Zahirah Zapanta may not be the UK’s Next Drag Superstar, but it’s fine. As the Filipino Goddess demurely (and correctly) tells GAY TIMES, “I’m so fierce it hurts. It hurts so much. It’s crazy being this fierce.”
Girl groups made a return on this week’s episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, with the ten remaining queens writing ghoulish lyrics and recording chilling vocals in hopes of securing the UK’s Halloween number-one. Despite giving it her all, Zahirah’s performance and ‘Call Me Mother Nature’ runway (unfairly) received middling reviews, resulting in a lip-sync smackdown against Lill to guest judge Mabel’s smasher ‘Don’t Call Me Up’. Ultimately, Zahirah was told to sashay away.
“At that point in the competition I was frustrated, and I said that on the runway because, every week, I wanted my moment to shine,” says the Nottingham queen, who admits that she was at a disadvantage in the lip-sync due to Lill’s impressive track record. “They put me in the bottom three for the design and acting challenges, and I couldn’t have anymore free passes. So, that was against me. Lill obviously had a win and has been smashing challenges up until that point.”
Here, Zahirah reflects on her “eye-opening” Drag Race UK experience and “traumatic” final episode, before revealing her insanely brilliant character for the Snatch Game. (She would’ve won, tbh.) Read ahead for the edited and condensed interview, or watch the exit chat in full below!
Zahirah, Filipino Goddess and Strictly Come Dancing star, how are you doing babe?
You know what, I’m weirdly good. The fan response has been so incredible and this experience has been nothing short of a dream. It’s an amazing cast and season so far, and we’re just starting, mama! I’m excited to see the rest of the girls smash it, and I’m happy with my time there as well.
It doesn’t make sense with my fantasy, or your fantasy, that both of the Filipino queens have gone by episode four. Fuming.
I know, how sad. There’s hopefully going to be more opportunities for me to shine. And I’m so fierce it hurts. It hurts so much. It’s crazy being this fierce. So, it’s only a matter of time for me. It’s my chance to elevate myself. There were things on the show that I looked back on and thought, ‘I would change this, this, this.’ As a creative, that’s what I look at. Since we filmed, I’ve grown so much. To go back and be able to access myself on TV along with the rest of the world, it’s eye-opening. It’s so useful for me and my drag and I love it. I was authentic and completely myself. Are there things I would change in terms of runway or whatever? Absolutely. But, we all do that as creatives, right?
So, how did you feel watching this week back? I don’t think you deserved the bottom…
Thank you so much. You kind of build it up in your head, and I had to therapise myself throughout the past few months like, ‘Am I going to be able to stomach this? And watch every week with a bar of like 100 or 200 people and smile through it?’ But, the audience’s reaction, them loving me even though I was gone from the competition, it felt validating. The runway, oh my god, that was my best runway. I was so stunning and beautiful – and I made the whole look myself! Apart from the skirt – shoutout to Chanel, she sewed that up real quick for me. In terms of the girl groups… Watch out, because there’s things coming!
You can’t leave me there! What are these things? When are they coming?
She might be doing a tour with Dracula’s Child, mama. Let’s get that lift right next time!
Can we expect a solo performance of ‘Enter The Void’?
Absolutely! Enter The Void with me.
Tell me more about The Void. Who’s allowed in? Who’s not? Who are you refusing entry to?
The Void was my talent show. It’s this empty space. It’s beautiful, colourful, so much fun. It can be a club. It’s just this world of fierce people, know what I mean? With really fierce fashion. They’d be cackling like hyenas, dancing like crazy, all of that. In terms of the non-PG version, it’s like, ‘Enter the hole with me’. It’s a song about topping! It’s like my mind, my cortex is a bit wild, and that’s how it works. It’s loads of different meanings into one, really. It doesn’t really make much sense, but it makes sense in my void.
So, it can be a club. And it’s for tops?
Period!
Are bottoms allowed? Vers people?
Absolutely. I mean, technically, bottoms have voids. They are the void. The bottoms are the voids. So, without the voids, we’re nothing. Shout out to M1ss Jade So, she’s also a void connoisseur.
We’ll catch up about The Void at some point…
You’re invited, you’re VIP.
Thank god.
You’re on the list.
Can I have a plus one?
Plus two, plus three. The more the merrier!
Back to Drag Race (sadly). Tell me about this week’s critiques – do you think you belonged in the bottom two?
