Drag Race icon Miz Cracker overcame financial ruin, flooding and a near death experience before All Stars 5
Drag Race All Stars 5 finalist Miz Cracker. (VH1)
Drag Race All Stars 5 finalist Miz Cracker revealed that she had “a bunch of disasters” just before returning to the competition.
Miz Cracker will go up against Shea Couleé and Jujubee in Friday night’s (July 24) grand finale, which she goes into riding high after two consecutive wins.
Throughout the season Drag Race fans have watched Cracker battle to overcome self-doubt.
In a Whatcha Packin’ interview with judge Michelle Visage, the New York queen explained where her troubles stem from, and why she has a “complicated happiness” about succeeding.
“There’s always trouble [in my life]” she said.
“Whenever you’ve had a troubled life, as soon as something wonderful happens you get that flinch, you get that gunshot, you’re like, ‘when’s the other shot gonna drop’.”
Miz Cracker had a string of tragedies before All Stars 5.
Cracker said that she has only recently learned how to live in the moment, and it’s all because of a series of tragedies that befell her before filming on All Stars 5 commenced.
“I had a bunch of disasters,” she told Visage.
“My apartment flooded and destroyed all of my childhood belongings which I had stored in there, [it] ruined all the apartments below me so it ruined me financially.
Jujubee, Shea Coulée and Miz Cracker are Drag Race All Stars 5’s top three. (Getty)
“I had a near death experience, I lost family members. A close loved one tried to take their life and I was in the hospital all the time – and everything was just going so left…
“I just woke up one day and I was like, ‘oh my gosh, this could be it, it could be the last day.”
This mindset was only just sinking in during All Stars 5, Cracker said, “and it was at the end that I was finally understanding, we’re going to do today, just for itself”.
“Don’t waste time,” she added.
Her Drag Race return was about overcoming self-doubt.
Miz Cracker said that after her shock exit from Drag Race season 10, she fought to “wash away” her self-doubt and stage fright.
“That didn’t end up being true,” she added.
“I kept my self-doubt and I kept my stage fright, but what I learned was to just take them aside when it was time fo a challenge.”
Heading into the All Stars 5 finale with three main challenge wins, Cracker is leading on report cards, but faces stiff competition from drag juggernaut Shea Couleé and the ridiculously charismatic Jujubee.
Trixie and Katya are two people that really saved me.
Many fans have been surprised that this season has eschewed the usual makeover challenge – and Cracker revealed that she came prepared for one.
She showed Visage two costumes inspired by All Stars 3 winner Trixie and All Stars 2 runner-up Katya.
“I thought there was going to be a makeover and I was like, ‘you’ve just got to have strong concept now because the makeover has become such a big challenge’,” she said.
“I bought Trixie and Katya because they are two people that really saved me during my season when it was being seen by the world.
“[They are] people who reached out and said: ‘Hey, it’s a hard run when you’re watching yourself on TV, keep it together, have faith, so I wanted to honour them, they meant so much to me.”
Finally, Cracker admitted that her Lady Gaga Snatch Game was a poor choice.
“I realised half-way through the Snatch Game,” she confessed.
Overall she said All Stars 5 was “the best of times and the worst of times”. In response, Visage told her that she was “so proud”, bringing a tear to our heavily made-up eyes.
