All language subtitles for Australian Story - S25E05 - Caught in the Act - Shane Jenek _ Courtney Act.eng

Hello. I'm Matt Lucas.

Now, like many Britons,

I first laid eyes on Shane Jenek
and his alter ego, Courtney Act,

when they appeared on
Celebrity Big Brother here in the UK.

For four weeks, Shane and Courtney
charmed the nation,

entertaining and educating
housemates and viewers alike.

Since then,
we've become great friends.

We go to the theatre together.
It's nice.

Now, it's more than 20 years since
Shane first stepped out as Courtney,

and there have been plenty of
ups and downs along the way.

This is their story.

SHANE/COURTNEY:
Getting into drag is, I guess,

a process that I've been doing for 20
years, so it's kind of second nature.

There's a lot of tools
that are involved.

I've got make-up, I've got wigs,
I've got shoes, I've got accessories,

undergarments, and then the outfits
that I'm going to wear.

WOMAN: He puts on make-up better
than any woman that I know.

MAN: I was watching him for hours
getting ready.

I'm going, "Really?
What do you do that for?

"Wow! Really?! You do all that?!"

It takes forever.
"What's the tape for?!"

(LAUGHS)

There's some things a mother
just doesn't need to know.

Do you know what I mean?
You know, like, enough already.

IAN 'DICKO' DICKSON:
When she gets her glad rags on

and the maquillage goes on,
she's just absolutely stunning.

I think Courtney's really convincing
as a girl.

I'm really proud
when she's on my arm. Yeah.

"This is my son. Look at that!"

OK, that looks great.

MAN: When Shane is dressed
as Courtney,

people open the door for Courtney.

And I know Shane has had some issues
in figuring out

why people treat him differently
when he's wearing make-up

as opposed to when he's not.

MAN: Then face out to the left.

When I was younger,
people would say, like,

"Oh, can you come to our party?
But can you come as Courtney?"

And I remember sort of feeling like,
"Oh. What's wrong with Shane?"

And there was, like, a dichotomy
between Shane and Courtney

and there was an internal argument.

I didn't feel like I suited
being a man,

but did I suit being a woman
more than being a man,

if they were the only two options?

But neither of them felt right.

But I have learnt that actually,
everything is more of a spectrum.

My job is to...be myself.

For the first 17, 18 years
of my career,

there was a lot of time to rest,

but the last, sort of, 18 months
has been nonstop.

MATT LUCAS: I would say
Courtney is huge now,

and I get a lot of brownie points,

because if I ever meet
young homosexual gentlemen

and tell them that I've met
Courtney Act in real life,

well, it all rubs off onto me.

Who's not confused?

Is anybody not confu...
Are you sure you're not confused?

One of the most extraordinary things
about Shane's career

is that he came 13th on the first
season of Australian Idol

and somehow was able
to parlay that into a career

that is still going
around the world.

Now, if it's people's identities
that you're confused about, I get it.

I mean, I'm confused and I'm
elbow deep in identity politics.

Figuratively speaking.

(LAUGHTER)

You're so beguiled by the way
Courtney looks,

but then what Courtney says
is often quite serious.

I mean, the truth was, I was...

..I was just so confused about this
idea of trying to be a real man.

I think in Shane's mind
it's not just about fame,

it's not just about money,
it's not about recognition.

With that goes responsibility

to help those
who don't have a voice.

Be compassionate. Be empathetic.

But most of all, just be yourself.

WOMAN: Love you!
Thank you.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

When I was growing up,

I never saw myself reflected
in the media in any way.

And I thought, "I can be myself
and be visible and tell my story,

"and hopefully other young people
out there will feel less isolated."

I grew up in Brisbane, in Brighton,
in the '80s.

Very much suburbia.

WOMAN: He was a beautiful boy.

Very happy, very playful,
loved singing, loved to dance,

loved to dress up and perform.

