Blame It on Bianca Del Rio: The Expert on Nothing with an Opinion on Everything

by Bianca Del Rio

The cheeky, larger-than-life drag queen and outrageous comic—"The Joan Rivers of the Drag World," (New York Times)—who isn’t afraid to shock or offend brings her trademark acerbic wit and sharp commentary to the page in an uproarious illustrated collection of advice.

When it comes to insult comics, Bianca Del Rio is in a class by herself. Fierce, funny, and fabulous—a would-be love child sired by John Waters and birthed by Joan Rivers—Bianca sandblasted her name in the annals of pop culture on RuPaul’s Drag Race. Thanks to her snarky frankness, impeccable comedic timing, and politically incorrect humor, she became the show’s breakout star, winning its sixth season.

In Blame It On Bianca Del Rio, Bianca shares her opinions loudly and proudly, offering raucous, hilarious, no-holds-barred commentary on the everyday annoyances, big and small, that color her world, and make it a living, albeit amusing, hell for anyone who inhabits it. A collection of biting advice filled with vibrant photos from Bianca’s twisted universe, Blame It On Bianca Del Rio will shock you and keep you laughing. But be it is not for the faint of heart!

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook, Humor, LGBT, Queer, Memoir, Comedy

268 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 20, 2018

About the author

Bianca Del Rio is the season six reigning winner of Logo TV’s hit series RuPaul’s Drag Race. In December 2014, she received the Best New Television Personality award from NewNowNext. Global accolades along with a Live Nation comedy tour brought the beloved New Orleans entertainer once known as Roy Haylock into the scrutinizing public eye. Gigs throughout the world, a commercial debut for Starbucks, critical acclaim by The New York Times, even an interview on the late Joan Rivers’ popular show In Bed with Joan, followed. Years of dedication and hard work paid off for this controversial comedian and drag queen.

A self-proclaimed “clown in a dress” with a raw and racy edge, Bianca Del Rio is a costume designer and theatrical performer, as well as the familiar wisecracking artist that emerged on the New Orleans nightclub circuit in 1996 and garnered awards. Long before her success on RuPaul’s Drag Race, she appeared on MTV, A&E, and the Travel Channel. A staple at gay Mardi Gras events and private parties, this comfortable niche soon opened wide to include mainstream venues and straight audiences on an international level.

Now a resident of Los Angeles, Bianca Del Rio continues to tour the world captivating fans with her sharp wit, dismembering humor, and perceptive commentary in a brash, metro kick to the ego—everything and everyone is her target. Step into her line of verbal fire for an unforgettable, humbling experience. Laugh.

Reviews

[shady boots · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this on audio this week and I was thoroughly entertained. If you guys know Bianca, then you know that her brand of humor is not for the easily offended, so tread lightly, cause she does not hold back in this book. 😂



Granted, I think Bianca's ten times funnier when her jokes and reads are more off the cuff and spontaneous rather than pre-written, but I still really enjoyed listening to her be the nasty, hateful, no-holds-barred cunt we all know and love. I'd recommend getting the audio version as well; you'll definitely have a laugh.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couldn't finish. Bianca's humor doesn't seem to translate well to print, which was pretty disappointing.

[Janie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actual rating: 2.5 stars
I preordered this book so dang fast when I found out about it. It was before it had a cover or a synopsis. Even now, I think the synopsis could be a little more clear on the content being in answering fanmail format. I enjoyed the parts that were more just Bianca riffing on a subject rather than answering fanmail. It wasn't a bad read by any means, but I definitely think Bianca's comedy is more enjoyable hearing in a show than reading in a book. That's not a read, I swear. It's just that the delivery in her voice and timing is missing when you physically read it. I thoroughly enjoyed the word Snatchsquatch that was used in one of the responses to fan questions. I still, however, love Bianca Del Rio and her insult comedy.

[Vanessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a massive Bianca Del Rio fan - she's one of my all-time favourite drag queens and so when I saw there was an audiobook version of her book I obviously downloaded it immediately. And if you're going to read this (only really if you're a fan I imagine), then definitely invest in the audiobook because Bianca's voice is what makes it bearable. Unfortunately though I don't feel like this book is a great representation of her - her humour is best when it's natural, un-scripted and seen within the context of a situation. She's smart and super funny, but in the written form not so much. Sure, I cracked a smile a couple of times in this, but the Bianca portrayed in this agony aunt style book is more crass and nasty than endearingly cutting. Sadly not for me, but I did enjoy having her voice in my head for a few hours.

[Kristina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love Bianca, she's one of my top 5 queens of all time - but somehow her humor did not translate into this form for me. It didn't come off as sassy and sarcastic, but just kind of mean.

[Krissy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Love me some Bianca but this book just did not work for me.

