At the start of this year’s ‘Drag Race’ reunion episode, RuPaul promised that the queens would be spilling “the T, the whole T and nothing but the T” and girl, she was not joking around.
We were hoping the reunion special would be all about Monet running round with a sponge, classic one-liners from Monique Hart and more cries of “Vanjie!” than the HQ comments section.
But instead, the episode was an all-round uncomfortable affair, packed with emotional outbursts, surprising feuds and yes, even a walk-off.
These are the most dramatic moments of the episode (and consider this your last warning, there are spoilers aplenty ahead)...
1. The Vixen walks off
It was inevitable that the confrontation between The Vixen and Eureka would be brought up, but what we didn’t anticipate was just how early it would feature in the conversation and how much RuPaul would get involved.
Eventually, exhausted with defending herself, The Vixen said: “I came here to thank my fans for the love and support that they gave me, for all the wonderful people who relate to me, understand me, and appreciate me… and now that I’ve done that, y’all can have a good night.”
And with that, off she walked.
2. Asia O’Hara gets tearful as she supports The Vixen
Throughout the debate around The Vixen, it was finalist Asia O’Hara who most prominently had her back, as she did during the competition.
RuPaul then suggested that “at one point, you have to let people go”, at which point a tearful Asia protested: “It’s just ridiculous. It’s ridiculous that our thought process about people is so self-centred that… it’s hard to help somebody? Well, just let ’em struggle.
“We’re not just drag queens, we’re people. And now we’ve got one of our people outside, here we are filming during Pride season and we let one of our sisters walk out the fucking room, because nobody wants to fucking help her. And we are the first people, we are the first people to say that people aren’t treating us right.”
3. RuPaul loses it with Asia
In a speech that is sure to divide ‘Drag Race’ fans, RuPaul took issue with Asia, raising his voice in a way that viewers have only been privy to one a handful of occasions in the past 10 series.
When Asia suggested RuPaul could have done more to “teach” The Vixen, the host hit back: “I can teach her by my own example, what? Am I going to go back there and follow her? Can you explain to someone who can not be spoken to?
“Look at me, goddammit. I come from the same goddamn place that she comes from. And here I am. You see me walking out? No, I’m not walking out.
“I fucking learned how to act around people, and how to deal with shit. I’m not fucking walking out and saying fuck all of y’all. That’s disrespectful!
“Let me tell you something, I have been discriminated against by white people because I’m black, by black people because I’m gay and by gay people for being too femme. Did I let that stop me? No.”
4. Monique Hart and Dusty Ray Bottoms’ tears
Both Monique and Dusty discussed their religious families’ issues with them being both gay and a drag queen on the show, and both were invited to speak more on the subject during the reunion special.
While Dusty spoke extensively about having been sent to conversion therapy, Monique shared her own journey to being her “most authentic self”.
She eventually described an experience at the gay bar Hamburger Mary’s, tearfully explaining: “We had this dance party… and there was this kid sitting across from me. And he wanted to go up and I said to him, ‘know that you are loved. And you are so worth it. And go twirl. Go give it to ‘em’.
“And I knew that in that moment that gay black youth come up to you… because I wanted to be that boy but I couldn’t be that boy. So to be in a day and age that they can… that means so much to me.”
5. Blair St Clair
Blair also reflected on a serious discussion she had on the show, having shared on the runway that her “first sexual experience” had been a sexual assault.
During the reunion show discussion, it was revealed that this was Blair’s first time speaking openly about being a survivor of rape.
She said: “You know, sometimes your heart knows when you’re ready to talk before your brain does. And I don’t even think my brain was fully capable of [processing] what I was doing in the moment.”
She also spoke openly about her dependency on alcohol as a coping mechanism, which she says is under control since her time on ‘Drag Race’ ended.
6. Miz Cracker gets an apology from Asia O’Hara
A behind-the-scenes drama that didn’t get much air time on the show, Miz Cracker discussed the moment when finalist Asia O’Hara said on the main stage that she didn’t think her competitor was a “star”, admitting the repercussions “for months”, even struggling to get out of bed at points.
“Asia, you hurt my feelings,” Miz Cracker said. “I come from New York City, and there is an infinite amount of love in the world, but there are only so many bars in New York City, and I fought for a place in all of them.
“And all year before ‘Drag Race’, people were like, ‘Girl are you ready for Monet and Aquaria to be on Drag Race’. I was always ‘not a star’. I came here only to be a star. To show people that I was not ‘less than’.”
Asia owned up to having crossed a line, telling Miz Cracker: “That was wrong, and that was hurtful of me to say that. I would never want to discredit anybody’s work. You’re not ‘less than’, you’re ‘more than’, you proved that by being here. So I’m really sorry, from the bottom of my heart.”
Miz Cracker accepted the apology, but curiously added: “What I will say is this time, you made a mistake. Fine. Not next time, bitch.”
7. The girls air their issues with Kameron Michaels
Even more intriguingly, towards the end of the interview RuPaul let the queens take over and ask questions, which put Kameron Michaels in the firing line.
Kameron has gone pretty much under the radar this series, but some of the queens took issue with the finalist for her behaviour on social media, as well as towards them when they’ve been doing press and other public appearances.
Put on the spot, she put her quietness during the competition down to being “intimidated” by her fellow contestants, as the only competitor who wasn’t working as a professional queen when the series began.
Dusty Ray Bottoms remained unconvinced, though, telling her: “I don’t have a relationship with you, I don’t think many girls do have a relationship with you… and it’s almost as if you don’t want it at all.”
8. No one chooses Kameron as their winner
On that note, the queens were each asked to choose which of the four finalists they’d like to see crowned America’s next drag superstar, and not a single vote was cast in Kameron’s direction, prompting this facial reaction…
Oh dear.
‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ is streaming now on Netflix. The series 10 finale will be available from Friday 29 June.