This week on The Cutting Up, Connie and Lina are welcoming our brother-in-chaos and Pride royalty himself, David Correa. Shall we start with outfits and an I Love Lucy tangent? Yes, we shall.

David and Lina go way back—all the way to 2016, when he booked her as the resident DJ for NYC Pride’s Pride Island, a year that honestly shifted everything in terms of diversity, visibility, and who gets to take up space. From WorldPride to Hudson Yards to the moment he told Lina (to her face!) that the community elected her as a Pride Grand Marshal!

Then we talk about the real leap.

David opens up about leaving NYC Pride, freelancing with his husband’s support, and stepping into his next chapter as a pop-culture entertainment correspondent and executive producer/co-host of the ABC Pride broadcast.

And we get into the concept that changed everything:

Unshrinking.

Why do we make ourselves smaller?
How do bullying and trauma follow us into adulthood?
What does it actually mean to take up space — especially in media and within the LGBTQ community?

We talk representation, diversity in media, career pivots, and turning trauma into strength.

It’s heartfelt. It’s chaotic. It’s empowering. And always a cackle.

So, Sugar, if you’ve ever felt like you were “too much” or “not enough,” this one’s for you.

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-cutting-up-a-kiki-with-connie-lina/id1849020008

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/200MOk48TaLRPLQvzx2UK0?si=6499dd094f704a10

iHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1333-the-cutting-up-a-kiki-wit-303161901

Write to us at Kiki@TheCuttingUp.com

And follow us on instagram:

@TheCuttingUp

@TheRealConnieGirl

@TheLinaBradford

@PrideHouseMedia

“The Cutting Up: A Kiki with Connie & Lina” is a Pride House Media production.

Producers: Josh Rosenzweig & Matthew Breen.

Graphic Design by Daryl Raymond.

Original Music by 808 BEACH (John “J-C” Carr & Bill Coleman), courtesy of Peace Bisquit.

 Production Design by Darryl Dickens.

Our very special thanks to Jason Kanner for all your support.

Okay, first of all… yes. The camera betrayed us last time. But like true legends, we came back hotter. On this episode, we welcome back the incomparable Alvaro, an artist, fashion insider, South Bronx original. And this time the cameras stayed ON. Not only is his art all over our “studio,” but he literally presented Connie with a gorgeous original portrait. Because we keep company with icons only.

We get into…

✨ Growing up in the South Bronx with big dreams and bigger manifestations
✨ How he engineered, nay, seduced (his word) his way into a meeting with legendary illustrator Antonio Lopez at an FIT seminar
✨ Assisting Antonio for years—posing, learning, grinding, absorbing genius
🔥 Discovering models before they were THE models
🔥 Forming a close bond with Naomi Campbell
🔥 Meeting the iconic Oribe
👻and ghosts!

Because in New York City, one connection changes everything.

It gets cosmic. And it’s very, very us.

You can find us on:

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-cutting-up-a-kiki-with-connie-lina/id1849020008

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/200MOk48TaLRPLQvzx2UK0?si=6499dd094f704a10

iHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1333-the-cutting-up-a-kiki-wit-303161901

Write to us at Kiki@TheCuttingUp.com

And follow us on instagram:

@TheCuttingUp

@TheRealConnieGirl

@TheLinaBradford

@PrideHouseMedia

“The Cutting Up: A Kiki with Connie & Lina” is a Pride House Media production.

Producers: Josh Rosenzweig & Matthew Breen.

Graphic Design by Daryl Raymond.

Original Music by 808 BEACH (John “J-C” Carr & Bill Coleman), courtesy of Peace Bisquit.

 Production Design by Darryl Dickens.

Our very special thanks to Jason Kanner for all your support.

This week we are joined by producer Matthew Breen (who also doubles as HR, Sugar). We all spiral from the iconic Justin-Britney denim lewk into a full jukebox of memories.

It’s all about MUSIC. The albums that raised us, the songs that cracked us open, the disco divas who built community, the house tracks that baptized us on dance floors, and the very specific art of a “seal the deal” sexy playlist.

Because music is memory, identity, resistance, heartbreak, healing… and foreplay.

We talk about the childhood albums that shaped us—Michael Jackson’s Ben, Barbra Streisand’s Guilty, Bob Marley, Midnight Oil, Sinéad O’Connor, Kate Bush (obsessed), and the B‑52’s. These weren’t just records. They were bedroom sanctuaries, Sunday cleaning rituals, and emotional education.

