Top 10 Shocking RuPaul's Drag Race Scandals

The fourth season of “All Stars” was full of twists and turns, but this one happened off-camera. In episode four, the runway theme was “Swerves and Curves: Padded for the gods,” in which the queens were expected to strut their stuff in curvaceous outfits. Manila Luzon, who is known for her campy couture, wore a quilted dress that didn’t quite bowl the judges over. However, after the episode aired, she took to social media to claim that the original gown she’d planned to wear - which cleverly replicated a maxi pad complete with fake menstrual blood - was considered in “bad taste” by RuPaul. On Instagram, Manila explained that, “My goal with this look was to normalize menstruation by looking sick’ning even if I was on my period!”

Having left a lasting impression on fans after her season four appearance, Phi Phi O’Hara returned for “All Stars 2” to prove that she wasn’t a “villain” after all. But old habits die hard, and Phi Phi was eliminated mid-way through the competition after rubbing everyone the wrong way. Off the show, Phi Phi continued stirring the pot. In a revealing interview with Vulture, she heavily criticised the way contestants are treated on the show. She also claimed RuPaul didn’t interact with the girls off-camera, adding, “We’re just game pieces for her show.” Considering Ru has been caught on camera struggling to remember queens’ names, there might be some truth to this. Ru responded to Phi Phi’s comments by unfollowing her on social media.

Valentina was one of season nine’s rising stars, but her meteoric crash back down to earth during the ninth episode’s Lip Sync For Your Life has become her legacy. Dismayed at her sudden elimination, some members of Valentina’s passionate fanbase turned on other contestants on social media, particularly Alexis Michelle. Alexis brought this up during the reunion episode, saying she received horrible messages about her weight and much worse. When asked by the other queens why she failed to try and stop this, Valentina asserted that she wasn’t active enough online to do anything. No-one seemed to buy this, especially Shea Coulee. In light of all this, Valentina’s Miss Congeniality win was renamed “Fan Favorite” by her season nine sisters.

As more and more controversial decisions and unpopular twists keep happening on “Drag Race,” fans and critics alike have been speculating on how “real” the so-called reality competition show is. From frontrunners being purposefully eliminated to winners being pre-picked, there’s no end to the conspiracy theories. Season four contestant Willam said in an interview that it was an open secret that Sharon Needles was destined for the crown, while Mariah Balenciaga’s lipstick message in season three congratulated Raja on her coming victory - which producers sneakily tried to edit out. “All Stars” has also been marred by fans feeling like several queens were “robbed,” from Raven to Katya to Shangela to Manila. “All Stars 2” winner Alaska cheekily referenced this during her “All Stars 4” cameo.

Pearl’s stare-down with RuPaul in season seven has become iconic, but since then, she’s become infamous for an unaired exchange with the head “Drag Race” judge. In an interview with “Hey Qween,” Pearl told host Jonny McGovern that in-between takes, she’d gushed to Ru about how much being on the show meant to her, to which Ru allegedly replied: “Nothing you say matters unless that camera is rolling.” While the comment could be interpreted in different ways, Pearl said it “broke her.” Past contestants, Gia Gunn, The Vixen and Laganja Estranja also said they’d heard similar sentiments from Ru, though Laganja viewed it as Hollywood wisdom. Pearl later said a “Drag Race” producer told her her comments had “guaranteed” she’d never appear on “All Stars.”

Up until 2014, the recurring segment where the girls watch a video message from RuPaul teasing the episode’s main challenge was called, “You’ve Got She-Mail.” This was both a parody of “America’s Next Top Model”’s “Tyra Mail” and a play on the phrase, “She-Male.” (That’s M-A-L-E.) The term is considered an offensive transphobic slur, and while the show’s use of it was tongue-in-cheek, as one of the few LGBTQ programs on air, viewers felt “Drag Race” needed to be more inclusive of the trans members of the community it represented. Eventually, the segment title was replaced with: [She-Mail’s rename: “Ooh girl, she already done had herses”] However, the decision wasn’t backed by RuPaul, who told The Guardian that he wouldn’t have changed it because the intent wasn’t hurtful.

Fans, critics and contestants have pointed out that racism has been festering within the show and its fandom for a while. While some queens of color have succeeded by deliberately playing into stereotypes, others, particularly those who don’t speak English as a first language, tend to get pigeonholed and undervalued on the show. In season ten, The Vixen sparked a huge discussion about race, particularly when she argued Aquaria’s tearfulness made her look like an “an angry black woman,” and walked out of the reunion when her side of the fight with Eureka O’Hara wasn’t supported by Ru. Season eight winner, Bob The Drag Queen weighed in by highlighting the disparity in social media followings between Caucasian and queens of color.

Willam’s shocking disqualification from “Drag Race”’s fourth season was seemingly explained by Willam himself in the reunion episode: While rumors about what really happened have been rampant ever since, Willam appeared to finally set the record straight in a 2018 Twitter conversation with “SNL” star, Leslie Jones, who was binge-watching his season. Willam confirmed his rule-breaking got him booted off the show, but claimed he’d done so deliberately because working conditions were so poor. He claimed the set was unsafe; accused staff of harassing him and being racially insensitive to Latrice Royale, and that cast members’ dietary restrictions were not met. Apparently, Sharon Needles survived off of “bread” and “ranch dressing” alone.

Monet X Change and Trinity The Tuck made “Drag Race” herstory when they became the first joint winners of “All Stars 4.” While some twists have left audiences screaming, this one had viewers gagged - in the wrong way. Some pointed out it contradicts RuPaul’s previous criticism of what he calls, “participation trophy culture.” It also unfortunately undermines what could have been an important solo win for Monet as the first queen of color inducted into the Hall of Fame. While “Drag Race” winners have been diverse, the first three seasons of “All Stars” have given us the complete opposite: three thin, white and blonde champions. Considering the show’s other reported problems with racism, it’s really not a cute look.

“Drag Race” has sparked controversy within the LGBTQ community for its mishandling of transgender issues. Former trans contestants like Carmen Carrera and Monica Beverly Hillz railed against the continued use of transphobic language after a mini-challenge dubbed, “Female or Shemale?” was included in season six. The controversy reached fever-pitch, however, when RuPaul told The Guardian in 2018 that he “probably” wouldn’t allow a transgender contestant who’d undergone gender confirmation surgery to compete, later likening it to an athlete using “performance-enhancing drugs” on Twitter. After a huge backlash forced him to apologise, Gia Gunn became the first trans queen to return for an “All Stars” season, though - off the show - she’s made it clear she’s not ready to forgive and forget.