Culture

Bam! RuPaul just confirmed the Drag Race All Stars 5 cast and it’s pretty sickening, no?

May 30 2020
Written by Reiss Smith

Miz Cracker, Shea Couleé and Blair St Clair are all part of the Drag Race All Stars 5 cast. (WOW)

The Drag Race All Stars 5 cast will reenter the werk room in just a matter of days, boasting an impressive mix of fan favourites from early and more recent seasons.

RuPaul will welcome 10 queens back to the hallowed sugar walls of the werk room: Shea Coulée, Jujubee, Miz Cracker, Alexis Matteo, Blair St Clair, Mariah Balenciaga, India Ferrah, Derrick Barry, Mayhem Miller and Ongina.

The new season will feature “the biggest shake-up in herstory”, as All Stars rules are suspended “forever” in favour of a brand new format.

Each week the queens will compete in an iconic maxi challenge, with the winner then going head to head with a lip-sync assassin. If the All Stars 5 queen wins, she gets the power to eliminate and wins a $10,000 cash tip. Lose, and that power goes to the remaining queens, who will cast votes, and the tip will roll over.

VH1 will premiere the new season Friday (June 5), after network owners backtracked on a move to Showtime.

The decision was made not because of fan backlash, but due to the coronavirus pandemic which “resulted in various scheduling and programming adjustments”.

Here’s your first look at the All Stars 5 cast of queens. Bam!

Shea Couleé

Shea Coulée — Shea Couleé at the RuPaul’s Drag Race season 9 finale. (Rodin Eckenroth/WireImage)

Shea said she “felt like such a disappointment” after losing her iconic season 9 finale lip-sync to Sasha Velour, and this time, she’s here to win.

The Chicago queen is one of the most formidable competitors ever seen on Drag Race. She won four challenges in season nine – a feat only achieved by a handful of queens.

Only Bendelacreme has achieved a better scorecard in a single season (five, on All Stars 3, before eliminating herself), putting Shea in a strong position for the Drag Race All Stars crown.

Miz Cracker

Miz Cracker said she was “so worried about being absolutely perfect” on her first time around, and this time, she’ll be letting loose a little bit.

The season 10 queen has placed highly on All Stars 5 cast wish lists for a while now, but has tried to throw fans off the scene. In 2018 she told Metro she would be prioritising social projects over Drag Race, explaining: “I would be a wonderful thing to do All Stars, but we are in a world right now where there are still countries where queer people are mistreated and killed.”

Derrick Barry

Derrick Barry is here “to do it again”.

Drag’s finest Britney impersonator has made no secret of the fact she’d love a second chance on Drag Race.

At DragWorld 2019, she told Digital Spy that she “would never turn All Stars down, that’s for sure”.

The Vegas queen hinted that she’d stick to her guns if given a second chance, and would play up her popstar leanings.

“I learned that in the last three years of travelling, I have not booked one show where I have been asked to come and do drag, they want me to come and impersonate Britney.”

Mayhem Miller

Mayhem Miller said she didn’t push herself far enough in season 10, in which she was the fifth queen to be eliminated.

But in her short time in the werk room she managed to make a big impression and has since won the ultimate fan compliment – being immortalised as a meme.

As part of the Drag Race All Stars 5 cast she’s following in the footsteps of her drag sisters Detox (season 5, All Stars 2), Raven (season 2, All Stars 1) and Morgan McMichaels (season 2, All Stars 3).

Blair St Clair

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A post shared by Blair St. Clair (@blairst.clair)

Blair St Clair is back and “all grown up now” and sees herself as a “strong b***h”.

Though Blair’s run on Drag Race season 10 was relatively short – she went out in week six, just after Mayhem Miller – her candour and flawless looks made her an instant fan favourite.

Since her season Blair has undergone a considerable glow-up – just check her Instagram – and in 2019 she told GSN that she would “feel confident” going into All Stars, but would only do it if it benefited her career.

“If you were to ask me if I’m ready to film an All Stars season and if I’d do well, I’d say yes,” she said.

“I’m ready. I’ve spent a long time harnessing my craft and strengthened my weaker areas.”

Jujubee

Continuing the theme of Rudemption for the queens done dirty by All Stars 1, it’s Jujubee.

“Third time’s the charm” she said. “I made it to top three twice, I’m ready for the crown.”

Jujubee came in third place in season two, behind Raven and Tyra Sanchez. She teamed up with Raven for All Stars, narrowly making it to the final after an emotional lip-sync to Robyn’s “Dancing On My Own”, but falling at the final hurdle. Here’s hoping she can beat her track record now she’s confirmed as part of the Drag Race All Stars 5 cast.

Ongina

Drag Race‘s original bald queen Ongina returns from season one, “the one that started this whole shenanigan”.

The Filipino-American queen was one of the first reality TV stars to come out as HIV positive. She memorably announced her status on the mainstage, paving the way for future queens living with HIV to compete openly and proudly.

It’s no surprise then that Ongina has remained a firm fan favourite, and perhaps the queen who has cropped up on more All Stars wish lists than any other.

summoning circIe, hope this works

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? Ongina ?

? On All Stars 5 ?

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?

— jakeyoncetv (@jakeyoncetv) March 7, 2019

Mariah Paris Balenciaga

An underrate season three queen, perhaps best remembered for her ashen Joan Collins Snatch Game, which she admitted was her downfall.

We haven’t heard tonnes from Mariah in recent years – though she’s a firm favourite at DragCon – but her All Stars stint could propel her into the big leagues, just like Tatianna.

Alexis Matteo

Bam! Alexis Matteo on All Stars 5 will be truly be sickening, no?

Though these days she’s better known as Miss Vanjie’s drag mother, Alexis Matteo was a formidable competitor on season three, where she came in third, and on All Stars 1, where she was arguably hindered by teammate Yara Sofia.