“RuPaul’s Drag Race” Episode 1604: Sadder Gay Night Live

Live from New York it’s… me writing a recap of that awful episode of Drag Race. But there’s something kind of refreshing about an episode of Drag Race being bad because of the performances and outcomes and not because anything morally reprehensible occurred. Small blessings.

But first! In the aftermath of last week, Geneva is still convinced she shouldn’t have been in the bottom. She says if the other queens want to play the game, she can play the game too. By “the game” does she mean “doing good drag” because she really should’ve started that in episode one. I kid, I kid. But I do think it’s a bad sign for a queen’s ability to improve if they’re delusional about weeks they do poorly. The first step to getting better is being able to take critique!

It’s a new day in the workroom and the queens are doing a sketch comedy challenge called RDR Live that’s a riff on SNL. As a kid of read all 800 pages of Live from New York: The Complete Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live experience, I feel it is my right to say that even during its best years, SNL is a show that is not funny more frequently than it’s funny. But the Drag Race comedy challenges make The Californians look like Wayne’s World. Making a comedy challenge based on SNL? Let’s just say I’m having a good time… not.

There’s some drama as the queens cast their roles. Sapphira and Mirage both want to host. Sapphira lets Mirage take the part and Mirage quickly regrets it. And then Plasma and Dawn both want to do Weekend Update. Dawn, Amanda, and Q have formed a little clique and want to do that sketch together. Dawn, fairly, points out that the other available role is a Barbra Streisand impression. Clique or no clique, of course Plasma should do Streisand! Plasma is upset that she “can’t sit at the lunch table” and I am begging adult queers to understand we are not in high school anymore, we’re all faggots who were bullied, and you’re not always the victim.

Anyway, the roles are cast and Ru and Ross come around to talk to the queens. Xunami, Morphine, Geneva, and Mhi’ya admit they’ve never done sketch before. They talk to Mhi’ya about needing to open up, desperately trying to craft and arc that may or may not arrive.

As the queens get ready for the sketches and runway, Mirage talks about being Apache and performing at Indigenous Pride. Xunami and Geneva then bond over being Dreamers as they talk about DACA. On the other side of the workroom, Dawn is asking about OnlyFans and Amanda says that her day job is ghost writing messages for straight girl creators.

Sarah Michelle Gellar is the guest judge!! The writers — likely the same ones responsible for the sketches soon to come — have Sarah say, “I’ve been slaying bitches for years.” Um… “I’ve been slaying for years” was RIGHT THERE.

The first sketch is about the world ending and has Geneva playing Lindsay Graham even though she clearly did not know — and failed to ask — who he is. Mirage is hosting and stumbles over her words. Then Jane and Megami do a sketch about selling decks filled with dick jokes and it’s at least slightly less awful. Then Ru is the musical guest singing a song where she says “giddy up” a lot. Amanda and Dawn host weekend update with a series of painful “jokes” and Q on as “the brick from Stonewall” in a performance I would describe as… adequate. Finally, Nymphia, Sapphira, and Plasma are three members of a Barbra Shop Quartet which has no jokes other than that pun. Plasma, does in fact, shine — relatively — in this role.

The runway is Everything Every Cher All the Time and it is a RELIEF after those “comedy” performances. I am so horny for Morphine in Cher’s 1989 Academy Award look. Nymphia as Egyptian Goddess Cher and Sapphira as 2017 Vegas Residency Cher are both stunning as well.

The tops are Jane, Q, and Plasma. The bottoms are Mhi’ya, Geneva, and Mirage. They make Sarah Michelle Gellar lie and pretend like any of the performances were good. Mhi’ya does a bad Cher impression that makes Ru laugh and maybe factored into her being safe.

Plasma wins, because her performance was the best and because they’re trying to Jan Q. Mhi’ya is indeed safe which means Geneva and Mirage are lip-syncing to the Buffy theme. Mirage wishes. No, they’re lip syncing to “Dark Lady” by Cher which has a lot of words and Mirage knows none of them.

It sucks because Mirage is a good dancer and is still more fun to watch than Geneva even if there is no sync to her lips. But I understand they couldn’t let Mirage stay when she didn’t know any of the words. Personally, I think it should have been a double elimination.

Mirage is distraught and can’t even bring herself to say an exit line. All the other queens are crying too. It’s awful. Almost as awful as those comedy sketches.

Teleport Us to Mars!! Here Are Some Random Thoughts:

+ They may be friends, but I love that as Q was painting herself to look like a literal brick, she said she was painting herself to be Amanda.

+ I maintain that RuPaul Charles has earned the right to do her little musical numbers whenever she would like.

+ During Untucked, Mirage chugs a drink and then tells a bunch of people she doesn’t know the words to the song. I wonder if that’s why Ru and the producers had her perform. Because, sure, she wasn’t good, but nobody was… and her runway was way better than Mhi’ya’s.

+ Queen I’m rooting for: Morphine, Sapphira, Nymphia

+ Queen I’m horniest for: Morphine

+ Queen I want to go home: Geneva

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” Episode 1603 Recap: Mommy Issues

Finally some drama! After years of camaraderie — with maybe a villain or two — Drag Race has finally gathered together a collection of bitches. Thank God because Untucked was getting boring.

It’s the first post-premiere episode, which means our week two queens and week one queens are meeting. While I maintain that Jane is a bit too eager to embrace bitchiness without backing it up with wit and talent, her assessment of the week one queens was extremely accurate. Mostly that she says she’s a Morphine stan — they kind of have the same mom — and an Amanda hater — she doesn’t know her just based on vibes.

Meanwhile, Plasma flops even harder at bitchiness saying she knows Sapphira sang bass which feels kind of racist and kind of transphobic. Take a lesson from Jane: Don’t punch down identity-wise, do punch down talent-wise.

But Sapphira can’t be bothered, because along with Jane, she’s been gifted immunity potion for her win in the premiere. Ru explains they can use this potion for themself or for somebody else and that more rules will be explained later.

This episode is a ball! The mother of all balls! Look one is Mother Goose (an outfit inspired by a nursery rhyme), look two is Signifanct Mother (an outfit inspired by a famous mom), and look three is Call Me Mother/Father Eleganza (an outfit made by the queens out of menswear).

Another white twink makes the mistake of coming for Sapphira. She’s working on a denim gown which Dawn sarcastically calls groundbreaking. “You can be groundbreaking, I’ll just be stunning,” Sapphira fires back solidifying herself as one of my favorites of the season.

My other favorite Morphine has a little back and forth with fellow Miami queen Mhi’ya. Even after admitting she doesn’t sew — on season 16?? come on, babe! — she says she doesn’t expect much from Morphine because she only cares about being pretty. (It’s working!) Morphine meanwhile tells Ru she doesn’t know Mhi’ya, but she knows of her. “I’ve seen her perform a couple of times. I’ve given her a dollar,” she adds, a smirk on her pretty face.

Ru keeps things light(?) talking to Q about her grandma teaching her to sew but then disowning her. And then she tells Amanda she looks prettier without makeup. I agree?? Out of drag, I’m like oh Amanda you seem nice, you look pretty, I don’t hate you. It’s just her drag! But Ru picked her so I’m not sure why she gets to act surprised.

They’re doing rate-a-queen again, but this time someone is going home. Also they get to pick the top three and bottom three but Ru gets to pick the winner and which queens are lip syncing. Ever the chaos demon, Ru also leaves the results from the premieres.

Group 1:

1. Sapphira
2. Q
3. Dawn
4. Mirage
5. Morphine
6. Xunami
7. Amanda

Group 2:

1. Jane
2. Geneva
3. Nymphia
4. Plasma
5. Mhi’ya
6. Hershii
7. Megami

Morphine is mad that she’s ranked 5th and I’m mad on her behalf!

With talent and charm, Nymphia is the star of this episode. Not only are her looks great — more on that later — but while others are stressing she has time to flutter around the workroom being funny and chaotic. Morphine teaches her to say dirty things in Spanish to which she proudly declares herself trilingual.

The guest judge this week is Isaac Mizrahi along with Michelle and Carson. Without Ross and his botox, this panel is OLD. Good for them! I kind of like the vibe of elders dolling out advice and judgment to baby queens. Feels less absurd than last season when legend Sasha Colby was receiving critiques from peers.

There are a lot of looks this week so I’m just going to highlight some of them. For Mother Goose, Geneva is dressed as Miss Moffat which she describes as 1800s whore but feels more like 1980s sleeping bag. Jane is Pussycat by Fire but looks more like Rum Tum Tugger. The obvious standouts are Q with Man on the Moon, Nymphia with Little Boy Blue (she looks like Orlando!), and, my personal fave, Sapphira as Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater.

The weakest category of the night is Significant Mother. Some of the looks were good, but none wowed me. I did appreciate the sentiment of Nymphia’s Angelina wedding look — personal notes and drawings on the back included. And Geneva dressed as Salma Hayek at the Magic Mike’s Last Dance premiere is an excuse for me to say that movie is very underrated.

The deconstructed menswear looks were much better. Even Mirage who was struggling the whole episode really managed to pull off something that was at least really hot. Morphine is also hot in a denim bodysuit with a witch hat which admittedly has little clarity of vision but is, again, very hot. The obvious standouts are Q with her sculpted collar and Nymphia with her windblown tie look. Outfits like these are why the balls are my favorite episodes.

It’s rate-a-queen and Jane puts Nymphia first to atone for her sins. The final tops are Q, Nymphia, and Sapphira, and the bottoms are Mhi’ya, Geneva, and Hershii. These feel correct.

If I’d been participating in Ru’s version of The Circle, my ranking would have been:

1. Nymphia
2. Q
3. Sapphira
4. Dawn
5. Morphine
6. Xunami
7. Mirage
8. Jane
9. Plasma
10. Hershii
11. Geneva
12. Mhi’ya
13. Amanda

Nymphia wins making Q runner-up for the second week in a row. But, to be honest, there was no way Nymphia couldn’t win.

Mhi’ya is declared safe — Ru and the producers definitely want to see if they can get a quiet queen comes out of her shell storyline — which means it’s Geneva and Hershii lip syncing to “Maybe You’re the Problem” by Ava Max.

It’s not a great lip sync, but Geneva wins. It feels inevitable but I’m still sad! Hershii was so nice! Alas even Miss Congeniality needs to know how to sew.

Teleport Us to Mars!! Here Are Some Random Thoughts:

+ Once again wishing Jane was a bit better at creating drama. During Untucked, she insults Amanda, but there’s no shade to it! It’s just blunt.

+ Hershii worrying that going home means she won’t get more work and won’t be able to provide for her kids broke my heart.

+ Morphine calls Nymphia’s final look one of the best in Drag Race history and I have to agree.

+ Geneva saying she was only in the bottom because the queens were being shady has kind of turned me against her forever. I don’t like when queens lack total self-awareness! Also if that were true, Ru would’ve made her safe instead of having her lip sync.

+ Queen I’m rooting for: Nymphia, Q, Sapphira, and Morphine

+ Queen I’m horniest for: Morphine, my Instagram handle is my full name @drewburnettgregory

+ Queen I want to go home: Amanda, Mhi’ya, Geneva — let’s get some double eliminations started.

Peppermint on Her New Comedy Special, Trans Dating, and the Best of New York Drag

Most drag performers are multi-hyphenates, but few are as successful in their various hyphenates as Peppermint. Since placing second on season nine of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Peppermint has originated a role in the Broadway show Head Over Heels, appeared on multiple TV shows including Pose and God Friended Me, released her second album and four EPs, wrote and starred in a short film based on one of those EPs, co-led the drag competition show Call Me Mother, and now has just released her first comedy special, So-SIGH-ety Effects. Her singing voice — well-suited for both showtunes and sexy, sexy R&B — is matched only by her political voice. Peppermint is an artist who takes her platform seriously, a model of talent and community care.

I was lucky enough to talk to Peppermint about her new special, the ever-exhausting topic of dating while trans, and the many ways Broadway needs to evolve.

Peppermint: I’m so sorry I’m late!

Drew: That’s totally okay. If there are two things I know, it’s LA traffic and working late on a Joey Soloway project so whichever one of those it was is understandable. (laughs)

Peppermint: Both. (laughs)

Drew: So you’re in LA right now rehearsing for the Transparent musical. Where are you at in that process?

Peppermint: Just a few days into rehearsals for the production.

Drew: Oh wow!

Peppermint: The project is obviously inspired by the TV show, and it’s been in the minds of a few folks for years now. They’ve been focusing on this production for about a year, and the past couple of months there have been a few workshops. But we’re only a few days into working with the cast that will be performing it this summer.

Drew: You also originated your role in Head Over Heels. What’s the difference between originating a role and just being cast in a production. Because you have also played Angel in Rent, right?

Peppermint: Yes! I mean, it wasn’t even a regional production. It was a community theatre production that was part of a one-act festival in Wilmington, Delaware. With Aubrey Plaza of all people!

Drew: Oh my God!

Peppermint: Among lots of other fabulous people. Delaware, you know, we have some folks.

But I don’t have that much experience to compare originating vs. not, because doing a show on Broadway and doing a community theatre production are so different in other ways. That said, being able to breathe life into a character that has already been performed before allows a lot of source material and sometimes even inspiration. With something like Rent, I didn’t have to do that much studying for the character. This was back in the 90s, about a year after the show had opened on Broadway, so it was fresh on everybody’s mind. I was a fan of the show. Everybody was.

That’s one of the things originating doesn’t provide. You just have your imagination and whatever the text gives you. But then logistically for theatre, before it can get to Broadway or be professionally produced, it has to go through readings and workshops, which is hours and hours of time, thought, consideration, trial and error, experimentation, rehearsal, rehearsal, rehearsal, rehearsal, and editing. A song has the same music but completely different words, oh we’re putting the words back in but now it’s a rock song. That doesn’t happen if you’re just going to do a guest spot or what they call “the celebrity track” in a Broadway show that’s been running for many years. Also there’s an element that I’ll be associated with, let’s say, Head Over Heels, for a long time even if I’m not doing it.

Drew: Do you have classic Broadway roles that you dream of doing or do you prefer to focus on new work?

Peppermint: No, I don’t have classic Broadway roles I want to do. Of course, there are roles if someone offered me the opportunity and money — money! — to do, I’d consider it. I mean, I love performing on the stage. But I think professional theatre has a lot of catching up to do with the racial and ethical reckoning we’ve had over the past few years. The producers are starting to understand that there’s an adjustment that needs to be made, the casting directors are understanding it. But the gatekeepers are still keeping a lot of the writing out. All we have are these mainstay theatrical productions that never have room for people like me. So I never imagined myself in those shows. And they didn’t imagine me either.

I remember being told by one of my professors in college that I was great but that there was no work for me so I should save myself the trouble and go do something else. And I did. So no, there aren’t any roles I can see myself in or want to see myself in. Because with these older productions that are still hanging around, making somebody money, a lot of them still have problematic content in them. So we have to figure out the casting and we have to figure out the content. And, you know, that producer said a couple years ago that trans people can’t do Broadway because it’s just a gimmick and we shouldn’t rewrite the classics. So if that’s how they feel, then no. I don’t want to bring my energy to a production like that, because a show takes a lot of energy and time and care. I say, let those old relics die.

Drew: I appreciate you bringing up the text as well. Because a lot of the producers who are willing to cast more inclusively aren’t willing to engage with what that casting means for the show or make changes to the text in ways that would service that version. Even if they’re willing to plop certain actors in, which is great from an employment standpoint, it’s not meaningfully changing the work in a way that’s needed.

Peppermint: Or even the music!

Drew: Yeah! That’s real.

Peppermint: The keys. I heard through the grapevine about a popular show that closed last year and one of the administrators said they wanted to cast somebody who is trans but they didn’t want to touch anything about the show. They don’t even want to change the keys. And okay, sure, they want to find somebody who fits the bill, but there’s a reason why some of these things need to change to actually be inclusive. If they wanted to cast somebody who is voluptuous or bigger in a role that’s previously been played by thin people, they’re going to have to change the costume! You can’t just expect somebody to fit in the same thing. So it’s the same with the music and the text.

Drew: Absolutely. Thank you for saying that.

Switching to your special, what was the writing process like for So-SIGH-ety Effects?

Peppermint: It was actually really amazing. It was like a crash course in comedy. As a drag entertainer, I’ve always used comedy in my shows, but I certainly don’t consider myself a comedy act. I don’t think most people would. And while I understand the technical aspects of comedy and that world, doing a comedy special was far down the list of things I was going to propose. So when Comedy Dynamics approached me about it, I was honestly like, me? Really? But the writing was on the wall over the past couple of years that we would be in this moment legislatively with regards to anti-LGBT sentiment and anti-drag sentiment. So I wanted to take the opportunity to tell our stories, tell my story, tell a trans story. And I know that people learn best while laughing. Audiences need more trans comics. There certainly are a handful of well-known trans comics, but we need more. So that was my inspiration.

One of the things that was important to me was being able to tell something that felt authentic. And I believe I did that. I just told some wackadoodle stories about things that have happened to me as a trans person navigating everything from bathrooms to jobs to love to family. There are plenty of stories that can be looked at through a comedic lens, so that’s what we did.

I got together with Kellye Howard who’s a brilliant comic out of Chicago. We actually wrote it together while I was in Canada filming Call Me Mother, and then she met me in New York and we finished it and finetuned it in about a week. That’s very short for a comedy special. Most of the comics we know and love workshop their material for months if not a year. But we didn’t have that kind of time.

I’m really grateful that I was able to do it. It was a great experience. The folks at Comedy Dynamics along with the Producer Entertainment Group were a wonderful bunch to work with. I hope people like it!

Audiences need more trans comics. There certainly are a handful of well-known trans comics, but we need more. So that was my inspiration.

Drew: I think you do a really good job at finding humor in some pretty harsh things. Like the guy who goes full Crying Game vomiting after a hookup. It’s the sort of thing that can inspire pity, and instead you inspire laughs.

Peppermint: Yeah, I mean, these things happen, and many of these stories in the moment feel really depressing. But then, sitting around with my girlfriends, we laugh about it. We’re like, “Girl, can you believe this. You went through it too? Same guy??”

Drew: (laughs)

Peppermint: Then we really have to laugh.

Drew: Speaking of dating, you’ve toured around the world, and you even talk about finding love in Ireland. When you’re on tour are you on the apps in different cities? Have you found that dating as a trans woman varies in different cities and different countries?

Peppermint: Yes. I think the starkest differences are state to state. Even though I’ve obviously been to other countries and enjoyed the wares.

I mean, let’s be real, the message has been sent that the men around are not looking to wife a trans woman. I’m not saying that none of them are, but it’s obvious there are challenges being trans and dating. Even just having to disclose and explain something about your trans existence and how it might fit into their world in terms of dating or even sex. So I go onto the apps with a grain of salt. I’m not looking for no husband if I’m up in Schenectady for two days.

Drew: (laughs) Sure.

