Top 20 RuPaul's Drag Race Moments That Became Memes

As one of the most beloved queens ever to grace the stage of “RuPaul’s Drag Race”, it makes sense that many of Latrice Royale’s most memorable moments have become iconic memes of their own. From the 5 G’s, [“Good God Get a Grip Girl”] to her comments on the horrendous Season 4 Snatch Game, she has a knack for expressing exactly what the audience is feeling. Her most memorable meme-ment comes from the acting challenge where she played a prison guard, and in a moment of over-the-top brilliance, delivered the line: [“Get those nuts away from my face!”]. The moment has since become a staple reaction for anyone who wants to get anything away from their face.

Alaska was a frontrunner for most of the second “All Stars” season. And from her high horse, she issued subtle shade to fellow competitor Katya by comparing one of her looks to Adore Delano; a queen beloved by many but whose drag some view as sloppy. When Alaska finally landed in the bottom, she had what can politely be termed an emotional breakdown. Sitting down with Katya, she poured her heart out to stay in the game. From her position of power, Katya issued a one-word response that was nonchalant, cold as ice AND a reference to Ms. Delano. Although you could see Katya’s smile underneath, Alaska was not finding any humor in the situation. Her ensuing tantrum became her most dramatic moment. The fact that it was triggered by Katya, who is almost famously non-confrontational, just made it even funnier. Since then, fan edits of the scene have added flair and context to a moment that was probably not as tense as it was portrayed.

It’s one of those so bad it’s good moments that makes this show pure fun at every turn. The “All Stars” 4 queens were tasked with creating an exclusive nightclub experience right on the “Drag Race” set. Naomi Smalls and Valentina decided to add to the mystique of their creation, Club 96, by repeating its name in a sultry whisper over and over again. It may have landed them in the bottom, but if the winner of the challenge was based on social media engagement, they would have won for sure. Club 96 was showing up in the most bizarre places afterwards.

In season 4, Phi Phi O’Hara seemed to delight in the drama. From the shouting match with Sharon Needles [Go back to party city] to this exchange with Willam, it was clear that the contestant didn’t come here to make friends. Willam, by contrast, was always nonchalant and rather flasé-dah. This difference in attitudes came to a head when Phi Phi came after Willam for seemingly being more interested in shoes than competing in a talent competition. After Phi Phi’s rant came to a close, Willam proceeded to undercut the entire thing with this dispassionate comeback: [Your tone seems very pointed right now]. Thus providing us with an immortal comeback to anyone taking themselves too seriously.

If you’re looking for a queen who always told it like it was, look no further than Mo Heart, America. This queen became notorious for her candid confessions to camera, as well as her spirited exchanges with judges over certain fabric prints. The pinnacle of this energy was her now iconic catchphrase: [Facts are facts.]. Beautiful. Elegant. Undeniable in its simplicity. The phrase is an instant antidote to any delusion, and applicable to any situation with, well, facts. This was evidenced by Mo’s own admission when she didn’t know her words during the lipsync where she was eliminated.

Feeling undervalued at work? Did someone give you the most backhanded compliment ever? Well, season 7 contestant and All Stars 3 finalist Kennedy Davenport has just the reaction GIF for you. One of her most memorable — and memeable — moments came in the third episode. Fellow contestant Milk told Shangela that she didn’t agree with her decision to send Thorgy Thor home. The implication was that she would have eliminated Kennedy, who was literally sitting inches away from her. Miss Davenport’s confessional response was priceless. Clearly, the two had tension throughout the first half of the season. In a stroke of poetic genius, Kennedy would send Milk home at the end of that same episode.

Most “Drag Race” queens take their elimination with grace. Some can even leave with a dash of humor. Thorgy Thor is not most queens. Quirky, irreverent, and genuinely original, she wasn’t shy about making her feelings known. So, on “All Stars” 3, when Shangela pulled Thorgy Thor’s lipstick out of her top, the season 8 queen couldn’t help but make her feelings known. Her reaction of unchecked disgust became instant meme fuel for all the Internet to use. It provides the most dramatic and succinct response to any unhinged Internet post, or even to a minor inconvenience.

At first, her boisterous and loud personality was seen as quirky, if a little annoying. Then, as her fellow competitors got to know her better, they accused Laganja Estranja of playing up a persona for the cameras. Things came to a boiling point in “Untucked,” when Bianca Del Rio basically opened the floor for a referendum on Laganja’s behavior, and things quickly devolved from there. They assure her they’re not trying to attack her, but she’s not exactly feeling the love in that moment. It doesn’t help that she’s in a huge pink wig that’s shaking a bunch. The GIF has been making the rounds on social media for years since the whole fight aired.

You want wild? Well, you got it with this season 1 queen. Tammie Brown was always operating on her own wavelength, and you can either get with the program or stay confused. She is the queen of non sequiturs. She’s also one of the few to ever get in a real spat with host RuPaul. At the very first reunion, she took issue with the judges’ negative criticism, and pointed out that they’re not perfect either. Of course, she said it in her own brilliantly surreal Tammie Brown way. Walking children in nature is an oddly specific and unforgettable piece of early “Drag Race” meme culture.

No need to thank her. Creating memeable moments is sort of her thing. When Tatianna made her triumphant return to the Werk Room for All Stars 2, she brought with her a treasure trove of iconic quotes. Chief among them was the shady, versatile, and efficient catchphrase: “choices.” It’s only one word, but it more than gets the message across. She used it several times during the season, and every time was more delicious and pointed than the last. When you want to subtly but firmly tell someone they need to do better, look no further.