1987 - I guess I was five years old -

there was a competition
called Tiny Tots

and it was a charity sort of
pageant, I suppose, for young kids.

MUM: Oh, his first kiss.
DAD: Yeah.

And hey, he's
a bit reluctant too, eh?

Maybe that was a clue.

(LAUGHS) Maybe.

And he won!

That was good.

When Shane was about six or seven,

he started coming to
the Fame Talent School.

Hello. My name's Lisa.
I'm Jessica.

And I'm Shane. And we are...
ALL: Yabba Dabba Doo!

# The engine of love... #

DAD: He met the Origliassos,
which...now the Veronicas.

You know, we all became pretty close

for the next...10, 12 years,
almost like family.

# 'Cause I'm your
engine of love... #

SHANE: I loved being able
to express myself creatively

and, I suppose, flamboyantly.

I didn't have to be what boys
were expected to be at Fame

and no-one ever made me
feel like I should.

# Her name was Lola,
she was a teacher

# And then she came to Sandgate High
back in 1995... #

School, for the most part,
I found to be quite stressful

because of bullying or ostracisation
by, primarily, the boys.

# He thinks state schools
are great... #

And I found that, um...
yeah, a real struggle.

Fame Theatre Company really became a
safe haven for me to express myself.

We would go away on tours and Shane
would raid people's wardrobes,

and it was generally
the women's wardrobes.

I definitely had an inkling by the
time he was 15, 16 that he was gay.

So, I'm this little boy
in suburban Brisbane

and I'm feeling attracted to boys.

And I look at the television,
I look at the people that I know,

and I don't see that
reflected back at all.

I don't see two guys
together anywhere.

And so then you think,
"Uh-oh. This is not normal.

"There's something wrong with me.

"Just keep a lid on that."

He was very academic
and he did very well in school,

to the point where he was gonna
study medicine, and got accepted.

GILL: I always discussed him
becoming a doctor or a naturopath.

And it wasn't actually until
he was leaving school...

..that he said to me,

"Dad, this doctor stuff's
YOUR dream. It's not mine."

He said,
"I'd like to be an entertainer."

And I went, "Oh. OK."

My friend Stephanie,
who I went to Fame with,

she had moved to Sydney,

and I was going to stay with her
for a week.

I think Stephanie knew more about me

than I knew about myself
at that point.

STEPHANIE: And so one night
I wanted to go to Stonewall

with a bunch of friends,
and I invited Shane along.

I had, like, quite a, like,

"Oh, Stonewall? That's not
one of those gay bars, is it?"

Like, "I don't know
if I want to go there."

We were up on the third level
all dancing

and a boy sort of came
and started dancing around me

and I was like, "Uh-oh! Uh-oh! People
are gonna see! People are gonna see!"

I mean, I was in a gay bar, like,
and it was pretty obvious.

We sat down on the couch
by the DJ booth

and I had my first kiss with a boy,

and I guess that was the beginning
of my big queer life.

Being young and gay in Sydney
was something

that was not shared with any of
my pre-existing life in Brisbane,

because I was just so fearful of...

..being disowned, being abandoned,
being shamed.

I struggled with
not telling my parents,

because my family and I are so close.

Mum and Dad were in Sydney and I was
planning on coming out to them,

and I was just bawling my eyes out,

and then I texted them, "I am gay,"

and sent it.

You know, it was like, ding!

"Oh, hey. Look at that.

"Shane said he's gay.

"Oh. OK."

And then Mum texted back,

"That's nice, dear.
See you at dinner."

And I was like, "What?"

I mean, everyone thought
I should have known

but I just...he's just...

..Shane. (LAUGHS)
Shane.

Alright, so, this is the wig
for today.

Although, I do need to do
a bit of tonging on it.

Ben and I met in the year 2000.

He is a Sydney drag queen
called Vanity Faire.

She's a bit lumpy here, but...

I'll have to take it apart anyway
for tomorrow and redo it.