Peppermint: (laughs) That being said, I actually met the Irish guy while I was in the States. So it just so happened that I got to a place in my career where I was able to travel the world. And I’ve had a handful of long distance relationships since then. I’m actually in a long distance situationship right now, which we’ll see how that goes. And that’s only because I left New York and am in Los Angeles. Quite temporarily. But it has been a challenge. I know there are some dating apps that have been around for years that are more LGBT friendly. There are a couple of new dating apps that are trans-focused that I’ve used the least for obvious reasons. Or at least obvious for people who are trans. But I do have high hopes, despite what we’re facing. I know the message being sent out by lawmakers probably sends a message to our potential partners that we aren’t desirable sociably. So that’s a bump in the road, but I do think it’s inevitable that we will be fully included and immersed in the world of dating. Then we’ll just be able to deal with the BS cis women deal with — which we already do, of course.

Drew: Do you feel like you’re able to tell the difference between regular challenges of dating and trans-specific challenges? That’s something I’ve struggled with over the years. Trying to learn to not take everything on as related to transness. Trying to let go of that assumption, because sometimes dating just sucks for everybody. I mean, sometimes it’s obviously transphobic because they’ll say. But with the rest, are you able to tell the difference?

Peppermint: I don’t know that I am. I mean, obviously when something is ending all you have is speculation. If you have someone who is well-spoken, emotionally available, and invested in having good communication at all stages of the relationship, then you’ll probably be able to tell the difference. Sadly, I don’t think most cisgender men carry those characteristics very well, so if that’s who you’re dating then you’re left wondering what’s happening and filling in the blanks for your damn self. But I was relieved that my most significant recent breakup, we did break up for what I believe to be normal everyday relationship things. And he and I are still friends to this day. We broke up right before the pandemic and parted ways for a couple years, but now we have a newer friendship. And that’s because, as young as he was, he was really invested in good communication. I can only speak, sadly, as a heterosexual, but hopefully men in this new age — cis or trans — will engage with being better partners.

Drew: I really like what you say in the special about trans people being forced to be more mature. So often in cultural rhetoric, there’s this idea of trans people having a second puberty and being immature. But that’s so focused on the early months and years of transition as if we don’t, hopefully, live long lives after that. I really appreciated you saying that, because I’m not sure I’ve ever heard anyone say actually because of the shit we have to deal with we’re possibly more mature.

Peppermint: Yeah, I certainly believe it. I mean, I’ve met some immature trans folks and I’m like… girl… honey. But I even think that can sometimes be people projecting how they want to be perceived whether it’s ditzy or just not making good choices. Anyway, there are all sorts of people all around the world, so, of course, I’m generalizing.

Dr. Angela Davis said something that really connects with my feelings about trans people going through certain experiences. I’m paraphrasing, but she says that trans people can show us what it means to live fully in the human experience without being held back by the gender binary, the sex binary, the sexuality binary, that we operate in as a society. That’s the way of the future. Being less constricted by these things. And trans people are already doing that. Not all, but many of us in the movement are. And that gives me hope for the future. There were times where trans people, nonbinary people, gender nonconforming people, were elevated to a point of reverence in cultural and religious circles historically in the Americas, in Europe, in South America, in India, all over. If society was able to see those people as elevated and anointed in a way then maybe society will get back around to that.

Drew: You talk about trans people and you specifically being on high alert for danger. How do you find a balance between being prepared in order to protect yourself while not living in a constant state of anxiety?

Peppermint: I mean, a lot of that probably also connects to me being a New Yorker. (laughs)

Drew: I transitioned while I was in New York and spent my first years there so…

Peppermint: So you get it.

Drew: Yes.

Peppermint: And this actually brings us back to dating in different areas. Because this is where I’m stuck. On the one hand, I do want a progressive, forward-thinking partner. But on the other hand, a good ol’ traditional moment can sometimes be appreciated. Sometimes you meet guys in the midwest or in the south who aren’t prejudiced or discriminatory and want to open the door for their trans partner, are okay going on a date before expecting sex, all of those things that are part of courtship, I’m not saying those things don’t happen in places like LA and New York, but the guys in LA and New York know what they want and know the terminology and oftentimes just want to cut to the chase and get what they’re going to get. So that’s an interesting dichotomy.

In regards to being on high alert, I often speak about and use my platform to shine a light on the violence trans people face globally and in the country, the discrimination that LGBTQ people face. I try my best to use my platform to talk about that in a way that will allow the rest of the society to see how their microaggressions and biases and how society in general perpetuates that discriminatory treatment and violence. It’s important for me to talk about those things. But now that I’ve been on television and have been able to get to a certain point in my career, I’m lucky that I’m not confronted with those things as often as many other people. So even if I’m not on high alert like I used to be, I want to highlight that there are people who are in that situation. I don’t like to focus on medical transition, but that can play a part in how people perceive you especially when mid-medical transition. I certainly experienced that myself. And so even if I’m further along in my journey, it’s important for me to advocate for those who are less far along if they’re going to medical transition or even socially transition in a way that allows other people to judge and discriminate against them. But I’m grateful that now I don’t walk through the streets fearing for my life.

Drew: You open the special with your song “Best Sex” from your 2020 EP, and I wanted to talk about the short film you made to coincide with that EP. I saw April Maxey’s film Work when I was on the Outfest jury last summer and I think she’s so talented. How did the Girl Like Me film come about and what was that collaboration like?

Peppermint: It was written because of the pandemic and how the world became. I knew that I wanted to do some music videos for the EP but we didn’t know how to do that given the moment. Like were we really going to fly back and forth and make videos for all these songs? So we decided to just get everybody together, test them, film in a week, and do it all at once. Because this was 2020.

We were looking for a director and we ended up meeting April through some people on my team and April was wonderful. I loved working with her. We were initially going to have her back for part two but she had to move onto another project and it didn’t work out with scheduling. We are currently fine-tuning and finalizing part two right now though.

Drew: Oh that’s so exciting!

Peppermint: Yeah!

Drew: Before we go, I’m purposefully not asking you any questions about Drag Race or about how Drag Race has evolved in terms of trans performers or why it took so long, because I’ll save that for if I ever talk to RuPaul or any of the execs at World of Wonder. That’s not your business.

Peppermint: Thank you very much.

Drew: But we are talking a few days after Sasha Colby was crowned. And I just, honestly, wanted to thank you, because I do think you being on the show when you were and dealing with all the bullshit that came along with that has allowed the show to be where it is now. So I don’t have any questions about Drag Race, but I did want to just note that for our readers and thank you for putting up with whatever the challenges were of that visibility and that moment in time.

Peppermint: Thank you. I appreciate that. There were some challenges. I’m grateful for my time on the show. I’m so excited and happy for Sasha. She’s obviously very skilled and very professional. She’s definitely my kind of drag entertainer. So I’m really happy for her. And, honestly, I’m really happy for the top four that made it to the finale. I remember how terrifying it was for our group. And I did feel an added pressure being trans on the show, how would the community receive it, how would the world receive it, how would the show handle it. And for the most part, I had an experience that I’m grateful for. And I’m grateful for the things that I’ve been able to do since the show. I hope I made an impact somehow.

Drew: Something I also feel very strongly about is that there’s a whole world of drag outside of RuPaul’s Drag Race. So I did also want to take a moment to ask, are there any drag performers or drag bars that you want to shout out?

Peppermint: Certainly, I believe that people should go to New York City, and even though there’s been all this talk about how the world has changed and New York isn’t the same and this and that, New York is still a wonderful city because it attracts so many different types of people with so many different skill sets. We all mix and mingle with each other, along with our talents, our careers, our conversations, in a way that in other cities you don’t necessarily get to do, because people just drive in or drive out. But in New York, you’re just in really close proximity to people, including in the drag performer scene. I think I had a really singular view of drag performers before I moved to New York City. And then in New York, I met people who were wonderful performers, great vocalists, and I’m talking 20 years ago when the definition of drag was just lip syncing. I also met drag queens who were legit models and didn’t even perform. They wouldn’t go to the stage, they’d just stand and look gorgeous. Obviously Drag Race has touched upon some of the archetypes of drag, but there are so many more.

There are some girls who I’m really loving right now in New York, and they aren’t even the newest girls. But they are New Yorkers. Pixie Aventura is a brilliant drag entertainer in New York. I also love Bootsie Lefaris. She is wildly inappropriate and such a kook and just wrong in every way that’s just right. And then there’s another performer — people might not think she’s a drag entertainer but I would say she is — Narcissister who mixes the worlds of burlesque, performance art, and drag. She’s fantastic. So people should check out those three folks. I’m sure they have stuff online and then when you come to New York you should see them.

Drew: I love how much you love New York. I love it too. Whenever I’m not there, I miss it.

Peppermint: Me too. I’ve only been gone for a few days and I’m already like get me the fuck back there.

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” Episode 1516 Recap: Mother

This is a recap of RuPaul’s Drag Race episode 1516, the season 15 finale. Spoilers below.

It is still RuPaul’s drag race. It doesn’t matter how many years in a row a trans person wins the main season and All Stars. As long as RuPaul is alive, in charge, and hosting, it will be her creation — for better or worse or worst.

Since spoilers got out for season three, the finales of Drag Race have been the most overly constructed episodes of the season. There are exceptions — I’m thinking rose petals, I’m thinking dead butterflies — but for the most part the finales are for celebration, not excitement.

But this year there sure was a lot to celebrate. First of all, this finale features one of the show’s best top fours, led by a frontrunner who from day one frankly felt too good to even be there. We’re also experiencing a moment of transphobia and violence toward drag that makes this kind of mainstream festivity feel worthwhile.

From the opening moments, this capital P Purpose was emphasized. One of the eliminated queens, Aura Mayari, included a big fan that read “Drag is Not a Crime” with her entrance look. And in Ru’s introduction, she echoed this sentence with an added: “But looking this sickening should be.”

On the one hand Ru’s just-vote liberalism should feel more digestible given our current moment. There is something powerful in the shots of crowded gay bars all around the country, many in states where drag is on the precipice of being banned. But any temptation to be in solidarity with Ru inspired within me a sadness — a sadness that my expectations had been reduced to these crumbs.

It makes me so happy that Ts Madison was introduced alongside the other core judges. It’s so exciting that after all these years the biggest platform for drag has finally embraced so many trans performers and icons. But 2018 was not long ago. I will never forget how the show treated Peppermint. I will never forget that these changes happened despite Ru and his cis producers, not because of them. Trans talent was simply undeniable.

But for now let’s get to the first two finalists! We begin with Anetra. She gives an emotional thank you to her dad and then performs a song called, “Lotus.” Anetra is an undeniable talent, but I think her clarity of drag identity peaked with the premiere. I think she still has some years to go before realizing her full potential and that felt evident in this song. It was totally solid! She’s an incredible dancer! It just lacked a certain spark and uniqueness for me.

Not lacking in any spark was Luxx Noir London. Her song “It’s Giving Fashion” was so much fun! The red jumpsuit to red bodysuit reveal was great and I just had a blast with this one. Carson says she gave all the F’s: fashion, face, and ferocity. I would add the most important F: faggotry. Her boyfriend says, “I love everything about them,” and I have to agree.

We then take a break for the first annual Giving Us Lifetime Achievement Award. This year’s recipient is Bob Mackie and of all Ru’s charades this is actually the one that felt the most genuine. I love when we pay tribute to our queer elders, especially when they’re alive, even when those elders are cis white gay men. Ru gets choked up and it makes for a nice moment. I hope this really does become an annual tradition.

Back to our top four! Mistress Isabelle Brooks is dressed as a slutty nurse to perform “Delusion.” It’s a lot of fun! It’s not the best song or the best performance but it’s totally solid. She also says, “Move over ‘Let Loose,’ ‘Delusion’ is coming through,” and I love that she remains shady to the end. It’s also really meaningful to see her chosen family there including her drag mom Chevelle Brooks who tells her that she made her proud, Houston proud, and herself proud.

Thankfully, the alphabet didn’t force anyone to have to follow Sasha Colby. While her Harry Potter references in the intro were a choice, once she started performing “Goddess,” it quickly became clear why she’s the best. Coming out as a snake, the backup dancers moving her braids like snakes, her looking like a SNACK. She’s an incredible dancer and also incredible at flicking her tongue and both are equally important to me. She also has her chosen family there and has a little education moment with Ru about the Hawaiian word māhū. After seasons and seasons of Ru creating forced biological family reunions, it really is so nice to see queer families in this space.

With the solo performances complete, Ru declares the final lip sync. It’s Sasha vs. Anetra. This was clearly pre-planned and not based on the performances thanks to a detail we’ll get to later. Anetra is great and this decision is fine, even if based on the solos I do think Luxx was robbed. I look forward to seeing young queens Luxx and Mistress back on TV in a future All Stars season.

This is when the show took my cognitive dissonance down with the speed of a death drop. A video montage begins with various people reciting the Declaration of Independence. We’re watching a video and performance in support of drag and apparently nothing says drag like the words of Thomas Jefferson. It gets worse. One of the people in the video is a police officer. He’s given more screen time than the drag king. And the video ends with this mix of assimilationist gays and Kevin Bacon saying, “I am American.”

This goes into a performance by Orville Peck and the season’s music producer of the Wig Loose songs with backup lip syncing from the non-finalist season 15 queens. Well, except Sugar, who does not lip sync and just stands there. Anyone else I might’ve wondered if it was in protest, but let’s be reasonable.

If there’s anything the current backlash to decades of progress should reveal, it’s that we cannot assimilate ourselves to freedom. This kind of pro-America, pro-police, gay-people-are-just-like-you bullshit does nothing except reinforce the institutions and values that have oppressed us for centuries. This is not the time to compromise — it’s the time to refocus on what matters most.

RuPaul is RuPaul and I don’t expect her to bring radical politics. But the inclusion of a cop in this jingoistic montage was a step too far. Nearly three years since the June 2020 protests, fifty-four years since Stonewall, this shouldn’t need to be said. But, to be clear, there is no justification for being a police officer. Any LGBT individuals who choose to be police officers have prioritized their own power and the power of a fascist institution over the lives of other queer people. We are past the point of ignorance. I don’t care who a cop is fucking — a cop is a cop.

Who does Ru think is going to enforce the drag bans she’s supposedly fighting against? Cops — including the gay ones. It won’t matter if a cop is taking pleasure in their own bigotry or just following orders. The outcome will be the same.

This segment acts as one of many reminders that Drag Race will always be a bad platform for great performers. The vast majority of what makes the show worthwhile happens despite the people in control.

One such performer is last year’s winner, Willow Pill! She comes out to her song from the previous finale, “I Hate People,” and gives a really lovely speech. She mentions that it’s been a difficult year for her and gives a reminder that it’s okay to go through a rough time. Then she introduces Kornbread dressed as Beast from Beauty and the Beast who raps about all the queens. Her rap includes Luxx and Mistress, and not Sasha or Anetra. which is why it seems the top two was preordained. Malaysia then wins Miss Congeniality, which seems totally random. Mistress looks as annoyed as she should be.

The show could not win me back after its little pro-cop stunt, but it certainly tried! My love Jinkx Monsoon comes out and sings “When You’re Good to Mama.” I didn’t get a chance to see Jinkx in Chicago on Broadway, so I was thrilled to get a chance to see her do this number. Ru then shows a clip from season five of her saying that her dream is to perform in drag on Broadway. That got me!

Finally, it’s time for the top two to lip sync to “Knock on Wood” by Amii Stewart. Anetra is wearing a white bodysuit covered in crystals with a beating red heart and Sasha is in a big black velvet coat dress. When the song starts Sasha takes the coat off to reveal a purple and pink dress.

They’re both exceptional performers, but Sasha Colby is Sasha Colby. This only becomes clearer when they both do their reveals. Anetra pulling the red string of her heart is fun, but Sasha cracks open her dress and emerges in a bikini that shows off all her perfection.

It’s undeniable. Sasha Colby is crowned the winner of Drag Race season 15. She ends the season by saying: “This is for every trans person past, present, and future because we are not going anywhere.”

After Jinkx performed, she quipped to Ru that she might be Mama, but Ru will always be mother. I hope that’s not true. Let’s shake off the mother we’ve been given and, in a grand queer tradition, choose a new one. Ru has evolved as much as she ever will. It’s time to move on. It’s time for a new mother.

Give us what we deserve. Give us Sasha Colby’s Drag Race.

Teleport Us to Mars!! Here Are Some Random Thoughts:

+ My favorite opening look was Salina’s dress with the slice of cake removed.

+ Loosey was dressed as a literal villain. It was certainly a choice!

+ During Luxx’s intro, she says that while she leads with confidence, she still has feelings. This seems like a response to the racism and hate she’s received online. The Drag Race fandom really can be the worst.

+ Mistress notes that Sugar and Spice are only five days younger than her even though they’re her daughters.

+ I loved seeing Kerri Colby and Kylie Sonique Love dancing together during Sasha’s number.

+ Wild that Michelle asked Sasha why it took her so long to be on the show. Ma’am. Ask your friend RuPaul Charles?? Anyway, glad Ru got a bit less transphobic so we could get a season of television with the one, the only, Sasha Colby.

+ And that’s another season! Thanks to everyone who read my recaps. My frustrations with RuPaul and the show aside, it does still feel meaningful to see all these talented performers on TV. I hope a cis person never wins Drag Race again.

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” Episode 1514 Recap: Alien Superstars

This is a recap of RuPaul’s Drag Race episode 1514. Spoilers below.

I love this top four! Ru had me convinced the show was doing a top three this year and while I do think the finales were in need of a shakeup, I was not pleased with that possibility. This is the best top four since the show started doing a top four finale in season eleven — they all deserve their place.

With Loosey gone, this episode is low on drama and big on feelings. Even with the specter of an elimination hanging over the queens, they spend most of this week celebrating themselves and each other.

The main challenge is a music video — with verses of course — to Ru’s song “Blame It On the Edit.” While three of the queens are writing, Luxx takes a nap. A sign of confidence, for sure, but one that will prove itself earned.

The Tic Tac lunch is back, but its origins as a fatphobic dieting joke at least go unmentioned. Sasha goes first and gives Ru exactly what he wants — talk of her saboteur and talk of trauma. She says that she’s uncomfortable with winning and her people-pleasing comes from an old wound of wanting her mom to love her. She then shares that her dad died by suicide and left everything to her which felt like a complicated sign of approval to his trans child.

Anetra’s lunch is a bit lighter — a bit — with her talking about being soft-spoken because she had to be growing up Mormon. Michelle tells Anetra that her lip sync against Marcia was Michelle’s favorite of all time. Anetra then shares that her love of ballroom comes from the internet not actually being a part of the culture — something that has led to some controversy and discussion.

Mistress was also not allowed to be outspoken as a child, but that’s why she’s so outspoken now. She calls out Loosey for being two-sided and Ru says, “We call that an undercover cunt.” I gasped. Mistress ends by saying that she just wants to make her drag family proud shouting out her drag mom Chevelle Brooks.

Luxx, a young queen with a supportive family, acts as a foil to the others. It’s clear Ru sees in Luxx the future that she wants for queer people. Luxx also talks about planning every outfit off stage as well as on — something very evident in her incredible crop top jean suit. Ru is also very excited to find out Luxx went to a high school named after Cicely Tyson.

