If you haven't seen "RuPaul's Drag Race," then you're only getting half of your reality television experience! This series has garnered so much popularity in mainstream culture not only for its progressive values and inclusion of LGBTQA+ culture, but for its hilarious and intense moments. The show that everyone loves and looks forward to never ceases to amaze with gif-worthy value and dramatic fights.
Below, we look at ten of my favorite iconic moments filled with fights, looks, and overall hilarity from the hit show.
1. Phi Phi O'Hara vs. Sharon Needles
This moment from season 4 is legendary. The entire season was filled with shady moments and a lot of them came from the fiery Phi Phi O'Hara. The season that put "Drag Race" on the map, this is one to really watch.
2. The Vixen vs Eureka O'Hara
Two O'Hara's already in this list as part of the first two... I sense a pattern. Nah, just kidding. The Vixen throughout season 10 of the show is known for being powerful and fierce. She will not take someone insulting her laying down, and while some may have wanted her to dial her ten down to a five, she refused. When Eureka provoked her, this was the last straw. What came out of this though was an important debate about race in the fandom and the show. Vixen, I get you, girl.
3. Valentina's Lip Sync Drama
1:15 is when it gets very shady. Valentina was a strong contender in season 9, thought to be one of the frontrunners of the competition up until she landed in bottom two with Nina Bonina Brown. When performing the lip-sync, everyone noticed that she still kept her mask on. Turns out, she couldn't remember the words! This moment was such a gag-worthy experience and everyone around the world tuning in were shook to their core when she was eliminated. Lesson in this: always remember the lyrics to your lip-sync!
4. Tatiana and Alyssa Edwards All-Stars 2 Double-Shantay Lip-Sync
This lip-sync is considered to be the most watched lip-sync performance from RuPaul of all time and with good reason! These two queens turned it out!!! Alyssa Edwards is known for her strong dancing and choreographic abilities, but Tatiana was not about to let herself get showed up. Alyssa's split and Tatiana's move were so in sync at 1:15 that there was no way a winner could be chosen! RuPaul ended up doing a double shantay, they both stay!
5. Sasha Velour's "So Emotional"
In the finale episode of season 9, Sasha Velour and Shea Coulee lip-synced to their life to the tune of "So Emotional" By Whitney Houston and this ru-veal had the live crowd screaming at the top of their lungs! Talk about a performance!!! Wig officially snatched.
6. Season 6 Snatch Game
The "Snatch Game" from season 6 was considered one of the best ones in her-story with Bianca Del Rio slaying as Judge Judy, Adore Delano giving some Anna Nicole realness, and BenDeLaCreme perfecting her British accent through Maggie Smith. They were spot-on performances and anything with Bianca Del Rio is amazing, to be completely honest and totally biased.
7. Mimi Imfurst vs Shangela
If anything is to be learned from this season 3 moment, it is that Shangela should not be angered because she completely read Mimi to filth. I hear to this day that she is still recovering from these intense burns. Our favorite queen Shangela is charismatic and an amazing performer, but she knows how to fight back too. This moment led to the iconic quoting of her "sugar-daddy" speech.
8. Laila McQueen vs Dax Exclamation Point Double Elimination
As rare as Double-Shantays can be, double eliminations are almost unheard of in the "Drag Race" her-story! Dax and Laila were as shocked as its viewers were in this season 8 lip-sync! Apparently, RuPaul ended up revealing in an interview that they did a disservice to such an iconic lip-sync song and thus both deserved to go home. Yikes.
9. BenDeLaCreme's Self-Elimination - All-Stars 3
WHAT?!
No one expected this. During "All-Stars" 3, BenDeLaCreme was one of the top two queens in 5/6 of the episodes she was in. The only reason she didn't continue was that she actually eliminated herself from the competition. Not only were RuPaul, Michelle Visage, and the other judges left speechless, but all of the world was, too! We were SHOOK. BenDeLaCreme was the clear front-runner of the competition until suddenly, she was gone.
10. "Read U Wrote U" All-Stars 2
"All-Stars" 2 had so many amazing queens that were fighting for the crown, but the performance of "Read U Wrote U" from Alaska, Detox, and Katya (sorry Roxxy, I'm not bringing you up) is and was the best one of the entire series. This is an indisputable fact, please quote me.
There you have it! Ten iconic moments from RuPaul that don't even cover 1/4 of the many more gag-worthy parts of the series. If you want to know more or see more of them, then go on to watch "RuPaul's Drag Race" because it is what? Sickening!
