Barbada de Barbades is the stage name of Sébastien Potvin, a Canadian drag queen and a television host. He is best known as one of the drag house mothers in the reality competition series Call Me Mother.
Career Potvin, the Black Canadian son of a Barbadian father and a Québécois mother, first began performing in drag when he entered the 2005 Star Search drag competition at Cabaret Mado. Although he was eliminated from the competition, he entered again in 2006 and won.Patrick Brunette, "Ils de jour, elles de nuit : En direct de l'univers des drag queens" . Fugues, March 21, 2017. He continued to perform regularly in drag at Cabaret Mado, becoming one of the club's regular headliners and winning Rita Baga's Mx Fierté pageant in 2017.
In 2017, Potvin participated in Ils de jour, elles de nuit, an Ici ARTV documentary series about drag queens, alongside Rita Baga, Gaby, Lady Boom Boom, Lady Pounana, and Tracy Trash."« Ils de jour, elles de nuit », Radio-Canada et Zone3 dévoilent l'univers des drag queens" . Lien Multimédia, April 6, 2017.
Potvin, an elementary school music teacher by profession,Sarah Laou, "Enseignant de jour, drag queen de nuit" . Métro, May 31, 2017. has also been prominently associated with Drag Queen Story Hours in Montreal,Dominique Scali, "Une drag queen lira des contes à des enfants" . Le Journal de Montréal, October 20, 2017. including an annual special event at the Grande Bibliothèque of the ,Valérie Simard, "Une Heure du conte pas comme les autres" . La Presse, August 16, 2019. and is a frequent host of Montreal drag brunch events.JP Karwacki, "Drag Brunch MTL will strut its fabulous stuff once again this summer". Montreal Gazette, May 28, 2021.
Since 2021, he has served as one of the drag house mothers in the first season of the reality competition series Call Me Mother.Ryan Porter, "'Call Me Mother' part of a wave of reality shows with 'RuPaul' alumni being produced by OutTV". Toronto Star, October 25, 2021. The series was the highest-rated original production in OutTV's history.Kelly Townsend, "OUTtv renews original drag format Call Me Mother" . Playback, December 15, 2021. Two days after the first-season finale, OutTV announced the renewal of the series for a second season, which aired in 2022.
In 2022, Potvin debuted as the host of Barbada, a children's series about music which was broadcast by Ici Radio-Canada Télé.Yan Lauzon, "L'univers musical de Barbada" . Le Journal de Montréal, April 2, 2022.
On September 18, 2022, Barbada de Barbades, Rita Baga and Mona de Grenoble presented an award at the Prix Gémeaux ceremony, reading the nominees before bringing out Gisèle Lullaby, the third season winner of Canada's Drag Race, to announce the winner.Caroline Bertrand, "Les drags brillent sur la scène des Gémeaux" . Métro, September 18, 2022.
In 2023, she also hosted the first season of the drag design competition series Sew Fierce.Christopher Turner, "New Drag Competition Series 'Sew Fierce' Shines A Spotlight On Drag Designers & Costumers" . In Magazine, April 13, 2023.
In 2025 she was announced as having a supporting role in the upcoming television series adaptation of Bon Cop, Bad Cop.Marc-André Beaulieu, "«Bon Cop, Bad Cop»: Colm Feore se désiste, découvrez l'acteur qui le remplacera". 7 Jours, July 2, 2025. In September 2025, Barbada was a co-host of Drag! d’la tête aux pieds on TFO alongside drag queen Sami Landri.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2025 OutSpoken: Scene Queen Montreal Himself (in drag) Interviewee, Documentory
Television Year Title Role Notes 2017 Ils de jour, Elles de nuit Himself (in and out of drag) Documentary television series 2021—2022 Call Me Mother Himself (in drag) Mother/mentor 2022 Barbada Himself (in drag) Host 2023 Sew Fierce Himself (in drag) Host 2024 Big Brother Célébrités Himself (out of drag) 2025 Drag! d'la tête aux pieds Himself (in drag) Co-hosted with Sami Landri 2026 Bon Cop, Bad Cop Barbada
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