Then we get into disco. It’s resistance music! And it’s pure queer joy. We time‑travel to late‑’80s/early‑’90s House and early club days at the Limelight, Area, Sound Factory and all the dance floors that felt like church.

We swap songs for heartbreak, empowerment anthems, and the artists whose voices still stop us in our tracks. And yes, we absolutely discuss sexy listening picks—Sade, Maxwell, Afro‑Cuban rhythms—because vibes.

If you’ve ever cleaned your house to Barbra, cried to Sinéad, found religion on a dance floor, or curated a very intentional late‑night soundtrack, this one’s for you

You Can find us on:

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-cutting-up-a-kiki-with-connie-lina/id1849020008

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/200MOk48TaLRPLQvzx2UK0?si=6499dd094f704a10

iHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1333-the-cutting-up-a-kiki-wit-303161901

Write to us at Kiki@TheCuttingUp.com

And follow us on instagram:

@TheLinaBradford

@TheRealConnieGirl

@PrideHouseMedia

The Cutting Up: A Kiki with Connie & Lina is a Pride House Media production.

Producers: Josh Rosenzweig & Matthew Breen.

Graphic Design by Daryl Raymond.

Original Music by 808 BEACH (John “J-C” Carr & Bill Coleman), courtesy of Peace Bisquit.

 Production Design by Darryl Dickens.

Our very special thanks to Jason Kanner for all your support.

It’s a birthday episode and we are celebrating all month, Sugar and we’re setting intentions.

Connie and Lena kick things off with a mystical little “circle of three” blessing before summoning the icon, the legend, the voice you definitely know — Kevin Aviance — for the ultimate backstage Kiki.

We get into why our work is political (yes, even the glam), how assimilation has dulled parts of LGBTQ+ culture, and why movements that centered white gay men too often erased Black and trans pioneers like Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson. We talk about how Black Lives Matter shifted the coalition model — and what real solidarity actually looks like.

Then? We time‑travel to peak NYC nightlife chaos.
✨ Limelight
✨ Sound Factory
✨ Tunnel
✨ Pat Fields fashion madness
✨ Swirl at Crowbar
✨ DC & Miami party circuits

And yes… the legendary wheelbarrow moment makes an appearance.

Kevin serves nostalgia, wisdom, and unfiltered truth about old‑school club culture — when creativity was currency and looks were lethal.

Then we get into the Beyoncé of it all.Kevin shares how Queen Bey kept his original vocal sample, made sure he was properly credited under his real name, and paid correctly. (As she should.) We talk about ownership, credits, and why Black artists deserve their flowers — loudly and on time.

This episode is queer nightlife history, cultural commentary, music industry tea, and community realness all rolled into one.
Icons only.

For more about Kevin:
@KevinAvianceOfficial
Click here for his new album HIPPOPOTAMUS!
You Can find us on:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-cutting-up-a-kiki-with-connie-lina/id1849020008
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/200MOk48TaLRPLQvzx2UK0?si=6499dd094f704a10
iHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1333-the-cutting-up-a-kiki-wit-303161901

Write to us at Kiki@TheCuttingUp.com

And follow us on instagram:
@TheLinaBradford
@TheRealConnieGirl
@PrideHouseMedia

The Cutting Up: A Kiki with Connie & Lina is a Pride House Media production.
Producers: Josh Rosenzweig & Matthew Breen.
Graphic Design by Daryl Raymond.
Original Music by 808 BEACH (John “J-C” Carr & Bill Coleman), courtesy of Peace Bisquit.
 Production Design by Darryl Dickens.
Our very special thanks to Jason Kanner for all your support.

The Cutting Up: A Kiki with Connie and Lina,” a new weekly podcast hosted by DJ/activist Lina Bradford and fashion legend Connie Fleming, the show offers unprecedented access to the icons, secrets, and untold stories that shaped queer culture. Lina and Connie are both trailblazing women of transgender experience, with deep backgrounds hosting and performing in NYC’s most storied clubs—and pioneering on fashion runways. They bring their knowledge, stories, and relationships to “The Cutting Up,” offering audiences a backstage pass to authentic conversations that can only happen between true friends and industry legends. “The Cutting Up” goes deep on fashion, music, activism, and identity.

This week on The Cutting Up, Connie and I are kiki‑ing in Washington Heights like it’s a downtown séance — and our guest? Only a living, breathing piece of NYC nightlife history: the one and only Joey Arias.

Yes. That Joey Arias.

