Chris Ammon is the hunky pansexual cast member on Real World: Go Big or Go Home. Now in its 31st season, the MTV series has returned to Las Vegas, a city Chris is familiar with from his days as a Mormon. Today, Chris no longer considers himself a Mormon and is instead a big advocate for LGBTQ rights. We spoke with Chris about his time on the show, what it was like being a queer Mormon, how he thinks the Mormon Church can do better by its queer members, and more. 

How did you begin this journey? How did you end up being selected for Real World? Well I think we both know I got chosen as probably the token queer character, which was actually just such an honor. So as much of a motif as they made out of me in some ways, it really was an honor to uphold that legacy.

I had just dropped out of Brigham Young University, came out to my family as being queer, and then just picked up everything and moved to New York to try and get a fresh start. The second week I was there I met another girl here who was also queer – she was my first queer friend in the city. And she heard my story and she actually submitted me. Three or four months later when I heard from MTV and they’re like, “We’re interested in hearing more from you,” I was very, very stressed.

How old are you and at what age did you come out? I’m 24. I’ve come out and come back in several times. I came out to my family I think the first time was when I was 22.

Had you been to Las Vegas before? I had lived in Vegas before the show. The first time I started kind of doubting my religion, my parents moved me to Vegas because my grandparents and my aunt and uncle lived there. And they kind of like ushered me back into Mormonism before I went to BYU. So I hadn’t lived in Vegas since that.

Were you familiar with downtown Las Vegas? No. When I had lived there, the downtown area had still been not quite the safest place to be. So I was amazed by the changes that have been made. It was beautiful.

The suite that you folks on the Real World were staying in, is that in the Gold Spike? Yes, in the Gold Spike. People who go to the Gold Spike have open access to Oasis’ pool, so we got to use it. It was great. 

This was filmed last year, right? Yeah, we filmed October through December of last year.

What conversation are you looking to have through your appearance on the Real World? I think the thing that the Real World really allowed me to do was, for the first time in my life, truly become comfortable in my own skin and, as a part of that, embrace my sexuality. While we were filming, I don’t know if many people know this, but November, in the middle of filming, was when the Mormon Church came forward and said that all same-sex couples are considered apostates and their children can’t be baptized before they’re 18 and disavow their parentage. It was horrible. It was an issue that I have been dealing with forever. Like understanding and trying to come to terms with my sexuality. But then something so personal from this Church that I had been a part of for so long, I think that is the conversation that I would like to start. Whether we want to admit it or not, discrimination in this country against LGBTQ people is so very, very real, and it’s something that we still need to talk about and fight against.

Tell us what it was like for you coming out as pansexual as a Mormon. When I came out to my parents, it was in a text message. I don’t think I was brave enough to say it out loud yet. I was at Brigham Young University, which was very scary because if you’re gay at Brigham Young University then you get picked on. But I had reached a point where I just needed to start being more honest with myself and with others because due to the lack of transparency I had very, very deep, deep depression. It was heartbreaking because my dad, I didn’t really hear anything from him and he just sent me a text of love and support. He told me a month later, he said, “I cried all night long when I got that text from you because I thought my son is going to die of AIDS.” And when I spoke to my mother about it later, she said, “It just breaks my heart that I will no longer get to see you in heaven.” I think through coming out I realized it really is just a lack of education everywhere that is perpetuating stereotypes and hatred against LGBTQ people in America.

Those stereotypes are incredibly divisive and damaging. Yeah. It’s the same problem that I think has been created in minority communities where we’re taught that looking a certain way or acting a certain way is more appropriate or it’s more right. And the problem is that when we do that in our own community as well, all we’re doing is dividing ourselves and taking the focus off of the people who are really perpetuating the hatred against us.

A short while ago, a 22-year-old gay Mormon committed suicide. Lincoln Parkin. He was a respected LGBTQ activist. This is known to happen quite often within the Mormon community. I know you’ve stated you’re an atheist now, but given your past experience with the Mormon community, what do you think can be done to bring about change? First of all, it’s important to recognize that this is, I believe, the 36th suicide of an LGBTQ Mormon since the Handbook, the new doctrine, was leaked in November of 2015. Thirty-six people are dead. That is so intolerable to me. I think what needs to happen is there needs to be conversations had in the Mormon community about what this really is. This is not a choice. This is not a test. And this is not a plague from God. This is a person being a person and everybody deserves to feel like they are human.