Music video time! They’re all dressed in a sci-fi aesthetic and look amazing — especially Sasha who is referencing Barb Wire. Mistress struggles with the choreo, which is made even more difficult by the fact that they have to film immediately after learning it. Meanwhile, Luxx picks it up immediately.

While Sasha is dancing, Anetra says, “Sasha is so hot. Am I lesbian?” And while I do not have an answer for her, I do have an answer for me and that answer is yes very much so.

There’s no guest judge this week and the runway theme is Drag Excellence. Anetra is dressed as a grand empress with blue velvet dress with white tassels and pointy white hair. Luxx is in a bridal look, less slutty than usual but still gorgeous. Sasha is in a crystal dress covered in rhinestones with discs on her arms and orchids in her hair. And Mistress, with my favorite look of the night, is in a sixty pound (!) gold dress with beaded cheetah print.

The video performances are as strong as the runways. Even Mistress pulls it off by leading with confidence and having a strong verse. But amid all this excellence, Sasha Colby is easily the standout. She’s remarkable.

The critiques are mostly just gushing, followed by more emotion as the queens talk to their younger selves. Sasha calls drag the love of her life and the picture of baby Sasha in pigtails was so cute I died.

While the judges deliberate, Ru mentions that she challenged herself to have an elimination every week. I did appreciate how the season moved along, but I do think there were times double saves were in order as well as double eliminations. My ideal would be one double save and one double elimination when it’s really earned.

By this point, it was clear that the bottom would be Anetra and Mistress. And, I’m going to be honest, even though I loved Anetra from the beginning, I felt myself leaning toward Mistress.

The queens come back out and Sasha gets her fourth win of the season. Luxx is safe. And Anetra and Mistress lip sync to “When Love Takes Over” by David Guetta and Kelly Rowland. It’s not a song suited to Anetra’s acrobatics so it ends up being a very equal lip sync. And thankfully no choice has to be made.

After all that talk, both queens make it to the finale. As they should! Anetra, Mistress, and Luxx all equally deserve to lose to Sasha Colby.

Teleport Us to Mars!! Here Are Some Random Thoughts:

+ Mistress points out that she is the only queen from her half of the premiere to be in the finale.

+ Mistress also notes that, in her opinion, Malaysia didn’t look anything like her picture.

+ I’m obsessed with Luxx calling herself The Gatekeeper for being involved in all the various “gates” of drama.

+ I just finished watching every George Cukor movie and his second to last movie is a US-USSR co-production kids movie called The Blue Bird where Cicely Tyson plays a cat. She’s great, as always, but I can’t say the movie is worth a watch unless you’re on a lot of drugs.

+ During Untucked, the girls realize the first letter of their names spell SLAM. It’s cute. I would attend the SLAM Tour.

+ Next week is just a reunion episode, so there will be no recap from me. I’m very excited to watch, but there won’t be much to analyze other than summarizing whatever delicious drama we have in store.

+ Queen I’m rooting for: Sasha Colby

+ Queen I’m horniest for: Sasha Colby

+ Queen I want to marry me: Sasha Colby

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” Episode 1513 Recap: Class In Session

This is a recap of RuPaul’s Drag Race episode 1513. Spoilers below.

It could be so simple. Watching a bunch of queens drag up teachers — including a kindergarten teacher! — as they chat about queer acceptance shows how easy it could all be. But bigotry doesn’t exist because it’s complicated. It exists because people are greedy and fearful, selfish and entitled.

It’s the makeover episode and in what I’d consider the show’s biggest political swing of the season, the queens are making over teachers. The Rusical may have directly addressed the drag bans, but this feels like the challenge that actually seems like it could stir up controversy. (By controversy, I mean images from it could appear behind Tucker Carlson as he whines.)

But first we start with Salina’s exit. Her mirror message reads: I guess I got what I deserved. This is clearly a pointed message to Loosey and Anetra for saying she deserved to go home.

Speaking of deserve, Loosey is saying she didn’t deserve to be in the bottom. Sasha says, “Okay let’s get rowdy,” and rowdy they get. Luxx says she 110% believes what she said about Loosey last week and tensions begin to rise even higher.

It’s a new day in the workroom and it’s time for a mini challenge. Norvina from Anastasia Beverly Hills is there to introduce the game show Spill the Tea. The queens have to lift up pictures of each other to answer various questions, like which queen makes them laugh the hardest. It’s all fun and games until they’re asked who is going home next and everyone picks Loosey including Loosey — because she wants to win the game.

Her strategy works which means she wins $5,000 worth of makeup and the chance to pair the queens with their makeover partners. Loosey chooses Mrs. Wallace for herself, an older white woman. She then pairs Mistress with Ms. Tang, a queer Latina with the closest body to hers. And Anetra with Mrs. Mahoney, a thin woman who is also half Filipina. It seems like Loosey is in her congenial era until she gives the one Black teacher, Mrs. March Banks, to Sasha instead of Luxx. Luxx gets Ms. Reyes, who by far looks the least like her new drag mom than any of the others.

I don’t begrudge Loosey for playing the game — even if historically pairing queens with someone more challenging has failed as much as it’s succeeded. But there is something weird about matching the queens up by race except for the Black queen and Black teacher. I don’t think Loosey was thinking about that — but that’s kind of the problem, right?

The longer episode gives us a lot of meaningful time with the pairs. Mrs. Mahoney tells Anetra that Drag Race is her favorite show and they bond over being Filipina. Meanwhile, Loosey bonds with Mrs. Wallace over their big boobs — one in drag, one out of drag. We also get Sasha learning from Mrs. March Banks that she has two kids and watches Drag Race with her husband. Also, she wants padding.

The highlight of the episode is the relationship that forms between Mistress and Ms. Tang. Ms. Tang is queer and first generation and Mistress tells her how meaningful it would’ve been to have her as a teacher. It really is worth remembering that not only should queer teachers be allowed to be open about their lives but that it’s actually beneficial for all the queer students to have that life model. Ms. Tang cries as Mistress talks to her and it’s just really lovely.

Later, when doing the walkthroughs, Ru seems surprised to learn Ms. Tang is queer, which feels very telling from Ru and what his queer world looks like. Even though Ms. Tang only came out a few years ago in her late twenties, she now looks more clockable than me on laundry day.

Luxx makes the mistake of getting thrown by Loosey’s shady pairing. Sure, it’s going to be more of a challenge, but that isn’t Ms. Reyes’ fault! Luxx is so concerned with doing well in the challenge that she fails to really connect with Ms. Reyes — at least at first.

Eventually, Luxx learns that Ms. Reyes’ kids are queer and that she stopped going to their Catholic church in support of them. This melts Luxx a bit and she finally starts to connect more with her new daughter.

The guest judge this week is Hayley Kiyoko, who shares the fun fact that she was in love with her first grade teacher Ms. Spear. If I know anything about Hayley’s taste in women, Ms. Spear was definitely straight.

The first pairs to grace the runway are Sasha and her daughter Ferocity. Their resemblance is great, Ferocity is walking well, and the enhanced padding is a fun touch.

Loosey and her… Aunt Lala also have a lot of resemblance, but as Mistress says that isn’t necessarily a compliment to Lala. Also just call her your drag daughter! Age doesn’t matter!

I’m biased, because I’m always going to be rooting for the gays, but Mistress and her daughter Madame Thang were my favorite. They were very similar without looking as identical as some of the other pairs. They were also totally in sync on the runway.

Luxx and her daughter Asia Azul have the least resemblance. Asia is in a proper dress while Luxx is half naked. And Asia’s dress only has lining the color of Luxx’s outfit. The one thing I’ll say about this pair though is that Luxx made Asia look gorgeous. I do think that’s an underrated part of these challenges — yes, resemblance matters, but for the people being in drag for the first and maybe last time it’s also nice when they get to really feel themselves.

The last pair is Anetra and her daughter Alexa. They are in nearly identical pink and black velvet outfits. I don’t know why I didn’t feel more enthusiastic about them! Like they did the assignment, and did it well. And I do like the outfit. I guess I prefer when the looks are in the same family, but still different. When the queens are backstage, Ross says that this pair is proof you don’t have to look similar which feels very odd to me, because they do look similar, they’re just different heights.

The judges mostly give praise, only calling out Luxx for the lack of resemblance and Loosey for a discordant runway and missing some design details. Believe it or not, Loosey will not agree with these critiques.

They have the teachers lip sync to Ru’s “Champion” and it’s very sweet to watch the teachers all have fun. They all win, but honestly Ferocity was the real winner! Mother Sasha taught her well.

Mistress is safe. Sasha is safe. Anetra wins. Again, I’m fine with this. (I love Anetra obviously.) But, personally, I would’ve given the win to Mistress.

This means Loosey and Luxx are lip syncing to “For the Girls” by the guest judge herself. Luxx fights for her life and I was HORNY. This might be the shadiest lip sync I’ve seen. Every flip and turn from Luxx seemed to scream, “SEE I’M BETTER THAN YOU.” And she is.

Luxx wins. And, for the last time in the workroom but certainly not the last time in her life, Loosey feels slighted. She says she deserved to be in the finale. I’d argue she deserved to be eliminated in the first episode when she couldn’t hit a note in front of Ariana Grande.

I guess everyone is entitled to an opinion. And Loosey certainly knows something about being entitled.

Teleport Us to Mars!! Here Are Some Random Thoughts:

+ Unlike Loosey I can admit when I’m wrong. So let me take this moment to say I was absolutely wrong about the hour long episodes. Since having the hour and a half episodes back, the show has been so much better. I didn’t realize quite how much those rushed edits were hurting.

+ There was some drama this week with a video being posted of Salina calling out Ross. But World of Wonder swooped in because soon enough Salina was on Twitter apologizing. I do think the judges, Ross especially, were not open to Salina’s drag! And I think it’s fair to question Ross’ fashion knowledge!

+ I was worried about these teachers’ jobs given how things have escalated since last summer. But since they’re given trips to Palm Springs at end, I’m guessing they’re all based in Los Angeles. And, hopefully, LA is still a safe place to be a teacher and  be on Drag Race.

+ Untucked was a lot of fun with Mistress stoking the ever-growing feud between Loosey and Luxx. I don’t need to get into specifics, but I do think Anetra is right in her confessional when she says that someone else’s opinion about your drag just shouldn’t bother you this much.

+ I also really appreciated Anetra saying that even for people who do have biological family in their life, chosen family can be really important.

+ And speaking of chosen family! Kerri Colby sends a video message to her mom! Also, has anyone else seen this video of Kerri Colby at the chiropractor? It’s dripping with sexual tension.

+ The “next week on” says only three queens will be making it to the finale but I don’t buy it. They’ll all do well and Ru will have four like almost every other year.

+ Queen I’m rooting for: Sasha

+ Queen I’m horniest for: Luxx destroying Loosey in that lip sync

+ Queen I want to sashay: None of them! All four deserve to be in the finale!

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” Episode 1512 Recap: A Rusical with a Cause

This is a recap of RuPaul’s Drag Race episode 1512. Spoilers below.

The last few weeks have been hard. Every day there is a new anti-trans law passed, proposed, or discussed. Every day the Internet is abuzz with discourse about the value of trans existence. The wave of anti-drag campaigning and legislation was never just about drag — not when it began before this season of Drag Race filmed last summer, not now that the vitriol has only increased. It’s always been about controlling gender nonconformity and transness, it’s just the latest attempt at using fear of queer people to win broken elections.

It’s been a long time since Drag Race has felt radical — maybe it never did. The wild notion of “drag queens on TV” became more and more palatable the bigger the platform. The queens have managed to inject the show with a political edge, but the show itself has always prioritized RuPaul’s dollar sign liberalism.

It scares me that Drag Race is starting to feel radical. It scares me that a fucking Rusical called Wigloose could make me emotional. But that’s just where we are right now. And that’s why it’s so important these queens are still being bitches.

We begin this week in the aftermath of Marcia’s elimination. I still can’t believe she was ousted the week before the Rusical, but at least it allowed Loosey to win something this week: excellence in reminding me of the worst gays in the NYU drama department.

It’s a new week and yes the Rusical is called Wigloose and is set in the 1980s and it’s about a small town that has banned drag. Ru tells the queens they can decide their parts for themselves because if there are two things RuPaul will do it’s watch a man drown and make good television.

Mistress wants to be the villain, Preacher Teacher. Sasha wants to be Carl, her nerdy husband. And Anetra wants Mama Bacon, the loving drag mentor. These three go unopposed. Drama starts when Luxx and Salina both say they want either Heaven Bacon (the lead) or Christian (his friend). Loosey says she also wants Heaven Bacon. Nobody wants Tuck (Heaven’s other friend). Salina tries to be smart and say that she’ll take Christian and they can battle it out over Heaven. But the battle does not end quickly!

Luxx is rightfully saying that the character description for Heaven is a young gay kid from the big city and that fits better with her. Tuck is a country jock who just wants to do drag and that fits better with Loosey. Loosey starts waxing poetic about why she connects to Heaven and Mistress is like bitch come on you just want the lead stop being fake. Then Loosey flips out about being called fake. There’s a lot of back and forth with both Loosey and Luxx ultimately giving in. The final result is Salina gets Tuck, Luxx gets Christian, and Loosey gets the chance to drag down the entire drag musical.

Ru comes to the workroom to do a little trauma check in while the queens prepare. He starts by talking to Sasha about her mom who told Sasha she wouldn’t get into heaven. They don’t speak anymore. Then she talks to Anetra who says that drag saved her life and she tells an anecdote about going to DragCon as a baby queen. And, finally, Ru tries to get Salina to realize that being in the top six means she can let go of her feelings that she doesn’t belong — it would help if the judges got her drag more, but no matter.

While all these emotions are spewing, Loosey is CARRYING ON. She’s crying to Salina about how she was bullied for being gay and that’s why she can’t handle being bullied by Mistress and Luxx. Excuse me?? Babe, we’re ALL gay here! You can’t pull that card. In fact, you have no oppression cards to play in this setting. Sorry. She then says that she led Luxx to a win last week, which is just absurd.

I have not been a fan of Loosey from the beginning, but this week I loved her. It feels deeply important to me that the political landscape never gets so bad that I can’t despise an annoying faggot. When drag becomes loving sisterhood tied into a sweet little package, we are in trouble. Let these egos at each other. Remind us all that even though we’re all part of the same fight, our humanity has not been robbed and part of being human is getting to hate your sisters.

The queens go to the choreography session with Miguel Zarate. There are various insecurities and struggles that pop up but the only thing I want to talk about here is Luxx’s outfit. She’s in this see through white top and tight light wash jeans and I’m obsessed.

As the queens get ready, Loosey asks Mistress who she’s pulling from to play the villain and Mistress says this person she competed against named Doosey DaDuca. Loosey can act innocent, but she was obviously pushing buttons with that question, and I’m delighted by Mistress’ response. The queens then talk directly about the anti-drag laws being proposed. Sasha wisely notes that while it’s important to be loudly yourself, sometimes you do have to consider safety about where and when.

With this context in mind, the Rusical really worked for me. If Luxx had been in the lead role, I might have even cried. Unfortunately, Loosey is so stale at the center. She reminded me of certain Broadway understudies or touring cast members who have the vocals for the part but have no charisma or acting chops. Well, except the Rusicals are lip synced, so it wasn’t even Loosey’s vocals. Like she’s fine. She’s totally competent. That’s what she’s been all season. Simply competent. There are worse things to be in life — nothing worse in a reality competition show.

The real standouts for me were Sasha and Anetra. Sasha is having so much fun in boy drag and it makes the character’s girl drag reveal really shine. Anetra gives her part a lot of emotion and really sells the sentiment and genuine meaning. Mistress definitely has a showier role than Luxx and Salina, but I felt like all three did well, if not quite shining like the top two.

The judges this week are Michelle, Ross, and Orville Peck, a person I must admit I don’t know much about except that apparently he never shows his face. The runway theme is Everybody Say Glove. I’ve been tough on Loosey this week, but I have to admit she definitely had one of the six best runway looks of the episode. Drag Creature from the Black Lagoon that’s just a bodysuit with little gloves has the same energy as that picture of the woman with the bag of chips on her head.

Anetra has a really cool rave look with spinning lasers on her hands, Mistress looks gorgeous in a yellow gown with jewels dangling from her gloves, Luxx is an emo kid with two arm casts signed by her real friends from home, and Salina has giant red gloves and a pink skin tight suit. While Salina’s look isn’t my favorite, I do love how clearly her it is. I’d rather something feel uniquely someone’s style than appeal to me personally.

The runway winner for me was hands down (no pun intended) Sasha’s skirt and top made of baseball gloves. First of all, I love baseball. Second of all, it’s the one look that really deconstructed the theme. Third of all, Sasha Colby marry me.

Overall, the judges praise all the queens with the softest praise going to Loosey and the largest praise going to how horny they all are for Sasha as Carl. Then, because television is a beautiful medium, Ru asks the queens who should go home tonight.

Loosey starts by saying Salina, based on track record. Anetra echoes this sentiment. Mistress says, “I’m tired of being at the Sasha Colby meet and greet.” And just when I was worried all the queens were going to go the two most boring routes — base it on track record or base it on toughest competition — Luxx is here to save the day. She goes down the line one by one complimenting the queens until she gets to Loosey who she calls generic. It’s an iconic Drag Race moment in the making. Salina then also says Loosey — likely because Loosey said her after having cried on her shoulder. And then Sasha goes the safe route, saying Loosey and Luxx because they each have two wins so they’re competition.

I don’t usually recap Untucked but if you’re wondering if this moment leads to backstage drama, the answer is obviously yes. Mistress abandons her safe route, saying flatout that she doesn’t fuck with Loosey. And Salina calls out Loosey for saying her name when she knows there are people Loosey dislikes. Oh and Loosey and Luxx bicker a bit more about who gave up the part to whom.

Back onstage, Mistress is safe, Luxx is safe, Sasha is safe, and Anetra wins!! So deserved! That means the lip sync is between Loosey and Salina and the song is “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush.

The fact is there’s a reason Ru always says this is their last chance to impress him. The winner of the lip sync isn’t necessarily who wins — track record is also considered. And so, I think it’s safe to say Salina won this lip sync. I get why Ru sent her home. But this was Salina’s best lip sync by a mile. She was feeling the song deeply and she managed to use her giant red gloves for pathos as well as humor.

Loosey LaDuca was, once again, simply competent.

Teleport Us to Mars!! Here Are Some Random Thoughts:

+ All the talk of eras was killing me this week. I especially loved when Mistress said, “I’m not in my emotional era anymore,” and when Luxx said, “Not me in my political era.”

+ At one point, Salina says she’s waiting for Mistress to enter her skinny era, which frankly just felt sad considering Salina talking about her own insecurities with fatness later in the episode. Like i’m always going to think a fatphobic joke has fallen flat, but this one especially just felt like internalized shit coming out and I wish the editors hadn’t included it.

+ I loved Luxx’s runway look in general but special mention to those pants.

+ Sasha choosing to play Carl brings me so much joy,

+ Anetra gets nice messages from her best friend (who is single) and her dad during Untucked.

+ Queen I’m rooting for: Sasha

+ Queen I’m horniest for: Luxx

+ Queen I would roast even if drag was illegal in all 50 states: Loosey

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” Episode 1511 Recap: Bombs Away!

