HOLLYWOOD – This spring’s PaleyFest LA has already hosted screenings and Q&As for “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Grace and Frankie” and a special evening with Stephen Colbert. There are also still events scheduled for “The Walking Dead,” “Pose” and a “Parks and Recreation” reunion, but Sunday afternoon was left for the Emmy-winning “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” The first PaleyFest appearance for perhaps one of the most influential reality competition programs in herstory.
The star of the hour, RuPaul Charles, was joined on the panel by judges Michelle Visage, Carson Kressley and Ross Mathews as well as executive producers Randy Barbato, Fenton Bailey, Tom Campbell, Steven Corfe, Mandy Salangsang, Tim Palazzola and Head of Scripted for MTV, VH1 and the Logo Group Pam Post.
The event was hosted by a surprisingly longwinded Aisha Tyler, who kicked things off with a preview of this week’s upcoming episode. The tease featured the season 11 contestants competing in a Rachel Maddow inspired mini-challenge. Maddow takes part in the admittedly funny bit which continues a string of strong mini-challenges this season (not necessarily the cast the past few years). It should be noted, this writer was actually on set watching from the werkroom’s notorious two-way mirror when this was recorded. I can attest they really do give the queens just 15 minutes to get ready and, oh yes, the already infamous Silky Nutmeg Ganache emanates extreme star-power in person.
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Since “Drag Race” moved from Logo to VH1 two years ago, not only have ratings skyrocketed, but so have the industry accolades. The series won four Emmys last September including Reality-Competition Program (its first win) and Reality-Competition Host (RuPaul’s third win in a row). Despite getting over the hump it will likely face competition this Emmy season from Fox’s breakout hit “The Masked Singer” (assuming it qualifies in this category), a Bravo infused “Project Runway” and recent favorite, “The Voice.” Luckily, RuPaul and the show’s longtime producers found a cast of queens that have already demonstrated the show’s unique cultural impact just three episodes in.
Mercedes Iman Diamond has already made history as the program’s first Muslim queen. She was born in Kenya, but moved to the United States when she was 11. The Minneapolis resident has already spoken on the show about how she was put on a no-fly list due to her religion and about a stroke she had four years ago due to the pressures of trying to perform under such travel restrictions. Mercedes has also provided the program with its first major meme of the year (“Oppulance! You earn everything!”). This season also features the first Canadian contestant, Brooke Lynn Hytes, a queen with Apache heritage, Shuga Cain, as well as Soju and Plastique, first-generation immigrants from South Korea and Vietnam. According to RuPaul, the fact these queens have such universal stories despite their different backgrounds is a key element of the show.
“We really do need to see a reflection of what a global idea, what a global universe looks like. And 0ur show is that example. Not only is that but how to integrate and behave with each other. Tom always says, ‘Drag Queens are the marines of the gay rights movement. They show up and get things done.’ And what the show is doing. it is showing people how to navigate different cultures. I think the Muslim kid who is on there does explain her viewpoint. She’s a little timid at first. We need that reflection of the global reflection.”
RuPaul also spoke on how “Drag Race” demonstrates how queer people and outsiders have used irreverence and humor as a way to heal themselves.
“We’ve all come from broken places and we drag queens who have been thrown out of our houses or whatever, we have learned these coping mechanisms,” RuPaul says. “We’ve been able to show the world how this works by creating a house, a family, a tribe of people who can support you. Behind the paint, the powder and all the artifact there are real, deep feeling there and we show the world how to cope and every kid who is out in wherever they are watching the show they get to learn that there is a tribe, a family waiting for them [with] open arms.”
Drag has gone through peaks and valleys of acceptance, but even legendary queens who have performed for decades admit “Drag Race” was the tipping point for the art form becoming more mainstream than ever. Over the past year former contestants Shangela and Willam stole the show in “A Star is Born,” Alyssa Edwards had her own Netflix reality show, Peppermint was featured in the Go-Go’s musical “Head Over Heels” and, on her latest tour, season 6 winner Bianca Del Rio sold out 2,000+ seat venues in cities on almost every continent. It’s a huge positive to Barbato who says, “I think it’s not just mainstream people experiencing queer. I think mainstream is queer. We’re all queer. And Drag Race reminds them of that. You connect with these people. You could be oppulance!”
Despite clips being shown featuring former winner Violet Chachki, Roxxxy Andrews and guest judge Lady Gaga, there wasn’t as much discussion about key moments in the show’s history as you might think. That being said, the panel was asked what some of their favorite moments were and Ongina’s HIV positive reveal, Sharon Needles arrival in season 4 and a power outage during a winner’s reunion for season 8 were highlighted. Barbato’s was from season 4 when “Alyssa Edwards walked on set and she faced the mirror for 20 minutes. She was just looking at the mirror. We were looking at her, looking at her.”
(If you have ever watched Alyssa Edwards in any context, that will actually make perfect sense.)
Few secrets of production were revealed, although Kresley did disclose that the judges don’t know who the guest judges are going to be until they show up to film that particular day. He notes, “Sometimes they are people who are very now and all the young kids are excited about and sometimes they are childhood icons of yours that you can’t believe you’re going to get to sit next to for a whole day. One day I was there at work and Olivia Newton-John just came and strutted up. You get to meet some people you’d never imagine. I’ve been around, but that was a thrill for me.”
Mathews added, “I remember the day Lady Gaga was on the dressing room door it said ‘LG’ and I thought, ‘Oh my god a sponsor!'”
Visage, RuPaul and Mathews also discussed how the program has allowed young kids to feel as though there is a show for “them,” a program that celebrates people for who they are.
“I do this Drag Brunch and I had this 10-year-old drag queen show up,” Mathews says. “It was a little boy who looked like a little cabbage patch kid. And I said, ‘Do you think you’ll be on ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race Season’ 29?'”
Mathews pauses for a moment for the punchline.
“And he said, ‘If Ru’s still alive.'”
Cue the laughter from the audience as they realize not only is the future bright, but it’s apparently shady as well.
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” airs every Thursday night at 9 PM on VH1.