Von Teese: I am too risque for America
Dita Von Teese thinks she’s too risque for her home country.
The American burlesque star thinks nobody has respect for her career as they don’t really understand what she does.
She said: “Some people really think that all I do is wear red lipstick and dress in vintage clothes and cruise around. In France and the UK, they can show what I do on TV. The Jay Lenos of Europe all have me on. In America they’re obsessed with pop stars and maybe they’re a little bit afraid of having me on there because they think what I’m talking about and what I’m doing is too risque.”
Because Dita strips off in her burlesque shows, she thinks it’s all too much for American audiences.
She told US website The Daily Beast: “You see a lot of burlesque-themed nightclubs opening, where there are girls dancing with boas, then the curtains close and that’s it. Especially in America, a lot of the mainstream burlesque acts are taking all of the important elements about the history of burlesque out. I’ve made it my personal mission to stay true to what burlesque was in the ’30s and ’40s and keep striptease in.
“Maybe that makes me a little bit dangerous for an American audience but it’s more important to me that I stay true to the big stars of burlesque - the women who took their clothes off in front of an audience.”
