What would a competition be without drama? RuPaul’s Drag Race has definitely had its highest and lowest moments on the show. And what makes the show even more exciting are RuPaul’s Drag Race secrets fans didn’t find out until years later.
RuPaul’s Drag Race has been airing since 2009 and recently ended its 14th season. The 15th series is to be aired this year.
Hosted by none other than RuPaul himself, drag queens compete against each other to become America’s next drag superstar. The UK spin-off sees British queens battle for the crown, and in RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs The World, international queens are brought in.
The challenges include tests on their comedic, sewing, and performance skills in front of the iconic judges, such as Michelle Visage and Ross Matthews.
After more than a decade, secrets and shade have now come out in the light. Despite the light-hearted essence of the show, fans may wonder if everything that glitters is indeed, not gold.
Pearl’s tension with RuPaul backstage
The beef between the Pearl and RuPaul began in Season 7 episodes. The host and contestant Pearl didn’t seem to understand each other very well.
Most fans remember the iconic clip where an awkward 30-second silence during a conversation took place in the work room. The infamous Pearl line “Do I have something on my face?” still sends chills through our spines.
According to Gay Times, three years later, Pearl broke her silence and revealed that she had received the worst treatment from RuPaul.
Pearl claimed an icy interaction happened between the two, telling Ru: “It’s such an honour to be here, such a pleasure to meet you, you have no idea.’ Just giving her everything I ever wanted to say to her.”
But the drag queen claims RuPaul completely shut her off by replying: “Nothing you say matters unless that camera is rolling.”
In a now-deleted YouTube video, Pearl allegedly shared his experience in Drag Race as she felt “disrespected”. She claimed that other stars had told her the same. Gay Times wrote that Pearl has reportedly “been banned from ever appearing on the show in the future.”
Willam’s elimination fiasco
Willam’s disqualification on Season 4 will always be carved into Drag Race Herstory. The dramatic moment came after RuPaul found out that she had broken the rules.
RuPaul called Willam out from the line-up and said: “It has come to my attention that you have broken the rules. Rules are placed to protect the fairness of this competition.
“Your actions have consequences and I’m afraid that you leave me no choice. Willam, I have to ask you to leave the competition immediately.”
Sometime after, according to Out, William spilled the entire tea and claimed the whole story of how the Drag Race’s working environment was toxic, which lead to her alleged “bad behaviour”.
Manila Luzon’s “menstrual pad” dress
While other participants have had a chance to showcase “living art” and political pieces during the show, Manila was forced to resort to plan B.
According to the drag artist, Manila intended to wear a red dress that looked like a menstrual pad. The star says the goal was to empower “young women about their bodies”. However, it had to be changed last minute as the producers of Drag Race said that she was not allowed to wear the iconic “period gown”.
If Manila would have been allowed to wear the gown, it would have made such an important statement in the herstory of RuPaul.
Sasha Velour had more than just rose petals up her sleeve
Sasha Velour was ready to give it all – and the queen delivered in season 9.
During the finale against Shea Coulee, the drag star famously stole the show. She was one of the first queens to use props in the final lip sync battle.
Usually, performers are told a handful of potential songs which may end up being in the epic battle finale. However, on the night itself, either Ru, or a wheel, decides which song will end up in herstory as the magic number.
Sasha Velour and Shea Coulee danced to Whitney Houston’s So Emotional on stage. Sasha’s dance elevated with each moment, from her throwing off her gloves with rose petals inside to the unforgettable wig game-changer. Sasha slowly lifted up her hair piece and let more red petals fall across her face and to the ground. The crowd was wild, to say the least.
However, it’s now known that Sasha actually had more than one prop on her body in case other songs were chosen. The iconic performance could have been completely different in an alternative universe.
The star told Buzzfeed’s RuPaul’s Drag Race podcast: “I had scissors strapped to my thigh and I was going to cut the wig until I was bald – to be stronger as a bald queen at the end.”