Drag

“Seems like an alternate reality”: Drag Race fans react to “wild” All Stars 9 episode

By Jordan Robledo

29th June 2024

This week’s sickening episode of Drag Race All Stars 9 has left fans gagged.

Major spoilers ahead.

Following Angeria Paris VanMichael’s win last week, which saw her snipping a very unhappy Gottmik from receiving a Beautiful Benefactress Badge, the queens returned to the werkroom to kiki about last week’s events.

Once they were all settled in, the ladies wasted no time asking Angeria about her decision to cut Gottmik, with Jorgeous expressing her surprise that Plastique Tiara wasn’t chosen.

“Me and Jorgeous were clutching on to each other for dear life. We were just like, f**k,” Plastique added.

The conversation took an awkward turn when Gottmik reentered the workroom, resulting in Angeria expressing to the season 13 star that her decision was not personal.

In response, Gottmik asked the Atlanta-based queen to explain her decision, adding that she didn’t have the most badges and her performance over the last few weeks hadn’t been the greatest.

“No shade, I did kinda feel like what Plastique said made sense, which is, you cut off the person with the same number of badges as you,” Angeria replied.

“And I’m like, well, bitch, out of the people that have the same number of badges and me, you’re the person that I see as my competition.”

While Angeria remained firm in her explanation, the other girls were confused by her reasoning, with Nina West claiming the math wasn’t adding up.

“Like, no tea. But you have three badges right now, and she only has two, so that’s not an equitable statement, I don’t think. To say that she has the same number of badges as you, ’cause she doesn’t,” Nina pointed out.

After doubling down on her decision, Angeria added that her choice also stemmed from “a little hint of revenge“ due to Gottmik cutting her off in episode two.

Toward the end of the conversation, Gottmik seemingly renounced her intention of playing a fair game.

“You think that because you, Roxxxy and Plastique have three badges, you were like, ‘Ok, Gottmik is an easy one to shut down and just make sure isn’t in the final with me so I can keep going with these bitches.’ And if you want to play that, I can too,“ she ominously stated. “It’s not personal. It’s drag, honey.“

The next day, the queens returned to the workroom to meet with RuPaul, who asked them to “photobomb some of the most interesting vacation destinations in the world“ in their best quick drag.

After a hilarious photoshoot, Ru named Nina the winner, resulting in her taking home $2,500 for The Trevor Project.

With their suitcases loaded in the Drag Race baggage claim, the ladies de-dragged and regrouped before being assigned their eighth maxi-challenge of the season.

“My All Stars, research has shown that listening to music can reduce anxiety, blood pressure, and pain. But can it help you design a couture gown?“ Ru teased.

“For this week’s maxi-challenge, you need to create, from scratch, a runway eleganza that takes inspiration from one of my songs. You choose the song. We provide the material, and then you make your own kind of Rusic.“

Ru then granted Shannel first pick since she was the first queen to “walk her bare ass in the werkroom,“ resulting in the latter selecting ‘Hey Sis, It’s Christmas’. 

The Las Vegas-based queen was then asked which of her All Stars 9 sisters she would like to choose next, which left her selecting Angeria.

“Nina, sorry. I chose Angeria because she sews, and this is a sewing challenge. So inevitably, I’m probably gonna need some help,“ Shannel said in a confessional.

“Everybody’s gonna be asking Roxxxy and maybe not Angeria, so come on, sister, help me out.“

Ultimately, Angeria grabbed ‘Cake and Candy’ before letting Gottmik choose next, adding, “I love you and sorry for snipping you.“

“Loves you, it’s okay now… I’m just kidding. I’m going to choose ‘New Friends Silver, Old Friends Gold’,“ the Los Angeles-based queen said in response.

The next queen up to the plate was Vanessa Vanjie, who selected ‘Kitty Girl‘ due to her love for animal print.

