SPECIAL THANKS TO JASMINE ALOMA AT THE BBC

Canada’s Drag Race isn’t letting us breathe, is she? For the third consecutive week, a fierce competitor – one we touted as finalist – made an untimely exit from the competition. Anastarzia Anaquway, one of the supreme queens in Canada’s drag scene, became the third queen to sashay away after failing to impress the judges in the girl-group rap challenge and for her Québec-ky With The Good Hair-inspired runway; the latter of which personally left us with a severe case of GAGGING.

“I did think going into the runway that my look would revive me a little bit,” Anastarzia tells GAY TIMES over Zoom. “You just never know what the judges are thinking, you never know what they’re feeling and you never know what their preferences are.” Although the Toronto-based performer didn’t advance as far as we expected, she feels content with her performance after earning universal praise from fans and fellow Drag Race alumni for her Canuck Couture Fantasy runway in the premiere. She also won hearts of viewers around the world when she bravely opened up about the homophobia she endured in The Bahamas, and how a near-death experience forced to her emigrate to Canada.

“When we walk into the werkroom, we don’t walk in saying, ‘I’m going to talk about getting shot today.’ Everything is so genuine and we don’t know what we’re going to talk about when we walk into that werkroom,” explains Anastarzia. “For it to have come out, I’m grateful. The backlash, I am not grateful for, but it was expected. Any time we put ourselves into the public eye, this is a part of our industry. We will have backlash that comes our way.”

Here, Anastarzia discusses her short-lived stint on Canada’s Drag Race, how she was at a disadvantage in her lip-sync against Tynomi Banks, and whether she’s prepared for her legal battle against The Moose Knuckles (you’ll understand that last bit later).

Hello Anastarzia! How is life in lockdown?
It’s been trying. I’m a concierge by profession, so I’m constantly around people. This is a huge change for me, but it’s okay!

Not only has your life changed because of lockdown, like many others, but you’re on telly every week!
That part. That part! That has kept me extremely busy, so being in lockdown isn’t even a thing!

How many people can say they made it on Drag Race? How many people can say they now have an international platform? Not many.

How does it feel to have made it onto the biggest drag platform in the world? 
You know what, it feels amazing. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. This is a chance for us to show the world who we are as drag queens and as human beings. We get to show them that we’re funny, that we’re entertaining and we also get to show them that we’re real people, so it’s an amazing experience.

Condragulations are also in order, because you also made HERstory as the first ever contestant from the Bahamas!
That’s right! The first Bahamian baby! Making history! I like being the first.

How did you feel after your elimination?
I felt perfectly fine. I’m a realist. When you come into any competition, you know that there’s a chance that you won’t make it to the crown, and that’s part of our reality. You win some, you lose some. But the good thing about Drag Race is that no matter where you fall, no matter where those cookies crumble for you, you are still a winner. How many people can say they made it on Drag Race? How many people can say they now have an international platform? Not many. No matter where you place, we are all winners.

Exactly, you’re part of the Drag Race family now.
FOREVER!

You’ve competed in many competitions before, I think the number is around the 300,000 mark?
[Laughs] That’s what the world would like to believe! That’s the rumours! I have done a lot, a shit load. I can’t even tell you how much!

How did those competitions compare to competing on Drag Race?
You know what, they don’t. I think that they’re in completely different worlds. Preparing for a pageant, I usually take a year, and it is only one night. Then, you get to Drag Race and it’s like, ‘I have to prepare my entire life for this bullshit!’ It was a lot. It was a weekly thing. Eery week there were new challenges. It pushed us to our limits and to be better than we were yesterday, to do things that we never thought that we would be able to do. I never considered myself a funny person, and then here I am on Drag Race, doing all these stupid things! I realised, ‘You are funnier than you give yourself credit for!’ So, there’s no comparison between the two.