Dakota Schiffer made herstory twice on this season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK as the first-ever openly trans woman to compete on the British spin-off and the first contestant, in all 28 RuPaul-fronted seasons, to be told to sashay away by a former Seduction singer. “They keep throwing all these firsts at me, I don’t know how I was meant to prepare!” she laughs. The makeover made its return on this week’s episode, with Michelle Visage stepping in as host due to “unforeseen circumstances” that prevented RuPaul from joining the panel in person.
Although she received positive feedback and “put the super in supermodel”, Dakota’s reliance on her signature silhouette landed her in the bottom two alongside Pixie Polite, where they lip-synced to The Culture Club’s Miss Me Blind in front of lead vocalist and special guest star Boy George. Dakota ultimately sashayed away, with the star later joking on Twitter that “Michelle Visage’s Drag Race has fucked up drag”.
Speaking with GAY TIMES, Dakota says she’s ‘overwhelmed’ with the outpouring of love on social media, with many fans declaring her as the latest “robbed queen” of the franchise. “Knowing that the reaction has been what it is, and obviously the circumstances of the episode with Ru not being able to be there, there’s been some hilarious Twitter moments because of it and I’m enjoying every single one of them,” she says, adding that she doesn’t “necessarily feel robbed” but is “flattered and grateful” at the title nonetheless.
Read ahead for our full exit interview with Dakota, where the star discusses making herstory as the first-ever trans woman to compete on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, why criticism aimed at her aesthetic came as a “shock” and whether we can expect her twin, Winona, to sashay into the werkroom next season.
Dakota, how are you my babe?
Trying to cure my hangover with a cup of tea. I’m very overwhelmed and just excited for the interview!
Social media isn’t happy, it’s utter bedlam…
My phone is hot. I don’t think my phone has ever been so hot, I had to turn off so many notifications from apps because it was getting a bit overwhelming, but I’m happy with all the love. Of course, no one really wants to be… I don’t know, everyone keeps saying it’s good to be the “robbed” queen. I don’t necessarily feel robbed, but the words are coming up on my social media how many bloody times? I’m just very shocked by the reaction, but flattered and very grateful.
I put your name into Twitter to see the reaction. There’s a couple that made me laugh. One person wrote, “Ofcom are gonna be seriously seriously hearing from me,” while another tweeted: “This episode is Michelle’s Drag Race so Dakota Schiffer’s elimination doesn’t count.” Are you back next week, then? Are you just gonna walk into the werkroom like nothing happened?
You’ll have to wait and see for any twists! My elimination seemed pretty final to me, I don’t know how it seemed to you. Knowing that the reaction has been what it is, and obviously the circumstances of the episode with Ru not being able to be there, there’s been some hilarious Twitter moments because of it and I’m enjoying every single one of them.
RuPaul not being there was due to some unforeseen circumstances. So, how did it feel to be told to sashay away by Michelle Visage?
Obviously, no one expects that going in. If you’re a Drag Race superfan going in, I’m sure… I guess I’m glad it happened to me because I feel like if it happened to anyone else, they would’ve been really upset. I’m very humbled by the whole experience and I’ve enjoyed the show for years, but I’m not the kind of person that needed that stuff. I saw a couple of people tweeting, ‘She didn’t get to hear from Ru the last time,’ but I got comments from Ru when I was winning challenges. I’m very happy with the comments I got from Ru in the season and Michelle’s exit line was very sweet: ‘Put the super in supermodel.’ I’ll take that to the banks!
You have now made herstory twice: first trans woman to compete on Drag Race UK and first contestant to be told to sashay away by Michelle Visage.
They keep throwing all these firsts at me, I don’t how I was meant to prepare!
Next up: first trans woman to win Drag Race UK All Stars.
Yeah, we will see!
Dakota, do you think you deserved to be in the bottom two this week?
