Sonya Deville Discusses LBGTQ Activism; Coronavirus Pandemic

WWE superstar Sonya Deville was recently interviewed by Uproxx, where she discussed a number of topics. Among them was her activism in the LBGTQ community, wrestling through the Coronavirus pandemic, a potential same-sex storyline with Mandy Rose and more.

Below are some questions, along with Deville’s answers:

With Spandex: We’re living through strange times! What is it like working at WWE right now, with all this stuff up in the air because of Covid-19, and the changes to WrestleMania? What’s the mood like right now?

Sonya Deville: I feel like WWE has done such a great job of staying positive, staying in the game, but also taking the proper precautions to do it in a healthy and safe way, but still being able to entertain millions of people while they are home quarantined and staying out of public places. We’re still able to broadcast live to their living room. So I think it’s a really cool feeling for the superstars and a lot of people that work with the company, that we’re still able to put a smile on people’s faces and do it in the healthiest, safest possible way in a time like this.

Prior to coming out as gay on Tough Enough and then signing with WWE, did you ever think of yourself as someone who would be an activist, who would represent a cause in the way that you’ve come to?

Never. Never. It’s funny, and that’s a good question. But no, never. I grew up in a really small town in South New Jersey and I always had big dreams of doing big things and taking over the world, but I definitely didn’t intend on doing it with such a voice. I was just the type of person that my work ethic and my passion and my desire to do what I want to do is going to be what makes me successful. “Head down, boots on” kind of person. And so when the whole thing happened on the preliminary episode of Tough Enough and I ended up coming out and Triple H was laughing and he’s like, “Oh, just come out on national television.” It was a whirlwind.

It was one of those things where I didn’t know if it was going to be my biggest detriment or if it was going to be a positive thing. I was super nervous at the time. Honestly, I thought it was going to cost me the spot on Tough Enough. I really didn’t think I was going to get picked for the show. And that was just me being naive and just not knowing at the time. I didn’t know any better.

And so being able to end up on the show and then signing with NXT and WWE, and now being here for over four years, and just being able to not only be myself and use my voice, but also to represent the cause and hopefully be that person for other people who felt like I did four years back. So it’s been an incredible journey. Lots of learning and lots of ups and downs. But yeah, no, I never saw myself in that position. I’ve just taken it in stride and tried to do my best with it, and now I realize, “Wow, we’re blessed with this platform.” I do think it’s really important when you have a platform like you do with WWE, to use it for something that you care about.

On the other hand, I know there has always been talk of a queer storyline between you and Mandy, and then that keeps not happening. And because of that the question that I really want to ask you is, how did you feel when Liv interrupted Lana’s wedding? When suddenly there was this storyline between two women that you weren’t involved in?

Yeah. So obviously, Mandy and I were upset momentarily. It was something that we really pushed for. But never say never. And I think that it’s definitely still a possibility that it will or could happen in the future. And I think representation in different storylines and stuff like that, is awesome. I think it’s good. There’s a lot of different ways you can do it. There’s not just one way to do it and it’s not just Mandy and I that have to do it.

Obviously, we took a lot of time out and had a lot of meetings with GLAAD, and they were helping us write and direct the story. And so I hope we can get back to it one day. But yeah, I would like to see it also revealed in other storylines in the future too.

They also discuss wrestling in front of an empty crowd, “Total Divas,” a promo with Becky Lynch and more.

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