Top 10 Exact Moments a Queen Blew a Lip Sync on RuPaul's Drag Race

Season 14

In storytelling, the principle of Chekhov’s gun says that if you introduce a gun, it better go off at some point. Unfortunately for Alyssa Hunter, she failed to deliver that much-needed payoff during her lip sync against Kerri Colby. Alyssa started strong, serving the perfect blend of sensuality and playfulness to J.Lo’s “Play.” However, her downfall came when she grabbed her money gun, aimed, fired and… nothing happened. With no dramatic cash shower to wow the judges, she was left awkwardly tossing bills by hand like a last-minute club promoter. The disappointment in the room was palpable. This one prop malfunction cost Alyssa the lip sync and her place in the competition.

Season 16

The first rule of a lip sync is to know the words. Ignore this, and no matter how dazzling your moves are, you’re probably sashaying away. That’s exactly what happened to Mirage. Heading into this lip sync, pretty much everyone assumed Mirage had it in the bag. After all, she’d already wowed the judges with her jaw-dropping talent show routine. Performance-wise, she still delivered, but there was one glaring problem: she didn’t know a single lyric to Cher’s “Dark Lady,” and no amount of “watermelon, watermelon” was going to save her. To make matters worse, her hair got caught in her costume, forcing her to waste precious seconds untangling herself. At that point, it was clear she had lost the battle.

Season 9

Some songs can be effectively lip synced to by standing in one spot and delivering the right emotions. “I Wanna Go” by Britney Spears is not one of those songs. Yet, when Charlie Hides faced off against Trinity the Tuck, he inexplicably chose to stand still, only making weird movements with his hands. Despite multiple pleas from the other queens, Charlie made no real effort to fight for himself, essentially handing Trinity an easy win. He later revealed that he had cracked a rib during the season’s cheerleading challenge, which hampered his ability to perform. However, to the judges, it simply looked like he was waving the white flag, so they obliged him and sent him home.

Season 10

After the makeover challenge, Monét X Change failed to impress the judges and landed in the bottom two yet again. It was her third time in that position, and with Kameron Michaels, an equally fierce performer, as her opponent, the odds weren’t in her favor. Still, Monét kicked things off strong, serving the swagger and flair that Lizzo’s “Good as Hell” demands. For most of the performance, it was anyone’s game. That is, until Monét strutted to the back of the stage and lunged forward into a split, accidentally shattering a stage bulb in the process. Although she recovered flawlessly, that seemed to be the moment RuPaul made the decision to send her home.

“All Stars” Season 4

The first lip sync of the season saw Mo Heart and Trinity the Tuck battle it out to Mariah Carey’s “Emotions.” For Mo, this was her first time lip syncing on the show since The Vixen sent her packing on Season 10, and she really only had two tasks: know the words and keep her wig on. She managed to accomplish just one. Midway through, Mo flipped her head upside down and launched her wig into the air. It could have been a fierce move, if there was another wig underneath, but revealing to nothing sucked the air out of her performance, even though it was admittedly a hilarious gag. Unsurprisingly, Mo lost the lip sync and received some much-needed wisdom from Mama Ru.

Season 17

From her unforgettable lip sync against Arrietty to her winning routine in the Villains Roast, Lydia B Kollins always managed to surprise the judges. However, after landing in the bottom two for the third time, Lydia’s final surprise left everyone disappointed. Performing to “Unholy” by Kim Petras and Sam Smith, who was seated on the judges panel, Lydia’s performance was already good enough. But then, feeling constrained by her floor-length gown, she made the disastrous decision to pull out a pair of scissors and cut herself loose. What followed was an excruciatingly long struggle that felt like it would never end, yet somehow, she still couldn’t free herself entirely. In the end, Lydia ruined a stunning gown and still sashayed away.

“All Stars” Season 3

The sixth episode of “All Stars” 3 delivered one of the most gag-worthy moments in “Drag Race” herstory. But BenDeLaCreme wouldn’t have had the chance to eliminate herself if she had lost the lip sync to BeBe Zahara Benet. For a moment, that seemed possible, as BeBe was giving all the right emotions, even without much movement. But as the performance got to its climax, she reached for her wig, setting up what we assumed would be a legendary reveal. And yet… nothing. You’d think the first-ever “Drag Race” winner would know better, but given that she basically stopped watching after her win, it wasn’t entirely shocking. This misstep handed BenDeLaCreme the victory and the perfect opportunity to exit the competition.

Season 9

There are plenty of queens on “Drag Race” who didn’t know the words to the lip sync song, but managed to fake it well enough to fool the judges. In Season 9, fan favorite Valentina tried to do the same, but took the most obvious approach ever. Valentina wore a face mask as part of her runway look and simply refused to take it off once the lip sync began. Even after RuPaul stopped the performance and told her point-blank to remove it, she tried to hold her ground. Eventually, Valentina complied and confirmed what everyone already suspected: she had no clue what the words to Ariana Grande’s “Greedy” were. Needless to say, she was given the chop.

Season 10

After Sasha Velour’s legendary wig reveal at the Season 9 finale, it seemed every queen was scrambling to outdo her. Asia O’Hara aimed to top the spectacle at the next season’s finale by incorporating live butterflies hidden in her costume. The plan, it seems, was to have them fly out dramatically and flutter about on stage. It might have made for a breathtaking moment, had things gone according to plan. However, for some reason, the butterflies refused to take flight. Instead, they tumbled lifelessly to the floor, creating a spectacle of an entirely different kind. Thankfully, they were still alive, but the same could not be said for Asia’s shot at the crown.

Season 3

Drag is many things - a fierce and captivating art form - but one thing it is not is a contact sport. Mimi Imfurst might have benefited from learning this before going into her lip sync against India Ferrah. Throughout the performance, Mimi did everything but set the stage on fire to hog the spotlight. While that alone wasn’t a crime, what she did next cemented this lip sync as one of the most shocking moments in the show’s history. When India went down to perform directly in front of the judges, Mimi followed and decided to hoist her onto her shoulders. It was an unbelievably poor choice with zero justification. And for that, RuPaul wasted no time in eliminating her.


What other “Drag Race” lip sync moment had you burying your face in your palm? Let us know in the comments below.