Performance art legend. Mugler muse. Warhol era mischief-maker. Billie Holiday channeler. Downtown royalty.

We kick off doing what we do best: manifesting peace on earth, success, spiritual elevation… and obviously a hot man. Priorities.

From there? Chaos. Glamour. History.

Joey and I reminisce about decades of friendship, fashion, and the golden age of New York City nightlife — when the clubs were dangerous, the looks were illegal, and everyone was either famous or about to be. We talk Mugler, Montreal nights, downtown club kid origins, and the kind of stories you cannot Google.

And then — because icons don’t retire — Joey drops updates:

• A book coming
• A documentary is in progress
• And his album “Past Present Future” is on Spotify, born from intense studio sessions that were equal parts magic and madness

We also get real.

Joey opens up about his sobriety journey after an intervention and detox — and how recovery reshaped his body, mind, and art. We talk reinvention, weight loss, body procedures, maturity, dating standards (they’re high, darling), and what it means to survive yourself.

And because this is Joey Arias, the conversation floats effortlessly into:

• Higher consciousness
• Politics and energy
• Past lives and ghosts
• Curses (yes, curses)
• Spiritual awakenings
• Channeling Billie Holiday
• Stories about Andy Warhol, Paul Mooney, Keith Haring
• And an unearthed Basquiat found in a closet like it’s casual

This episode is part New York nightlife documentary, part spiritual fishbowl, part fast-food-fueled kiki, and fully unfiltered.

If you love:

• Joey Arias
• Downtown NYC legends
• Fashion history and Mugler
• LGBTQ nightlife culture
• Sobriety and reinvention stories
• Art world icons like Basquiat and Warhol
• Billie Holiday energy
• Or just wildly glamorous storytelling

Welcome to the coven.

Light a candle. Manifest something reckless. And press play.

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-cutting-up-a-kiki-with-connie-lina/id1849020008

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/200MOk48TaLRPLQvzx2UK0?si=6499dd094f704a10

iHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1333-the-cutting-up-a-kiki-wit-303161901

Write to us at Kiki@TheCuttingUp.com

And follow us on instagram:

@TheLinaBradford

@TheRealConnieGirl

@PrideHouseMedia

The Cutting Up: A Kiki with Connie & Lina is a Pride House Media production.

Producers: Josh Rosenzweig & Matthew Breen.

Graphic Design by Daryl Raymond.

Original Music by 808 BEACH (John “J-C” Carr & Bill Coleman), courtesy of Peace Bisquit.

 Production Design by Darryl Dickens.

Our very special thanks to Jason Kanner for all your support.

Baby… this episode? A whole mood.

Wilson Cruz dropped into The Cutting Up and we started where all important conversations start: backstage glam. Because if we’re going to talk about surviving late-stage capitalism and political chaos, we’re at least doing it moisturized.

But don’t get it twisted — the kiki got real.

We talked about what it means to trust timing in a career that’s feast‑or‑famine. Wilson’s been in this game for decades, and instead of spiraling when the phone isn’t ringing, he’s cocooning. Nurturing his artistry. Sharpening his activism. Staying ready so he doesn’t have to get ready.

And yes, we got into the work.

From campaigning in the tri-state area to his role as board chair of GLSEN (now Glisten — hello rebrand), we talked strategy, chapters, and the upcoming National Student Climate Survey. Because protecting queer kids is not a side quest. It’s the mission.

We unpacked voter regret. Misinformation. Immigration fear tactics. Political distraction. The way they keep trying to divide and conquer like it’s 1992 and we haven’t read a book.

But here’s the thing — we are not despairing. We are organizing. Locally. Intentionally. In community.

Wilson also gave us tea on new indie projects, theater work, and a play about radicalization (timely much?). We talked about what it means to be a working artist when the industry feels morally… wobbly. How do you build when diversity is backsliding? You build by us. For us.

And through it all? Protect your peace. Escape the algorithm. Touch grass. Fortify your local LGBTQ center. Stay curious. Stay dangerous. Stay moisturized.

This episode is glam and grit. Fishbowl chaos and acceptance speech gratitude.

We laughed. We vented. We plotted.

And as always — we’re cutting up, but we’re not playing.

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-cutting-up-a-kiki-with-connie-lina/id1849020008

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/200MOk48TaLRPLQvzx2UK0?si=6499dd094f704a10

iHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1333-the-cutting-up-a-kiki-wit-303161901

Write to us at Kiki@TheCuttingUp.com

And follow us on instagram:

@TheLinaBradford

@TheRealConnieGirl

@PrideHouseMedia

The Cutting Up: A Kiki with Connie & Lina is a Pride House Media production.