I think… I don’t know. Bluntly, no. It’s hard for me because there’s a balance of trying to find, on the runway, a brand and an aesthetic and also showing variety. I think, maybe, that’s not a balance I got the hang of. There was almost the opposite commentary in Untucked for some of the other girls where we maybe lost the idea of who they were in the makeover challenge. But, the makeover challenge brief is so broad. Sometimes, the judging for the makeover can feel like you’re comparing apples and oranges and there’s never a rhyme or reason to do well. Sometimes, they like you to look completely identical and sometimes they like you to be in completely different outfits but complimenting each other. There’s no real rhyme or reason so I had no idea what they were gonna say to me. My comments were really positive, as well. I stand by the makeup job I did on Lucy, I think she looked so beautiful and she felt beautiful and that was the most important thing for me. I just kept saying the whole challenge, ‘As long as you feel comfortable, I’ve won,’ and I did win in that regard because she was glowing. That just made my heart beam.
I think you completely fulfilled the family resemblance part of the challenge, so… what are they looking for, exactly?
I understand the critiques. Watching it now, I kind of understand the lack of variety comments. For me, I was so conscious about going in and having a brand, because there’s so many drag queens and so much Drag Race nowadays. If you don’t put your stamp and make it very clear on what your drag is and who you are and your perspective, then it’s quite easy to get lost in all the feathers and rhinestones. I thought I’d be standing out by doing what I was doing; having a really clear viewpoint, but I think that’s what got me kicked out in the end. Whatever!
But also, your placements over these past couple weeks have been very frustrating. You should’ve been in the top for Snatch Game, a hill a lot of people will die on…
I know. I’ll die on that hill as well. Le Fil commented on something similar, watching some of their exit interviews. Le Fil is quite a confident individual. I think I let people gaslight me into thinking that I may have not done a good job and I struggled having faith with myself on set. When they told me I was safe on Snatch Game I was like, ‘Thank god, I’m here another week,’ and I didn’t think to credit the work that I put in to that Snatch Game performance. It sucks, because I wish I could’ve got critiques and I think it would’ve made this week feel a little softer, in a sense, knowing that I went out the previous week proving that I could also do comedy. The audience reaction has given me that validation and I’ve had validation from the judges in other weeks, so I’m just very glad the British public enjoyed my Pete Burns. ‘My coat’s been arrested!’
Last time we spoke, you said it was important for you to show that you can “hang with the comedy girls” and you absolutely did that. How do you feel, looking back at your Drag Race run?
I’m so proud. I genuinely don’t think I could’ve done any more. I was a student going in, I didn’t have the most money to spend on costumes and I didn’t have the most experience in pretty much anything. The soundbite they used for every challenge was, ‘I’ve never done this before.’ It must be so annoying to the people who spent years developing their craft and comedy and improv and any of this kind of stuff. I was just running around the werkroom like, ‘I’ve never done this before, but I’m gonna give it my best shot!’ I’m proud of what I managed to achieve, not having much experience in some of the fields that the challenges required for us. I give myself a lot more credit now in areas I wouldn’t have given myself credit for before going in. I genuinely wouldn’t change a thing. I don’t think I could’ve done any more. I’m so proud of myself, and that is a rarity for me.
We knew you could do beauty and glamour, and now we know you can do comedy!
It’s so funny to me. Coming in and saying you love fashion, the one thing I wanted to hear from the judges and I got that on episode three, was, ‘You get fashion and you understand it.’ What upset me sometimes… I’ve had a lot of critiques about my drag aesthetic being subtle. I think it’s maybe that Drag Race viewers, especially Drag Race UK because I’m the first [trans woman], but even in the US, are not necessarily used to seeing showgirl aesthetics and the aesthetic that trans women put on in drag. For me, to have to almost be the guinea pig and have the British public try and decipher why I do the drag that I do and why it looks more subtle than the other queens, might have been something that was a shock. I’ve had a lot of people say, ‘It didn’t look like you belonged there,’ and that is a hard thing to try and justify when trans women have been such a crucial backbone to the drag community and the history of drag. I’m glad to be that trailblazer, if you will, but it’s led to quite a few misunderstandings about my drag and I just wanted to hear, ‘You get fashion, these references are fabulous.’ I understand, week-to-week, if I’m referencing Valentino one week and Christian Cowan the next week, then it’s like, ‘You’re still wearing clothes. You’re not dressed as a cat. It’s another pretty dress from Dakota!’ Watching it back, I very much understand that but I’m looking at all the shoots I’ve done and put on social media and I feel like my work stands on its own and I’m proud of it. But on that stage, it might not have been right. I’m still really proud.