[Saajid Hosein · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was horrible..... but I did laugh at some points. Don't tell anyone I said that. And don't read this book.

[Imogene · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, this one is difficult. I LOVE Bianca Del Rio. I think that she is fabulous. As a performer, as a contestant on RuPaul’s drag race she is just amazing. However, Bianca’s style of insult comedy doesn’t translate well onto the page.
There is always an element of sweetness and a genuine good heart to her. On stage and live you can see it and it lightens the snarkiest of snark. On the page, it’s a bit flat.
I’d probably enjoy the audio book much more, but I’m sorry Miss Bianca, This book gets a “sashay away” from me.

(Still love you)

[Nathan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bianca seemed more interested in yelling about how offensive or edgy she could be than in being funny. Was very tryhard. This is the first book in years that I have stopped reading and put away.

[Janelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was lowkey terrible. I got the audiobook as I adore Bianca and loved listening to her on Ru’s What’s The T podcast, but this was a struggle and a HALF.

The book awkwardly straddles this line between trying too hard and not trying at all, with the end result being this dialled in insufferable and neverending weird Dear Abby/Agony Aunt column.

When Bianca goes off on a tangent and riffs on a particular subject at length, it’s GREAT, but when she’s plainly answering the fan mail questions it’s tedious. There are only so many times you can hear the same three jokes about lesbians, pedo uncles, and sucking dick in a truck stop bathroom before it gets old.

I wish there were a little more heart in this. There’s a disconnect between author Bianca and the hateful & hilarious Bianca seen on RPDR or on tour with shows like Rolodex of Hate and Not Today Satan - it’s almost like the Bianca del Rio here is a caricature of Bianca del Rio. She feels like less of a person and more of a cartoon, and it gets old after the first few pages.

[Lilly Luna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, I would like to say that this book is pretty much only for fans of Bianca del Rio. If you don’t like her honour, it's not for you.

Bianca del Rio, one of the most famous drag queens ever to come from “Rupaul’s Drag Race”, has written this guide on questions her fans had sent her. She claims that she doesn't know anything but has an opinion nonetheless, which is quite correct.

As for myself, Bianca is my favourite drag queen of all time. I love her sense of humour, although sometimes, in this book, she went too far.
This book is pretty funny if you want to throw political correctness out of the window.

It’s a quick and easy read if you want to chill and relax. As I already said, I would recommend this book to fans.
Furthermore, hearing the audiobook and the book simultaneously is fantastic since sometimes her marks don’t translate well to paper, and she comes off mean instead of funny.

If you only want to go for one option, choose the audiobook.
However, I don’t mind owning the printed version since there are so many pretty pictures of her in it.

[Josh · Rating 1 out of 5]

not great really.

[Gustaf · Rating 4 out of 5]

You'll have to have some knowledge about Bianca Del Rio and her wicked humor to truly enjoy this book.

[Eden · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those of you who didn’t know, I’m kind of (read: debilitatingly) obsessed with RuPaul’s Drag Race, and Bianca is one of my all time favourite queens. I actually got to meet her (she told me she liked my skirt and then fixed my hair for my photo and yes it was in fact one of the greatest moments of my uneventful life) before seeing her live stand-up show last year (which was HILARIOUS), so I was hyped for this to be a thing. It honestly brings me so much joy to be able to flip through pages of scathing jokes and reads while Bianca narrates the whole thing. I will say that I think the audio is 100% necessary to read this, as Bianca’s timing and inflections and just her voice in general is a huge part of what makes her comedy work, and you don’t get that over text which means that some of the humour could get lost without the audio component. Even then, this still didn’t have the same sort of magic that seeing her live or on Drag Race does because it doesn’t have the off-the-cuff charm that you get off the page. That said, this was still very funny and very offensive, which is all I can really ask for from a book written by Bianca Del Rio.
Side note, if you’re reading this and haven’t seen RuPaul’s Drag Race and therefore have zero idea who the wonderful human who wrote this book is, do yourself a favour and watch the show. It’s spectacular.

[eda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Bianca del rio!! She’s fish, and obviously the best comedy drag queen. Fans of BDR will enjoy this book. If you do not know who she is I would recommend watching season 6 of Rdr before reading. Her jokes in writing can sometimes come off as too harsh-and at some parts I was a bit uncomfortable with the jokes. Overall though, I can look over the really offensive jokes because she equally attacks everyone (!). I wanted more chapters to be about Bianca without the fan q&a. Not even serious essay’s about important moments in her life-but there could’ve been a chapter dedicated to Bianca’s (for example) favourite/least favourite things added with a lot of jokes. After a while, the fanmail was a little repetitive. The book was funny but it could’ve been shorter.

Overall, this is a good book. Hopefully in the future if BDR decides to write another we can get some more personal stories!

[Mitchell Clifford · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to enjoy this, but in the end I am shocked I paid money for it.