Do you think your life would’ve been different if you were born Mormon 100 years from now? I absolutely think so. Just seeing the change that has taken place in my family. Even since my exit from the show, it’s been amazing. But it took having really, really hard conversations. And a lot of them. And a lot of them really hurt. But I see it now. Especially in my father – well only in my father. My father really has made incredible changes, in both his own life and our relationship. So in 100 years from now if all the Mormons are like my father, I think they’ll be just fine.

Elder Bednar actually recently said I think in a church conference several weeks ago, he said, “We do not have any homosexual members of our Church.” And what that says to so many people in the church is that, “You do not exist.” I think that’s the conversation that needs to stop. We need to start realizing that these are people.

The Real World flew me to Salt Lake to speak at that rally where they had the mass resignation at Temple Square. And I got to give speech. It was the most incredible moment of my entire life.

How was that? Was it more about you sharing or listening? The biggest reason that I came onto the Real World is that – and I think people will see this on the show – I always have just loved to listen to people’s stories. I have heard wonderful stories and I have heard terrible stories. But so many of the stories that I heard about since coming out at BYU were of just this rampant discrimination against LGBTQ individuals. And none of it was being talked about. I had a friend get drugged and raped by an ex-boyfriend. He reported the rape to a bishop and the bishop promptly expelled him from the school, never reported the rape, and publicly outed him to his family. I have so many friends who had put a picture of themselves up on Grindr or SCRUFF and people within BYU were trolling – straight people were trolling the pages to try and find gay men to turn into the school. You are literally trying to end someone’s education because they are gay. That is just truly horrible to me.

There have been some pretty big names pushing for equality in the Mormon Church though. I think it’s important to recognize that Tyler [Glenn] and Gladys [Knight] and Brandon Flowers, these are Mormons who do a lot to just start conversations about equality within the Church. I think that that’s important too, that both people who are out of the Church like me and people who are still in the Church like them, who are people of influence, if the Church is not going to, they start having those conversations on a grander scale. 

Jenna is a fellow Real World house member. She’s from South Carolina and was raised Mormon, but I don’t think she’s the kind of Mormon a lot of Nevadans have come to know. I think something that’s really important to bring up about Jenna too, and something that I know it was hard to represent on the show because of the circumstances, but she not only came from this very, very small town, but she came from a trailer park on meth row with an abusive stepfather and a mother who was dealing with a drug addiction. She has seen everything. And unfortunately, those aren’t things that we learned about Jenna until well after this process. But I think when people start to understand this, the combination of ingrained and societal racism and then the idea of like it’s just cultural the sentiment against homosexuality, a lot of that is religion, it’s upbringing, it’s culture, and it’s also just how some people are raised. I think that was an amazing takeaway for all of us, is realizing like, at her core, Jenna is truly a sweet girl. But there’s a lot of conversation that remains to be had. 

She was entering the “real world”.Absolutely. You know, more so than any of us. To your comment about Mormonism, I think that the thing that was so personally affronting to me was that I think when she and I started having these conversations where we began really arguing against each other about LGBTQ issues – damn, wow. It’s so weird to reflect on all this.

It hit a very personal place for you.It really is. I think the thing that I realized about Jenna is that the things that she said were the things that I had heard so many Mormon people say behind closed doors. Like when they thought that they were just with each other. And it took me back to a very personal place – sitting there in those circles and just not being able to say anything because the things that people were saying about gay people or different races, even while I was in the midst of the Church, I knew were wrong. I think that’s what was scary and so, so sad about Jenna, was that she had just never had the opportunity or, I guess, the learning to tell her like these things are just not true anymore, or ever, and they’re not appropriate or considerate to say to people. 

Having left the Real World, do you continue to talk to your housemates? Yeah. I talk to every single one of them almost every single day. I think that’s unique to me, which I feel really blessed. They are all, in their own ways, incredible people, and I’m just so, so lucky to have made friends with them.

And you did drag for your first time, so that was pretty cool. Yes! And then when I got back from Real World I saw my first episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Did you know any of the Brooklyn queens before watching the show? No, no. And I actually got to go to a viewing party with Thorgy Thor a few weeks ago. And she said the most wonderful thing, she said, “Michelle Visage told me that I needed to tone it down. But if we’re going to tone it down, why are we even doing this?” I just thought that was beautiful.

Being pansexual, was it easy for you to get along with Dean and Dione on the show? They actually were two of my biggest advocates on the show and I wish that this was better represented on the show because I think it’s very powerful. It was funny. I went essentially the whole season without really hooking up with anybody. I had hooked up with a couple of girls, but I had not hooked up with a guy yet. And the last party that we all went to together, I met a guy there and we were out on the dance floor and I looked over and I remember being so scared because of the experiences that I had in my own coming out before being on the Real World. I remember looking up and being so scared that they were going to look over and be uncomfortable, but they looked over at me dancing with this guy and they both made eye contact with me and started cheering for me like they would have each other if they were picking up girls. I realized, “This is so powerful that if you give someone the opportunity, you get to know them as a person before you get to know them as a label or a sexuality.” What kind of relationships can we be forming from there?