It looks nice, though.
Oh, yeah. Lovely.

There was something so alluring

about the beauty and the femininity
that Vanity portrayed,

and that was something that I think
genetically also worked well for me.

Can I flick it?
Yeah, yeah, totally.

Wow!

I wanted to be called Ginger Le Bon.

And Vanity was like, "Hmm.

"I think maybe you need, like,
a cuter, girlier name.

"Like Courtney."

And then I just sort of
said it slowly.

I was like, "Courtney. Kind of
sounds like 'caught in the'."

I was like, "Oh, Caught in the Act."

And it just stuck.

It just happened instantly and it was
the perfect name and the perfect fit.

I remember back in the year 2000
the drag that I saw on Oxford Street

was big and garish
and sort of post-Priscilla,

and what I was drawn to
was femininity.

BEN: Back in those days as a drag
queen, you had to fight your way.

You had to really earn your place.

And so to have a little kid
come along and just, you know,

suddenly just be there,
was, you know, was...

..for me, you know, a challenge.

I think Ben was a bit like, "Oh, God,
here's another one," kind of thing,

and then just saw that
I kept doing it, kept doing it,

and was like, "Oh, God,
if you're gonna keep doing it

"and you're gonna look
like a bastard,

"then I may as well help you
with your make-up

"so that you're not an eyesore."

It didn't take Shane long
to become a professional drag queen,

like, to start working
and start getting paid.

And that's when we really bonded
and we became...

..you know, like, I sort of took him
under my wing and we became sisters.

Ladies and gentlemen,

the winner of the year 2002
DIVA Rising Star is...

Miss Courtney Act!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

I was being, sort of, recognised

as a rising star of
the Sydney drag community.

Ladies and gentlemen,

you know, I really had no idea that
I had a hope of winning this award.

I...
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

I didn't prep...

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE CONTINUE)

('AUSTRALIAN IDOL' THEME MUSIC)

In 2003, Australian Idol had arrived.

MARCIA: Cool!

We didn't really know
what reality TV was.

I didn't really know what it meant,
but it was television

and it was performance,

and it seemed like
something that I would like.

You weren't up to it.
No?

You weren't up to that big finish.

BEN: He auditioned first as Shane
and got rejected,

and then came back the next day and
auditioned as Courtney and got in.

# I'll, I'll say it again... #

You're great.
Thank you.

You look familiar.
Do I?

Did you audition yesterday?

I could have possibly
auditioned yesterday.

I'm still not clear.
Who were you yesterday?

Shane.

I had a peek at that audition
the other day, just as a refresher.

She looked terrible!

She looked like an absolute
low-rent trollop!

I have to say,
Shane only just didn't cut it.

OK.

You've added another dimension
and you've blown us away.

Congratulations.
See you later. Congratulations.

# He was a fast machine,
he kept his motor clean... #

The first TV vote,
I didn't make it through,

and then I got brought back
for the wild card round

and I didn't make it again.

# I'm young and I love to be young
I'm free... #

But then I think the producers
saw such value in me

that they kept bringing me back in
the competition to do little things.

36-24-36. 10½.

Yes, there you go.
What a combo.

(LAUGHS)
Which one's the...

Ohhh.
Ahhh.

Courtney obviously presented
as such a fantastic personality,

a sassy star quality,
that the TV just devoured.

She was great for the show.

Oh, look, you're just
an amazing performer.

You are. And you still are cute.

I'm just about to go and tell
my wife I'm leaving her for you.

TIM: Dicko didn't quite know
how to deal with Courtney.

He'd spend half the time
flirting with her.

And it injected a lot of fun into
the first season of Australian Idol.

MARCIA: Love the outfit.
(APPLAUSE)

Dicko's acceptance of me
and celebration of me

was absolutely fundamental

in mainstream Australia's
acceptance of me,

because he was there,
a straight guy on television,

going like, "Nah. That's alright.
Hot-lookin' sheila, that is."

