From awkward impersonations and comedy gone too far to everything in between, Ru Paul's
Drag Race has delivered cringe-worthy moments alongside the runway glam and Werk Room drama.
It was one of the most memorable lip syncs in all of RuPaul's Drag Race herstory for all the wrong
reasons. In Season 3, queens Mimi Imfurst and India Ferrah found themselves in the bottom after
their poor performances during that week's workout video maxi challenge. As "Don't Leave Me This Way"
by Thelma Houston began to play, what many thought would be a normal lip sync turned into, in the
words of RuPaul herself, "a contact sport." Midway through the performance, Mimi lifted India above
her head and walked her towards the back of the stage. Fellow competitor Manila Luzon was shocked.
"What the hell is she thinking?! You can't be lifting up drag queens!"
This wasn't Mimi's only Drag Race indiscretion. She was also on the receiving end of Shangela's
now-iconic "Sugar Daddy" speech — but the heavy lifting was what ultimately sent her packing.
In the years after the show, Mimi continued to have a busy career
and even appeared — albeit briefly — on RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 1. But in 2018,
she admitted to the online sexual harassment of two fans, which made her persona non grata
in the Drag Race universe. As for India, she later appeared on All Stars 5 after taking an
extended break from drag. In a 2020 interview with Entertainment Weekly, India shared,
"It was always about Mimi Imfurst, it was never about what I was bringing to the show.
That can f--- with you, mentally. [...] That was really hard for me to cope with over the years."
During Season 6 of RuPaul's Drag Race, contestant Joslyn Fox was one of the bubbliest queens of the
bunch. In Episode 9, the queens were challenged to take turns interviewing two celebrity guests:
the late Georgia Holt — mother of pop icon Cher — and Chaz Bono, Cher's son. When it came time
for Joslyn's turn, what was supposed to be a normal interview quickly got uncomfortable.
Joslyn seemed unaware of the awkwardness as she
pestered Holt and Bono with questions on abortion. She even introduced Bono,
who first identified as a lesbian before coming out as a transgender man, with:
"Please welcome someone who has come out twice since coming out of Cher."
Needless to say, the judges weren't thrilled. Joslyn apologized on-air to Holt and Bono,
with the former accepting the apology. In a 2014 interview with The Advocate, Fox shared,
"Chaz and Georgia couldn't have been more receptive to my contrition. They told me
that the only reason they wanted me to know how off-putting my question was was so that I
wouldn't make the same mistake again, because they thought I had a career in the talk-show business."
Season 7 finalist Pearl had a rocky time on RuPaul's Drag Race, but in one uncomfortable
moment that experience went from tense to infamous. When RuPaul stopped by the Werk Room to
chat in Episode 5, she commented on Pearl's lack of personality. Cue the stare down of the century.
"Do I have something on my face?"
The damage was done. And audiences were left squirming.
Despite making it to the top 3 that season, Pearl's less-than-stellar Drag Race legacy
followed her for years afterward. In 2018, she revealed in an appearance on Hey Qween that she
and Ru shared yet another tense moment, this time off-camera. According to Pearl, she went
to RuPaul and spilled her guts, telling her how grateful she was for being chosen for Drag Race.
"And she turned to me and she said, 'Nothing you say matters unless that camera is rolling.'"
Pearl blamed the fact that she didn't seem committed or "all
in" during her time on the show on that moment.
Needless to say, the fallout from publicly sharing this backstage bombshell was rough.
Pearl has since claimed she's been barred from competing on RuPaul's Drag Race All-Stars.
In an episode that would land them both in the bottom two, Season 9 contestants Alexis Michelle
and Farrah Moan crashed and burned during the "Roast of Michelle Visage." First, Alexis,
covered in Wicked-esque green body paint in a nod to Visage's least-favorite color,
made some cringe-worthy jokes. Then, during the judge's critiques,
she doubled down with guest judge Tamar Braxton.
"Why is she GREEN?!"
"Well, Tamar, have you ever watched the show?"
Awkward.
As for Farrah, if possible, her jokes were even worse,
especially when she accused Visage of sleeping with RuPaul to get her job.
Both queens have since appeared on "All Stars" seasons,
but they have yet to live down their now-infamous roast performances.
Even before the pandemic, Season 9 contestant Valentina was a fan of masks. During a
now-infamous lip sync against her RuPaul's Drag Race competitor, Nina Bo'Nina Brown,
Valentina began the performance with her mask on, prompting RuPaul to stop the lip sync mid-song.
"Take that thing off of your mouth."
"I'd like to keep it on please."
Valentina eventually acquiesced, and, after a shaky performance
where she didn't know the words to Ariana Grande's "Greedy," she was
eliminated. It became one of the most shocking moments in the show's history.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Valentina admitted,
"I did deserve to be in the bottom. I remember feeling in
a state of shock and it was something that I undoubtedly could not get myself out of."
She eventually returned to the Werk Room in All Stars 4 and in 2023 she became the
co-host of Drag Race Mexico. Looks like she's continuing to feel her fantasy.
During the Season 10 finale of RuPaul's Drag Race,
finalist Asia O'Hara competed against Kameron Michaels in one of the final lip syncs. In the
middle of Janet Jackson's "Nasty," Asia opened her caged bracelets and brassiere to release
live butterflies. Unfortunately, she ended up dumping the inert butterflies onto the stage,
much to the chagrin of the audiences in person and around the world.
Needless to say, the Internet was set aflutter.
