- 2 months ago
From shady edits to off-camera drama, former Drag Race queens have revealed plenty about what really goes on behind the Werk Room curtain. In this countdown, we’re revisiting some of the most unforgettable moments when contestants called out producer manipulation, hidden arguments, and the realities TV didn’t want you to see. Did these tea spills change how you watch the show?
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00:00and she turned to me and she said
00:05nothing you say matters unless that camera is rolling welcome to ms mojo and today we're
00:10collecting all the most memorable tea former drag race contestants have spilled about the
00:14show's inner workings over the years they film all of us winning and that particular episode
00:19uh that particular night when we were there i just assumed okay we did all of us and then they
00:24they did one more tammy brown she's a high concept character who doesn't seem to take anything too
00:32seriously i'm acting that seems to include her time on drag race about which tammy brown has said
00:40plenty appearing on season one of both the mainline series and its all-star spinoff tammy has made no
00:45bones about spilling behind the scenes secrets like they're nothing her sat with matt interview from
00:502023 saw her talking once again about how producers goaded the queens into amping up their
00:55personalities for the camera so we knew that coming in that we could do that we were manipulating trying
01:01to manipulate but they had already one up on us already they switched things they were already
01:05switching things around cutting and everything they knew how to do that already where she drew
01:09the line was when producers attempted to get her to talk badly about her competitors behind their backs
01:13they were always trying to instigate something with me try to get me to say something bad about this
01:17one or that one i don't care you know what you're wearing or what they're doing i'm staying in my
01:21lane i care about what i'm doing you know i don't have to worry about what's going on in your
01:25atmosphere
01:25this is mine max this season seven queen went from frontrunner to crashing and burning all in the
01:31span of one episode snatch game you had to look down a hundred percent what was missing was everything
01:36else sharon's got a really twisted sense of humor and that was missing and i hate to say that
01:45it looks like max is coming apart during the judging segment for the snatch game episode
01:49max's corset came undone prompting a pause during filming as seen on the episode she spontaneously
01:55began to sing looking quite ludicrous as a result max are you okay so i can't quite be called
02:03overnight sensation i took advantage of the moment she went home soon after but max later said that
02:12rupal actually asked her to sing and the show edited it in a deceptive way and she didn't ask
02:17me like fake a fit or anything he asked me to sing something so it wasn't i don't know it's
02:22just
02:22all around odd could have been good intentions turned into bad intentions i super don't know but
02:28it was a weird energy this narrative was later challenged by her co-star katya who remembered it
02:33somewhat differently to her rupal's request to max that she sing something felt sarcastic
02:38i think that the i think that the subtext of that comment was hey why don't take all the time
02:43you
02:43need down there it's not like we're just filming something oh that was the that was the vibe
02:48because she was like mary we're filming a show here either way it is a glimpse inside a moment that's
02:54baffled fans ever since jeremy carrey appearing on the show as fifi o'hara jeremy carrey was very
03:00vocal about how he was edited on both season four and all stars two you choose to do what you
03:05want
03:05with someone else's words and let them affect you and that's exactly what she's doing right now
03:11you can't get upset because you were eliminated and someone had their opinions on why you should
03:16be gone in an interview with slate carrey spoke about how the iconic moment when the returning
03:21queens re-entered the competition was heavily manipulated by producers they were asking him
03:26to talk about why she sent alissa edwards home so that they could make it seem like he was on
03:30a rant
03:30about alissa before she's revealed to be listening in and she kept saying no you got to be truthful
03:34you gotta be truthful and i was like what do you mean i gotta be i'm telling you what i
03:36feel
03:37and the moment she kept trying to push me to say what she wanted is when i realized like oh
03:42you don't
03:43you don't want me to be nice you don't want me to be who i actually am for you i
03:47get it it wasn't
03:48like carrey was against making good tv though he even admitted the season-long rivalry between him
03:52and sharon needles was partially fabricated by the queens themselves sharon and i knew what we were doing
03:57and we knew that if we played this game we would get to the end no matter if we were
04:01like did bad or
04:02good or whatever we were going to make it to the end they never had a villain you know and
04:06um
