went on to say that, “If I find myself in all those characters, I would venture to guess that most people find themselves in every one of them as well.”
Tavarus Taylor started off by expressing immense gratitude to Brandy, Brandi, and Trey for the opportunity. “I was talking with Trey and we were discussing the reason that she chose me to be in the video because I exuded that confidence as far as a drag queen.” Taylor went on to say that despite the overwhelming confidence drag queens appear to have, they may not always feel the same on the inside.
“I wanted to present to you all me as an individual, as Tavarus Taylor first and foremost. There’s a lot of insecurities when that transformation comes and for me, drag is that escape. It, it allows me to forget about the troubles of Tavarus.” Taylor describes doing drag as Vivica as a “fantasy world.”
Trey Fanjoy, a filmmaker who is one of the most acclaimed directors in the country music video world, spoke about why she chose to include this drag storyline in the video. “Last April when the legislation was targeting drag queens, it was such a distraction because we had serious issues in the state. We had children being slaughtered in mass shootings. It really upset me on the deepest level and Tennessee was the first state to pass such a law.” She said that Tennessee’s anti-drag bill “was embarrassing and it angered me.”
Clark spoke more on the importance of representation. “I grew up watching TV, where my love wasn’t represented. Being a woman, you’re often not represented in the way you want to be represented. To see this video that we all created where there are all these beautiful people represented… it’s pretty big. And I hope I have people come up to me all the time and say, man, because you’re, you, I can be me.”
Taylor couldn’t agree more. “Growing up, we didn’t see that representation on television. As Vivica, I strive to be a vessel for our youth.”
Stream Brandy Clark’s latest album Brandy Clark, produced by Brandi Carlile here and “Dear Insecurity” is out now!
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