At that point in the competition I was frustrated, and I said that on the runway because, every week, I wanted my moment to shine. Even in this girl group challenge, I wanted to win. So, when what you’re trying to convey to the judges isn’t coming across to them, you feel like you failed. Also, my look was amazing, it was the best runway I’ve presented. It was so beautiful and symbolic. I absolutely have so much respect for the judges, it’s just the way the cookie crumbles. Season six is just so talented and fierce that somebody had to be there [in the bottom two]. Unfortunately, it had to be me and Lill.
Lill had a win under her belt. So, heading in the lip-sync, did you think you had to work harder to stay because the stats weren’t in your favour?
Yeah, a hundred percent. Being in the bottom three, whilst we were being critiqued, I was like, ‘It’s time for me to lip-sync’ because they put me in the bottom three for the design and acting challenges, and I couldn’t have anymore free passes. So, that was against me. Lill obviously had a win and has been smashing challenges up until that point. All I could do was lip-sync for my life. Was that in the back of my head, that statistics and track record was against me? Absolutely. I’ll say this, Lill is so talented, just as me, and I’ve known that girl for years since RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Ambassador 2015. We competed with La Voix, The Vivienne, Scarlett Harlett and Joe Black, so many different queens that are alumni and now even winners from the show.
And Lill is such an enigma, I’m obsessed with her. Everytime she talks I’m like, ‘Wow, your brain…’ I thought I was crazy! Her brain is wired a little bit differently. I think what was beautiful about that experience, as traumatic as it was for me, was before we lip-synced, Lill held my hands and said to me, ‘Zahirah, this isn’t even a thing. Let’s just show what Manchester can do.’ That really touched me because I’ve known this girl for years, and we’ve shared this experience together. No hate for each other. Just love. Honestly, just love.
I need to know who you were planning for Snatch Game. Tell me everything…
So, I was gonna do Jim Carrey as The Grinch and I was so excited. I went to a local nursing home as The Grinch last year and to my nieces house and scared her. I’ve got actual footage of this! It was magical, but also I terrified all the old people at the nursing home and my niece.
I don’t want you to be a performing monkey for me, so feel free to say no, but I want and need to hear your impersonation…
[Proceeds to do an Oscar-worthy impersonation of The Grinch.]
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I feel like an Academy Award is incoming. They had to get you out now, because you were going to sweep the Snatch Game.
It’s about damn time an Asian girly did well on the Snatch Game! I was gonna bring it. But you know what, there’s always next time, honey.
You made herstory this season, alongside Saki Yew, as the first two Drag Race UK contestants of Filipino descent. What did it mean to you to be that representation?
It felt like such an honour to walk into that werkroom and represent the Philippines. Going to bars across the UK and meeting Filipino fans and [seeing] how much it means to them, and Asian people in general, is amazing. Also, being able to tell my story about my family was so important to me. As POC, growing up, adding on the fact of being queer and adding on the fact that I’m a drag queen… All of these things that society tells us is meant to be the “other”, my family never made me feel like that. I think that’s a testament to what parents, POC parents, can do for their children. For them to show me that love, it meant I could cherry blossom down the runway. Also, parents are meant to protect us. I just want the audience to know – if children, parents or families are watching this – love your children and look at what they can become. They can become a neon princess like me! Asian representation forever. Forever!
We’re all dying to find out: has Chanel O’Conor accepted your friend request on Facebook?
Oh my god. It has been, what feels like 7,032 days, of Chanel still not accepting my friend request on Facebook. Chanel, Chanelianta! Accept the friend request. Oh, and apparently badges don’t matter. She’s not there to make Facebook friends, so at least she’s still on brand this season. All the reads, shade, one-liners, I’m like, ‘Wow, she’s a mastermind at TV.’ Chanel ‘Producer’ O’Conor! I’ll say that until she accepts my friend request on Facebook.
What do you aim to do with your platform as a Drag Race UK icon, Filipina Goddess and future Strictly winner?
I’ve just got eliminated, but now it’s time to elevate. Period! Watch me go on tour – I said it in Meet the Queens, I manifested that. I’m going to the Philippines next year and will release new music. People have really enjoyed ‘Enter the Void’ so there’s more coming. Watch out for more hyena laughs and cackles.
Drag Race UK season 6 is streaming in the UK on BBC iPlayer.
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