This is a recap of RuPaul’s Drag Race episode 1511. Spoilers below.

Oh standup comedy. A thing so many people do and so few people do well. Including 15 seasons worth of Drag Race queens.

Yes, it’s standup comedy week but before we get to that the episode begins in the aftermath of last week’s lip sync. Another queen is gone and Loosey is once again saying that she thinks she should have won. The fact is Luxx is — almost — as over-confident as Loosey, but I like Luxx so it’s okay. Also biases aside Luxx seems to be having fun with it, a tongue-in-cheek confidence. Loosey just seems desperate to prove herself.

It’s a new day in your the workroom and Luxx is continuing her spat with Loosey from the previous week. She asks why Loosey didn’t have a pregnant belly for her Beyoncé look and Loosey says Beyoncé wasn’t showing. Which is false. Then in the confessional Loosey says that she doesn’t care about this argument because she came in second last week and Luxx didn’t. Which is also false!! They were both equally in the top and both equally lost to Sasha.

This is our first episode of the season back at 90 minutes which means we get a loose edit and a mini challenge! It’s, to quote Ru, a “Harlem vogue ball” in quick drag. Sasha does more in this mini challenge than some of the other queens have done all season. She’s just remarkable. Anetra is also great and she wins — probably because Sasha can’t win everything.

The main challenge this week is The Bubly Comedy Festival — sponsored by Bubly! — where the queens will perform as comedy duos. They pick different colored Bubly cans — Bubly! No calories, no sweeteners, all smiles — to choose their teams. Luxx and Loosey end up together, which is obviously the result of producer meddling. Sasha and Anetra end up together. And then, lastly, Marcia and Mistress. This means Salina is on her own — until Ru gives her the choice to steal one of the queens and she snatches up Mistress. It’s a good thing Marcia says her name three times, because that’s the closest she has to a team this week.

Because Anetra won the mini challenge, she gets to pick the order. It’s going to go Marcia, then Luxx and Loosey, then Anetra and Sasha, and, finally, Mistress and Salina. When asked how she picked this order, Anetra declines to answer.

While Marcia is panicking, Luxx makes a tapeworm weight loss joke that made my eyes roll all the way back to 2003 when that joke might’ve been acceptable. And, speaking of eyes and headaches, Anetra has an ocular migraine! I cannot imagine being in that workroom with a migraine and having to keep on doing Drag Race rather than lying on a bed with all the lights off.

Ali Wong is the guest judge this week and she and Michelle meet with the queens to workshop their material. Marcia isn’t really hitting any punchlines, although I thought the suggestion of Ross and Carson doing Death of a Salesman to be funny — would’ve been funnier if she’d picked a two-hander like Waiting for Godot. (Yeah, Marcia, I know theatre too!) Luxx is also struggling with punchlines — she has them written, she’s just not enunciating.

I don’t want to be overly critical of Loosey, but she just makes it so easy! Luxx makes a joke about her not having rhythm and she actually says that she won LaLaPaRuza. Bitch, you beat Spice! You did not win. COME ON.

Salina and Mistress do okay, but Salina talks too much. And Sasha and Anetra kind of bomb. Watching this I felt hopeful because usually in these challenges the queens that bomb the rehearsal, kill on the mainstage. But I guess they all kind of sucked in rehearsal so it didn’t matter. Sasha says that she really doesn’t want them to be the bottom and that’s fine with me. Top, bottom, whatever Sasha and Anetra want, I’m a switch, I’m in.

The next day, Luxx and Loosey are psyching Marcia out as they get ready. The two of them together really are an overpowering duo of confidence and mind games. On the other side of the room, Mistress tells an emotional story about breaking her ankle in drag and when her mom came to the hospital, she was more concerned with the drag than Mistress’ health. Mistress is very clear that her mom has crossed too many lines and that she has no intention of mending that relationship. It’s refreshing to watch Mistress subvert the Drag Race Heals Families storyline. She has a family. Her drag family.

I’m not really sure how to write about this “comedy” performance. Usually, there are a handful of queens who are incredible and a handful that totally bomb. In this case. all the queens kind of… soft bomb. I mean, the edits try to tell a different story. I guess we’re supposed to see Luxx and Loosey referencing Shangela’s sugar daddy speech as some sort of comic triumph, but I wasn’t laughing. Marcia is extremely neutral and Sasha and Anetra just can’t seem to cohere their bits. Honestly, Salina and Mistress were probably my favorite. There was at least a fun energy to it.

The runway this week was Ripped to Shreds. Marcia is dressed as a winning pageant queen who was torn apart by her competition. It’s fine. I’m less concerned with it being similar to Loosey’s look a few weeks ago and more concerned with it being similar to what Marcia has been doing all season. Loosey is Nosferatu which is at least quite different from what she’s been doing all season — at least on the runway.

Luxx absolutely wins with her Liberace Mad Max look inspired by something Ru wore in 1986. Not only was the original look a great reference pull, but the way Luxx has updated it is just stellar. Sasha, Anetra, and Mistress all look great as well — Sasha in a ripped jean dress, Anetra in a pink and dark green lotus flower catsuit, and Mistress in a burnt tribute to Madonna’s “Material Girl.” Salina’s look is a tribute to her mother crossing the border and I agree with Ali Wong that it would’ve been more interesting if she’d made the whole dress out of the blanket material.

Ts Madison is back as a judge, which is always a treat! The judges mostly say what I expected even if they liked Luxx and Loosey more than I did. (I guess they have to praise someone since we already did the LaLaPaRuza.) I was also surprised they weren’t more complimentary toward Salina and less complimentary toward Mistress instead of being somewhat neutral on both.

Mistress and Salina are safe. Loosey and Luxx both win. Marcia, Anetra, and Sasha are in the bottom. And Sasha is, rightfully, safe.

Marcia and Anetra lip sync to “Boss Bitch” by Doja Cat and OH MY GOD WHAT A LIP SYNC. Marcia is solid, but Anetra gives one of the best lip sync performances I’ve ever seen. SHE JUMPS OVER MARCIA. It’s wild. Anetra really is special. I really hope she’s in the top two of the season with Sasha.

And so Anetra wins and Marcia sashays. I can’t believe she won’t get to weaponize her BFA in next week’s Rusical.

Teleport Us to Mars!! Here Are Some Random Thoughts:

+ People had been asking why RuPaul hadn’t made a statement about the wave of anti-drag legislation spreading across the country. He finally did and now I have to ask, why did anyone want him to make a statement?? It was the exact kind of empty liberalism you’d expect from Ru.

+ I liked Ru’s dress made entirely of tabs from cans!

+ I really thought Ru crying over Luxx had clenched the solo win for her. I was excited to see Loosey have a meltdown.

+ Mistress gets a message in Untucked from her drag mom!! Is this the first time one of these messages from home has been from a drag mom rather than biological family or a partner?

+ Queen I’m rooting for: Sasha

+ Queen I’m horniest for: Sasha

+ Queen I want to sashay: Loosey

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” Episode 1510 Recap: Séa-yoncé, Brie-yoncé, Grey-oncé

This is a recap of RuPaul’s Drag Race episode 1510. Spoilers below.

Finally, a challenge I would nail. Watching Drag Race, I’ve often felt like I’d be great at sharing my trauma and bonding with a bunch of queers, if only I knew how to sew… and dance and lip sync and do makeup beyond the basics. Anyway, this is why my dreams are limited to being a guest judge. But this week the queens are doing something I can do — celebrity interviews!

But first! We begin with Mistress calling Spice — a person who is one (1) year younger — her daughter, while admitting it was her time to go. Gay motherhood is a flexible concept! Almost as flexible as Loosey’s scorekeeping. She insists she’s won three challenges because of two mini challenge wins, as if that is ever how the show has worked. Thankfully Spice’s mom is there to psychologically torture Loosey in return.

It’s a new day in the work room and there’s no mini challenge for Loosey to win. There’s just an interview maxi challenge and the queens are split into three groups. Sasha and Marcia are interviewing Charo. Anetra, Malaysia, and Loosey are interviewing Frankie Grande. And Lux, Mistress, and Salina are interviewing Love Connie. The best part is the queens get to watch each other’s segments from backstage.

First up is Team Love Connie. Salina opens by struggling to get Connie to have short answers. Luxx embraces the chaos and does a good job with a golf cart drive around. And, for the first time this season, Mistress bombs her baking segment. She just can’t get Connie to engage with her and fails to get on Connie’s level.

Next up is Team Charo. Sasha is fangirling as they make a salad, but struggling to harness Charo’s chaos. But, like a pro, she stops trying! The segment ends up being so much fun and by far the best performance of the episode. Marcia is not quite as lucky, as she doesn’t seem capable of understanding anything Charo says.

Finally, Team Frankie Grande. Loosey opens with a sitdown interview and lets Frankie Grande get away with claiming a Medicine Man placed a poisonous spider on him?? Frankie is the least interesting guest, so he’s easy enough for Loosey to interview, but my God are we not going to question that claim at all? Like, okay, this segment is fine. Loosey does fine. She’s better than Malaysia who bombs the cooking segment. But my favorite here was Anetra doing the walk and talk.

The runway is Night of a Thousand Beyoncés! Or, as Anetra jokes, Night of Eight Beyoncés. While they’re getting ready, Sasha posits that she is maybe the inspiration for Sasha Fierce. I’d believe it! Mistress, however, does not.

The guest this week is Ts Madison who is always a welcome addition to the judges panel. Luxx comes out looking stunning in an exact recreation of the Bob Mackey dress worn to the 2006 Kennedy Center Honors. Anetra is once again showing off her hot butterfly chest tattoo in her recreation of the On the Run Tour. But the real winners of the runway are Sasha recreating a look from the BET awards and Mistress doing Destiny’s Child at the 2001 Grammys with puppet heads as Michelle and Kelly.

With Spice gone, I know Loosey is an easy target. But how can she do the 2011 VMA baby bump reveal without a baby bump???

Marcia and Anetra are safe — personally I would have thrown Anetra in the top and Marcia in the bottom and had no one be safe. Luxx, Sasha, and Loosey are in the top — although Ru also makes my same point about Loosey not following up on the spider story. And Mistress, Salina, and Malaysia are in the bottom — with only Malaysia receiving all negative critiques.

Sasha wins!! Loosey looks pissed off. Mistress earns her safe spot with the runway. That means it’s Malaysia and Salina lip syncing to “Single Ladies.”

Part of Salina’s wig comes off and she still wins. She just wanted it more! Malaysia has been slowing down throughout the season. This happens every year to a handful of queens. This show is hard and that challenge invigorates some and exhausts others. It was her time to go and I think she felt it. I can’t blame her! Again, I literally could not do anything these queens do except, in this one case, interview a celebrity.

Teleport Us to Mars!! Here Are Some Random Thoughts:

+ Ru asks Sasha if she’s ever hosted a TV show and um… Sasha should take over for Ru after she retires!! It’s so obvious!! She’d be amazing!!

+ I had no idea Love Connie was the gay man in the “bend and snap” Legally Blonde scene! Genuinely fun fact from interviewer Luxx.

+ In Untucked, Anetra calls Marcia a thesbian… a lipstick thesbian.

+ I appreciated how much Mistress owned fucking up the challenge.

+ Luxx’s family dropped by with a sweet message!

+ Speaking of sweet messages, Ts Madison comes backstage for a pep talk and at the end has a really lovely moment with Sasha.

+ Queen I’m rooting for: Sasha Colby

+ Queen I’m horniest for: Anetra and her butterfly tattoo

+ Queen I want to sashay: Loosey “Three Challenge Wins” Laduca

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” Episode 1509 Recap: Spine-Tingling

This is a recap of RuPaul’s Drag Race episode 1509. Spoilers below.

The last TikTok queen has left the building. It was never about millennials vs. Gen Z — Luxx is 22 and Mistress is 24 — but it was a bit about queens from drag communities vs. queens who had gone viral on TikTok. And the drag queens classique have won.

We begin in the wake of Jax’s untimely exit. Marcia is being cunty and saying it was time Jax leave — as if most of her times in the bottom weren’t totally unearned. Sure, we saw Jax lip sync five times. I’d have been happy to watch her lip sync five more. We saw Spice lip sync four times and my soul will never recover.

It’s a new day in the work room and we’re celebrating an actually monumental moment in Drag Race herstory. It’s the show’s 200th episode! We’ve come such a long way since Shannel’s wig fell off while she sang “The Greatest Love of All” in a vaseline filter.

To celebrate, we have one of our first mini challenges of the Real Friends of WeHo season! And, to be honest, it reminded me why initially I didn’t mind the shorter episodes. The queens are photobombing “iconic” Drag Race moments and Anetra wins by jumping in Willow’s bathtub from the classic season of… last year. If the moment happened in the last three years since I’ve been doing recaps, sorry, it’s not an iconic moment.

Making up for this shrug of a mini challenge, the maxi challenge this week is a ball! A Crystal Ball! There are three looks: 1) a riff on Ru’s classic racing suit, 2) a take on the eleganza looks from past balls, and 3) crystal eleganza, outfits made from scratch involving crystal.

Loosey says she’s been waiting for the ball, because her drag delusion is a permanent condition. Marcia is salty because Luxx is taking stuff she wants. And Sasha, my perfect genius, notes that everyone is taking silver so she goes for gold. The metaphor writes itself.

Carson comes to the work room, and he and Ru give advice to the queens as they work on their looks. Now, this is the part where I miss the longer episodes. I would’ve liked more time spent on these feedback sessions. But we do get them encouraging Spice not to do the same silhouette and EsTitties to keep things simpler. EsTitties cries as she talks about struggling emotionally and Ru, the one note therapist, brings up her inner saboteur.

We do have some time for the queens to partake in a bit of RuPaul’s Trauma Race. EsTitties says she has a gay brother which prompts Anetra to talk about how her mom doesn’t speak to her. She was kicked out of her house and never got to say goodbye to her siblings. But she then reconnected with her biological father and he’s been her biggest supporter.

The guest judge this week is Julia Garner, someone I’ve been a fan of since Electrick Children (2012). She’s, unfortunately, kind of a nothing judge! I don’t know if it’s because of the tight editing for three runway looks or what, but she barely says anything! I guess being a talented actor and being a talented Drag Race judge require different skills.

The first runway looks are also the weakest. It’s a narrow prompt, but no one really does anything that impressive with it. Mistress’ look with sayings from different big girls of Drag Race past was my favorite.

The next group of looks is much better — even if once again Mistress has my favorite. She goes with a beach ball look and it’s fun and fashion and I’m obsessed. Close runner ups are Luxx doing a Thierry Mugler inspired hair ball look and Sasha’s bag of weed look. Anetra’s candy look is simple, but hot, and, if there’s one thing I’m going to do it’s take time to be horny.

The crystal looks are a mix of boring and overwhelmingly gobsmackingly gorgeous. My faves will not surprise. Mistress’ dress with fringe crystals on the arms is beautiful. Luxx is barely covered by her ice crystals but it works great. Sasha is a golden coral goddess. And Anetra has one of my favorite ball looks in Drag Race herstory. It’s a tight dress with a low v-cut and a crystal spinal column. It’s stunning and dangerous and everything I love about Anetra’s fashion.

Marcia, Malaysia, and Luxx are safe. At first, I thought, Luxx safe?? But then Mistress, Sasha, and Anetra were announced in the top and I thought, well, okay, that’s correct. EsTitties, Spice, and Loosey are in the bottom.

The edit feels super weird as they skip the judges deliberating. Sasha wins, something I will not complain about since she hasn’t won many weeks where she deserved it. But, personally, I would’ve either given it to Mistress for consistency across the three looks or Anetra for that final look.

Loosey is safe. (Boooo.) Spice and EsTitties are lip syncing to Lil Nas X’s “That’s What I Want.” Does Spice know that lip syncing means actually mouthing the lyrics to the song? Does she just think it’s dancing around being silly and occasionally singing the chorus? Luckily, this is no longer my problem, because EsTitties easily wins and Spice sashays away.

I know some of you loved Spice, so for everyone out there with bad taste, I’m sorry for your loss.

Teleport Us to Mars!! Here Are Some Random Thoughts:

+ I went to Bosco’s face reveal party last week and Sasha performed “Misery Business.” It was transcendent and it’s made me a full Sasha devotee. No more “she’s so good, she doesn’t need my support.” She may not need it, but she has it. Like, I love you Anetra, but Sasha needs to win this. And then marry me.

+ Mistress was poking Loosey all episode. I loved Mistress so much.

+ Ru debuts her new song, but the less said about that the better. She’s earned the right to force us to sit through anything, and you know what? She sure did that.

+ Queen I’m rooting for: my wife, Sasha Colby

+ Queen I’m horniest for: Anetra

+ Queen I want to sashay: Loosey

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” Episode 1508: Participation Trophies

This is a recap of RuPaul’s Drag Race episode 1508. Spoilers below.

Life’s not fair. This is a thing adults often say to children. When I was a child, I’d always respond, “Well, it should be.” The adults would laugh at my naïveté, waiting for me to grow up and understand. It never happened. I’ve never understood. Life should be fair. And so should Drag Race.

We begin in the wake of Aura’s sudden departure and Jax’s remarkable performance that caused it. Instead of talking about that or even celebrating Mistress’ challenge win, we continue with Loosey’s absurd stance in Untucked that she should’ve been in the top. Yes, the top of my list: Queens I Want to Go Home.

The next week all the queens are making fun of Loosey’s delusion and she won’t even own it! She’s forgetting that the post elimination workroom and next week workroom are edited back to back.

The maxi challenge this week is a Lip Sync LaLaPaRuza. I appreciate that they’re just doing it instead of pretending like all the queens equally bomb a challenge like last season. There are no guest judges and the way it works is Bruno picks bingo balls with the queens names and whoever’s name is chosen picks their opponent and then their opponent picks the song. One of the villains in this episode is those damn bingo balls — or the producers who manipulated them.

Malaysia is chosen first. She makes the mistake of picking someone she thinks is weak rather than someone she knows is weak or someone she knows will pick the song she wants. That person is Marcia and the song she chooses is “Boys Don’t Cry” by Anitta. Turns out Marcia is not weak and wins easily.

The balls once again fail us by choosing Loosey who then makes the obvious choice of Spice. Spice chooses “Do You Wanna Touch” by Joan Jett. Loosey has the sex appeal of an old sock you find under your bed covered in dust and hair. But she still beats Spice, who feels like an annoying twelve-year-old who won some sort of “appear on Drag Race” contest.

Loosey walks backstage acting like she’s the Queen of All Queens and not the truth: she chose the easiest queen to beat and then barely beat her.

The next ball chosen is Luxx who chooses EsTitties who chooses Celine Dion’s “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now.” They both do a good job, but EsTitties wins. She performs the emotion and is just funny. As Luxx walks back, Mistress says, “You still look good bitch.” Luxx flips her hair and says, “Always.”