And that's all people need so often.

It fosters empathy
when other straight guys

see a straight guy
acting a certain way.

And that's what leadership is.

BEN: She was like Vegemite
back then.

Like, for a small second, while she
was on Idol, everyone knew her name.

I remember for a period being sort
of having that entitled attitude,

like, "Oh, I've been on television,
and I'm this and I'm that,"

and becoming, like, a brat, a bit.

I was living in this fancy apartment
with gorgeous views

and got myself into lots of debt

and had to move out of that and...

..sort of, into a share house
and whatnot.

GILL: I remember the conversation.

He said, "Dad, I'm not sure
that I'm actually gonna make it.

"Maybe I should get a job,
you know?"

And I said, "Well, you know,
you've survived this long.

"This is the dream.
You've just got to stick at it."

And he did.

I went back to doing drag shows
on Oxford Street.

And then an opportunity came up
to run a nightclub.

Who do you think you're here to see?
(CROWD YELLS)

Who?!
ALL: Lady Gaga!

(WILD CHEERING)

# No matter gay, straight or bi
Lesbian, transgendered life... #

We had celebrities coming, and
we had Lady Gaga come and perform.

(WILD CHEERING)

It was like our Studio 54.

TIM DUGGAN: Shane's a performer,

and performers are naturally drawn
to the biggest stage they can find.

And for Shane,
that stage is a global stage.

I officially moved to LA in August of
2011, with a visa to live and work.

I was there, funding my life
off a bank overdraft

in the hopes that I would strike oil.

Which I didn't. The money ran out.

RUPAUL: Next up, Courtney Act.

Oh, my goodness.
Heaven must be missing an angel.

STEPHANIE: Shane's big break
in the US came

with season six
of RuPaul's Drag Race.

Courtney Act.

The illusion is working for me.

A-may-zing.

TIM: RuPaul's Drag Race is a cult TV
show that's aired around the world

and features a bunch of drag queens,
all competing for a crown.

So, like, in Australia, are you kind
of like Natalia Imbruglia famous?

I think because of my lack of drama,
they had to create that for me.

And so what I saw
play back on television

was very different to what
I felt I experienced.

No, and I appreciate you
offering me help,

but I can't help but take it
as patronising.

Well, I mean, I guess it is
a little bit.

TIM: One of the pitfalls
of reality TV

is that you have no control at all
over how they're going to edit you.

And in Shane's season
of RuPaul's Drag Race,

he received the bitch edit,
essentially.

He was edited to be catty
and put people down and dismissive.

Do you think we didn't deserve
to win as a team?

I didn't think that
you should have won.

Reality TV is going to take some
liberties to create good television,

and Shane would have known that.

You know what? Sometimes it works
for you, sometimes it doesn't.

You (BLEEP)!

I think Courtney can sometimes
come across as unlikeable.

Go back to Australia!

I just felt humiliated.

And it's amazing the impact that
it can have on you.

And, you know,
I have parents who love me

and a family and friends
who support me.

And even I still found that
experience to be such a struggle.

Howdy!

I am secure enough in my
heterosexuality to say, wow!

I think one of the most positive
things to come out of

RuPaul's Drag Race for Shane
was meeting Chaz Bono,

and I really think that was a
life-changing experience for him.

Chaz Bono is a trans man,
actor, advocate,

also happens to be the son of
Sonny and Cher.

When Shane became friends with Chaz,
his perception did change a lot.

So Courtney was very much a refuge
in that I could find a place

where I could express my femininity
and it could be accepted.

Initially that was helpful,

but then over the years
it can also become harmful

because there's a
compartmentalisation

of your identity.

And so Chaz and I had
many, many conversations.

I remember him saying,

"Have you heard of this term
'gender fluid' before?"

And I was like, "No, what's that?"

He said, "Well, it just basically
means that you can express

"your femininity and masculinity
in any way you want."

And those two words...

..really set me free.

