Drag Race UK’s Marina Summers feels like she ‘already won’ after this moment
Drag Race UK vs the World finalist Marina Summers has opened up about the moment RuPaul told her she was ‘born to do drag’, saying that it makes her feel like she “already won”.
The first queen from Drag Race Philippines to appear on a series judged by RuPaul himself, pint-sized drag powerhouse Marina Summers has more than proven her worth.
Heading into the final of Drag Race UK vs the World‘s season finale (which will air on 29 March on BBC iPlayer and BBC Three at 9pm), Marina has sent three of her competitors home after winning three separate challenges and all of their subsequent lip syncs.
One runway critique following the season’s girl group challenge, which saw Drag Race UK‘s Gothy Kendoll eliminated, involved RuPaul herself telling Marina that she was “born to do drag” – a compliment given to an exclusive group that includes past queens Krystal Versace, Anetra and Jorgeous.
Speaking exclusively to PinkNews alongside fellow finalist La Grande Dame, Marina has opened up about what that moment was like, saying that the comment provided her with validation for “doing what she needed to do”.
“I was really transparent my emotions on the main stage,” Marina explains. “In my season in the Philippines, I tried to box my emotions, and this time, I wanted to really let it all out. So I was a little emotional onstage – and that’s how I really felt!”
Continuing, the finalist adds: “I really felt proud that my drag, and the type of drag that we do in the Philippines, was accepted by RuPaul.
“And that night, I was like, I did what I needed to do this season. I don’t care if I get eliminated next episode. I already won just by getting that praise. I was really, really, really happy. I hope [RuPaul] remembers that.”
As mentioned, Marina has sent the most queens home (Mayhem Miller, Gothy Kendoll and Choriza May) out of any of her fellow finalists. Ahead of the finale’s reunion, did Marina have any reservations about seeing those queens again – and had she expected to do quite so well?
The answer to that last part, it turns out, is yes – though Marina answers a tad more diplomatically than she has to.
“Let’s just say [that I had] I put myself into that situation [of winning] in my head already. Not that I wanted that to happen – but I really wanted it to happen!
“It’s the name of the game; if you are sending home girls, that means you’re doing well and I really wanted to do well.”
And as for whether she thinks any bridges have been burnt with her competitors, she doesn’t think so: “The moments that I got rid of the girls, I think we were on good terms. They were gracious enough to really understand the situation.”
Marina’s only ‘stumble’ in the competition – if you could even call it that – was a default bottom placement alongside La Grande Dame and flagship star Scarlet Envy, just before the final after the roast challenge. Though it was Scarlet who was eliminated by Drag Race Down Under‘s Hannah Conda, Marina shares that she was slightly worried that a “Pangina storyline” might occur – Drag Race code for the strongest competitor being sent home.
“I said through and through that I didn’t want the Pangina storyline here! Tia [Kofi] and Hannah, I was really close with them coming into the competition. I think we came there and we stood for something similar.
“And when that moment happened and I already had three wins under my belt, I was like: ‘You know what, if they eliminate me, the fans will do the job for me!'”
Marina adds that being the first Filipino queen to be judged by RuPaul was a “huge responsiblity” – but that the fans of her country, whom she affectionately refers to as “the best and the worst” of the Drag Race fanbase, “boosted [her] energy”.
She explains: “I feel like [the fans were] my biggest weapon coming here… in a way, it’s ignited my sense of pride in my country again, because we only feel this when there’s Miss Universe!
“For people to feel proud about it and to feel represented by me, just means so much to me.”
The finale of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs the World season two airs at 9pm on Friday (29 March) on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer.
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