Mistress is picked next and has to choose between Jax, Sasha, and Anetra. She goes with Jax because she thinks that she’ll pick the song she wants: “Tell It to My Heart” by Taylor Dayne. It works. A few things can be true: 1) Mistress and Jax both do a great job, 2) Acrobats don’t always mean the better lip sync, but 3) Jax still should have won this lip sync. However, Mistress wins because RuPaul is committed to this weird thing of eliminating lip sync assassins during LaLaPaRuzas.

Everyone backstage agrees with me and expresses their surprise at Mistress who responds in her wonderfully Mistress way.

The last lip sync of round one is between Sasha and Anetra. Anetra picks “I’m In Love With a Monster” by Fifth Harmony. While this episode has a lot about it that’s frustrating, it’s hard to be too mad when we get this incredible matchup. This is finale quality lip syncing. Better because they aren’t relying on so many tricks. They’re both just so good. Sasha wins. In a fair world, Ru would’ve done a double win because the numbers are odd anyway.

Next round, Malaysia goes first again and this time makes the smart choice and picks Spice. Spice chooses “Don’t Go Yet” by Camilla Cabello because she knows Malaysia doesn’t know the words. The only problem? Spice also doesn’t know the words. This is an embarrassing lip sync and it’s obvious that Malaysia knows it. Spice seems totally oblivious. I’m grateful that Ru saves Malaysia even though there were only losers with this one.

Then we get a threeway lip sync between Luxx, Anetra, and Jax to “The Right Stuff” by Vanessa Williams. It’s an absurd amount of talent on the stage which makes it even crazier that Ru picks one winner (Luxx) instead of two.

So there’s a bottom three: Spice and two of the three strongest lip syncers of the season. I get that having either Jax or Anetra go against Spice would be a waste of time. But then, they shouldn’t have let it get down to these three! The solution is not to let one of the queens save someone.

Anetra’s name is chosen and she chooses to save Spice. As she says in her confessional, going against Spice wouldn’t have been fair. But should there be a queen this far into the season that requires a participation trophy? Anetra earned my respect and love forever for taking this risk and going against a stronger competitor. And I’m happy to watch her and Jax perform “Finally” by CeCe Peniston. But it still sucks that this is how it ends.

Jax goes home on an episode geared toward her strengths. Spice, Malaysia, and Loosey get to sneak by with some truly horrendous performances. Life’s not fair. But it should be.

Teleport Us to Mars!! Here Are Some Random Thoughts:

+ I have once again not watched Untucked live. The Real Friends of WeHo has really ruined it for me.

+ I love that EsTitties is rooting against Loosey because she wants to see her snap.

+ Sasha Colby, marry me.

+ Jax is going to KILL on All Stars.

+ Queen I’m rooting for: Anetra

+ Queen I’m horniest for: Anetra and Sasha fighting to the death (my death)

+ Queen I want to sashay: Spice and Loosey

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” Episode 1507 Recap: Thank You, Mistress, May I Have Another?

This is a recap of RuPaul’s Drag Race episode 1507. Spoilers below.

Lights! Camera! Action! This week on Drag Race the queens had their big acting challenge. And I’m filming a short tomorrow that I wrote and directed and am starring in so if my energy is chaotic in this recap that’s why!

We begin in the aftermath of Robin’s elimination. Weirdly enough no one is gushing at my love Jax for having an incredible lip sync and instead are continuing the week’s drama.

Mistress is being Mistress (I mean this as a good thing) and saying her whole team should have been in the top. She then starts bringing up Malaysia getting upset in Untucked. Marcia looks like talking more about this is the last thing she wants. But Mistress doesn’t care! She’s here to be a drag queen and make great reality TV.

There’s some increased tension when Mistress feels like Sasha is trying to turn everything into a teachable moment and Malaysia isn’t wanting to talk things out. The feud will continue into another week…

And that new week brings the return of The Daytona Wind. Ru talks about this like it’s Snatch Game, and not a mildly funny bit done for the first time last season. If you’ll recall, I didn’t even recap that episode because Untucked was so good I had to write all about that.

Everyone wants to play the character Fancy but since Aura won last week, Aura gets to give it to herself. After that the parts get assigned quickly and with no drama. Well, except, it turns out Mistress and Malaysia are going to be scene partners.

Until the lip sync, this episode belongs to Mistress Isabella Brooks. She pauses from her Malaysia feud to play on Aura’s insecurities — or, let’s be fair, lack of certain talents — and suggest they switch parts when Aura starts struggling. It works. Aura takes the smaller part and Mistress gets to shine.

This season The Daytona Wind is a sitcom and RuPaul himself is in the director chair. Spice is struggling to take a single direction because Spice is struggling to do anything except the exact same thing she always does. Aura is also struggling, proving that Mistress had a point. Meanwhile, Mistress and Malaysia are both thriving — and thriving together.

The next day as they do their makeup, Mistress and Malaysia talk things out. I have Fast and the Furious on my mind because of the new trailer, but I love this Fast and Furious approach to conflict. If I may explain: throughout its nine movies (plus two shorts and spinoffs), the antagonists of one Fast movie are often part of the family in the next. Sometimes this feels absurd — but when the stakes are drag shadiness and not, you know, trying to kill people with cars, I love it! Fight hard, make up quickly. Who has time for grudges when we’re all a bunch of queers?

Harvey Guillen is the guest judge and the category is Puffer Please. Loosey does a basic look with a Stay Puft twist and Spice looks like a contestant on The Bachelor going on a one on one during a winter season. But the best looks of the night did something fresh with the prompt! Sasha looks incredible in a black and yellow look that felt like something Rihanna would wear to perform with Beyoncé. Aura and Anetra are also really hot. But it’s Mistress who wins without a doubt. She’s deconstructed a puffer jacket to highlight her body and looks so hot and so fashion and I just loved this look lots and lots.

The less said about The Daytona Wind the better. I get that chaotic editing and a laugh track help make up for some of the weaker actors in the cast, but the editing tricks need to actually be funny and fun to watch. Most of these fell flat. I mean, Anetra is playing a power lesbian and Sasha and Lux are playing a lesbian couple, and I still didn’t enjoy it! And not just because they identified Anetra as a lesbian by making a joke about lesbians not liking nuts. Come on!! It’s not even that jokes like this are transphobic — it’s that they’re hack!

The best part of the whole thing was the very random Danny Trejo cameo at the end. Sure, bring on Ariana Grande, whatever. But Danny Trejo? Now that’s something I didn’t see coming. Or the best part was when Ru said the surrealist touches were an homage to Tim and Eric, which feels like something she had to say for legal.

Loosey, Sasha, Lux, and EsTitties are safe. Mistress, Malaysia, Anetra, and Marcia are the top. And Spice, Aura, and Jax are in the bottom. I would’ve made Marcia safe instead of having four tops, but otherwise I do agree with this judging. Yes, even Jax. She just couldn’t figure out her character this week!

Mistress wins — as she should — and Jax and Aura are lip syncing. I think Aura’s outfit should’ve saved her but oh well. The song is “Sweetest Pie” by Megan Thee Stallion and Dua Lipa. And oh my God, Jax does it again. I really thought she was going home but there was just no way to send her home!! I thought she did a great job last week, but this was a whole new level!

She shantays. And my guess is the producers started scrambling because next week is a lip sync lalaparuza and that doesn’t feel like a coincidence.

Teleport Us to Mars!! Here Are Some Random Thoughts:

+ I couldn’t watch Untucked this week! Let me know what I missed.

+I hope Danny Trejo goes backstage during Untucked. Tell me Danny Trejo goes backstage during Untucked.

+ If you want more of my musings on the Fast and Furious franchise, I wrote a whole essay.

+ I’ve loved a lot of Marcia’s runways, but I’d like to see the judges drop the specific makeup note and more generally push her to do more glamor. That’s the bigger issue as far as I’m concerned, and makeup is just one part of it. Like with Spice, it’s about wanting variety.

+ I’ve never watched What We Do in the Shadows so I’m not familiar with Harvey Guillen, but I thought he was a really good judge!

+ Queen I’m rooting for: Jax to lip sync a bunch more and then Anetra, Mistress, or Sasha win.

+ Queen I’m horniest for: more and more… it’s Anetra

+ Queen I want to go home: Spice

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” Episode 1506 Recap: Old School Drama

This is a recap of RuPaul’s Drag Race episode 1506. Spoilers below.

I have thoughts!! Some weeks it’s like okay I need to recap Drag Race because it’s my job to do so, but this week I simply must share my opinions with the world and by the world I mean anyone reading this recap!

We begin with all the queens being shady about Malaysia ranking among the tops. Sure, it was impressive that she pulled it off with only one sewing class, but was it top impressive? They say no. Well, specifically, Mistress says no.

It’s a new day in the workroom and the challenge this week is Golden Gal Girl Groups. To celebrate the occasion The Old Gays™ come out instead of the Pit Crew and offer very brief words of wisdom because they’ve gotta make that hour timeslot.

The queens are split into teams but then they have to figure out which group gets country, metal, and hip-hop. I feel like it’s more common for this kind of drama-starting to occur with individual casting and it’s fun to see the fights break out amid group dynamics.

The groups are Jax, Anetra, Loosey, and Robin; Sasha, Aura, Malaysia, and Spice; and Mistress, Lux, Marcia, and EsTitties. Mistress’ group says they want metal and Sasha’s group says they want metal too. All the groups seemed to agree on anything but country and Jax very wisely sees an opportunity, whispers to her group, and they go, “okay fine you two fight we’ll take hip-hop.”

And fight they do! Since Mistress was already poking at Malaysia, she feels more determined not to give in. Finally, Marcia says they need to settle it. They end up picking from a hat. Malaysia picks metal. I love the shadiness of this episode. Mistress really is everything Irene Dubois wanted to be. (Remember her!)

During the recording montages, the first two groups are strong with only Robin and EsTitties struggling — or Robin and EsTitties being edited to be the ones struggling for narrative. With the metal group, my main takeaway from the recording was Sasha Colby marry me.

The shadiness continues as the groups do their choreo. Everyone is rooting for everyone to fail, but in a way I found fun and true to the way Drag Race used to be before all the queens seemed media trained.

While they’re getting ready, Sasha says that being old is a badge of honor especially as a trans woman. She gives the younger girls a little history lesson about how the drag clubs in Hawaii during the 60s and 70s were raided every week and how everyone had to wear pins that said, “I’m a boy” because it was illegal to “trick” cis men. (Trust me, they knew.) I loved the detail about the trans women wearing their hair over the pins and then flipping it back when the cops came.

Obviously Sasha is not that old that she experienced this, but she did come up around queens who did. She gets emotional thinking about how big of a platform she now has on Drag Race. I do wish the producers would allow conversation about the current backlash toward trans people and drag, rather than only showing linear progress narratives. But maybe it just wasn’t as present last summer when they filmed.

It’s time for the shows! Ru comes out in the tiniest little silver dress and I was reminded that she’s actually only four years younger than one of The Old Gays.™ Good for her! Also the guest judge this week is Meg Stalter which is fun because I literally started watching Hacks today. (I know, I know.)

All three of the performances are really strong. With the country group I’d say Mistress was the best followed by Luxx. I expected more from Marcia given how much she talked about being on Broadway.

The metal group is really split with my main thought once again being marry me Sasha. Aura is also good! Malaysia is just okay and Spice gives the weakest performance of the night.

And finally the hip-hop group, which I also thought was solid even if it definitely felt the messiest. I do think Anetra was good, even if she admittedly did drop some words, and I thought Loosey had the best old lady makeup, even if she was still bland to me personally. Robin was also just okay. But I thought Jax was great?? I know I’m number one Jax fan — but I really, really loved her in this.

The runway is tie dye and it’s edited so quickly I barely had a chance to notice any of the looks. Anetra walked out looking very hot and by the time I looked up from writing “Anetra omg,” she was no longer on-screen. They do take time to let Meg Stalter be funny which I appreciated, but God give us another few beats on these looks. One thing I did clock is Marcia had a fun bloody nose look, but it was not tie dye.

The top is Mistress, Aura, and Sasha. All good picks. But the bottom is Anetra, Jax, and Robin?? Okay fine Anetra wasn’t word perfect on a lip sync challenge during a strong week, I guess she can be bottom. And Robin was bland so she definitely earned her spot. But Jax?? They critique her for standing out too much?? That’s a wild critique. Like yes, working with the group is important but if your group is weaker, still being great is not a bad thing.

Aura wins. She wouldn’t have been my pick of the three, but I get it. And I do think her runway was great.

To be fair, Ru says it was a strong week and they’re splitting gray hairs with the bottom. Anetra is safe. Jax and Robin lip sync to “In Your Room” by The Bangles.

Here’s the thing about putting one of the strongest queens in the bottom two when she doesn’t deserve it — you get an incredible lip sync. Robin’s strength is also dancing so this was just an all-time great regular season lip-sync.

And, thank God, Jax shantays. I still think Spice should’ve gone before Robin, but at least Jax gets another week to be judged unfairly by the judges. I hope the redemption arc the producers have for her doesn’t have to wait until All Stars.

Teleport Us to Mars!! Here Are Some Random Thoughts:

+ Ru seemed genuinely delighted by Meg Stalter and that brought me a lot of joy.

+ I did watch Untucked because I knew there would be drama. But mostly I just got more time to hang out with The Old Gays.™

+ Just kidding there was some drama, too. Malaysia gets upset with Marcia because Marcia wants to stop talking about the group fight. But the big Malaysia/Mistress blow-up is being kept for later.

+ Queen I’m rooting for: Jax (and Sasha, but she doesn’t need my support)

+ Queen I’m horniest for: Anetra

+ Queen I want to sashay: Spice (I don’t even dislike her anymore! She just hasn’t done anything since Sugar left and it’s time for her to go.)

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” Episode 1505 Recap: Crazy, Classic, Luxx

This is a recap of RuPaul’s Drag Race episode 1505. Spoilers below.

Luxx! Noir! London! Week one I declared my favorites as Jax, Anetra, and Sasha, but now a fourth addition is necessary. Luxx is amazing and I love that she knows it.

We begin in the wake of Sugar’s elimination. As RuPaul says, if you’re not watching Untucked, you’re only getting half the story and last week that was true. We learned more about the twins and their family trauma. Too bad less people were watching, because of MTV’s groundbreaking LGBTQ+ reality TV series — excuse me, their GGGGG+ reality TV series. (The plus stands for another G.)

Last week, Spice suggested that she couldn’t keep doing the show if Sugar went home, so, of course, that’s what the producers have done. But with Sugar’s encouragement and the support of the other queens, Spice is going to give a solo act a shot.

This season the top queens seem very concerned with who was second and who was third, which, to me, is very silly, because fighting whether you’re silver or bronze just reminds us you weren’t gold. Luckily, the queens have a chance to get out their cattiness! It’s a new week and we’re starting with the reading challenge.

Based on the quick edit, I thought Sasha did the best. But my favorite joke was Luxx telling Marcia Marcia Marcia that her wardrobe looks like it’s from Marshalls Marshalls Marshalls. Unfortunately, neither of these queens win and instead it goes to Loosey who I’ve decided is my new enemy now that the twins have been halved and humanized.

The maxi challenge this week is turning home decor into runway looks. That’s right! It’s a design challenge! The queens are split into three fashion houses: The House of Kressley (Anetra, EsTitties, Jax, and Robin), The House of Matthews (Loosey, Marcia, Malaysia, and Sasha), and The House of Visage (Luxx, Amethyst, Spice, Mistress, Aura). Each queen is making an individual look, but the teams need to coordinate.

With the shortened runtime, I missed Ru’s walkthroughs before Snatch Game. Luckily, they’re back this week. It’s always nice seeing the queens mentor each other, but I also like when Ru gives her little platitudes of questionable wisdom!

This season has a lot of very sewing-competent queens. Which makes sense since it’s season 15! The exceptions seem to be Malaysia and Amethyst — the latter getting a lot of help from Luxx and Aura but still floundering.

Elimination day! As the queens get ready, Jax talks about being adopted by white parents. She says that her parents didn’t acknowledge the specificities of raising a Black child nor of being a Black child in an almost entirely white part of Connecticut. Thankfully, she moved to New York after high school. Spice then talks about how she and Sugar secretly kept dolls up through middle school and would dress and make them up as a precursor to their drag.

The judges this week are Michelle, Ross, and the one, the only, Janelle Monáe. The way Marcia reacted to Ariana Grande is how I would react to Janelle Monáe.

The runway starts with The House of Visage. Given New Jersey couture, they’d initially planned to do a royal look but switched to animal print after talking to Ru. Mistress is great, Aura is good, Spice is fine, Amethyst is bad, and Luxx is incredible. She made zebra print pants and has a matching purple head wrap and flowy top and it’s by far and away the best look of the night. And overall it’s a solid night!

The House of Kressley was working with gay ranch chic and have turned it into schoolgirl looks. I thought this was the strongest house overall! Robin and Anetra had really great, clean looks, and while Jax and EsTitties were a bit messier I felt like they still showed a lot of creativity. Jax especially, with her Heathers-inspired croquet look, was a lot of dykey fun.

And, finally there was The House of Matthews, with their Palm Springs summer wear. Sasha is a pro and a babe. Marcia has a fun look. And Malaysia actually put together an impressive outfit! I thought Loosey’s pantsuit was ugly but I’ll own up to the possibility that I’m just a hater.

The tops are Luxx, Robin, Sasha, and Malaysia. The bottoms are Amethyst, EsTitties, and… Jax?? Everyone else is safe. Personally, I think Spice or Loosey or even Aura should’ve been in the bottom before Jax. I did appreciate Malaysia making it to the top and learning that she took a sewing class before coming on the show. I mean, just one class so clearly she has a knack for it, but I still appreciated that effort paying off!

Luxx wins! Jax is safe. (Thank God.) Which means EsTitties is lip syncing for the first time and Amethyst for the third. Their song is “Q.U.E.E.N.” and, personally, I think there should be a Janelle Monáe song every season, even when she’s not a guest judge.

EsTitties wins the lip sync easily, but I thought this was Amethyst’s strongest performance. We all knew she wouldn’t survive a third time in the bottom so maybe she was able to just have fun with it.

Goodbye to Amethyst, the first Connecticut queen — for about five seconds before the other four arrived.

Teleport Us to Mars!! Here Are Some Random Thoughts:

+ Remember when Shea, Jujubee, and Miz Cracker lip synced to “Make Me Feel”??

+ I appreciated EsTitties talking about how she’s used to creating outfits due to not having a lot of money. She has a real maximalist style and I get if it doesn’t work for you, but I appreciate her creativity.

+ I watched Untucked live this week, because how could I miss Janelle.

+ Okay, we learn Marcia is also a twin?? She has a twin sister.

+ Anetra talks about not having a relationship with her family and I really appreciated that she didn’t immediately give in to the “chosen family makes it better” talking points. Like yes, chosen family is great! But having fraught or completely absent relationships with biological family is still really painful.

+ Queen I’m rooting for: Anetra, Jax, Sasha, Luxx

+ Queen I’m horniest for: Jax dressed as Heathers

+ Queen I want to sashay: Loosey

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” Episode 1504 Recap: Unsweetened

This is a recap of RuPaul’s Drag Race episode 1504. Spoilers below.

