Loosey LaDuca holds nothing back after ‘devastating’ Drag Race exit: ‘I did feel robbed’
Loosey LaDuca says she felt ‘robbed’ after her Drag Race season 15 elimination. (MTV/World of Wonder)
Loosey LaDuca, the most recently eliminated queen from season 15 of RuPaul’s Drag Race, has revealed that she felt “robbed” after her emotional exit.
The Connecticut queen was sent home on episode 13 of Drag Race after landing in the bottom with her onscreen nemesis, Luxx Noir London. Both had failed to impress judges in the classic makeover challenge, in which the queens are tasked with transforming a guest star and creating a strong drag family resemblance.
Despite winning two maxi challenges and three mini challenges, RuPaul ultimately decided that LaDuca should sashay away after losing the lipsync to Luxx.
During her farewell message, LaDuca delivered a soon-to-be iconic monologue (“Mistress put her partner in a stretch dress”); but in her subsequent exit interview with Entertainment Weekly, she didn’t hold back on her frustration at missing out on the season finale.
“I was devastated,” she remarked. “I really was. I worked so hard, and I wanted so badly to do my absolute best in every single challenge.
“I never was afraid of anything, I never second-guessed anything, and I believe – and people can call me delusional – that I earned a spot in the finale.”
Aside from firmly believing that she “rightfully should have made it to the finale”, LaDuca also revealed that she cried “from the moment [Ru] said [her] name, until [she] left that Werk Room”.
“It was devastating at the time, and it felt like I was so, so close,” she continued. “It wasn’t a fun feeling.”
LaDuca also opened up about not getting to partake in next week’s challenge, which sees the remaining queens perform a RuMix of RuPaul’s song “Blame it on the Edit“.
“It felt surreal, like all my friends were going on a field trip and I was left back at the school by myself, because I knew there was still another challenge left and I wanted so badly to do that challenge.
“I did feel kind of robbed. I felt that way at the time. It was tough.”
Elsewhere in the interview, LaDuca shared what was on her mind before heading into the final lipsync.
As she prepared to face off against Luxx – who had called her drag “generic” in front of the judges previous episode – the camera panned to her opponent, who could be see dramatically stretching in preparation. But although viewers were shown a shot of LaDuca looking at Luxx during this charade, she remains adamant that she wasn’t put off.
“I remember thinking the healthiest mindset I could be in was that there was absolutely no way I’m going to go home,” she continued.
“My intention was to not pay any attention to what Luxx was going to do. That’s kind of the kiss of death, when you see someone during a lip-sync look over and go, What are they doing?”
When asked about her Drag Race legacy, LaDuca said that she hoped viewers would remember that it’s powerful to show emotion.
“It’s okay to want the most, and it’s okay to be confident, and it’s powerful to be emotionally vulnerable,” she added.
“As a society, being emotional is frowned upon, and it took me years to get comfortable with showing my emotions… it should be applauded instead of frowned upon.”
RuPaul’s Drag Race season 15 airs on Fridays 8/7c on MTV in the US and is available to watch on Wow Presents Plus on Saturday mornings from 2am GMT in the UK.
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