There’s no requirement for how draggy you have to be on this show. Like Ru says, “You’re born naked and the rest is drag,” right? You gave us drag, you gave us comedy and you gave us lip-syncing as well! Your lip-sync against Baby, that was a double shantay.
Thank you! I’m really surprised. I didn’t necessarily give myself the credit I deserved for lip-syncing before I went and I put everything into that lip-sync because I knew Baby was gonna be fierce competition. As much as I hate musicals and hated that song as well, I learned every single lyric and every single beat. I’m so happy with that lip-sync and the response has really made it one of my favourite moments from the season.
Dakota, I’m with you. The only musical I enjoy is High School Musical 2.
That’s a good one! I do like Camp Rock, I’m very much a product of my generation. I don’t hate all musicals. I think, for me, I was trying not to get the Thorgy Thor edit where I’m like, ‘I’m being set up to fail.’ I basically threw the entire musical genre under the bus in lieu of saying, ‘I hate the musical you’ve given me,’ and not drag the producers. I have actually come to love it. Watching it now, it makes so much sense. Why was I being so stupid? I think it was a perfect time in that competition for me to get in my head because I was on top of the world, I had won two badges, I had done well in the improv. I was like, ‘Oh my god, nothing’s going to stop me!’ and then they threw this Rusical at me and I literally wanted to claw my eyes out when reading the script. It’s actually one of my favourite episodes. It’s so funny watching myself not want to be there. My body language for the whole episode is so meme-able. I’ve had so many people on Twitter make the most hilarious memes of my reactions. I’ve come around to it now and I do enjoy Lairy Poppins: The Rusical, so you can have that for the record!
Well your comments made some queer people, a small majority of queer people who don’t like musicals, feel seen. Thank you for that.
I’m representing all communities – the trans community and the queer community against musicals.
You previously said that you wanted to show the audience that the trans experience isn’t just “doom and gloom”, which you absolutely have done. So, as the first-ever trans woman on Drag Race UK, what has the response been like from viewers?
Oh my god, it’s been amazing. I don’t think we’re privileged enough to see nuanced and interesting portrayals of trans people in a lot of media, specifically in the UK. Because they were so limited, when we eventually get representation, the community rallies around said trans person and I have felt that beyond any means. It’s been so beautiful and the messages I’ve got from trans people are so overwhelming. I’ve had so many people come up to me on different gender journeys, whether they’re non-binary or thinking about coming out as trans, like, ‘What about social presentation?’ So many interesting conversations and I had one in the smoking area last night for about an hour! I was literally having a TED Talk with them, but it’s the reason why I do it and I do talk for England. Baby made sure to read me for that in the reading challenge. I’m just glad that, if I can talk about something, it is trans rights.
What are your hopes for Drag Race UK’s future in terms of diversity, now that we’ve had the first-ever trans woman contestant?
It can only go up. The UK drag scene is so diverse and has so much to offer. There’s no reason that, every single year, those quotas or the cast won’t look even more diverse and representative of British drag. That’s what has been such a lovely thing about this season; so many different facets of UK drag were represented and everyone is so starkly different and individual. It’s just been a beautiful, diverse cast and I’m grateful and hope it only goes up from here.
On the series, you opened up about your incredible relationship with your twin, Winona. I have to ask: is Winona preparing their season five audition tape as we speak?
[Laughs] Oh my god. It’s so funny because on television I must come across as super anxious and insecure. Everyone would ask me twin stereotypes like, ‘Who’s the angel? Who’s the devil?’ Someone tried to ask me to describe Winona and I was like, ‘Imagine me but 10 times more insecure and 10 times more shy and 10 times less likely to go on reality television.’ They might need a self-confidence course or download a meditation app and maybe they’ll be ready for season six. They’re very much happier in a library or a seminar researching queer history – they’re very intellectual – or knitting with a cup of tea playing Animal Crossing. They’re very much the relaxed version of me. Maybe not season five, but we’ll see.
One day when you and Winona ended up on a Vs the World or All Stars…
Vs the World, season 56, maybe!
I was gonna ask if you would be willing to send her home, but that feels mean now…
I don’t think she’d ever forgive me. It would be a full Rujubee moment on All Stars 1. We would just be sobbing uncontrollably in each other’s arms. I could not imagine that situation going down well, but it would be great television!
There would be more Ofcom complaints.
Not more!
The latest episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK season 4 is now available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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