I was wrong. Last week I seemed to be the only person who was in support of the shorter format, and this week revealed why. For an acting challenge it worked, but for double Snatch Game?? Not so much.

We begin in the aftermath of Poppy’s departure. Amethyst is having an existential crisis because she’s always thought of herself as a comedy queen and she’s failing at comedy. Meanwhile, Sugar says she’s done apologizing for being too much. I guess she means apologies in the RuPaul sense of the word, because I haven’t seen them. We then get some fun back and forth between Luxx and Loosey arguing about who was second and who was third.

It’s another day in the workroom and Mistress is having some fun. Spice asks if Amethyst plays baseball because “three strikes you’re out” and then reveals Mistress told her to say it. I may not like the twins but I do love Mistress mentoring them — and using them for a joke.

Ru announces the double Snatch Game and everyone is rightfully shocked. Also a shock — Ru splits the groups based purely on where the queens are standing?? The producers must have set them… right?

The first group is Marcia as Tim Gunn, Luxx as Amanda Lepore, Malaysia as Saucy Santana, Mistress as Rosie O’Donnell, Anetra as Gordon Ramsay’s sister Gorgenia, Robin as real housewife Karen Huger, and EsTitties as the Virgin Mary.

Marcia is definitely the most solid of this first group, even if it’s all a bit expected. Luxx, Malaysia, and Robin don’t bomb but also don’t do much of anything. EsTitties is crass and loud but that’s different then being funny. Mistress is funny as Rosie but she’s not doing a good Rosie! It’s not a good impression! It’s not specific! I think my favorite of this group was Anetra?? At least, she tried for something even if she got fewer jokes off.

The second group is Loosey as Joan Rivers, Sasha as Jan Crouch, Jax as the Mona Lisa, Sugar as Trisha Paytas, Amethyst as… Tan Mom(?), Spice as Miley Cyrus, and Aura as Bretman Rock. Loosey is by far the best of this group, though like Marcia, Joan Rivers and her Joan Rivers jokes just feel so basic. I wish Jax had been funnier because, again, the Mona Lisa is a choice! Sasha does a solid job even if we don’t see much from her. Amethyst is also fine, even if she once again made me uncomfortable more than she made me laugh. (Full disclosure: no idea who Tan Mom is, even after googling.) I thought Sugar did just as fine as everyone else. Aura bombs. Spice bombs and is offensive to Miley, a person I honestly didn’t think I cared enough about to get offended on her behalf.

Remember last year when Snatch Game was so bad that Ru made ALL the queens lip sync? This was worse. Or, at least, I think it was worse, except I didn’t see enough from most of the queens to really know if it was as boring as it seemed or if it was just cut short.

Some Snatch Games have had more people bombing, but they at least had more people taking risks and being funny. The only people we see more than two jokes from were Marcia and Loosey and not one of those jokes made me actually laugh.

Thankfully, the runway is better. Amandla Stenberg is the guest judge and the theme is Beautiful Nightmare which appealed to me as a Halloween Gay.

I don’t usually write about all the looks, but I need to focus on some positive so here we go. Marcia is a child’s nightmare of what a dentist would look like. I don’t agree with the judges that Marcia needs to be “more drag” but I do think this runway had less of an impact because she’d already done a teeth bit with the braces in her talent show.

Luxx is a zombie bride who has been drowned by her husband, cinder block tied to her ankle and all. I love it. Malaysia is a show ghoul which is more beautiful than nightmare. EsTitties is in a skin suit and eating titties which is more nightmare than beautiful. Mistress, Anetra, and Robin all do spider looks and I’d rank them: 1) Anetra, 2) Mistress, 3) Robin.

Loosey’s Snatch Game and personality may not have charmed me as much as most, but her drag queen Jason Voorhees got me. As did Sasha as a Tim Burton-esque witch and Jax as Medusa with Perseus’ head in tow.

Amethyst is Gaga with blood spurting out of her chest when she presses her boob. (It’s fine.) And Aura has exposed vertebrae on her back. (It’s cool.) Finally, Sugar and Spice are both haunted dolls and it’s about as underwhelming as their collective Snatch Game performance.

The top is Marcia, Mistress, and Loosey. The bottom is Aura and the twins. Everyone else is safe. Loosey wins. (I do, in fact, think her runway is what pushed her ahead of Marcia.) And Sugar and Spice are lip syncing against each other. I love television!

The song is Pat Benatar’s “You Better Run” and surprise surprise the twins have decided to do choreo with one another. It’s somehow both chaotic and very boring. In the end, Sugar goes home and Spice stays. And honestly? I’m no longer rooting against Spice. I’ll give her a chance! Let’s see her thrive solo.

That said, watching this lip sync, I wonder if RuPaul Charles thought, “Hmm so it wasn’t trans women who ruined my show — it was TikTok.” That’s what I was thinking.

Teleport Us to Mars!! Here Are Some Random Thoughts:

+ The emotional debrief this episode is Loosey talking about being bullied for being gay and living in the town she grew up in. I’ve gotta say… I find Loosey really annoying. She deserved her win this episode, but I hope it’s the last one. Glad you’re out and proud now though, babe!

+ I’m not against people doing internet and reality TV personalities for Snatch Game. But like pop stars, they usually bomb. Open to theories in the comments.

+ Another thing lost with the time cut is no mini challenges. I’m torn on whether I care. They’d kind of lost the spark in recent seasons if I’m being honest.

+ Last thing I’ll say about the time cut is I do think it will work better as the season goes on and personally I think they should have done hour and a half for the first half the season and then gone to an hour for the rest.

+ More distressing to me is Untucked isn’t after Drag Race? I’m supposed to wait around for an hour? I have not seen Untucked. Tell me what I missed in Untucked. (Just kidding I’ll watch it when it’s streaming.)

+ Queen I’m rooting for: my three loves (Anetra, Jax, Sasha)

+ Queen I’m horniest for: this runway it was Anetra

+ Queen I want to sashay: Amethyst then Loosey then Spice if she hasn’t proven herself

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” Episode 1503 Recap: Heavenly Body-ody-ody

This is a recap of RuPaul’s Drag Race episode 1503. Spoilers below.

From supersized to bite-sized! Last week’s gargantuan two-episode premiere is in the past and the new hour-long (plus Untucked) format is here to stay. I know it’s to promote MTV’s Rich Fags of WeHo or whatever but can I be honest?? In this case, I am not a size queen. I love the new length.

We begin in the aftermath of Irene’s departure, a queen we’ll barely remember in two months when the show ends. (Sorry Irene.) Robin and Amethyst carry over talk of their past fling from Untucked and say that it ended mutually. In the confessional, Amethyst said she ended it. I’ll give it to her — she needs a win.

The maxi challenge this week is afterlife infomercials. It’s the kind of themed challenge that makes you go, wow we really are on season fifteen, huh? As the winner of last week, Anetra gets to pick her team first. She goes with Luxx, Sasha, EsTitties, and Marcia. As the winner of the lip sync, Amethyst gets to pick next. She goes with Loosey, Aura, Spice, and Poppy. The leftovers are Jax, Mistress, Sugar, Malaysia, and Robin.

There is immediate tension on the leftovers team, because Sugar won’t shut the fuck up pitching a concept that makes no sense. I don’t need to justify my annoyance with political righteousness, but if I were to do that I’d bring up Sugar saying “cracked out Beyoncé.” I know her whole thing is dressing like an ignorant white girl from the early 2000s — doesn’t mean she has to talk like one.

My fave Jax shares my annoyance and tells Sugar to switch spots with her. After that, Sugar is very displeased. Mistress is also annoyed that Jax is taking charge, but somebody has to! Sorry, sorry, childhood group project trauma is coming out.

If you were wondering how the editors were going to fit all these queens into an hour, the answer revealed itself in the next segment. Michelle is directing the three teams and we get a brief look at Sugar riffing and Jax feeling like the concept isn’t working, Sasha freezing up a bit, and Team Amethyst kind of bombing, but we don’t spend a long time on any of them. I loved this! Usually with acting challenges we see the jokes played over and over so the finished products fall kind of flat. I loved getting just a taste.

What isn’t cut for time is the queens sharing their queer trauma in the work room. Malaysia talks about growing up Baptist and feeling like being gay is a sin. But now her mom is her biggest supporter. Mistress says she also grew up religious but her family wasn’t as accepting. She was kicked out at 17 and had to support herself through drag. Amid the challenges and competition, Drag Race has always been a snapshot of queer lives. I’m glad that hasn’t been lost.

The judges are Michelle, Ts Madison, and country singer Maren Morris. I didn’t know this person previously and she wasn’t the best judge, but everything she said in Untucked was really sweet so she won me over. But the most exciting part is definitely that Ts Madison is a regular judge.

The runway theme is metallic and there are a wide variety of looks including Anetra paying tribute to Chromatica, Marcia paying tribute to the Tin Man, and Jax paying tribute to Mortal Kombat which is apparently her namesake. And my absolute favorite look was Mistress. She wasn’t the only queen who went with gold but I think she did it best.

We watch the final videos and wow is Team Anetra’s good. All the previews were trying to make it seem like Sasha flops, when she’s actually the hands down winner. Everyone in the video does a good job and it’s just astronomically better than the other two.

Team Amethyst’s is the worst. The jokes feel basic and all the performances are meh.

Given the chaos, I thought Team Jax — let’s call it what it is — turned out decent. I liked the concept of heaven for drag hags and felt Sugar was used perfectly. But Jax barely says any of the words she wrote and I knew that would be a problem.

The tops are Sasha, Luxx, and Loosey. The bottoms are Amethyst, Poppy, and Jax. Michelle praises Sasha for taking direction well and it just goes to show sometimes showing up perfect isn’t necessary! The judges tell Amethyst to stop contouring her nose so much, they critique Poppy’s basic outfit, and question Jax’s shoddy video looks in comparison to her excellent runway.

Loosey is safe. Luxx is safe. Sasha wins. No question.

Jax is safe which was deserved even if part of me wanted to see her kill a lip sync. I know she would’ve done a better job with “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” than Amethyst or Poppy that’s for sure. It’s not that either is bad — just underwhelming.

Amethyst plays it straight, Poppy goes for jokes, and, in the end, Amethyst shantays. When it comes to Diana Ross, RuPaul wants a respectful rendition and Poppy popped her pussy all the way home.

Teleport Us to Mars!! Here Are Some Random Thoughts:

+ Poppy is very casual about the possibility of going home during Untucked and it made me very happy she lost the lip sync. It pissed Mistress off and it pissed me off too! Not to be such an earth sign, but why are you there if you don’t want to win?

+ I don’t love Amethyst but now that she’s been in the bottom twice, I’m hoping she has at least one episode of redemption before going home.

+ Sasha looked so hot in the workroom in those high-waisted pants.

+ Loosey getting in the top for doing a three star Dolly Parton impression? I don’t even know if that’s out of four or five stars and either way it wasn’t enough for me.

+ Queen I’m rooting for: Jax and Anetra

+ Queen I’m horniest for: Sasha

+ Queen I want to sashay: Sugar

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” Episode 1501 and 1502 Recap: Sweet Sixteen

This is a recap of RuPaul’s Drag Race episode 1501. Spoilers below.

Let’s start with a harsh reality. In the nine months since my last Drag Race recap, drag has become a culture war. A deadly culture war. Of course, gender nonconformity has long incited violence from fascists, but now drag — specifically Drag Story Hours — have become conservatives’ latest bullshit “save the children” campaign.

It’s gotten so bad I’ve found myself defending Nina West.

Here’s the thing, racers. I know the temptation in the face of attack is to unite — but when it comes to drag, being a cunt is how you unite. So my recaps will be just as catty as past years. And, thankfully, this year has enough queens who will be right there with me. Season 15 will not be RuPaul’s Best Friends Race.

This was a two hour and 15 minute premiere — with no commercials for the first hour! — plus Untucked and there are 16 queens this year so let’s jump right in for our first introductions.

We begin with Irene Dubois, Bosco’s drag sister and one of the bitches of the season. Unfortunately, this alien queen of Seattle forgets that bitchiness needs to be backed up with performance.

Next up is Luxx Noir London. She says she’s the prettiest queen in all of New Jersey and personally I’d believe it. Irene immediately starts in on Luxx saying her 40-inch wig isn’t 40 inches and making a brick joke.

Before any fights can break out, enter Aura Mayari. She’s from Nashville and describes herself as Beyoncé + Rihanna + Justin Bieber. Yes, she can dance. Or at least she’s hot enough that people have told her she can dance. Irene says she’s already out of breath.

Marcia Marcia Marcia walks in with her wig covering her face. She flips it back to reveal a broken nose — a reference to when her Brady Bunch namesake got hit with a football. She has a BFA in musical theatre and has been on Broadway.

Then we have Anetra. Six letters, three vowels, as she’ll later inform us in song. She’s from Vegas and calls herself sexy glamorous. With her metal spiked leather headpiece — and jokes about being broke — I was sold.

Next up is Malaysia Babydoll Foxx looking like a furry fantasy as a glamor fox. She’s the first queen from Miami and her day job is celebrity hairstylist and makeup artist — clients include City Girls.

This season is the TikTok season — more on that later — and first up is Princess Poppy whose I’m homo… phobic intro is apparently a reference to her viral TikTok. Ru loves a girl who can brand! True to her name she’s very princessy but she says her performance style is eccentric.

And finally, the legend herself, Sasha Colby. Former Miss Continental, Kerri Colby’s drag mother, and someone who is arguably too good for this show, Sasha is the obvious frontrunner. Trans queens will continue to dominate.

Speaking of legends, Ornatia walks in. For those of you who weren’t watching in season six, Ornatia is the fake head attached to Vivacious’ entrance look. But this time it’s guest judge Ariana Grande hidden in the outfit! Marcia loses her mind.

Ariana Grande was a guest judge back in season seven. She clearly has a real love for this show and it’s nice to see her back. I’m just surprised Ru let her overshadow his entrance!

He makes up for it by announcing the prize money this year is $200,000 and that the mini challenge is a recreation of the season one sprayed-in-the-face photoshoot.

We have a lot to cover so here are my quick notes from what amounts to a hazing ritual: Aura is extremely horny and extremely hot. Lexx deserves to win. Irene does win.

The main challenge for the week is the One Night Only talent show extravaganza — but first a group number! There’s some back and forth between Aura and Marcia about who will choreo and Sasha tries her best to manage the children.

While they’re still figuring it out, this gargantuan episode rewinds for a new beginning. We have eight more queens to introduce in the workroom. It’s a lot for one episode — but at least the premiere is over after this week. Ultimately, I think I prefer an overwhelming first night than spending three weeks before the season actually gets started.

The first of the next group is Salina EsTitties, an LA queen based in WeHo who identifies herself as a “chola from the hood.” She notes that she does TVfilmcommercial work so we’ll be blessed with that talent if she makes it to an acting challenge.

Next is a very exciting Drag Race first. Amethyst is the “mean queen of Connecticut” and is proud to say she’s the first queen — nice or mean — from the state. She also says she’s the first queen on the show to go viral on TikTok. Too bad when she finds out about the brilliant homo… phobic joke.

Not the only TikTok queen and not the only Connecticut queen?? Poor Amethyst. But lucky us because the next queen from her state is Jax. Jax says she’s the Simone Biles of drag — a pint-sized competitive gymnast with the style and energy of a preppy cheerleader. I love her.

But that’s not all! Connecticut Queen #3: Loosey LaDuca. She’s a construction worker by day and has been doing drag for 12 years.

Then we have Mistress Isabelle Brooks who is from Houston and says she’s big, beautiful, and glamorous. She’s shady and — unlike Irene — she’s good at being shady. The other queens make fun of her for wearing a kitten heel but she says the fat queens always twist their ankles and she’s not taking any chances.

Three Connecticut queens was weird, but four is hilarious. Robin Fierce is Diahann Carroll meets Mariah Carey meets Beyoncé and yes she is also from Connecticut. She and Amethyst have hooked up but she says not to ship them and I will respect that. (Also because I like Robin more than Amethyst.)

And that’s it! Those are the fourteen queens competing this season!

Ugh. Fine.

There’s also Sugar and Spice — twins, TikTok stars, and my mortal enemies. They are so annoying! And not in a fun way!!! They have barely performed offline and they don’t stop talking. They’re immature for 23, and 23 is already really young.

Ornatia comes out again but this time it’s actually Vivacious and she’s just there to introduce Ru. The mini challenge is a tribute to the season two premiere — still with wind machines, no longer with a Gone with the Wind reference. Progress!

Sugar is struggling. Spice takes off her wig (???) and then also struggles. Salina does the best. And Loosey wins.

The other group is finally getting their choreo together when Ru arrives, the new girls in tow. Ru says that yes there are 16 queens BUT a queen is actually going home this week. I wish it was two queens. Two queens who look the same.

Back in the work room, those two queens are learning the lesson that Mistress and Irene being bitchy to each other doesn’t mean they’re enemies — it just means they’re drag queens. There’s also some discourse about social media vs. IRL drag but I don’t care about that.

The judges this week are Michelle, Ross, and Ariana in a cone bra. Everyone keeps making Wicked jokes and that really tickles me because the Wicked movie isn’t coming out until TWENTY TWENTY FOUR.

Despite the chaos, the opening number turns out pretty well. If only I could say the same for the talent show. It’s not that most of the acts are bad! I just feel like… if all you do is lip sync for a talent show, it better be really, really good.

Unfortunately for most of the people who do something different, the risk doesn’t pay off. Princess Poppy’s parasite puppet lip sync is decent. But Loosey who sings live, does not sing well. Amethyst who sings “All Around the World” with an actual baby she can’t find, doesn’t make it more than a one-note joke. And Irene absolutely bombs with her bit of… making ice water.

But let’s talk about the standouts. Sasha Colby does a lip sync to “Zombie” by The Cranberries and it is truly special. Marcia does an inspired dance to “Make Love to You” dressed as a horny teen girl — and dreaming about Ross Matthews. And Anetra and Jax also lip sync but Anetra incorporates breaking wood boards with Tae Kwon Do and Jax LITERALLY JUMP ROPES WITH HER HAIR. Have I mentioned that I love Jax?

The runway theme is “Who Is She?” where the queens are tasked with showing a look to introduce themselves. Aura was one of the mid lip syncers but her real talent was being hot which she shows again in a leather and lace look. Sasha is once again a step above in red and black with a bead-dangling hat. And Anetra is wearing a gold and black futuristic look that she sewed herself.

The bottoms are Irene, Amethyst, and Loosey. The tops are Marcia, Anetra, and Jax. I wish Sasha had been in the top too but I’m just not sure which of those three I’d replace. She’s safe along with everyone else — including the twins, who, alas, did earn that.

Loosey pleads for her life and it works — Irene and Amethyst are the bottom. Anetra wins! Anetra and Jax were my favorites even before the talent show but now I feel like I can’t call them my favorites because it makes me seem like a fair weather fan. Sorry I just have taste!

The lip sync is to “Seven Rings.” It starts out close, but by the end it obviously goes to Amethyst.

I hoped Irene would have a good night. Alas, it was goodnight Irene.

