With her “Frankenstein” drag – aka the infusion of her Australian, Filipino and Mancunian backgrounds – Saki Yew was one of the most anticipated contestants on this season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. Sadly, the theatre queen’s journey came to an abrupt end in episode two when a homophobic shower forced her to withdraw from the competition.
A queen with a sense-of-humour, however, Saki is monetising her misfortune with her own line of bath mats. “Oh, the minute it happened I was like, ‘Absolutely, I’m going to have to bring this out,'” Saki tells GAY TIMES. “I went, ‘How am I going to make money out of this?’”
Although her Pork Chop status prevented her from showcasing more of her drag, Saki undeniably made her mark on Drag Race UK with her comedic burlesque routine and “worker bee” runway, as well as her much-needed conversation with Zahirah Zapanta about microaggressions and discrimination faced by queens of Asian descent. “That conversation has just spread like wildfire,” says Saki. “I’ve had DMs from people going, ‘That means so much and I can relate.’”
Read ahead for our full exit interview with Saki Yew, where she reminisces on her shock exit from Drag Race UK, whether she’s received an open invite for season seven and which celebrity she planned to impersonate on Snatch Game.
Saki, it’s lovely to see you again. I mean, these are shite circumstances. I’m devastated for you. This is not the way anyone wants to leave Drag Race, right?
No, absolutely not. But, things happen. You just have to deal with it and keep moving forward.
How are you now? Fully recovered, I hope!
Yes, I am fully recovered. [I’m] still putting things to place so that it doesn’t happen again, and making sure [my knee is] strong enough to deal with work to keep going.
Can you take me back to that episode, if possible? What happened after you fell, did you consult a doctor?
So, it happened in the hotel room and then I kind of kept it to myself, which was probably the wrong decision because I wanted to do the episode, but then once it got a little too much, that’s when I actually spoke to someone on the Queen Team. [I] was just like, ‘Okay, I think I need to talk to a medic.’ And that’s when everything happened.
Did it take you long to recover?
A few weeks. Well, the doctor said I would be able to just walk properly without pain in two weeks, but then I took extra weeks to make sure that it was fully healed.
Was there an open invitation for you to return for season seven? Or is that under wraps? Will the BBC take us away if we speak about this?
You’ll just have to wait and see! I am going to keep my lips nice and tight with that… Yeah, no, just wait and see. You might see me, or you might not. We don’t know yet!
You’ve had a really good sense-of-humour about the situation. I saw your photo on Instagram…
In the bathtub. Yeah, I mean you have to laugh about it because it’s something so little. Like, you slipped in the shower and that’s what took you out. There’s no point in me being upset, moping around and crying about it. It’s not going to change things, so why not just laugh about it?
Have you thought about the situation in any way? For example have you thought about partnering with a shower organisation?
Well, I’ve actually bought out my own bath mats! I am monetizing on it. Don’t you worry!
There you fucking go. And can you tell the people reading this where we may finding said bath mats?
You can find them on You Better Merch on their website under the Saki Yew merch.
I love that. I honestly didn’t expect you to be like, ‘Yeah, I’m already monetizing it.’
Oh, the minute it happened I was like, ‘Absolutely, I’m going to have to bring this out.’ I went, ‘How am I going to make money out of this?’
When/if you return for season seven, you’ve got your talent show number ready. You could do a shower safety awareness video…
It’s like one of those airline safety videos, isn’t it? I could do that on how to enter a shower and safely exit, as well.
This season, I was excited to see how you would’ve infused your Mancunian, Australian and Filipino heritage into one. So, what could we have expected from you?
You would see it through the fashion that I would bring, but also just conversations. You saw in episode one with me and Zahirah, that conversation has just spread like wildfire. I’ve had DMs from people going, ‘That means so much and I can relate.’ It’s nice to see someone actually talking about it on such a public platform for the next set of younger Asian queens. It’s like a little pavement, and we’ve started it for them.
There is, famously, a Drag Race “Asian queen curse”, which feels like it has been somewhat broken this year thanks to incredible performers like Nymphia Wind, Aurora Matrix and Marina Summers. And, of course, we can’t forget about Drag Race Philippines being one of the best franchises. What is it like to see this much-needed and long-awaited Asian takeover?
It’s amazing to see it happen now because, really, it’s about time that it’s happened and that we all get recognised for what we do in our art-form. Like I said, we’re not just pretty. We can do everything in that little Rolodex of drag. It’s just so nice that curses are being broken, and that we’re here.
Have you noticed that conversation with Zahirah have an impact on the drag scene in Manchester?
I’m not going to lie, I haven’t been out in Manchester yet to see the effect. Hopefully, when I do head out on the cobbles, I see that we both get recognised for who we are, not just get called the complete opposite drag queen. I hope that when Zahirah is in the village, she doesn’t get called Saki anymore and she actually gets called Zahirah, because she’s Zahirah!
It truly is so ridiculous. You look nothing alike and your drag is totally different.
Absolutely different. But, it is what it is. Sometimes you have to get on with the job and laugh it off. Really, on the inside, it does eat you up.
You are a seasoned theatre performer, actor, singer and dancer. Were you aiming to take the win for the Rusical and girl-group challenges this season?
You literally just took the words out of my mouth. Yes, I was absolutely gunning for those wins for the Rusical and girl group because that’s all I really trained in. So if I didn’t win, oh my… I think hell would’ve broken loose.
I wanted to ask you about your creation this episode, because we obviously didn’t see it. What would that have looked like?
Like my sketch! No, so as I was making that creation, my knee started to flare up and, as you can see in the werkroom, the benches are quite high. When you’re sewing, you’re actually standing. So, I couldn’t stand on it and I sat on a stool, and I couldn’t reach the pedal anymore. I was like, ‘I have to hand stitch everything’ and kind of had to alter things. The whole outfit changed, really. But, I also left it there, so no one’s ever going to see it!
After watching the episode and seeing who the tops and bottoms were, how do you think you would’ve placed?
To be honest with you, I think I would’ve been safe. I couldn’t compare to the House of Zen because their outfits were incredible. No one can deny that, but also, it wouldn’t have been as bad as Kiki Snatch and Actavia’s, so I would’ve been right in the middle.
I secretly loved Actavia and Kiki’s because they were so camp and ridiculous.
…yeah. Why are you lying?
I’m trying to be nice! No, the ET comparison did absolutely ruin me.
So funny. Also, you see it, right?
I absolutely fucking do. I was cackling. I loved it. She should have won, really.
I mean, ET is a fashion icon.
We do need to talk about Snatch Game. Are you willing to reveal who you would’ve impersonated?
Yeah, I’ll reveal it. That’s so fine with me. So, I had three options. I was prepared, but the option that I was going to go with was Imelda Marcos. Do you know who she is?
This might be bad, but my only reference for Imelda Marcos is from Drag Race. Manila Luzon did on her Snatch Game, right? “Shoes, shoes, shoes.”
“Shoes!” But the thing is, I was going to do her as her older self and just really haggard. It was just a different take to what Manila did.
Interesting. We’ll see this at some point, I assume?
Oh yes. You just have to wait and see!
What is next for Saki Yew? Other than your soon-to-be sold out line of bath mats…
What’s next for me? The world, really. I’m just going to take it as it comes. I’m going to try and be as busy as I can. I’m going to try and see as many people and fans as I can.
Drag Race UK season 6 is streaming in the UK on BBC iPlayer.
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