04:08an underdog go at each other like like sharon and i did alexis mateo and stacy lane matthews
04:13i don't have a sugar daddy i've never had a sugar daddy if i wanted a sugar daddy yes i
04:17probably
04:17could go out and get one because i am what sickening you could never have a sugar daddy because you
04:21are
04:21not that kind of girl baby everything i've had i've worked for and i've gotten myself i've built
04:26myself from the ground up no you bitch the sugar daddy argument between season three's shangela
04:31and mimi i'm first became an instant fan favorite moment however on an episode of hey queen alexis
04:37mateo said that it was so much worse than what was shown war wonders can i never have another
04:44incident like that one and my sisters from season three know exactly what i'm talking about baby so
04:50because somewhere there's a lot it was a reason why we got a break of three weeks after that episode
04:56stacy lane matthews confirmed that the two queens actually got into a physical altercation
05:01season three went on a break for several weeks afterward however according to an article from
05:06the time production was suspended due to rupaul's brush with illness whether that was a cover for the
05:11real reason we may never know production company world of wonder will just have to release the footage
05:16i should not have said that to her it just escalated out of control the vixen stomping
05:21into the workroom season 10 contestant the vixen had an agenda she wanted to challenge reality tv's
05:27bias against people of color whom she identified as often being made into narratively convenient
05:32villains i definitely am very influential in the chicago drag scene i am very vocal and sometimes
05:39that rubs people the wrong way but i keep it real this put her at odds with the show from
05:43the jump
05:44her confrontational ways were challenged mid-season by fellow queen asia o'hara whatever happens between
05:49you and her i want to make sure it's because of eureka specifically and not something bigger than us
05:56that we really have no control over okay nobody take your feelings from you or tell you your feelings
06:00not valid but make sure you understand why you're angry and what you're angry at however the moment is
06:06mostly told from asia's point of view showing the vixen being almost uncritically receptive to her
06:11ideas in fact the vixen revealed in an instagram live session that she pushed back way more than
06:16was shown it simply didn't fit the narrative of the episode and so i had to sit with that and
06:22think
06:23that oh i'm this monster is going to come out that i'm like just this testy bitch who can't keep
06:27it
06:27under control and then i find out that she wanted me to go there she took me there on purpose
06:33bianca del rio and courtney act the winner of rupaul's drag race america's next drag superstar is
06:48bianca del rio
06:53it's old news that the drag race winner isn't crowned live and it's even older news that multiple
06:58endings are filmed however rumors that there was a double crowning filmed for season six gained new
07:03traction after all stars four had the show's first ever tie for the win for the first time in all
07:08stars herstory you are both winners baby we have a tie winner winner to chicken dinner this alternate
07:19take was later confirmed by season six's winner bianca del rio and finalist courtney act it's been
07:24you know said many times they film all of us winning and that particular episode uh that
07:29particular night when we were there i just assumed okay we did all of us and then they they did
07:35one
07:35more on the day of the live finale bianca courtney and fellow finalist adore delano filmed their own
07:40separate crownings as usual then a fourth ending was filmed with bianca and adore in a tie
07:46courtney was left out this made it painfully obvious to all that courtney simply wasn't in the
07:51running the blatant disrespect is almost stunning and as soon as they said it was a tie i was sad
07:57i was sad not because i didn't win i was sad because courtney was left standing there so it
08:02was quite obvious she wasn't gonna get so that's what i was concerned about adore delano everyone
08:08was excited to see the season six fan favorite walk back into the workroom for season two of all
08:12stars my name is ador delano and i'm a messy i'm known for being really messy however the excitement
08:20was short-lived when adore delano tearfully exited the competition in the second week
08:24the edit made it seem as if judge michelle visage's negative critiques were what dashed her desire to be
08:29there this is the 14th street dress like that doesn't fit you i don't care if you're gonna give
08:35me your hog body line or whatever it is it's just i expected more for you we see your stuff
08:40out there
08:41you're doing your thing you've got your album you're rocking the world
08:46adore would later admit that it was actually guest judge raven simone whose quote
08:50super gross personal comments went unaired the context of her quit was also heavily manipulated by
08:56the show she had spent hours talking to rupaul in the host's dressing room before we saw any of
