Fan-favorite queen quits RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 8 after shocking Werk Room drama: 'I need my peace'

Remember when Heidi N Closet said she was going to worry about Heidi N Closet? Guess what, Mimi? She did.

The fan-favorite season 12 Miss Congeniality winner's time on RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 8 came to a devastating end on Friday's episode, with the North Carolina native quitting the competition following a major Werk Room clash involving several queens, including Jimbo, Kahanna Montrese, Kandy Muse, and Alexis Michelle.

Heidi's emotional saga began after the Snatch Game of Love celebrity impersonation challenge, during which Heidi portrayed Blackbeard the pirate opposite Kahanna's impression of drag mother, Coco Montrese. While the queens prepared to hit the runway for judging, Kahanna addressed her discomfort with Heidi's approach to the challenge, feeling that Heidi made several jokes at her expense — particularly a gag that involved passing a treasure map to Kahanna-as-Coco and suggesting that she use it to find a joke.

"What really sent me was you, because you really were pushing me. Seeing that I was struggling and throwing the jokes back at me, giving me the map and antagonizing me, it just was not cute," Kahanna told Heidi, who said in a confessional that she had "no idea" that Kahanna felt this way. "I don't want you to feel like I was trying to push you down. I was hoping that you'd be able to volley and hit the joke," Heidi replied, apologizing to Kahanna. "You know that's not me."

At this point, Kandy Muse spoke up: "Since we're talking about family and stuff, Heidi, why did I hear that you went to Jimbo and told her that I'm coming for her?" she asked, to which Heidi responded, "Because you did." Heidi then turned to another sister for confirmation, "Alexis?"

The camera cut to Alexis, who seemingly was present for the alleged discussion Heidi had with Kandy, and said in a confessional that she was "trying to like, flatline in this conversation" after Heidi asked her to corroborate. Alexis lightly nodded in affirmation, only to walk it back a few moments later.

"I nodded because Kandy said that to me," Alexis replied when Jimbo asked if Kandy said something to her about voting Jimbo out. "I said I'm gunning for her?" Kandy pressed. Alexis looked off for a few seconds, and then said, "No."

Heidi then reiterated her earlier assertion: "What she said was, 'As soon as Jimbo lands in the bottom, I'm going to send her ass home." Alexis walked her earlier agreement back, stating that she "did not hear Kandy say that."

Paramount+ 'RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 8' queens have tense discussion in the Werk Room.

In a confessional, Heidi said she felt "very alone" and questioned Kandy's denial, again alleging that, with reference to a pre-established pact between herself, Jimbo, and Kandy, that the season 13 runner-up tried to "turn the tables on our alliance member."

The tension in the room intensified as the queens tried to go back to getting ready to hit the Main Stage, and Heidi ultimately made her bombshell announcement to the group.

"Let's just have fun tonight, and when it comes down to voting, vote Heidi," she said, just before exiting the Werk Room. "It's because I do not like what this has become. Because this has become really ugly and really hideous, and I don't like that. So, have fun. I'm leaving now. Honestly, no, we don't even have to vote tonight. I love y'all, I love you all, I can't do this. I love you all, I love you all so much."

As Lala Ri, Kandy, and Alexis attempted to console her backstage, Heidi emphasized that she was "not going back in there" to join the rest of the girls.

"I need my peace and my joy. I've lost it here," she told Kandy through tears. "I'm not going to regret this. I know I'm not. I'm pleased with what I showed."

EW Heidi N Closet for EW

Heidi's final confessional on the show played just before the runway presentation. "No amount of money, no $200,000, no $50,000 from the Fame Games is worth my happiness. I've done what I came here to do, I came here to have fun, show my growth, and have a kiki, honey, and I've done all that," she explained. "Sometimes you just have to take your own destiny into your own hands."

Later, during her usual introductions on the Main Stage, RuPaul expressed remorse over Heidi's departure.

"Now, sadly, I want to confirm that Heidi N Closet has chosen to remove herself from the competition, and will not be participating in the Fame Games," Mama Ru told the panel, which also included Michelle Visage, Ross Mathews, and guest judges Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang. "We wish Heidi nothing but love."

In an Instagram post on Friday morning, Heidi shared that she was "not eligible" to participate in the Fame Games "so out of respect for it I won't continue posting my looks on my social media." Instead, she said she would share them behind the paywall on her personal Patreon account.

The Snatch Game episode was not the first time Heidi spoke about wanting to quit All Stars 8. At the end of the May 19 episode of Untucked, Heidi told Kandy that she wanted to go home after not placing in the top during the Supermarket Ball runway challenge. In an exclusive interview, Heidi told EW what eventually got her to stay on the show.

Paramount+ Heidi N Closet on 'RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 8 Untucked'

"At the end of the day, it came down to, was I content with all that I had done there, and what I finished showing?" Heidi said, adding that a significant portion of what inspired her to remain on the show happened off-camera. "I was like, I have a little more to show. But, that day was a very rough day, and it was a very emotional day. I was also taken aback by [Mrs. Kasha Davis] unfortunately leaving us. I was very hurt by that, too. They didn't show how close me and Kasha got, I was walking around calling her auntie and stuff. It was just a rough day."

Heidi isn't the first contestant to quit Drag Race All Stars; Adore Delano chose to exit on episode 2 of All Stars 2, while BenDeLaCreme shocked the fandom — and RuPaul — when she used Wite-Out to scrawl her own name atop a tube of lipstick and eliminate herself from All Stars 3.

RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 8 continues Friday on Paramount+.

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