So, did you have any crushes on Dione or Dean initially? There was actually this cameraman and I thought he was so cute. We’ll leave it at that.

Looking for a laugh this May? Then you have got to check out Dixie Longate, America’s favorite Tupperware lady, at the Smith Center. Hailing from Mobile, Alabama, Dixie now travels the world delivering Tupperware and a good time. Dixie recently took the time to chat with Gay Vegas about her roots in the Tupperware biz, her love of Vegas, what you can expect at her show and more.

You’re going to be in Las Vegas at the Smith Center from May 17 to May 22. Tell me about that. I’m so excited. Everyone has been so neighborly each time I’ve been out there. They’re like, “You’re fun! Come on back!” I’m like, “Okay! I’m not drinking now. I’ll get on a plane.” Then I start drinking on the plane because, of course, I’m Christian – that’s what we do. But I love Vegas and every time I’m there everybody is so neighborly. The audience is just so wonderful. And I’m so grateful every time I pick up the phone – well I’m grateful every time I pick up the phone and it’s not my parole officer. So when it’s somebody calling from Vegas saying, “Come on back,” that’s even better.

So how long have you been hosting Tupperware parties? I started in Tupperware parties 15 years ago. It was part of the conditions of my parole. I got out of prison and my parole officer, she’s an adorable lesbian, she said, “You need a job in order to get your kids back.” And I was like, “Stop talking.” Because, you know, the kids were sticky and I didn’t want them back. I had just gotten out of prison. That was my freedom. You think I want to be straddled with my kids? I mean, what a pain in the ass. But she said, “You should do Tupperware.” And at first I thought she was crazy because Tupperware’s an old lady’s gig. But then I did my first party and I had so much fun. Everyone was so neighborly. I figured, “Oh my lord. You know what? I’m gonna stick to doing this.” And then I went to the Jubilee, which is the big Tupperware convention, and I saw all these ladies getting recognized and being put up on stage for all of the accomplishments they’ve done. And I thought, “I’ve got to do this. I’ve got to go full bore.” And then I did. I started working my tail off. And I went to the Jubilee and I got recognized on stage as one of the top sellers. It was one of just the most amazing things and I’ve just never backed down. 

A couple of years after that in 2004, I took my show to New York for the first time because a friend of mine that was a director in New York said, “You should put this on stage.” And I said, “Oh alright.” So we did. We did an itty-bitty thing called the Fringe Festival and that got me a lot of attention. It went from there. It went off-Broadway and I started doing the show off-Broadway, which is crazy. And that led to the tour, which started in 2008. I’ve been on the road since 2008. I love it because I have the best time and I don’t have to see my kids that much, which is great. 

What about your personal life? Do you have a boyfriend or a husband? Or are you single and ready to mingle? I’m single and ready to mingle. When I go to Vegas, you know I’m going to mingle just plenty. I’ve been married three times and all my husbands have sadly then died under mysterious circumstances. But I’ve gotten through my grievance, so that’s okay! And now I’m moving on. You know, I don’t really see myself getting married again because why milk a free cow when you get the free cow milk that has the free milk – or whatever that saying is. My momma told me I don’t listen all that much. For me, I’d rather just be like you said, “Single and ready to mingle.” Meet some people. Do some things. That’s what I’m looking forward to. 

This is your third time at the Smith Center. Had you been to Las Vegas many times before? I love Las Vegas. I’ve been there a bunch of other times. This will be my third time doing my program, but I have come there other times. Just to have a good time and see people and see shows. I love the shows there and everybody’s so nice. They have the best shopping and everything. And the food! Listen, I’ve been to my fair share of honky-tonks and mechanical bull bars all up and down the Eastern seaboard. I’ve never, in my life, seen some of the places like y’all have there in Vegas to drink in. It’s amazing. So you know me – I’m gonna drink it. I’m gonna take them up on it. And so I have the best time in Vegas every time doing just that.