There is nothing redeeming about this book. I don’t take issues with Bianca’s jokes because that is her sense of humour, however her stand up to print did not translate well.

The largest issue is the book is 250pgs of dear abbey which gets beyond repetitive 2-3 chapters with.

Overall, this feels like an unfinished Q&A, leaving me with lots of questions on how it was produced.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're familiar with Bianca's humour, you'll enjoy this.
However, it's not actually about Bianca or any of her experiences. It's just her roasting people who have asked her questions. Personally this works better on Audio for me, as it's Bianca reading it, but if you aren't already a fan you may not "get" the humour.

[Isabel]

I think Bianca is great, but I’m not sure how I feel about this...

[Ashley Daviau · Rating 5 out of 5]

I freaking love Bianca. They had me cackling the whole way through, this was such a hilarious read and hearing it on audio by Bianca them self made it even funnier.

[Siona Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book was just okay. This read a lot more authentically as Bianca than say, Willam’s book did, but it just isn’t as funny. I think it’s because Bianca reuses a lot of her jokes, and they’re still funny every time because of her delivery. Also, I think Willam’s book was more enjoyable for me because it had actual “advice” in it, where as this was just Bianca responding to “letters” (I highly doubt a majority of them were real tbh) in her typical insult-humor style. I think this is really the epitome of coffee table book because it’s not really interesting enough to read cover to cover if I’m being honest.

[Chelsea SWATCHSEA · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was rooting for Bianca Del Rio in the sixth season of Ru Paul’s Drag Race, but this book was a disappointment. I absolutely wouldn’t recommend it as I don’t even understand the point of it. Del Rio asked fans for questions and she gives advice. First of all, by the time fans will read this book, they don’t need the advice anymore. Secondly, a lot of the humour rubbed me the wrong way. There’s a fine line in comedy between being funny and being offensive and in my opinion, Bianca Del Rio crossed that line. There are numerous ableist, anti-fat, ... “jokes”. Additionally, there’s a lot of gatekeeping bullshit that isn’t unusual for allo cis gays. Del Rio for example makes fun of pansexuality and she thinks the LGBTQIAP+ acronym is ridiculous.

Overall there were few funny moments, so I wouldn’t recommend this book. I listened to the audiobook so it didn’t feel like the biggest waste of time, but there’s nothing I will remember from this read apart from the offensive humour and gatekeeping.

content and trigger warnings for mentions of sex, ableism, anti-fat remarks, anti-bisexual and anti-pansexual remarks, “spirit animal”, islamophobia, Asian stereotypes, etc.

[Aramiheartilly · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF 50%
I love Bianca Del Rio’s humour, stand up, drag etc.... and I preordered this book when I found out about it...but it just wasn’t great. At all.
I’ve seen other reviews saying the same thing and I’m glad I’m not alone but it’s such a shame her humour doesn’t translate onto the page.
I’m pretty hard to offend but this managed it a couple of times, yet even that is not what really made me give up and return this. It’s just.... the same sort of jokes over and over again.
It’s not all bad; the intros to the chapters and the photo pages are funny, as are the summary pages on colourful back grounds. But they perhaps make up 10% of the total book, maybe 15% and for £16.99 it’s just not worth it at all.
I’m still going to watch Hurricane Bianca 2 because the first one was amazing. And I’d still jump at the chance to see her stand up. Such a shame :(

[Ije the Devourer of Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great audiobook with irreverent, caustic humour that could never be described as politically correct in any way.

This is actually my intro to Bianca Del Rio and it was hilarious! Listening to the audiobook was actually like attending a live show.

Not for the sensitive or easily offended. She is Bianca!

[Lianne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really not that funny. Some entertaining bits, yes, but on the whole a bit of a drag! Bianca picks up on spelling mistakes in letters from fans yet missed plenty of grammatical errors in her published work...perhaps she was trying to be ironic.

[Nils · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious!

[Nadja]

DNF at 20% because I don't want to risk ending up hating Bianca for the rest of my life.

[Claire Kane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely only worth listening to the audiobook. I can't imagine it translates to print well. Also Definitely not for anyone who isn't familiar with Bianca Del Rio'... eh... approach to comedy

[That One Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are a fan of Bianca Del Rio, then you’ll probably enjoy this book.
It got a bit one note for me after awhile. It’s funny and Bianca stays consistently irreverent, but after you’ve read a few questions and answers the rest pretty much just feel about the same. Regardless of what the question is, Bianca will be a bitch back. Not a bad format, but only entertaining for so many pages.
I did laugh out loud several times and appreciated that there was actually solid advice here and there sprinkled throughout.
It’s a quick and funny read, but nothing that is going to require much thought or investment from the reader.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would not call this a great book, but it did help pass the time.

[Ingalill · Rating 2 out of 5]

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