As the next queen to choose her song, Roxxxy went with ‘Lady Cowboy,“ revealing that she loves the Old West, leather and a challenge.

The third to last queen to choose was Plastique, who grabbed Ru’s track ‘Star Baby‘ as her eleganza inspiration.

Unsurprisingly, the Drag Race season nine star chose Jorgeous as the next contestant to select her song, resulting in the latter gravitating to ‘I Bring The Beat‘ and Nina getting stuck with ‘Cha Cha Bitch’.

“What the hell is happening? It feels like people who have better design skills were given the opportunity to pick first, which doesn’t make a lot of sense,“ Nina said in a confessional. “Confused, I am very.”

After Ru exited the room, the queens got down to work on their RuPaul-inspired ensembles.

While creating their designs, Vanjie thanked Gottmik for choosing her, which the latter said was due to her not having the best sewing skills.

Even though Vanjie admitted to not having the best seamstress skills, she didn’t let it get her down.

“I have a clear vision, and now I need to cut it like Edward Scissorhands,“ she added in a confessional.

On the other side of the workroom, Plastique was deep in her sketch bag before Jorgeous asked her if she was happy not to be cut off this week, poking fun at the former’s expert sewing and design experience.

When Nina asked Angeria if she was still happy with the queen she cut, the former doubled down on her decision, adding that Gottmik won the last design challenge.

“I have now snipped two design powerhouse drag queens and I just won the last two challenges in a row. So I am going into this expecting if I’m not in the top that the girls are gonna cut me,“ Angeria said in a confessional.

In Roxxxy’s corner of the workroom, the Florida-based queen remained focused on creating the best ‘Lady Cowboy‘ look so she could take home a badge for a design challenge.

However, during the creative process, the beloved talent struggled to secure an idea that was fierce and not tacky.

“I don’t want it to be hokeypokey, ok?“ Roxxxy said in a confessional.

Nina also struggled with her song choice due to her batch of materials predominantly featuring sheer items.

“You know going sheer is not necessarily the route I want to go because of my body shape. I’m gonna make it work. I’m here to rise to the challenge,“ she explained.

As she suggested during the selection process, Shannel asked Angeria for tips and pointers during her sewing process.

Like previous design challenges, Ru returned to the workroom to check on the queen’s work.

After receiving sage advice from RuPaul, the girls resumed crafting their respective designs.

However, Roxxxy was feeling the heat due to other queens asking for help and her decision to rhinestone ‘Lady Cowboy‘ on the back of her chaps.

With their faces beat, hair laid and showstopping looks secured, the queens headed to the mainstage to show off their ‘Make Your Own Kind Of Rusic’ ensembles.

Following their gag-worthy presentations, the judges’ panel delivered their critiques.

However, before diving into their opinions, Ru revealed that this would be the last week a queen could be cut by the Ruby Snippers.

While all of the ladies received high praise, Plastique and Roxxxy were named the top two All Stars of the week.

To the beat of Diana Ross’ ‘No One Gets the Prize’ the queens delivered a high-energy performance that featured drama, passion, sickening dips, nail-filing reveals, and comedy galore.

Ultimately, Ru announced Roxxxy as the winner of the week, resulting in Angeria becoming the final queen to receive the red ruby snippers.

Shortly after the episode aired, fans flocked to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share their reactions to the shocking episode.

One viewer wrote: “Nina doing good in a design challenge and Plastique knowing the words seems like an alternate reality.”

Another fan tweeted: “No more ruby snippers for next week and the fact Plastique has survived with four wins and without ever receiving a snip.“

A third user added: “Nina West eating a design challenge?!?!“

Although the lip-syncs this season have received polarising reviews on social media, with Plastique coming under fire for not knowing the words on various occasions, this lip-sync was hailed as All Stars 9‘s best (so far!).

Next week on RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 9, the queens will be starring in Rosemarie’s Baby Shower: The Rusical.

See below for more fan reactions to the eighth episode of All Stars 9.