In a 2018 interview with Entertainment Weekly, O'Hara said,
"I rehearsed with a professional company that specializes in safe butterfly releases and the
moment was intended to be an amazing display of optimism. [...] As you know, however, that moment
did not go as planned and I would like to publicly offer the entire world my deepest apology."
It was the cringe felt around the world. Ru Paul's Drag Race Season 13 contestant
Utica Queen brought new meaning to bombing a challenge when her comedic roasting skills
leaned a little too mean. The challenge was to roast former Miss Congenialitys,
which included Season 9's Valentina, Season 11's Nina West, and Season 12's
Heidi N' Closet. But Utica body-shamed judge Ross Mathews and roastee Nina West.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you could speak whale."
She even mocked guest judge Loni Love's comedy career. Needless to say,
few laughs were heard — until Love shot back at Utica.
"You're the one bombing!"
When the episode aired, Utica took to Twitter to apologize for her act, posting:
"The jokes were in bad taste and my attempt at roast humor was for the lack of better words,
horrible.. Making fun of people's size is not okay. I'm truly sorry."
But fans and critics were not very forgiving with what they saw as a lackluster apology.
Ultimately, Utica ended up lip syncing for her life against
eventual season winner Symone and was sent home. But she learned a valuable
lesson. During the Season 13 virtual reunion show, Utica Queen explained,
"At the time, I didn't understand the difference between humor and
insults. I've grown and seen the way that jokes can be told and how
they can come from a place of love. I definitely want to strive for that."
Even the All Stars seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race deliver cringe-worthy moments. During the All
Stars 2 talent show, Season 5's Coco Montrese — known to be a lip-sync assassin in her original
season — opted to take a risk and perform a dance number to kick off her All Stars run.
"I decided to step out of my box just to show a different side of myself."
Unfortunately, that step fell flat. Montrese's risk didn't pay off,
and she was the first queen to be sent home that season.
In a 2016 interview with Out, Montrese waxed philosophical, saying,
"In this industry, in order to have longevity, you need to take chances
and you need to be able to evolve and not be the same. [...] Of course I wish it turned out
a bit better. But hey, that's a part of being an entertainer. You have to grow."
Fortunately for her, Montrese had the chance to return to the Werk Room,
as that season's twist was to bring the eliminated queens back into the competition. She competed in
one more challenge before being sent home for good. Looking back on the overall experience,
Montrese is grateful for her time on Drag Race. Talking with The Observer, she reminisced,
"It's All Stars so I wanted to take a chance and just give 'em
what I got. It didn't pay off for me this time, but I don't regret it."
After losing out on the crown in Season 10 of RuPaul's Drag Race, Blair St. Clair returned
to the Werk Room in All Stars 5 ready to claim the title. But after a comedy challenge fail,
her dreams were crushed once more. Unlike some of the other comedy bombs of Drag Races past,
some of Blair's jokes got genuine laughs from RuPaul and company. But it was her delivery that
did her in. From awkwardly flipping the pages of her notebook to the odd punctuation of her speech,
Blair's overall performance was lackluster compared to her comedy queen competitors:
Jujubee, Miz Cracker, and Shea Couleé. Fans and critics alike were confused
by St. Clair's cringey performance, with one review from TV Line claiming,
"Blair indeed tripped, delivering an endless stream of bizarrely cruel one-liners while
clumsily flipping through her notes on stage."
"And Jane Krakowski. It is so inspiring to have you with us tonight, as well. You know,
I just can't understand how you keep escaping from the old folks home."
In the end, the comedy bomb sent Blair home for the second time,
this time right before the finale. St. Clair wasn't
surprised. In a 2020 interview with Entertainment Weekly, she confessed,
"I was excited and energized to perform, but when it came to the actual challenge,
I bombed. I knew I bombed because I was so nervous,
but I wanted to do so well. I was so much in my head and not in the moment."
There have been plenty of cringe-worthy "Snatch Game" impersonations on RuPaul's Drag Race,
but the majority of the Season 14 cast took the proverbial cringe cake.
"This episode is called 'Who Killed Snatch Game?'"
With the exception of contestant DeJa Skye's performance as Lil Jon,
the rest of the contestants couldn't seem to find the funny in their chosen characters.
These included a flat take on Ilana Glazer by Jorgeous, a shaky William Shakespeare by Lady
Camden, and a truly puzzling take on Betsy DeVos from Jasmine Kennedie. The game went
so poorly that it prompted RuPaul and the judges to make the shocking choice to put
all of the queens up for elimination in what was called a "Lip Sync Lalaparuza" smackdown.
In her confessional, Drag Race contestant — and eventual season
winner — Willow Pill expressed her embarrassment with her performance.
"You know when your mom says, 'I'm not angry, I'm disappointed'? That's what this feels like."
Still, some of the queens managed to turn out incredible lip-sync
performances. But in the end, it was Jasmine who was sent home.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly in 2022, Kennedie reflected,
"Are there small things I would've turned up the octave on a bit more? Sure,
but I don't live in regret. I'm happy with how I went out
because you can tell I'm not angry. I was pleasantly happy to be there."
Although she didn't make it far in Season 11, RuPaul's Drag Race contestant Soju
created a memorable moment when, on the main stage, she confessed to having a
painful cyst in her nether region, and that it had popped on the plane ride to Los Angeles.
In an interview with Gay Times, Soju explained,
"I didn't think it was gonna be such a big deal."
Soju was the first queen sent home that season. She continued to make her YouTube series,
Shot with Soju, until she was accused of sexual assault in 2021. She has since deleted or locked
her social media accounts, including her YouTube channel, and has retired from drag.