Eliminated Drag Race star reacts to being axed in top-three twist: ‘Definitely a bummer’
RuPaul’s Drag Race season 16 will feature just three finalists. (BBC)
The queen who narrowly missed out on making the top three of season 16 of RuPaul’s Drag Race is not happy about the plot twist that denied her the chance of snatching glory.
The structure of the Drag Race finale has been pretty much the same since the show began in 2009: a set number of queens advance to the last episode of a season to discover who will be anointed the next drag superstar.
The only variable has been how many contestants actually make it that far.
The first eight seasons featured a top three, but this changed to four with season nine’s famous lip-sync smack-down/Shea Coulée assassination.
Apart from season 14, which randomly had a top five, four queens made it to the final thereafter, although season 12 technically had a top three after Sherry – having made the final – was disqualified prior to the season airing.
It would be reasonable to assume, therefore, that season 16 would also have a top four. But in the most recent episode Q was eliminated after landing in the bottom two. She was told to sashay away, leaving just Plane Jane, Nymphia Wind and Sapphira Cristál to battle it out for the crown.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly as part of her exit interview, Missouri-born Q has revealed that she was not exactly pleased by the twist.
“It’s definitely a bummer [but] I’ve processed that by now,” she said.
“Honestly, I don’t know if staying longer in the competition has benefitted me more [as it might have if I left] earlier. It’s always that kind of toss-up with how you’re perceived by the audience. Who knows if me even staying this long was good. I’m at peace with it.”
Having quit social media following public trolling, Q added: “I don’t think I wanted to leave earlier for a robbed narrative, but I underestimated how much being in the public eye would take an effect on [me] in general. I think being out of that space for a longer period, I might’ve been happier with how things turned out.”
She will, however, now be seen in episode 15 for a lip-sync smack-down alongside the other eliminated queens, with a cash prize of $50,000 up for grabs.
RuPaul’s Drag Race season 16 continues on Fridays on MTV in the US and WOW Presents Plus internationally.
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