13 gag-worthy facts about RuPaul’s latest crop of Drag Race queens
The Drag Race season 13 cast is here. (WOW)
The Drag Race season 13 cast has finally been unveiled, and if first impressions are anything to go by, we’re in for another legendary season.
RuPaul has invited a baker’s dozen of queens to step inside her hallowed sugar walls for Drag Race season 13, premiering on New Year’s Day 2021.
Among the cast of queens is the show’s first competing trans man, a genuine drag legend who could give even RuPaul a run for her money on experience, a “wacky wavy inflatable arm-tube queen” and a former Cirque du Soleil figure skater.
Ahead of the premiere the queens have given their first interview, and here’s what we learned.
1. Elliott With 2 Ts has Britney beef with a Drag Race legend.
Elliott with 2 Ts. (WOW)
The Las Vegas queen is a showgirl through and through – when she was 12, she performed in a national Broadway tour.
She joins Drag Race from the Las Vegas strip, where she says was hired by the long-running show Divas to play Britney Spears – as a replacement for Derrick Barry.
“The show got canceled before I got to perform in it, so I really never got to keep that credit,” Elliott told EW.
“[Derrick] has me blocked on everything,” she added. “But, it’s other reasons, apparently!”
2. Gottmik, the first trans man to compete Drag Race, has an impressive CV.
Gottmik. (WOW)
Outside of drag, Gottmik is a professional make-up artist who has worked with Paris Hilton, Kim Petras, Tinashe, Cindy Crawford and Drag Race alum Violet Chachki, Alaska and Detox.
He also transformed Lil Nas X into Nicki Minaj this Halloween.
“I was always good at makeup, and if I went out in drag, it was the only time people thought I was a guy,” he told EW.
3. Tamisha Iman is the mother of the season.
Tamisha Iman. (WOW)
Tamisha Iman is undoubtedly one of the most formidable queens to ever step foot in the werk room.
An Atlanta legend with 30 years experience, she is the mother of the Iman Dynasty, which has over the years welcomed 78 children – 53 who are still with us, 25 who have sadly passed.
“I showed all the misfits how to make a living,” Tamisha told EW.
“I made sure my kids went to school, went to college, got great jobs…. people didn’t know how to connect with their gay kids, I was able to bridge that gap and allowed parents to see their child in a different light versus just seeing them as a gay individual. The dynasty is still growing and I’m so proud of it.”
4. LaLa Ri is one of Tamisha Iman’s children.
LaLa Ri. (WOW)
For the first time in Drag Race herstory, a mother-daughter duo are competing in the same season.
LaLa comes to the show with years of experience all her own, having toured the world as a backup dancer.
5. Joey Jay is the trade of the season.
And proud of it. In fact, Joey Jay likes to blur the lines between masculine and feminine in her drag, usually appearing without a wig. She name P!nk as an inspiration, because “she’s still hyper feminine, but she can whoop your ass”.
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6. Rosé argued with Simon Cowell on America’s Got Talent.
Rosé auditioned for AGT as part of drag girl group Stephanie’s Child, but were rejected by Cowell who “couldn’t listen to that screaming any longer”.
And if that rings a bell, it’s because Jan (season 12) is Rosé’s bandmate and was right there with her.
7. Kahmora Hall is Jaida Essence Hall’s drag sister.
Kahmora Hall. (WOW)
Kahmora and Jaida share a drag mother – Tajma Hall – along with Drag Race season eight’s Naysha Lopez and season four’s Dida Ritz.
“We just had a really great drag mother,” Kahmora told EW. “The first thing she taught us was to be sweet and humble to everybody you meet. I’ve been doing drag for nine years now, and that’s the thing I try to do at every gig. Kindness takes you everywhere!”
Kahmora is also drag mother to season 11 contestant Soju.
8. Symone once took over Wal-Mart in Whitney Houston drag.
Symone is the look queen of the season, but like her dear friend from season 12 Gigi Goode (pretty recognise pretty), she knows how to have fun with it.
Case in point: the time Symone visited Wal-Mart in full Whitney Houston drag for a Star-Spangled Banner-themed photoshoot.
“People are always pretty and know how to put a look together, it’s easy to do that, so it’s always fun to flip it on its head,” Symone told EW.
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9. Kandy Muse is a b***h.
Kandy Muse. (WOW)
“When people first meet me, they always think that I’m a b***h – and honestly, true,” Kandy laughed in her Meet the Queens interview.
Describing herself as “loud”, Kandy Muse is a member of the Doll Haus, formerly known as the Haus of Aja after its founder, All Stars 3 legend Aja.
Dahlia Sin (season 12) is another member of the Haus, which rebranded after Aja stopped using the term drag queen to describe themself.
10. Tina Burner is the comedy queen of the season.
In fact, she’s the reigning National Miss Comedy Queen, a pageant title once held by Drag Race legend Ginger Minj.
Her biggest gig? Being brought up on stage by Celine Dion mid-concert after she turned up in an exact replica of her look.
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11. Denali skates circles around the competition.
Denali. (WOW)
No, literally – she’s a figure skater who has toured with Cirque du Soleil.
“I grew up in Alaska, and it was either figure skating, skiing, or doing drugs and getting pregnant. So, I decided to pick the gayest one!” Denali told EW.
12. Utica Queen is Drag Race’s ‘wacky, wavy inflatable arm-tube queen’.
Utica Queen. (WOW)
Describing her drag as a blend of “colourful Tim Burton” and “old Biblical painting”, Utica is a Seventh Day Adventist who grew up on a farm town of 291 people.
As well as her adult drag performances, Utica also enjoys putting on shows for children, which means she know what she’s talking about when she says “drag queens are much bitchier than children”.
13. Olivia Lux is ‘the drag Alicia Keys’.
No, not Alexis Mateo’s unforgettable Snatch Game version. Olivia Lux fancies herself akin to the real deal, regularly playing musical numbers on piano as part of her routine.
“I love the drama, the wind machines, I’m a queen, but I’m not afraid to take it down a bit, be a little sultry, be a little jazzy, and then bring it up,” the New York queen told EW.
She’s also the baby of the season, having only started drag a year before auditioning.
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