Teleport Us to Mars!! Here Are Some Random Thoughts:

+ The sun signs of all the queens:
Amethyst – Aquarius
Anetra – Cancer
Aura Mayari – Pisces
Jax – Aries
Loosey LaDuca – Taurus
Luxx Noir London – Virgo
Malaysia Babydoll Foxx
Marcia Marcia Marcia – Scorpio
Mistress Isabelle Brooks – Cancer
Princess Poppy – Aries
Robin Fierce – Libra
Salina EsTitties – Libra
Sasha Colby – Leo
Spice – Cancer
Sugar – Cancer
Irene Dubois – Cancer

+ Sasha says she couldn’t let Kerri be the most famous Colby and I do love that as the reason for her being on the show.

+ The funniest part of Irene’s bit was Marcia reacting in character.

+ If I needed another reason to love Sasha, she talks about her mommy issues in Untucked.

+ Also in Untucked, we learn that Amethyst was a very bad texter and Robin was very busy and that’s why it didn’t work out. I say this as a well-documented lover of air signs, I guess this is what happens when two air signs try to date.

+ Queen I’m rooting for: Jax and Anetra — the season of the athletes! Other queens I really like: Sasha, Marcia, Mistress, Luxx

+ Queen I’m horniest for: Aura and Sasha

+ Queen I want to sashay: Sugar and Spice

Jinkx Monsoon on Queer Adolescence, Being a Lifelong MILF, and Working Out Demons Through Drag

Jinkx Monsoon photographed by Alec White

For me, Jinkx Monsoon has always been the queen of all queens. Years before I watched a single episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Jinkx’s show The Ginger Snapped was the first drag performance I ever saw. Life-changing is often more an expression than a truth, but this performance truly changed my life. It provided me a love of a drag — and a love of self — at a time when I needed them most.

Jinkx’s unique sense of humor and killer voice have long made her a favorite in mainstream drag, on the cabaret circuit, and in her local Pacific Northwest. But in the decade since winning Drag Race’s fifth season, Jinkx’s humor, voice, and MILF hotness have been joined by a newfound confidence and even more beauty. No wonder she returned to Drag Race this year for the All Stars All Winners season and won the whole damn thing.

I was lucky enough to chat with the Queen of All Queens about growing up as a queer kid, working out demons through drag, and her new show, Sketchy Queens.

Drew: You’re in San Francisco doing Drag Becomes Her?

Jinkx: Yeah!

Drew: Great. Well I have a question about Death Becomes Her, so let’s start there. I want to talk about camp or what I might call accidental camp. Movies that were made by straight men that were maybe intended to be misogynistic and instead the actresses stole the movie and they ended up becoming iconic. I think a lot about how good queer people are at finding ourselves in work not necessarily intended for us.

Jinkx: It’s funny because accidental camp sounds like it applies to Death Becomes Her, until you think about the fact that Robert Zemeckis also directed Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

Drew: That’s true!

Jinkx: And that movie gave us the gay icon of Jessica Rabbit. So there’s this part of me that wonders is Robert Zemeckis an outwardly straight man who has queer tendencies that he expresses through his films? Or is he just a straight man whittling women down to archetypes and then the actresses realize that they can make it something more through subtext or satire? I don’t know. But I do know there are a lot of films that were made for straight communities that are really kept alive today by their queer, cult following. And a lot of them are horror-tinged. I wouldn’t call Death Becomes Her horror, but it has horror elements. I think when you work in horror or comedy, the stakes get so much larger than life, that camp is just a natural landing point, you know?

Drew: I like this “Robert Zemeckis is queer” truthing.

Jinkx: (laughs) Maybe! I don’t know.

Drew: You never know. It’s interesting because I feel like some of his work has such a conservative streak and then some of it is very fun and campy.

Jinkx: I mean, just the scoring in Death Becomes Her. The hook that they use any time that something supernatural is happening — DUNNA DUNNA DUN DUN DUNNA DUNNA DUN DUN DUN DUN — there’s just something about that. There are drag queens working behind the scenes on that movie. It’s just obvious. There were probably queer stylists on-set, there were probably queer choreographers. You can tell that there’s queer sensibility all throughout that movie, even if it’s not spoken. And that’s Hollywood in general. Queer people are running Hollywood and not getting the credit for it. That’s how it’s always been.

Drew: That’s a really good point. I mean, I think about that with a lot of classic Hollywood films. Where it’s like, well those actresses were hooking up with each other and a lot of the filmmakers behind them were either out gay men or closeted gay men. The queerness was always there.

Jinkx: And even someone like Bette Davis had lots of queer friends. She was such a dominant force on-set and she was probably bringing things she learned from drag queens and queer men into her work. Straight men can’t recognize that stuff so they’re not realizing that Bette Davis is bringing in queer sensibility. (laughs)

Drew: I love that.

I want to go back and start from the beginning. I know that you grew up in Portland. What was it like growing up there? And, more specifically, what was your relationship to your queerness and gender as a kid?

Jinkx: Growing up in Portland I was given a lot of privileges that you don’t necessarily have everywhere in the country or the world. Portland is this liberal bubble. I was taught by my aunt what it meant to be queer. I think I came out to my friends at 13 and by the end of middle school everybody knew. I experienced some taunting and teasing, but not really. I went to a really small arts magnet middle school. Most of the families that the kids came from were very bougie and pretentious and with that bougieness and pretension also usually comes a more open mind toward sexuality. (laughs)

My family was very good about it. Like my mom had her moments that weren’t the best, but my grandma and my aunt always knew I was queer and when I came out they didn’t bat an eyelash. So I had the support of my family. In high school, I got some taunting and bullying as a freshman and the teachers decided to move me fully into honors classes. I kind of became a straight-A honors student just so I wouldn’t have to deal with bullies in high school. I had no intention of taking honors classes or becoming a studious academic. It was just what happened as a result of not wanting to be called faggot all through class. (laughs)

Drew: I like that the honors kids were like, “We’re too nerdy to get away with calling the faggots faggot.”

Jinkx: They were preoccupied with their studies!

Drew: (laughs)

Jinkx: But in Portland, what made the hugest difference for me is I spent all my time at a place called SMYRC — The Sexual Minority Youth Resource Center — a drop-in center for queer youth. I think it was 23 and under but most people stopped going there when they were 21. It was essentially a hangout center, a resource center for jobs and housing, food, there were all these resources for queer homeless youth. But it was also a place where we just hung out.

We had steering committee meetings where we were talking about what resources we wanted to provide at the center. We had open mic nights. Amateur drag shows. Summer parking lot barbecues. It was an amazing place. And at 14 years old I met other queer and trans people who were my own age. And I always say because I lived in a city where it was safe to come out in my teenage years and because of resources like SMYRC, I got to go through puberty and adolescence as a queer person. Whereas when I meet people who didn’t get to come out until later, it’s like they went through puberty and adolescence pretending to be straight and then come out and go through a second puberty. It’s like they’re teenagers again, only now they’re queer. I’ve known so many people in their twenties going through a second adolescence.

Drew: Having experienced that, I can confirm.

Jinkx: (laughs)

Drew: It’s interesting that not only were you around other queer people, but you were talking about political issues, and you were around queer people who didn’t all have the same economic background. I feel like you’re pretty political and outspoken. Is that where it formed?

Jinkx: Yeah because different people got different things out of the center. Some people were just there to hang out with friends. Some people were there to affect change. Some people were there starting their own grassroots things that they carried on into adulthood. It wasn’t until Trump was running for president that I started getting concerned with politics at large, but from an early age I was involved in queer politics and queer issues. And yeah I think a big part of that is I met people who were 16 and transitioning. And this was 20 years ago. That was the normal for me since I came out. It’s pretty typical for trademark gay men to have never met a trans person until adulthood. There aren’t a lot of places, especially 20 years ago in America, where it was safe to transition in your teens. So I’ve just always been having conversations about gender and trans issues and trans rights and human rights. And I feel very privileged for that. I’ve had a leg up on certain conversations that we’re now having at large because I’ve been having them since I was 15.

Drew: You also mentioned learning about queerness from your aunt. Can you talk more about that relationship?

Jinkx: I always say I was raised by three moms. I have my mother who gave birth to me, my aunt who was my spiritual mother, and then my grandma who was my guardian and protector. My aunt always felt like I was her child. It’s this weird family legend essentially. But my mom was pretty young, I was unexpected. My aunt told her, “Well, you’re not ready for a baby but I am.” My aunt was like 13 at the time. (laughs) My aunt also has a bunch of health issues and found out at the same time that my mom was pregnant that she wasn’t going to have kids. And she felt like this was a sign that her mom was having a kid for her. (laughs)

My aunt is very witchy woo woo and since I was born was filling me with knowledge that she had acquired. She was like the Lisa Simpson of our family. She was always up on human rights issues. She went to college for anthropology. She just taught me about everything outside of Portland essentially. And she also knew I was queer from like speaking age. She was the first person in the family to really see it within me and to remind me multiple times throughout my life that I could talk to her about anything — always hinting at the same thing. And by 13, I came out to her. And she was like, “I know! I’m so glad you finally figured it out!” (laughs)

Drew: (laughs) So you came out at 13. When did you see your first drag performance? Do you remember the first time you were like oh THIS is what I want do?

Jinkx: I came out at 13 because I met other queer people at my middle school and I felt safe to have the conversation. Then I found SMYRC and that’s where I saw my first drag show. And the first drag show I saw wasn’t that remarkable. It was an open mic night at a queer youth center. But they had invited some of the drag queens from the local bars and clubs to pad out the evening and there was this one queen named Abby performing… I think… a Tina Turner song? There was a moment in the number where she pointed directly at me in the audience and the lyric was like, “YOUUUUU.” And there was something about her making eye contact with me and pointing directly at me. It was like she went, “YOUUUUUR A DRAG QUEEN.”

Drew: (laughs)

Jinkx: And it wasn’t long after that because I did drag for the first time at 14 or 15. I started doing female roles in some of the ballets and plays that I was in at the time. Like I filled in for someone on a day that she missed rehearsal for this ballet I was in. And then she missed two more rehearsals and had to leave the project, so I filled her role and that was technically my first drag role.

The first time I was doing drag like what we know drag to be, I was 15 and did it for fun one night. The response was so energetic and I felt so electric that from that point on it was like every weekend. A year after doing drag for the first time I ran for an under 21 title, Rosebud of Portland, which is the longest running under 21 drag pageant in the country. And I won. So it was like I started drag, a year later I won a pageant, and from that point on I was working every single weekend. Drag was my after school job. Straight-A honors student during the day day, drag queen pretending to be older than I was so I could perform in gay bars and nightclubs during the night. That was my high school experience.

Drew: Were you pretending to be older to the extent of being a MILF? Did it start then?

Jinkx: Some bars I was pretending to be 18, some bars I was pretending to be 21, but I just always looked older in drag. I put on drag and I look ten years older than what I am no matter where I’m at in life. So I think that’s where the MILF thing started, but it’s always because my drag persona was born out of me doing an impression of my mom. And my mom and I have the same curse. She’s always talking about this. She’s like, “I don’t go for younger men! Younger men go for me! I can’t help it!”

Drew: (laughs)

Jinkx: And I’ve heard myself say this in my adult life. People tease me. They’re like, “Oh you like twinks.” And I’m like, “I don’t even like twinks! They’re just who is interested in me!”

Drew: (laughs)

Jinkx: My mom was always a cougar, but begrudgingly. I guess I found that interesting enough to make a whole drag persona out of it. (laughs)

Drew: It’s interesting knowing that you were around trans people from such a young age. But it seems there’s a difference — watching season five and watching All Stars — in your relationship to your gender. How has your relationship to drag changed as you’ve become more self-assured in your gender out of drag? Or maybe self-assured isn’t the right word…

Jinkx: No, I think that’s an accurate read. Because, as I was saying, I was having the conversation around nonbinary gender identities at like 14 years old. But we had different words for it. Twenty years ago. the words weren’t nonbinary or nonconforming, at least around me. It was agender or non-gendered. I remember when I heard nonbinary for the first time, it resonated with me. I was like, “Oh that’s what I am.” And I always knew people who were nonbinary, but there’s this like fear that it didn’t apply to me.

I can boil it down to this. For a long time in my life I felt like I wasn’t trans enough to come out. I felt like, “Oh I’m just an effeminate gay man and I have to find peace with that.” When the nonbinary conversation started happening, it became very clear that there is a classification for the kind of trans that I am.

I’ve always said that I feel like a woman in a man’s body who doesn’t feel trapped there. And that’s when I started identifying as transfem nonbinary. I present femme. I’m a feminine person. I want you to perceive me as feminine. And also I don’t feel the need to modify my body or my outward appearance to achieve the feminine person that I am. And that’s just my own personal journey with my gender. It’s a conversation that started in my mid-20s and now I’m in my mid-30s and I’m still finding the best way to communicate that to people.

But yeah I feel very self-assured now. And I think that translates in my drag. Like Jinkx is still hyperfeminine. The joke is that Jinkx is a cis woman posing as a drag queen because that’s the work she can get. This was born from people mistaking me for a cis woman doing drag when I was younger, before Drag Race. People would either be excited to see a cis woman doing drag or be like what’s this cis woman doing here. (laughs) There were lots of different reactions, but it was pretty consistent that people thought I was a cis woman. So that became a part of Jinkx’s story. Like a Connie and Carla thing. She couldn’t get work as an actor, so she’s working as a drag queen.

I think what’s changed the most in my drag since coming out and living my truth is that I’m not fulfilling a part of my gender through drag anymore. Drag has very much become my passion, my art form, and my career. But I don’t get personal gratification from drag in terms of my gender expression. I do that now in my day-to-day life. Which means I’m not putting the same… like drag can be just me playing Jinkx now… rather than me having to… me finding certain validation and gratification through drag.

What I’m mainly speaking about is I used to hook up in drag and now I don’t anymore.

Drew: (laughs)

Jinkx: (laughs) There was a part of me that needed that validation, that needed my femininity validated.

Drew: Sure.

Jinkx: So there are certain bars I used to go to. I’d do a show. I’d stay in drag. I’d pick up a chaser. And that validated my gender identity. Now I don’t need that. Drag is not getting blurred with my personal life anymore. It’s very much my art, my medium, my career.

Drew: How does sobriety factor into that?

Jinkx: (laughs)

Drew: Because alcohol has been such a part of Jinkx and I wondered if it was an added challenge to get sober when that’s so tied to your character. Was it easier because of the separation that started to form?

Jinkx: So I didn’t drink until I was 22. But I started drag at 15, and Jinkx has always been an alcoholic. That’s always been a part of Jinkx’s story. And I think a part of that is growing up around alcoholism. There was a part of me that needed to work through it. I always say that I get my demons out through Jinkx on-stage so that I don’t carry them with me through my day-to-day life. My lucky audiences get to work through my demons with me. I grew up around alcohol, I grew up around alcoholics, I grew up around alcoholism. So not only did I have a lot of character study, but I had things to say. Even though they’re light-hearted, satirical things, I’m still getting my demons out.

I’m like three years and some change sober from alcohol. And when I quit drinking, it felt very important to me that Jinkx needed to remain an alcoholic, because I still had things I was working through and had things I needed to get out through Jinkx. Around the same time that I quit drinking, I was writing a show about Jinkx coming to terms with her own mental illness and mental health issues and deciding to go to therapy on-stage. That show was called The Ginger Snapped and featured music from the album of the same name.

That’s one of my favorite shows because it was very candid and honest but it was the tongue-in-cheek camp version of what actually happened to me. Friends saying, “Maybe you need to talk to a therapist.” My anxieties and fears around seeing a therapist. Unpacking the conditioning and stigma around mental illness. But I did it all on stage with prop gags and a lot of satire. It helped with the fact that I realized I needed therapy and intervention in my mental health. I was able to joke about that on-stage rather than carrying around the shame I’d been conditioned to have.

Only just recently have I started to think, well now that I’m sober I have things to say about being sober. And where am I going to say them if not through Jinkx? Does that mean Jinkx needs to get sober too? So that I can discuss these things through Jinkx?

And, you know, for so long Jinkx the character and Jinkx the human being got to be different, but Drag Race fuses those two because you see us in and out of drag so frequently and we’re constantly having to bounce back and forth between mindsets. I’ve done standup comedy in full drag talking about my sobriety but that’s not part of the Jinkx character, that’s part of the Jinkx artist’s story. It makes sense when I’m doing standup I’d be candid about that, but when I’m doing scripted cabaret, Jinkx is still an alcoholic and it all gets complicated. But where I’m at right now is maybe I have enough to say about being sober that Jinkx might have to be sober. Or Jinkx might have to go on some kind of a sober journey. So we’ll see! You’re the first reporter I’ve talked to about that. (laughs)

Drew: That’s exciting! Can I tell you something wild?

Jinkx: Yeah.

Drew: The Ginger Snapped was actually the first drag performance that I ever saw in my entire life.

Jinkx: Oh you saw that one!

Drew: I was like nine months into transitioning and I got offered free tickets to Joe’s Pub. And I didn’t want to see a drag show! I knew nothing about drag, nothing about drag history. I felt like I was going to be so on the spot as this gender nonconforming person in a cabaret audience. But I loved The Public Theater and I didn’t want to turn down free tickets. And not to fangirl but—

Jinkx: (laughs)

Drew: It was just one of those like — I think those first nine months of transitioning I was trying to be like a Trans Woman. In a box. Now I’m a woman. This is what a woman is like. And seeing your show, I realized I could be so much more expansive than that. I could be weird and queer, and sure I could be a trans woman, but I could be that in my own way. Like not only did it give me a love of drag, it also just gave me… I don’t know. And it’s such a great show and such a great album!

Jinkx: I’m so happy to hear that. You know, with drag having the influence it has these days, I get asked a lot, “How do you feel being a role model?” And I’m always like, well that’s not why I started doing drag. I started doing drag because I wanted to dress up like a woman, sing songs, and play the roles I wasn’t allowed to play because I had a penis. Drag was for me. I love entertaining. I didn’t get into any of this, because I was like I want to be a role model.

Drew: (laughs)

Jinkx: But just through doing the work that I’m interested in doing, I get to do that kind of stuff without actively having to do it. Just by having a loud voice and a lot of opinions, I’ve been able to connect with people. I call it paying it forward. Because that’s what drag queens did for me at a young age. That’s what drag queens have done for me all throughout my life. Inspired me. Given me permission to talk about certain things. Given me permission to even think about certain things. And the fact that I now get to be one of those drag queens doing that for other people feels like a really great added bonus. It’s not why I started doing the work, but it’s definitely why I keep doing the work.

Drew: I want to talk about your new sketch show, Sketchy Queens, because I got to see the first episode and it’s as weird and wonderful as I would expect. When it comes to sketch comedy specifically, who do you look to? What sketch comedy inspires you?

Jinkx: I love non sequitur, I love random, I love when something starts out as one thing and then becomes something completely different. It’s funny because ten years ago when I won Drag Race the first time, I pitched a sketch comedy show. And I was told sketch comedy doesn’t really have a place these days. And now it’s ten years later and there has been a resurgence of sketch comedy. What’s different now is it’s very much independent comedians doing the work on their own and then getting picked up by someone. They know what’s funny and they know what their audience wants to see and then producers are like, “Hey this kid has got something. Let’s get in on this.” I feel like the best comedy is coming out of people doing it themselves and then getting the chance to share it on a bigger platform. The comedians that inspire me the most are the ones who are creating their own work and being adamant about it being theirs.