After some missteps on her original season, Aja’s talent show number announced her as a credible threat for the All Stars crown. Delivering a mix of ballroom performance and acrobatics alongside a lip sync, she wowed the crowd with a series of stunts that caught everyone’s attention. When she started climbing a stage block, it was fellow contestant Milk who uttered this now well-known question. Well, yes, she definitely did jump from there. The captioned image ended up having a pretty wide range of uses. Some of the best variations on this particular meme were even collected for a Buzzfeed article soon after the episode aired.

After weeks of waiting for a challenge to show off her singing and dancing talents, no one was more excited for Season 12’s “Madonna: The Rusical'' than Jan. Despite not getting her preferred role, she still gave one of the most genuinely powerful Rusical performances to date, landing her in the top. We saw her growing increasingly excited for her first win, only to hear Ru utter those fateful words: [“Jan, you are safe.”]. Jan’s jubilant optimism quickly turned into a jaded look of disbelief in what is now known as the facecrack of the century. While fellow castmates Jaida and Heidi certainly had their moments, [What if I’m the trade of the season?] it’s hard to argue that there was a bigger meme to come out of season 12 than this one.

Let’s make one thing perfectly clear. “Read U Wrote U” is still one of the entire franchise’s best original tracks. Alaska, Detox, and Katya all shined in the finale number, which required them to bring the hit to life on stage after writing verses and recording it. But it was season 5 runner-up Roxxxy Andrews whose contribution to the song became instantly iconic. Her verse arguably wasn’t as smooth or polished or clever as the other three, but it doesn’t even matter. It’s the one we remember the most. Now, Roxxxy and the phrase “make it clear” have become forever linked.

According to “All Star” 3 rules, the top queen who won the week’s lip sync pulled the lipstick of the contestant she wanted to send home. BenDeLaCreme broke protocol and pulled her own lipstick. Looking over the potential queens, she decided to quit while she was ahead. She simply scribbled out the real name and wrote her own using Wite-Out. Even Ru had no idea what to say. It wasn’t just a classy and incredibly dramatic way for her to leave the season on top. DeLa’s simple statement also became a clutch GIF for any introvert who’s ever left a social event early.

Alyssa Edwards is known for many meme-able moments, from rolling around as Annie Oakley to her spirited exchanges with rival Coco Montrese. However her conception as a meme queen arguably all started with this “Untucked” moment, where fellow castmate Jade Jolie claimed Edwards was bullying her and decided to hit back with her own reads. This prompted Edwards to reply with utter bewilderment to the confessional camera: [Back Rolls?]. It’s a perfect moment to represent a feeling of complete disorientation. It also doesn’t hurt that it comes with the complimentary meme-ment of Coco egging on Jade behind the scenes. [Get her Jade]

Though Shangela’s star has since plummeted after multiple sexual allegations came out in the 2020s, it’s hard to ignore that she seemed destined for fame as early as her brief stage appearance in Season 2. So when she got a chance for Ru-demption in the following season, all eyes were on her to prove that she had staying power. Fortunately for everyone except Mimi Imfurst, we got a glimpse of her fortitude in an early episode of Untucked. The two queens took escalating jabs at one another, until Mimi claimed Shangela had a sugar daddy, seemingly out of the blue. This did not sit well with Shangela, who went on one of the most iconic reality TV rants of all time. Every time we feel like we are not that kind of girl, this quote reminds us that we are what? [SICKENING!]

Speaking of lip syncs where queens didn’t know their words, there’s no way we could make it through this list without including Valentina. In this season 9 elimination, Valentina came to the stage sporting the facemask she wore on her runway. As the music started and her face was not visible, the judges became visibly confused before Ru stopped the music to chastise Valentina. When Ru demanded to see her lips, Valentina politely declined. [“I’d like to keep it on, please.”]. And while Valentina eventually complied, the moment had already been immortalized. Extra points for how well it aged into 2020 and beyond.

Jealousy is a hell of a drug. Early on in season 9 when the queens were given a challenge to create a Disney princess look from scratch, Aja’s concept did not stand up to scrutiny from the judges, while Valentina seemingly could do no wrong. This prompted a behind-the-scenes exchange in “Untucked”, where Aja took center stage to mock how all the judges fawned over Valentina’s every move. It’s since become the go-to moment to describe how we feel when we think someone is getting undue praise, or just when we’re feeling the fantasy.

While it’s customary for eliminated queens to give a final word before leaving the runway, Season 10’s first eliminated contestant somehow reinvented the wheel with this iconic exit. After Vanessa “Vanjie” Mateo lost her lip sync, she sashayed away while walking backwards off the stage, repeating her name three times. [Miss Vanjie] She was barely off the stage before Ru and Michelle started laughing about it, and by the next episode the queens had already adopted it into their vocabulary. And when the episode finally aired, an icon was born.

You knew it was coming. Part of what endeared audiences to Bianca Del Rio was her ability to call things as she saw them. [What do you do well?] This came to a heel when, late in season 6, fellow front-runner Courtney Act made some shady comments about Bianca’s lack of variation over the season. We see Bianca give her the stink-eye in the workroom before cutting to her confessional where she delivers the now iconic line: [Not Today, Satan]. It was a perfect declaration against all those who tear us down, and has since been immortalized in everything from reaction gifs to major media franchises.

Which “Drag Race” meme do you think deserved a spot on our list? Tell us in the comments.