Top 10 Times We Knew Exactly What RuPaul Was Thinking on Drag Race

As Ru says afterward, drag is not a contact sport. That didn’t stop season 3 contestant Mimi Imfurst from picking up fellow competitor India Ferrah and throwing her over her shoulder like a sack of wet laundry. Ru didn’t stop it, because after all, they’re there to make good TV. But the open-mouthed look of shock and the icy glare on her face afterward said it all. She wasn’t impressed by this demonstration of strength. If a queen can’t stand on her own two feet, and make it through a lip sync without sabotaging a competitor, she’s not fit to be America’s Next Drag Superstar. This stunt only cemented Mimi’s inevitable ousting from the season.

Stage slapping the queens was a mainstay of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” After all, it seems RuPaul loves to live out her “Dynasty” catfight fantasy. But during this particular mini-challenge, Ru lived that fantasy a little too fiercely. One by one, the queens would come up and work to receive a playful shadow slap from the host. The best reaction would win. Well, Ru misjudged one movement, and actually made contact with Asia O’Hara’s face. Embarrassed, she was quick to apologize, but she looked like her entire career was flashing before her eyes. It was Asia who said what Ru was thinking. This was about to become “Asia O’Hara’s Drag Race.”

If you want to know how a team did in the challenge, just look at Ru’s face after they finish. More often than not, it’ll give you a good indication. The queens of season 5 were tasked with creating and starring in a kids show. Closing out their creation with the comedic stylings of Honey Mahogany and Coco Montrese as a ventriloquist and her puppet, the second group clearly did not hit the mark. Look no further than Ru’s frozen expression after their segment finished. It’s like she’s trying to smile in the face of abject pain and terror at its badness. It’s a good thing the queens were judged individually and not in teams!

Latrice Royale gave one of the best lip syncs in the show’s herstory in season 4. That would’ve been true even if she hadn’t gone against Kenya Michaels, who completely misunderstood Aretha Franklin’s “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.” You can do all the tricks you want, but if it’s not that kind of song, it’s not that kind of song. Ru’s stone-faced expression as Kenya gestures toward her is so cold it could give you frostbite. It’s only matched by the look of absolute adoration from the judges as Latrice kills it. It’s like night and day, and leaves no question who’s about to sashay away.

We don’t really know what RuPaul was thinking when she made six drag queens lip sync on the same stage at the same time. But we got a glimpse into her mind amid the chaos and desperation when bottom queen Honey Davenport threw themselves in front of the panel and began thrashing on the ground. When Honey sashayed away, it wasn’t a surprise. Ru had silently said her goodbye as soon as the contestant flopped off the stage. The host wasn’t just unimpressed. She looked offended that someone would treat this moment, and her floor, so carelessly.

In the Snatch Game, there’s a fine, fine line between taking a risk and going overboard. That’s what season 5 queen Detox found out when they played an odd, obnoxious caricature of pop star Kesha. Both Alyssa Edwards and Lineysha Sparx were so bad they made Ru stumble over her words and question her reality. But only Detox decided to simulate relieving herself on the set. Ru didn’t know what to say. The host tried to play along, but it was obvious a space was already being cleared for Detox in the Snatch Game hall of shame.

Like so many comedy challenges, season 13’s Miss Congeniality roast had its winners and its losers. Utica Queen’s fashions were always innovative, but her comedy here was about as fresh and new as week old bread. For much of it, Ru was smiling politely. At most, she was just humoring the sure-to-be bottom placing queen while she died inside listening to those incredibly awkward punchlines. But once Utica came for her, it was on. To paraphrase the old adage, a nasty hand gesture is worth a thousand words. Though it was all in good fun, it was a clear sign that Ru wasn’t feeling Utica’s set.

If you bomb Snatch Game, you better slay the lip sync. And if you want to slay the lip sync, for the love of Ru, keep your wig on. If it’s killed a queen’s chances once, it’s killed them a thousand times. Mo Heart had every opportunity to redeem herself in this Carly Rae Jepsen lip sync. Instead, she didn’t learn her lyrics, and tossed her wig off before the first chorus. The heat generated from Ru’s eyes as she watched that flying hair piece could power a nuclear reactor. That was all it took. Mo was essentially out before the song was over. That was even before the cartwheels. At least, we think they’re cartwheels? Spoiler alert: Ru didn’t like those either.

Work room walkthroughs are usually RuPaul nudging the queens toward greatness, if not downright telling them exactly what they need to do to succeed in the competition. But rarely are they this tense. RuPaul’s critiques were clearly weighing on Pearl’s mind. When she got cheeky with the host, Ru looked like she wanted to have her own “be quiet, Tiffany” moment. No one can lay a verbal smackdown like the queen mother herself, but it’s moments like this that make us remember just how much she can communicate with a death glare. Pearl was clearly shaken by the encounter, and honestly, so were we.

As these two season 8 queens stumbled their way through the legendary “I Will Survive,” fans could see in Ru’s face that she was having horrid flashbacks. Not since Honey Mahogany and Vivienne Pinay’s double elimination had such a lackluster lip sync graced the mainstage. The host looked so uncomfortable witnessing such an uninspired performance to such a legendary song that she couldn’t hide her disdain. Every choice, every move was wrong for the track. Dax and Laila became the second pair of queens to face a double sashay. Considering how disappointed Ru was, it was a surprise to no one.

Which of these iconic RuPaul moments had you gagged? Let us know in the comments.