So I think gender fluid now
is just this sigh of relief

that you can just be yourself.

It doesn't matter where you fall
on what scale,

and what percentage of whatever
you are, it doesn't matter.

You're free to be who you are
as an individual.

(CHEERING)

Whoa!

WOMAN: Courtney is at this moment
in time putting her skirt back on.

So then in January 2018, I got asked
to be on Celebrity Big Brother.

I describe myself as a gender queer,
pansexual, polyamorous, vegan,

atheist, feminist, blonde Australian.

Celebrity Big Brother in the UK,
it's an institution.

It's covered on a daily basis
by all the tabloids.

Why is Big Brother still called
Big Brother?

Shouldn't it be Big Sister?

I had so many qualms about doing
Celebrity Big Brother

because of my Drag Race experience.

But the thing that made me
bad television on Drag Race

was the thing that made me good
television on Celebrity Big Brother.

It was a big thing for Shane

because he was gonna spend
some of the time as Shane

and some of the time as Courtney.

I have no dysphoria, I have
no uncomfortability with my body.

You were born Shane, you will
die Shane, you will live Shane.

Courtney is an act.
More than an act.

She's part of my gender expression.
OK, yeah.

There's so much air time to fill,
I was allowed to just talk.

This is not me being
the jealous girlfriend.

The dynamic in the house
on Big Brother was quite...

..was quite extreme, because, you
know, on one hand you had Shane,

and then, on the other hand, you've
got people like Ann Widdecombe.

So, let's start with
marriage equality.

Well, you call it marriage equality.

I call it the redefinition
of marriage.

Ann Widdecombe is a conservative MP

known for very
conservative-leaning views.

Well, marriage has been redefined
many times throughout history.

You used to never be able
to get divorced.

Marriage is a civil institution
that is defined by parliament.

If people want to change that,

I've got to be persuaded
that it's a good idea, and I'm not.

The very first conversation we had,
she was like, "Thank you for that.

"Normally, someone would have called
me a homophobe or raised their voice

"or stormed out or thrown something,
and you didn't.

"You just listened
and we just talked."

And she was shocked by that gesture.

And I'm sure it wasn't what
the producers were expecting,

but I think it was gold.

I think it was even better
than a faux fight or something,

a bit of reality TV biff.

I know that I've brought lots of
deep or heavy conversations to you.

But I do appreciate
you being so respectful

and willing to have
those conversations.

Oh, that's very kind of you.

If you picture two people
on either side of the room

yelling at each other, screaming
at the top of their lungs,

not much gets communicated.

And I feel that's where
the world is at.

I feel if we walk towards the middle,

we lower the tone
and we talk to each other

and we listen to what
the other person is saying,

that's the way we change.

That's the way we evolve.

I don't think anyone would have
imagined that it would be

Courtney Act and Ann Widdecombe
locked in a house together

at the end.

And the winner of
Celebrity Big Brother is...

..Courtney!

(CHEERING)

Courtney, you are our winner!

There's no way I would have thought
that Courtney would have won

when I saw the original line-up,

because there were
higher-profile people in the UK

who were in that house.

But...Courtney just won us all over.

All of a sudden Shane is famous

and can't walk down the street
in the UK,

either as Shane or as Courtney.

More than being a winner, I came
out of the house having a voice

and people being interested
in that voice.

And it was so empowering
and so exciting

to no longer just be a sideshow act.

It was validating,

and part of me wishes
that I was a stronger person

that I didn't need that external
validation to feel good about myself.

But ultimately, I did.

OK, here we go. Everyone good?

Thanks, mate.

And, action.

I think Shane's stints overseas
were huge for him.

But I think the most important thing
was for him to be accepted and loved

and embraced by his home country.

So much of a handful.
Works fine for me.

There has been no same-sex
partnership on Dancing With The Stars

in the Anglosphere,
and so when they approached me

to do it as Courtney,
I was really excited.