What type of people go to your Tupperware parties? Everybody comes. Obviously the little old ladies who love the Tupperware and know it and grew up with it, those are the people that come all the time and just have the best fun. They just giggle and have a ball. But then we have date night people that come. Like boyfriends and girlfriends and husbands and wives. And then the husbands will look at me and go, “She’s so pretty.” It’s true, because Jesus was in a good mood when he made me. So that’s always fun. But then I get all kinds of different people. I get the homosexuals. They’re some of my favorites. Just wonderful people because they smell like glitter and they always look so put together. That would come and brighten up any day. So it’s a whole smatter of everybody that you could think of. A lot of times people look at it and they think, “Oh, a Tupperware party. That’s just for old ladies.” I’m like, “Oh no. Not just for the ladies. It’s for everybody.” You like to laugh? You’ll come and have a good time. Trust me. You’re gonna laugh your butt off, you’re gonna giggle, and you might even walk out with some new Tupperware, which is the best thing in the world because everybody needs creative food storage solutions.

Some readers of Gay Vegas have commented that they think your shows are hilarious. Why do you think people find your Tupperware parties to be so funny? I talk about some of the different uses for Tupperware that a lot of people don’t even think about. Like I didn’t know for those first two years that Tupperware was even supposed to be used in the kitchen. I thought it was for the bedroom. It wasn’t until one time someone came over and said, “Hey, what’s that plastic bowl doing underneath your bed? What’s that collar doing sitting there?” and I was like, “Why are you in my bedroom, Reverend? It’s not Thursday.” And so I took some of my favorite things that I’d been using in the bedroom and used them in the kitchen. I thought, “Well damn it all to hell, I didn’t know you could use this for that.” 

I talk not only about Tupperware, but also where Tupperware came from and sort of talk about the history of Tupperware and my backstory and everything. 

I try to make everybody lighten up and sort of drag everybody up and make them feel good about themselves. Because I don’t want anybody to leave the party who hasn’t had a great time because, after all, it is a Tupperware party. I underline the word party because it’s fun. But I also want to make everyone leave sort of feeling uplifted and feeling like they can go on and take on the world. I also want to let people know that they’re a little bit better than they give themselves credit for. 

Now they say that you have a lot of secrets. Do you reveal some of your secrets at your shows? Well I guess there are some things that might come out of my mouth because when I’m drunk it happens. I try to be real neighborly and “not stick out at school”, but sometimes I realize that I didn’t finish school, so I can stick outside of it if I damn well want to. So yeah, there’s all kinds of things that are gonna come out of my mouth. And I get people up on stage all the time, so you never know what they’re gonna say too. Because every show is a little bit different. You’re never going to see the show two times the same way. And that’s why we get a lot of people that will come back again and again and again, because that’s what they love about it. They love seeing something that’s going to be different every single time. 

So what is your number one seller right now as far as Tupperware goes? There’s so many things that I love. There’s my Jell-O shot caddy. It is so good to take Jell-O shots to church in. Because sometimes you need a little bit of extra juice to get you through that time because we’ve all heard these stories before. 

There’s this great wine bottle opener that we have that’s amazing. I keep one in my glove box. So that way if I’m driving and I get parched and need something to drink, I can reach into my glove box, I can reach for my backseat for my stash of wine, and I can open that damn bottle of wine before that light turns green. Oh my lord, it’s the best thing in the world. I love it. 

There are things that will blow your mind that you didn’t even know you didn’t know you didn’t need that you know that you need. 

Do you see an increase in sales where marijuana is legal? It’s funny. I’m here in Denver right now with my show and, surprisingly, all of our small little containers are selling like crazy. And at first I was thinking, “Why are these selling so well?” Well it’s because you can put some of the herbal things in it.

So yeah, we do real well every time we’re somewhere you can get things like that. Now someday it’s going to be legal all over, I’m sure, and when it does become legal, holy crap, then you’re just gonna see this stuff fly off the shelves because everyone wants to keep their stash fresh.

You know what else is sure to sell out? Tickets to Dixie’s Tupperware Party at the Smith Center – so get on them quick!

Tickets range from $33 to $40 and can be bought by visiting 

www.thesmithcenter.com

I had the airline tickets and the hotel room confirmed minutes after a friend called to tell me she had secured tickets for the inaugural Dîner en Blanc in Las Vegas. I had the privilege of attending my hometown of Washington, D.C.’s first Dîner en Blanc a few years ago and absolutely fell in love with the concept. I was certainly not going to miss its debut in Sin City. Plus, I like feeling naughty about wearing white before Memorial Day.

For those unfamiliar with Dîner en Blanc, it’s a dinner party. But not just any dinner party. Oh, no. Dîner en Blanc was born in Paris (the real Paris, not the one on the Strip) nearly 30 years ago. As the story goes, François Pasquier invited a group of friends to dress in all white and join him for an impromptu dinner at a beautiful park in Paris. From that initial event sprang forth a global franchise with elaborate Dîner en Blanc events now taking place in more than 70 cities.

