RuPaul’s Drag Race just crowned a winner, baby
The four finalists of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 13 – Gottmik, Kandy Muse, Rosé and Symone – battle it out in a series of Britney Spears-themed lip sync performances. (Twitter/@RuPaulsDragRace/WoW)
After 16 episodes and so many memorable moments, RuPaul’s Drag Race season 13 has come to its end, and there is a new reigning queen – Symone.
The latest and longest season of Drag Race herstory came to a close on Friday (23 April), and the final four queens – Gottmik, Kandy Muse, Rosé and Symone – battled hard to claim the crown and the $100,000 cash prize. The top four served sickeningly, fabulous performances during a Britney Spears lip-sync showdown.
But Symone’s stellar performance (and exploding wig) to “Till the World Ends” beat out Kandy Muse and solidified the “Ebony Enchantress” as the Drag Race winner. Symone tearfully accepted the crown and sceptre from season 12 winner Jaida Essence Hall.
She kept her remarks short and sweet, calling back to her entrance line of the season: “I told y’all not to let the smooth taste fool you!”
In a post on Twitter, Symone shared more about what the win has meant for her. She thanked her fans, saying she loves “every single one of y’all from the bottom of my heart”.
“Thank you to my family, my house, my friends!” she wrote. “It has been the most magical ride of my life and it is my honor to be your reigning queen!”
https://twitter.com/the_symonee/status/1385801246599045123
Symone has been a frontrunner the entire season. She won her first “Lip Sync for Your Life” in the very first episode and continued to collect the most maxi challenge wins before earning her place in the finale.
Symone has also garnered a host of fans during her Drag Race run, including hip-hop superstar Lizzo and even Mama Ru herself. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight before the finale, Symone said she was “aware” of how much RuPaul had ‘fallen in love’ with her during the season. She added that RuPaul’s support had made her want to strive to be better every week.
Symone said: “I was very much aware of how she felt about me, and it just made me be like, ‘I’m going to go on this runway, I’m about to turn it. I’m about do this challenge.’ Except that one.
“But other than that, it just made me more invigorated to be like, ‘Let’s do it. Let’s turn it. Let’s make her proud. I want to see that smile, baby. I want to see her light up.’
“It was very apparent, and I wanted to strive for that every week, for sure.”
