It was a Saturday afternoon in May 2019. If you were standing in the middle of Times Square, you probably smelled it before you saw it. That distinct, acrid scent of burning plastic and fried electrical components. Then, the crowd noticed: smoke was billowing from a massive digital screen at the corner of West 43rd Street and Broadway.
The screen wasn't just showing anything. It was looping a high-budget Pride Month campaign for SKYY Vodka. And the face staring back at the panicked tourists through a veil of actual orange flames?
Trixie Mattel.
Naturally, the internet did what it does best. It turned a potentially dangerous infrastructure failure into the most iconic drag meme of the decade. But looking back years later, the trixie mattel billboard fire is more than just a funny tweet—it was a weirdly perfect metaphor for a career that was quite literally exploding at the time.
The Day Times Square Nearly Burned Down (Kind of)
Okay, "burned down" is a bit much. But for a few minutes, things looked pretty dicey. On May 18, 2019, around 3:00 PM, an electronic billboard began to malfunction. Digital billboards are basically just giant, heat-generating computers exposed to the elements. Sometimes, they short out.
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This one shorted out hard.
Witnesses on the ground started posting videos of flames licking up the side of the display. The weirdest part? The ad kept playing. Even as the screen melted and black smoke choked the air, Trixie Mattel's face continued to beam down, selling vodka with a wink while the world around her was on fire.
The FDNY responded fast. They had to shut down a massive chunk of Broadway to get the trucks in. No one was seriously hurt, though one person reportedly twisted an ankle in the scramble to get away from the smoke. By 4:00 PM, the fire was out, leaving behind a charred, black husk where a drag queen had just been.
Trixie’s Reaction: The Tweet Heard 'Round the World
If you know Trixie, you know she isn't the type to post a "thoughts and prayers" message without a side of irony. Honestly, her response is what turned a local news blip into a global trending topic.
While the fire was still being extinguished, she hopped on Twitter (now X) and dropped the line that everyone still quotes:
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"My Times Square billboard is on fire so some of us have real problems."
She didn't stop there. She followed up by telling fans to keep their "loved ones and billboards closer today" and joked that since Melissa Joan Hart had recently unfollowed her, the fire was clearly the next logical step in her downward spiral.
It was a masterclass in branding.
Instead of being the victim of a weird accident, she became the "Skinny Legend" who was too hot for New York City to handle. Fans started streaming her song "Yellow Cloud" as a joke "tribute" to the fallen signage.
Why the Trixie Mattel Billboard Fire Still Matters
You might think, "It’s just a fire, who cares?" But in the world of celebrity marketing, this was a unicorn event.
- Authenticity in Chaos: Most brands would have put out a sanitized PR statement about safety protocols. Trixie leaned into the absurdity. It reinforced her "unbothered" persona that fans obsess over.
- The "Drag Race" Effect: At the time, Trixie had recently won RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 3. This billboard was a sign of drag going mainstream. Having it catch fire was like the universe saying, "Okay, we see you, but calm down."
- The SKYY Vodka Connection: This wasn't a small-time gig. This was a major corporate partnership. The fact that the fire happened during a Pride campaign made it feel strangely symbolic—a literal "flaming" billboard during the most "flaming" month of the year.
Misconceptions: Was it a Stunt?
I've seen people in Reddit threads and TikTok comments claiming this was a controlled marketing stunt.
It absolutely wasn't.
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The FDNY does not shut down Times Square for a PR stunt. The city of New York doesn't let you set fire to a multi-million dollar piece of real estate just to get some clicks on a vodka ad. It was a genuine electrical fire caused by a mechanical failure in the LED panels.
The fact that it happened to be Trixie's face on the screen was just a gift from the comedy gods.
What Happened Next?
The billboard was eventually repaired, but the legend lived on. In the years since, Trixie has used the "on fire" motif in various ways.
More importantly, it highlighted the shift in how we consume "news." Most people didn't find out about the fire from ABC 7 or the New York Post. They found out because Trixie Mattel told them her billboard was burning.
It’s a bizarre footnote in the history of New York City, but for fans of drag, it’s a core memory. It’s the moment the world realized that even when things are literally crashing and burning, Trixie Mattel is going to find a way to make it about her—and we're all going to love her for it.
Actionable Insights for the Curious
If you're looking to dive deeper into this weird era of pop culture, here is what you should do:
- Check the Archives: Look up the original Twitter threads from May 18, 2019. The fan art that came out of the fire is genuinely hilarious.
- Watch the Documentary: Trixie’s documentary, Moving Parts, covers her life around this time. It gives you a great sense of the pressure she was under while her face was literally melting off a building in Manhattan.
- Safety First: If you're ever in Times Square and see a billboard sparking, don't stop for a selfie. Move toward 7th Avenue and let the professionals handle it.
The billboard is gone, the vodka has been drunk, and Trixie is busier than ever. But every May, when the weather gets warm, someone, somewhere, is going to repost that photo of the burning screen. And honestly? They should.
It’s art.