09:01the outcome on the set yeah he was trying to convince me like for like over two hours in his
09:05dressing room and it was just like you're gonna regret this you're gonna read and i'm like no i'm not
09:09and we're getting saying yes like you know what i mean but um yeah it was a lot of talk
09:15pearl you were in the bottom last week right and i want to make sure that this week you upped
09:22the
09:22ante well you kind of like told me i had no personality i mean that doesn't make me feel good
09:28or give me confidence from an early standoff with rupaul to constant critiques about her energy level
09:33anyone who watched season seven knows that pearl had a hard time adjusting
09:37although she kept her cards close to her chest she would later reveal an early interaction with
09:41the host left her completely cold we were filming a segment just kind of chatting banter whatever
09:47together and then the camera went down for a moment and i turned to rupaul and i said
09:52oh my god like i just want to say thank you so much like it is such an honor to
09:58be here such a
09:58pleasure to meet you ru said that nothing she said mattered unless cameras were rolling letting
10:03pearl know that she was merely a cog in a machine that didn't care about her producers have since
10:08explicitly told her that she will never appear on the show again the experience left pearl cold on
10:13rupaul the show and her entire experience anyway that broke my spirit wow and that is the reason why
10:24i had one foot in one foot out the entire time i was on that show delta work many drag
10:29race fans know
10:30about the sudden departure of rupaul's longtime collaborator and glam artist matthew anderson
10:34what many don't know is that two former contestants raven and delta work took over in his stead mid-season
10:40you know working with rue it's um it's really about the proportion storyline and it's about
10:45making it look personalized we know that this is a wig but she doesn't want us to look like she
10:52went and bought it right delta's tenure as in-house wig stylist was short-lived in conversation with joseph
10:57shepherd delta's first emmy nomination for the show was rescinded due to a technicality
11:02the producers asked her to downplay the reasons and it was simply because of a technical error which
11:07was you have to appear on all call sheets and we came in two episodes in totally get it not
11:12a big deal
11:13um but we were asked to keep quiet about that however communication breakdowns and fairly standard
11:19business disputes turned into nastiness from the show and its producers they even purposefully left
11:25delta's name off of emmy consideration despite her having worked on the season that won the award
11:30for hairstyling they were so uncomfortable with me being in that room that they were not going to
11:34have me be on that award so when people say like oh you've nominated you've you've you have an emmy
11:40and in my mind i'm like no i'm a three-time nominee and two-time winner
11:45if you love games be sure to check out watchmojo's new game terrible influence just launched for
11:50purchase at terrible influence.com terrible influence is a satirical board game about the
11:55dark side of fame from the writer of the most popular girls in school and us watchmojo boom
12:00i can make an apology video oh you so would click on the link in the description to check out
12:05the game
12:06and be the first to play terrible influence
12:10willem your actions have consequences and i'm afraid you leave me no choice willem i have to ask
12:19you to leave the competition immediately season four's wild child has talked openly about the show
12:24at so many points both on her own behalf and on behalf of others that to collect them all here
12:29is
12:29impossible the bad blood with drag race started almost immediately the real reasons behind her
12:35disqualification from season four are not as cut and dried as they had us believe the conjugal
12:40reason after that's what they came up with to like make sure everybody you know looks good i wasn't
12:45trying to make them look bad so i was like i'll go with the story xyz i knew that all
12:49stars was coming
12:50i wanted to play along to get on that however she has since spoken up about everything from mistreatment
12:55on set disrespectful producers shady business practices and her own personal beef with host rupaul
13:00the feud with rue did that come from the all stars and the disqualification drama no she doesn't give
13:07a f**k about me and i honestly don't give a f**k about her yeah yeah she doesn't care she doesn't
13:12know some of our names you know her streak of shattering the illusion of tv magic continues on
13:17her long-running race chaser podcast alongside fellow former contestant alaska like i wasn't gonna put
13:23myself in a place where i knew i would be unhappy with buying a booth and everything but i want
13:27to
13:27participate it's a drag event and i'm not there for rupaul i'm there for all the fans that want to
13:32see me and love me did these queens make you see the show differently tell us in the comments
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