Of course, the concept has evolved from that first little gathering. Whereas participants were once just invited exclusively by word-of-mouth, invitations are now made available through an elaborate online process with a requirement that if you do receive and accept an invitation, you must attend or risk being banned from all future Dîner en Blanc events. 

According to the organizers of Dîner en Blanc Las Vegas, the event sold out (a nominal registration fee is charged to help cover logistical expenses) in just 32 hours. Just over 1,000 people were accepted and thousands more were placed on a wait list. 

As part of accepting the invitation, participants had to agree to abide by a series of rules ranging from the size and type of table and chairs they bring (yes, you have to bring your own) to the plates and cutlery they use (no plastic, no plastic, no plastic) to the food they consume (you have to bring that too, or pre-order it from the event’s official caterer). Of course, the main rules revolved around attire – everyone must “be dressed elegantly and strictly in white.” What’s more, the organizers make a point of stressing the white only requirement – no ivory, no cream and no eggshell.

Another significant part of Dîner en Blanc is the location. In every city, it is promoted as taking place in an outdoor, highly visible iconic space. But unlike Pasquier’s first gathering, the location is now kept secret. Participants are instructed to gather at designated spots, but not told the exact location of the event until moments before its start. Once the location is announced, the gathered groups converge flash-mob style to set up for the evening’s festivities.

In the case of Dîner en Blanc Las Vegas, which was held on April 17, my gathering spot was at MGM Grand. Once everyone for that designated location had arrived, it was then announced that the secret location was The Park – the newly christened outdoor dining and entertainment district that MGM Resorts developed to link together New York-New York, Monte Carlo and the new T-Mobile Arena.

It was quite the sight to see the hordes of people dressed head to toe in white, merging together from different directions along the Strip. For Michael Habicht, it was the culmination of more than six months of planning. His Los Angeles-based special events firm, iii designs, was tapped by Dîner en Blanc International to produce the Las Vegas event.

“Vegas had been waiting for a Dîner en Blanc for years,” said Habicht. “And this year, the universe pulled the elements together to make it happen.”

When MGM Resorts, which served as one the event’s sponsors, first presented Habicht with the idea of using The Park, it was still under construction. But he liked the plans and thought the space would be the perfect setting for Dîner en Blanc Las Vegas. He was right.

Within seconds of the first group of participants’ arrival, rows of tables and chairs were being arranged among The Park’s beautiful desert landscape design. As expected for a city known for being over the top, many of the participants’ tablescapes would have made Martha Stewart weep with joy. There was everything from fancy candelabras to enormous floral arrangements. 

Once everyone had finished setting up, Habicht gave a brief welcome and instructed all the participants to wave their napkins in the air to officially mark the start of dinner. The waving of the napkins has become a tradition for all Dîner en Blanc events and creates a stunning visual. Another tradition is the lighting of sparklers to signal the end of dinner and the opening of the dance floor. In the case of Dîner en Blanc Las Vegas, the sparklers were replaced with battery operated “sparklers” but the spirit was still there.

Dîner en Blanc Las Vegas’ dance floor was in the center of The Park surrounding “Bliss Dance”, a 40-foot-tall sculpture of a dancing nude woman. It was created by artist Marco Cochrane in 2010, debuting at Burning Man and residing on San Francisco’s Treasure Island as a public display before being refurbished and relocated to The Park.

Celebrity DJ Casey Connor, who came directly to Las Vegas from attending the first weekend of the 2016 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, had the dance floor buzzing. Attendees (Gay Vegas publisher John Lawrence and myself included) formed a conga line and paraded around the park. The diversity among participants was inspiring – age, gender, race and sexual orientation blended together perfectly in a gyrating line of white.

Fans of the hit Showtime series, “Queer As Folk” can catch the Las Vegas debut of actress/singer THEA GILL (“Lindsey”) who will perform live with entertainer/vocalist KEVIN SASAKI at the Eastside Cannery Hotel & Casino – Marilyn’s Lounge, this Friday and Saturday, April 22-23 at 8:30pm.

The duo will bring their American Songbook musical show to Marilyn’s Lounge at The Eastside Cannery, paying tribute to the legendary entertainers of the Las Vegas Strip. Backed by the Charlie Harrison band, Gill and Sasaki will perform musical evening of popular standards, big band, Broadway and jazz.

Meet & greet with photos to follow performance.

Marilyn’s is located at the Eastside Cannery Hotel & Casino – 5255 Boulder Highway, Las Vegas 89122. Show times begin at 8:30pm, Friday and Saturday evening. Admission is free. For further information, please call (702) 856-5300.