Producers: Josh Rosenzweig & Matthew Breen.

Graphic Design by Daryl Raymond.

Original Music by 808 BEACH (John “J-C” Carr & Bill Coleman), courtesy of Peace Bisquit.

 Production Design by Darryl Dickens.

Our very special thanks to Jason Kanner for all your support.

This week’s kiki starts creamy… but quickly turns into a full-blown “the first time I…” chaos! .

Yes, we open with creamsicles, Charlie perfume, and a head-to-toe cream moment (because aesthetics matter). But the real meat of this episode? Our firsts. We play a rapid-fire game of:

• First crush
• First best friend
• First heartbreak
• First album that changed our personality
• First celebrity crush (problematic? nah!)
• First concert
• First time getting in trouble
• First fight (and why Webster Hall still owes us emotional damages)

Some of it is sweet. Some of it is savory. Some of it explains a lot about who we are today. We talk about cursive handwriting pressure, Barbie manifestation energy, therapy jokes, parody songs that ruined our lives, and the very specific personality trait of always being the one who “does it.”

And yes, a neighborhood meet-cute with a hot bearded man… who turned out to be married with a situation.

This episode is nostalgic, chaotic and emotional. Because once you unpack your firsts, you realize they shaped everything.

Like, subscribe, comment and review- xoxo 💫✨

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-cutting-up-a-kiki-with-connie-lina/id1849020008

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/200MOk48TaLRPLQvzx2UK0?si=6499dd094f704a10

iHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1333-the-cutting-up-a-kiki-wit-303161901

Write to us at Kiki@TheCuttingUp.com

And follow us on instagram:

@TheLinaBradford

@TheRealConnieGirl

@PrideHouseMedia

The Cutting Up: A Kiki with Connie & Lina is a Pride House Media production.

Producers: Josh Rosenzweig & Matthew Breen.

Graphic Design by Daryl Raymond.

Original Music by 808 BEACH (John “J-C” Carr & Bill Coleman), courtesy of Peace Bisquit.

 Production Design by Darryl Dickens.

Our very special thanks to Jason Kanner for all your support.

Oooh Sugar, we are back and bring you a peek “backstage” - it’s unfiltered, off-the-rails and spiritually protected, okay?? Because why did we start the episode spraying “Go Away Evil” like we were cleansing demons… and almost took ourselves out in the process. I nearly gagged. Connie was no help. Pure chaos from the jump.

Then we get into these MEN…

Listen, we are not here to be fetishized. We are not here to be gaslit. And we are definitely not here for “so… what surgeries have you had?” over appetizers.

I said what I said.

We talk full disclosure, safety, comfort, and whether someone is actually OUT and emotionally available — or just curious and confused. There’s a difference.

And somehow — because it’s us — the conversation spirals into:

• Toe pic preferences (don’t ask)
• Proper dick pic etiquette (there are rules, gentlemen)
• Late-night text delusion
• Wild club memories
• Fake sponsors like Grindr, PornHub, and Crisco (Crisco, if you’re listening… call us)

There’s even a Crisco slip‑n‑slide story that probably shouldn’t have made the final cut. But here we are.

By the end, we’re talking Q-tips, tickle bottles, veggie alternatives, zodiac animals, spirit animals… and drawing sharks for absolutely no reason.

It’s messy.
It’s loud.
It’s inappropriate.
It’s even a bit educational.

But it is 100% pure cutting up!

So, buckle up, Sugar and prepared for the cackle!

Like, subscribe, comment and review- xoxo 💫✨

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-cutting-up-a-kiki-with-connie-lina/id1849020008

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/200MOk48TaLRPLQvzx2UK0?si=6499dd094f704a10

iHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1333-the-cutting-up-a-kiki-wit-303161901

Write to us at Kiki@TheCuttingUp.com

And follow us on instagram:

@TheLinaBradford

@TheRealConnieGirl

@PrideHouseMedia

The Cutting Up: A Kiki with Connie & Lina is a Pride House Media production.

Producers: Josh Rosenzweig & Matthew Breen.

Graphic Design by Daryl Raymond.

Original Music by 808 BEACH (John “J-C” Carr & Bill Coleman), courtesy of Peace Bisquit.

 Production Design by Darryl Dickens.

Our very special thanks to Jason Kanner for all your support.