After one of the toughest and most talked-about series to date, RuPaul’s Drag Race season 12 came to its conclusion on Friday, May 29th.
Crystal Methyd, Gigi Goode and Jaida Essence Hall made it to the final, which had to take on a slightly different format with the three queens performing from home.
Each queen competed with a solo and then a final lip sync stand off to Destiny’s Child’s ‘Survivor’. It was all down to Ru to decide which queen deserved that coveted $100,000 prize – this year, it was so close to call!
As with any grand finale, there were tears of joy, but this final and fourteenth episode also saw tears of sorrow; the final episode of Drag Race season 12 paid tribute to Jacqueline Wilson. So, who was Jacqueline on the Drag Race team?
RuPaul’s Drag Race pays tribute to Jacqueline
Halfway through the final episode, before the judge’s critiques of the three final contestants, RuPaul began a tribute segment to Jacqueline Wilson.
Ru said: “Last last year we lost a beloved member of the Drag Race family. Jacqueline Wilson passed away shortly after we completed filming season 12. She loved her queens and we still love her.”
Many of the series’ favourite queens all appeared to share some of their favourite moments with Jacqueline.
- WE WANT MORE: Will Drag Race All Stars 5 be on Netflix?
Who was Jacqueline Wilson?
Often referred to as “the soul of Drag Race,” Jacqueline was a long-time producer of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Jacqueline started off her career as a writer-producer for on-air promotions and creative branding with Nickelodeon in 2000. According to her IMDb profile, Jacqueline’s first big job was as a co-producer on The Rebel Billionaire: Branson’s Quest for the Best. She produced 11 episodes from 2004 to 2005.
Jacqueline also worked on titles such as Basketball Wives and I Want to Work for Diddy.
She joined the Drag Race family way back in season 2 as the supervising story producer. Then in 2017, she was promoted to the co-executive producer of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars and then the flagship show a year later.
How did Jacqueline Wilson die?
Jacqueline Wilson passed away on September 11th, 2019.
Although the cause of her death was kept under wraps by her family, Jacqueline’s long-time friend and co-worker Meesh Mills shared a tribute post in which she revealed that Jacqueline passed away due to lung cancer.
Many of the Drag Race team have shared tributes to Jacqueline, even before the tribute in the final episode of season 12 aired. Jacqueline worked on season 12, all the way through, and passed away after filming had ended.
https://twitter.com/RuPaul/status/1171783048641183746
WATCH RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE SEASON 12 ON NETFLIX NOW
AND GET FREAKY WITH US ON INSTAGRAM AND FACEBOOK