RuPaul’s Drag Race season 11 announces premiere date

The 15 contestants on VH1 show RuPaul’s Drag Race season 11

RuPaul’s Drag Race season 11 will premiere on February 28, VH1 revealed on Friday (February 8).

The Emmy Award-winning drag contest will start in its new slot on Thursdays less than two weeks after we find out the winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars 4 on February 15.

In response to the news, the RuPaul’s Drag Race Twitter account promised its fans: “We’re about to turn it up to 11, henny! ✨”

The RuPaul’s Drag Race season 11 cast looks amazing

The 15 queens set to compete on RuPaul’s Drag Race season 11 were revealed last month, with season 10 contestant Vanessa Vanjie Mateo—or “Miss Vanjie”—making a surprise return.

Other queens vying for the crown include current Miss Black Universe A’keria C. Davenport, of the House of Davenport, and “life-sized Bratz doll” Ariel Versace from New Jersey, according to a press release from VH1 on Thursday (January 24).

The line-up features two more House of Davenport queens, Honey Davenport and Ra’jah D. O’Hara, professional dancer Brook Lynn Hytes and Las Vegas showgirl Kahanna Montrese.

A promotional photo of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 11 contestant Miss Vanjie

Miss Vanjie will return to compete against queens including the current Miss Black Universe A’keria C. Davenport (VH1)

In a VH1 press release, RuPaul said: “Just when I think to myself—‘shedonealreadydonehadherses’—a new crop of killer queens sashay their way into my heart and leave me gagging for more.

“Dare I say, this might be the most sickening season of all time”

— RuPaul about RuPaul’s Drag Race season 11

“Dare I say, this might be the most sickening season of all time.”


The eleventh season will also feature Mercedes Iman Diamond, who moved to the USA from Kenya aged 11, Nina West, who has previously won the national Entertainer of the Year pageant, and Plastique Tiara, whose drag is inspired by Vietnamese pop stars.

RuPaul’s Drag Race season 11: Miss Vanjie is back

In a promotional video, RuPaul said that the 15 contestants would “go wig or go home” as they battle it out to be “America’s next drag superstar.”

Mateo, meanwhile, simply said: “I’m back with a vengeance.”

The drag queen’s exit from Season 10, during which she repeated her nickname “Miss Vanjie” three times, was immortalised by fans in a series of memes.

The line-up is completed by New York-based Scarlet Envy, Shuga Cain, also from New York, who quit her corporate job to become a full-time drag queen, Silky Nutmeg Ganache from Chicago, Korea-born Soju and “commodity of drag oddity” Yvie Oddly, from Denver.