MOIR: It's not sexualised,
it's not sensationalised,

it's just two men dancing,
on television,

on family television, at prime time.

# Girls that wore pink,
boys that wore blue

# Boys that always grew up
better men than me and you... #

Week three of Dancing With The Stars
was Memorable Moments

where everybody gets to sort of
tell some story

that's extremely emotional
or conveys emotion, good or bad.

GILL: We knew something
was going to happen.

He didn't tell us exactly what.

So when it happened,
we went like, "Wow", you know.

Yeah, this is who he is.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

I could see by his face,
that's what made me quite emotional,

'cause I could see that
this was really genuine

and really confronting for him to do
as well as a performer.

Why did you want us to meet Shane?

Um...oh, gosh.

Like, I've been doing Courtney
for 19 years

and it was actually
only five years ago

where I let go of the shame
of being a feminine boy.

I remember sitting there
with my wife

and we're both
almost in tears going,

"How far have we come?
That's amazing, isn't it?"

It was so powerful.
It was so...I loved it.

I'm lost for words. I'm so sorry,
but I thought it was great.

That's a big moment
on Australian television,

to have that transformation
take place.

You have just inspired
millions of people,

whether they are gender fluid
or not,

to be themself
and to own who they are.

He ended up coming second
in the show, he did amazingly well.

So I think for him it was almost an
emotional homecoming to Australia,

and a way for them
to see him in a new light.

# Neighbours... #

I left the Mardi Gras party
and I went home to bed,

flew down to Melbourne last night
and now I'm ready for my close-up.

I hope.

So I've filmed a storyline in
Neighbours as Shane and as Courtney.

Not as a character,
but rather as myself.

Good to go?
Good to go.

Come with me, thank you.

Do you need a jacket?

We've got a jacket standing by, yep.

Neighbours is informing middle
Australia that queer identity is OK.

Mark it. And action.

You're quite an icon in the LBGD...
I said it wrong after all that!

I actually think it's kind of cute
if you say it wrong.

In a weird way.

I think it's a credit to Neighbours

to actually bring Courtney
and Shane.

Because that's the reality of life.

It's really,
it's really how we live.

That's life.

A bit like Cher, really.

Yeah, I reckon my style's
a bit different to hers.

WOMAN: People who are part of
that community

need to see themselves on TV.

And I think what's great about this
story and having Courtney

is that she brings so much joy
and happiness and energy.

I give you Courtney Act!

You can have all the Mardi Gras
you want,

but if no straight people are coming,

it's only an internal memo
that goes out.

You need straight allies to accept
queer people as well

to take it to the mainstream.

Oh, wow.

For years, I was trying to work out
what was wrong with me.

And I now realise there was
nothing wrong with me,

it was actually the system
of description that was broken.

Was it fun?

Stressful.
Stressful?

I've constantly
anticipated negativity,

whether it was coming out
to my parents,

whether it was Australian Idol,
being on Big Brother.

And it just has never seemed
to come true.

I love you, Mummy.

I just can't understand why parents
can't just love their children

for who they are, you know,
regardless of what they do.

I mean, it's just what you do.
They're your children.

So you want us to wake you
early in the morning?

Well...

Being queer or being straight
or being bi or being trans

or being gender fluid or whatever,

they're not choices - they're
intrinsically who people are.

The choice is to DENY who you are.
That's the choice.

Shane, just bring your face around
to me there.

I think she's beautiful,
she's smart, she's showbiz,

and we need it.

Really nice. Oh, beautiful.

I love what he does.
I'm as proud as hell.

I love it. I'm very proud of him.

Yeah.

# Living in the middle in between

# Never really
knowing how I'm seen

# I don't even know
which way I'm turning

# Living in the middle, who I see

# It's not the only person
I could be

# But I know for now
I'm on a journey

# I'm in between

# I'm in between... #

Captions by Red Bee Media

Copyright Australian
Broadcasting Corporation