RuPaul’s Drag Race season 17 eliminated queen reflects on ‘disaster’ lip-sync gaffe

Lydia B Kollins has reflected on the “disaster” lip-sync stunt that saw her eliminated in the most recent episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 17.

After flunking the “Ross Matthews vs. The Ducks” acting challenge in episode 11, crafty queen Lydia B Kollins was put in the bottom two alongside her competitor, Lana Ja’Rae.

Both queens had landed in the bottom twice before, so it was anyone’s game – until Lydia attempted a scissor trick that went awry. 

While lip-syncing to Sam Smith and Kim Petras’s sultry smash song “Unholy”, Lydia pulled out a pair of scissors she’d sneaked onto the main stage from the Werk Room, and attempted to cut off her black and white gown.

Yet the thick material didn’t cut as easily as anticipated, and the drag star was left frantically attempting to hack her way through as the song continued on. In the end, she half gave up, trying to step her way out of the bottom of the dress.

Realising she couldn’t step out without falling over, she awkwardly performed with one leg still in the gown. Then, she dropped to the floor and attempted to pull the garment over her heels.

Lydia was literally winning until the dress mess up #DragRace pic.twitter.com/PxRoumV9jP

— Mary Cosby Chanel Gloves (@how2hoe) March 15, 2025

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Lydia has confirmed she didn’t rehearse the stunt, which might explain why it went so wrong.

“Those scissors were just [sitting] in my breast cup for the entire night. In hindsight, I should’ve just kept them there and kept chucking along with the lip-sync,” she reflected.

She went on to suggest that she “got in [her] head” while trying to slash open the dress.

“That Kim Petras verse lasts nine years when you’re trying to cut yourself out of a gown made of thick carpet material and faux fur. It was a recipe for disaster. Mix that with panic, dread, and disappointment from the judges, pack your bags! I was just hoping for a miracle at that point.”

Elsewhere in her chat with the publication, Lydia responded to the fan uproar over the mirror message left by her season 17 sister Arrietty.

At the beginning of episode 11, the queens returned to the Werk Room following Arrietty’s elimination and were confronted by her message, which read: “As one smelly b***h to another, Onya, please brush your teeth.”

Onya went on to tearfully reveal that she has a medical condition which affects her dental hygiene. Online, the Drag Race fandom erupted with disgust at Arrietty’s “hateful” send off remark.

Sharing her thoughts on the furore, Lydia said: “It’s no secret that Arrietty might be good at doing drag. Some might say. Surprisingly. Her runways will be missed heavily. Getting eliminated is a tough thing, so she was probably just fired up in the moment.”

She continued: “It was definitely uncalled for, but I don’t think either of them hold hard feelings. If you have hate, put it on my page for the engagement boost. Don’t send it to Arrietty.”

Onya was quick to share love for Arrietty when the fandom raised their pitchforks, and she has since doubled down on her support for her season 17 sister.

She told Entertainment Weekly that she “forgave Arrietty right after the incident happened” but admitted that watching the episode back “wasn’t fun”.

“But the good thing about it is the fans had my back recently,” she explained, revealing that fans have gifted her over $1000 after the incident.

“So when bad things happen, good things are right around the corner. I forgive Arrietty. She’s a friend and, more importantly, a sister. And life moves on.”

RuPaul’s Drag Race season 17 continues on MTV on Fridays in the US and WOW Presents Plus internationally.

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