Drag Race’s Ra’Jah O’Hara says she had to call out ‘favouritism’ on Canada vs the World
Playing up in style: Ra’Jah O’Hara on Canada’s Drag Race: Canada Vs. The World. (Getty/ WOW)
RuPaul’s Drag Race triple threat Ra’Jah O’Hara has spoken out about favouritism during her stint on Canada vs the World.
O’Hara, who has competed in season 11 of RuPaul’s Drag Race, All Stars 6 and now Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs the World – joined the most recently eliminated queen Vanity Milan to watch episode five at Roscoe’s Tavern, a bar in Chicago that regularly hosts Drag Race viewing parties.
Naysha Lopez, (another Drag Race contestant, this time from season eight), who hosts the viewing parties, asked: “Did you guys at all feel there was any favouritism? We discussed this with Icesis and she did, she said she felt there was and that it really f*cked with her.”
In response, Mother (sorry, Ra’Jah O’Hara) said: “I don’t want to say that they were playing favouritism, but there was a little bit of some favouritism. One time I actually had to speak out about it, so it was kind of like, it made me feel really uncomfortable.”
She added that she couldn’t give any further details, presumably due to the infamously airtight NDAs that each queen signs before competing on the show.
O’Hara then made some revealing comments that seemed to suggest the scales were tipped in favour of the Canadian contingent.
“I wouldn’t say it was favouritism towards anyone on this stage [her and Vanity],” she continued, with fans speculating that she was specifically referring to Rita Baga. Kendall Gender and Stephanie Prince went home first and second respectively, with Icesis only placing in the top two once.
Vanity Milan, who placed fifth after making the top four on Drag Race UK‘s third season, added that she joined this season to showcase more of her artistry to the world, not for the competition.
“I understand it was a TV show,” she explained. “I was there for me and me only. My redemption from season three into Canada’s vs the World was more important to me – and showing the world that I had something to prove.”
Icesis Couture left the season on its fourth episode of her own volition, citing mental health reasons. Appearing at Roscoe’s the week prior, she said that production asked her to “help … keep the title in Canada” by joining the cast, despite the doctor’s wishes that she wouldn’t compete.
The final of Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs the World airs on BBC iPlayer on Friday 23 December, with Rita Baga, Victoria Scone, Ra’Jah O’Hara and Silky Nutmeg Ganache vying for the crown.
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