Tim Robinson’s I Think You Should Leave is one of my favorites. I also just watched the first episode of Aunty Donna’s Big Ol’ House of Fun and that’s right up my alley. I like comedy because there are no structural rules. The only rule is to make people laugh and you get to do that however you want.

My writing partner for Sketchy Queens, Liam Krug, went to the same middle school as me, same high school as me, grew up in the same town as me, but he’s ten years younger. So we’re of two different generations but we’re equally as queer and weird and have all the same reference points and all the same influences because we had all the same teachers in all the same schools. It’s funny because it’s me, a millennial, and him, a Gen Z person, who somehow have this overlapping sense of humor just because of where we’re from and who we are. He became my videographer during the pandemic and we started creating sketches just for ourselves and for me to be able to put stuff out. I was like let’s see if World of Wonder is interested in this. And they picked up the show.

They helped us conceive Sketchy Queens, and then they really let us be in charge. Liam does the bulk of the writing, creates the sketch for me to play around within. The script always becomes optional for me, a guideline for my improv. I like to make decisions while we’re filming and direct from the actor’s seat. And then in the end we have these really weird sketches. Episode one is amazing but, of course, with any show from episode one on we go in every freaking direction and there are recurring sketches and character development and I can’t wait for the whole thing to be out so everyone can watch it as a package. We worked really hard on making this fun, little show.

Drew: I’m so excited to see the rest of it and I’m excited for music of yours to come out. Also, I know it’s a dream of yours to get to be on Broadway in an original role or as The Witch or Mrs. Lovett. I think Annaleigh Ashford was just announced as Mrs. Lovett and I was like… what about Jinkx?

Jinkx: How much louder do I need to be saying this??

Drew: It’s what we all deserve and it’s what you deserve.

Jinkx: (laughs) Thank you. I’m also really excited about our new music. I have to say I get so critical of my own work that sometimes I stop listening to it as soon as it’s done. With my music, with video work. I get so critical of my own stuff that once it’s complete and out there I don’t typically revisit it. There are a few exceptions. The holiday movie I put out with BenDeLa Creme. I never get sick of watching that. Like when I see a clip posted on Instagram I stop and watch it because I’m so proud. And I am really proud of The Inevitable Album and The Ginger Snapped, my previous albums with Major Scales, but I also get really critical. When you’re creating albums, you learn as you go. Unless you were born into a musical dynasty. (laughs)

Drew: (laughs)

Jinkx: This new EP — Well, first of all it’s an EP, because I didn’t want to rush this thing we’ve been working on for three years. I was like, let’s just put out five songs right now and give everyone a taste of what we’re working on, so they’re excited for the album when it comes out. I’m so glad I went that route. Because the five songs we just put out, I listen to them just because I like listening to them. I’m so proud of this music that I’m actually able to remove the fact that it’s my music. I can listen to it just as a listener and not be like, “Oh we should’ve done this differently.” We took the time with these songs to let them get perfect. (laughs)

Drew: Everything you just said was the most Virgo thing ever, so it makes sense that it’s called The Virgo Odyssey.

Jinkx: (laughs) Well, it started with this dream to tell an epic, futuristic space rock opera and then through that I was like, well it’s Jinkx in outer space and if she had a space ship it would be the SS Virgo Starship or something. So we called it The Virgo Odyssey because the full album is going to be a queer sendup of The Odyssey, the Greek epic The Odyssey.

Drew: I love astrology, I love references to things that are very old, I love drag. So this is checking a lot of boxes for me.

Jinkx: Oo then you’ll love this Easter egg. The album artwork for the EP is me floating amongst the stars and the constellations behind me is my star chart. Virgo/Cancer/Leo.

Drew: Oh wow. I do love that Easter egg. And our readers will too. Autostraddle is a queer website, but it definitely has a lesbian bent and, you know, astrology is an important part of lesbian culture.

Jinkx: Lesbians like astrology?? (laughs)

Drew: (laughs) A little bit. Just a little. I’m still waiting for like a truly hot lesbian moment on Drag Race. We peaked at the Raja/Carmen lip sync and haven’t had one since.

Jinkx: It’s because Willam started shouting from every rooftop, “Sister dick will make you sick!” So now everyone is scared to hook up with each other. (laughs)

Drew: (laughs) Well, thank you, Willam.

Sketchy Queens premieres September 15th on WOW Presents Plus.

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” Episode 1416 Recap: Shoutout to Kornbread’s Ankle

This is a recap of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 14 finale. Spoilers below.

Good things come to those who wait! The never-ending season has come to an end and the rightful winner has been crowned.

We’re in Vegas, baby! The season 14 queens all walk out and the looks are elevated. Since there’s a top FIVE we need to hurry up and get to them but obviously I need to share the other trans queens’ looks. Kornbread is dressed as Beauty AND the Beast — full beast face but Belle’s yellow dress and a giant red rose. Kerri is Tranos!! The meme come to life — Kerri is there to celebrate all the trans girl infinity stones she’s collected. And Jasmine’s high concept is just “hi I’m on HRT looking pretty with a big blonde wig and shiny dress.”

Now onto our top five. Angeria is in a truly remarkable blue showgirl dress with a gigantic feather back. Bosco is dressed as demon Lilith with red hair — face credited on Instagram to estrogen, filler, and laser hair removal. Daya is also an elevated showgirls with thigh high boots and lots and lots of purple feathers. Camden is a horse carriage which is a fun idea but the wheels are the wrong way?? And, finally, is what I first interpreted as a slutty lobster but is actually inspired by animes like Kill la Kill and Demon Slayer — sorry I’m not an anime trans but I’d become one for Willow !!

The next order of business is Michelle coming out dancing to “I’m That Bitch.” She’s there to give Ru the key to the city of Clark County — Vegas — and to announce that April 22nd is now officially RuPaul Day. Ru says the last time she was given a key it had cocaine on it.

We begin the individual queen introductions and performances with Angeria. Her intro is so charming and reminded me why I love her! Like seasons seven and eight, the queens will be lip syncing to original songs written for them — sung by someone else. Angeria’s is called “Check My Track Record” and while Angeria is always fun to watch, I did feel like this song was a little unspecific for her. Afterward, when Ru is asking her questions is when she really shines. She is a pageant queen after all. Also shining? Angeria’s parents! Her dad especially is so sweet as he answers Ru’s questions and offers support. They seem really genuine and it’s lovely to witness.

Next we have Bosco who is in her intro as a lifeguard along a Vegas pool. I desperately wanted to be there and pull a stunt like in The Sandlot with Wendy Peffercorn — but with better consent. She says that when she got on the show she wanted to prove she was a great drag queen but eventually her goal shifted to just showing off that she’s hot. She succeeded!! Her song is called “Devil” and she comes out looking like an angel. Her wings end up being backup dancers and then she’s revealed to be dressed in a demon outfit teeth and all. It’s good but it should’ve been longer! During her interview, Bosco talks about her affinity for villains and then Ru turns to Bosco’s boyfriend — who is trans! — and fellow drag queen Lucy Lips. It feels like Lucy is doing an audition and I wish her the best. Ru then asks Bosco another question and as she stutters she says, “The estrogen is slapping right now!” and then dabs. Cut to Gigi Goode laughing in the crowd.

Daya’s intro is very Daya as she talks about clawing her way back to the top and saying it like it is. Her song is called “Fighter” and she comes out dressed as the dragonfly she consumed. The performance is good! While I think Angeria had the best entrance look and the second best pageant answers, a fun thing about this episode is I do think these performances are each better than the last. Daya’s answers are boring though as she talks about being raised in an outspoken household and being bald. She’s joined by her boyfriend and fellow Crystal family member Lux Methyd. She impresses less than Lucy Lips.

In Camden’s intro, she says that now she feels like Rockstar when before she felt like a little mouse. Her song is called “I Fell Down (But I Got Up)” and it’s very Queen and very good. There’s a very good wig reveal and some even better dancing. Her mom and drag mom are both there, and her mom is wearing a shiny hat and looks like the most British person ever. Camden’s pageant answers are just pretty good but her performance was truly so excellent for the first time all season I was hoping she’d be top two.

Last, but certainly not least, Willow Pill. In her intro video she’s dressed like a dude from the 70s and she talks about wanting to represent people with disabilities and people dealing with illness. Her song is called “I Hate People” and is so funny and so Willow. She looks like a flower and then the front of her petals are removed to reveal two more Willow heads on each side. Then at the end another face is revealed on her crotch. It’s brilliant! It’s drag! I love her! And I love her even more once Ru starts on his bullshit again saying, “Your resilience has been so inspiring, how are you doing?” and she replies, “I don’t think that’s any of your business.” She plays it as a joke but it’s also a really sharp reply and have I mentioned I love her? Well she says the heads are named Carson and Ross and then she reveals the crotch one again and calls her Michelle. Willow’s mom and sister are there and her sister talks about shopping with Willow for her first drag look at Forever 21 — not H&M. Ru’s last question for Willow is how she’d describe drag to aliens. She replies, “Mental illness and rhinestones.”

Next, the queens from Drag Race Live perform a number called “Losing is the New Winning” which starts with Jaida, who might actually say that winning is the winning. Then there’s a tribute to Hot Chocolate, a famous Vegas queen. Finally, it’s time for Ru to announce the top two queens. Continuing the Vegas theme, it’s revealed on two slot machines. First queen: Camden. Second queen: Willow. They’re told to go backstage to prepare for the lip sync and the other three queens are thanked.

Symone is back!!!!!!! She’s wearing a crop top and ripped jeans, but in the fashion Symone sort of way. Even a year later I maintain that Symone is one of the best queens to ever appear on the show. She introduces LaLa Ri who looks gorgeous in an outfit I don’t know how to describe — it’s like these gold pieces are orbiting around her? She announces Miss Congeniality and the winner is… Kornbread! Obviously, I’m not going to complain about Kornbread winning anything, but I do think this should’ve gone to narrator of the season, Thanos herself, Kerri Colby. But if Kerri were to lose to anyone I’m happy it’s Kornbread.

It’s final lip sync time. Camden comes out in a British crown and little white dress with poofy sleeves. Willow comes out in a suit that would make David Byrne jealous — in fact, it’s so big that it appears as if Willow is only wearing the top half and Willow has to use fake arms. Ru announces that the winner will get $150k and second place will get $50k. All of the effects and graphics are overwhelming. Vegas + reality TV finale + RuPaul = insanity.

They’re performing Cher’s cover of ABBA’s “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight).” This is such an excellent lip sync!! Both queens are so different and lean into their strengths. Camden dancing, Willow camping it up. Willow’s first reveal brings her from the top half of the suit to the pants. Camden does another trip reveal to a red corset. Then Willow does another reveal to a violet corset. Not only are they now matching but they start to dance together. They even seem close to kissing! Then Willow does a somersault and the song ends. And they really do kiss on the lips! It’s not a make out but I’ll take it.

Because both queens did so well and both queens are winning money, there isn’t much suspense. But I still shrieked when RuPaul announces that the winner is… Willow Pill! Always ready with a joke, Willow thanks Kornbread’s ankle.

And that’s the season! Congratulations to Willow Pill and congratulations to me for having my favorite win the second year in a row.

Teleport Us to Mars!! Here Are Some Random Thoughts:

+ It is so cute seeing Ru and Michelle stand next to each other on stage with their massive height difference.

+ Bosco and Camden both dabbed while giving their pageant answers. Big year for dabbing.

+ When Ru announces that all the losing queens will get $2,000 — which they deserve because being on the show is expensive!! — Jasmine shouts, “I finally won something!” Babe, what you won is being hot and trans.

+ This week’s dispatch from Drag Race scholar Gaby Dunn is the observation that in some ways this top two was a repeat of season 11: the ballerina vs. the weirdo. The weirdo always wins!!

+ I’m obsessed with the special preview for All Stars 7. I am so excited to have Jinkx Monsoon back on TV and so excited for the whole cast and so excited for Naomi Campbell. I’m less enthused about the Nancy Pelosi jump scare.

+ Speaking of All Stars 7, I will not be recapping it because the Paramount Plus release schedule is too weird. But I will be watching and I’m sure I’ll be sharing plenty of thoughts on Twitter dot com.

+ Thank you for reading my recaps this season! Truly such a blast to watch and write about a season with so many trans queens and so many hot queens. Coincidence? Absolutely not.

+ Remember to support your local queens!!

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” Episode 1415 Recap: Sisterhood of the Traveling Estrogen

This is a recap of RuPaul’s Drag Race episode 1415. Spoilers below.

Welcome to the first clip show since season four! Just kidding, it’s the reunion. But there sure were a lot of clips! Gone is last year’s individual queen performances, back is a good ol’ fashion look back.

We begin with the queens entering one by one. Willow is wearing a look inspired by The Nanny and Kornbread is wearing Willow’s entrance look but instead of “Angle” her shirt says “Ankle.” Kornbread loves Willow and loves reminding us that she’s the best.

After a bit of catch up and discussion about the chocolate gag, they move to Kornbread’s unfortunate exit. She jokes that Snatch Game would’ve been better if she stayed. When asked about her family, she says that she needed the platform to express her feelings in a space where her family could not give a rebuttal. Ru loves contrived family forgiveness as much as I hate it, but I appreciated this reframe from “my family accepted me once I was famous” to “my family accepted me once I had a space to communicate with them uninterrupted.”

Speaking of interruptions, Jasmine cuts off Kornbread once again as Kornbread is discussing their conflict. Kornbread says that she doesn’t talk behind anyone’s back and that’s why she was hard on Jasmine to her face. Jasmine, to her credit, seems to appreciate it.

Less appreciated by Jasmine is her conflict with Daya. Daya says she doesn’t regret saying any of what she said. Jasmine says Daya spent the whole season coming for her. Jorgeous adds that it felt like the vitriol toward them was personal. Alyssa says Daya was the bitch of the season — which she was! — and she starts crying. June makes a joke about only being on the show for 48 hours but wanting to defend Daya. Maddy also defends Daya. Jasmine says Daya hasn’t made an effort to know her after the show. And then Kerri swoops in with a measured response emphasizing that Daya has gotten death threats and no matter what else that’s inexcusable.

Okay! So I think that last part is important because my main feeling here is… the Drag Race fandom sucks?? I do not like Daya. I think she doesn’t have enough uniqueness and has too much nerve. I don’t think she’s exceptional enough to get away with her behavior. She’s just pretty mediocre! And while she’s undoubtedly received hate online, she’s also received a lot of love. No one should face the intensity of the Drag Race fandom, but she’s been treated far better than past “villains” who weren’t white and were more justified — especially personal favorite of mine The Vixen. But having a villain is fun! Daya is fine! The fact that the fandom is so fucking weird and aggressive that I can’t openly hate her, annoys me. Like yes, death threats are bad because DEATH THREATS ARE BAD — but also they result in our villain crying instead of getting to embrace villainy.

Honestly, do you know who has embraced villainy best? Bosco. She’s been just as bitchy as Daya but she’s so much better at doing it with a joke. Maybe the problem with Daya is her talent at being shady is equal to her talent at other aspects of drag — not that great.

From fights to romance. We start with discussion of Alyssa as trade of the season before moving on to the Camgeria romance. Why are we focusing on an early season flirtation instead of the real thing that seems to have developed with Angeria and Willow?? I mean I see no reason the whole top five can’t fuck but if I’m shipping anyone it’s those two. We also learn that Jorgeous and Orion had a showmance but it didn’t last long because Jorgeous ghosted. I love that Kornbread was the only one who caught on during filming.

And I love Kornbread and Willow’s friendship!! Kornbread shows off her Willow tattoo and talks about them being friend soulmates.

Ru introduces Maddy as the first straight queen on the show even though she’s not even the only straight queen in that room. Unless Kerri, Kornbread, Willow, and Bosco want to give me a call. (Sorry, Jasmine, you’re too young for me.) I’d get into the whole Maddy thing again if I didn’t find her too boring to think about. Maddy is so mediocre she makes me want to apologize to Daya Betty.

I did enjoy watching Bosco’s face as Jasmine and Maddy discuss their fight. And I enjoyed Kerri calling them Miss Mouth Almighty and Mister Straight. And I enjoyed Willow saying that fight was when she realized she was on Drag Race.

Shoutout to Jasmine for being the center of this reunion! Next up is her coming out. Jasmine says the day that episode aired she came out to her dad and he said, “Okay. I’ll call you tomorrow.” This is framed as a positive, but I don’t know?? I’m forever asking this show to have higher expectations for straight family. I think Kerri does a great job adjusting the Drag Race narratives to be just a bit more nuanced. And it’s so lovely seeing these five queens on stage together. Kerri says they’re the sisterhood of the traveling estrogen. Ru says, “You are all my teachers.” Too bad he couldn’t have learned these lessons before insulting Peppermint.

Like Daya, Bosco doesn’t apologize for her fight with Camden. She says she was a bitch but drag queens are supposed to be bitches. Then she jokingly yells nice things at Camden. This is what I’m talking about!! She knows how to make fun of herself and own her villainy. I love Bosco.

Next is a toot or boot that ends with Maddy winning the golden boot for her farmer look. I really think Ru likes having Maddy around just to mock her.

Some queens from the Vegas show ask fan questions and we learn that Kornbread did give Daya $1,000 to eat that dragonfly. Orion is then quite cocky about how well she would’ve done in the challenges she missed, to which Bosco asks: What season were you on?

The library is open — as if it wasn’t already — and Alyssa and Orion are so bad. “How can her last name be story when she can’t even read?” Maddy says, the one time I’ve liked her. Kornbread then tells DeJa that she and Jesus have a lot in common — they both have twelve followers.

Finally, Daya has a little apology moment with Jorgeous and Jasmine and then we check in with our top five. Ru asks them all what their highest and lowest moments were. Angeria says her lowest was Snatch Game and her highest was Ru saying he didn’t expect her to get this far. Bosco says her lowest was when everyone said she should go home and her highest was winning by shit talking. Daya says her low and high was being sent home first. Camden says her low was the girl group and her high was winning three challenges. And Willow says her low was when Kornbread left and her high was the spaghetti bath.

That’s the end! Ru gives us a hint of the format next week. It’s going to be five solo performances and then a top two lip sync. But will the solo performances be lip syncs or original songs like seasons seven and eight? I’m rooting for original songs! Imagine how horny Bosco’s original song could be!

Teleport Us to Mars!! Here Are Some Random Thoughts:

+ Kerri, Jorgeous, and Alyssa opened for JLo?? That’s so cool.

+ This whole episode, Bosco and Kornbread were loving the drama so much.

+ Kerri is deemed the narrator of the season.

+Usually Mean Girls plays on VH1 before and after Drag Race, but this week it was Titanic and I was so tempted to save my recap for the morning and just watch it. Titanic is James Cameron’s best movie and that is the hot take I will leave you with because you already know I’m #TeamWillow.