RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 6 queens read their best & worst moments, and spill on the 'chaotic' season ahead
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If star wattage could pay electric utility charges, RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 6 contender Trinity K. Bonet's grandmother is looking at a full year of coverage for her infamous light bill.
"We all, collectively, really showed our asses," the drag superstar (who last competed on season 6 in 2014) exclusively tells EW of the upcoming season - the 13-strong cast for which Paramount+ revealed Wednesday. "The best [description] I can think of is: The best season yet!"
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It's a lofty projection that, for a season that remains sight-unseen, reaches higher than Alyssa Edwards' hair. But when you look at the talent involved - and consider World of Wonder and ViacomCBS decided to move the Emmy-winning Drag Race spin-off to Paramount+ to help drive new subscriptions for the fledging streaming service - it's hard to imagine all facets of production not firing on all sisterly cylinders. In addition to All Stars, a new competition series, Queen of the Universe (a first-of-its-kind singing competition bringing together drag queens from around the world to compete for global domination) will premiere on Paramount+ on Dec. 2.
"RuPaul's Drag Race is a global phenomenon and we are thrilled to bring All Stars to Paramount+ as we expand our reality offerings," Chris McCarthy, president of MTV Entertainment, said in a statement. "And, with Queen of the Universe, we are going global as we create the first annual international singing competition to finally answer the question which country has the best drag queen."
The AS6 queens officially sashay onto the streaming service on Thursday, June 24 with two back-to-back episodes, followed by weekly drops every Thursday. RuPaul's Drag Race Untucked will be available to stream on Paramount+ immediately following each new episode.
EW recently sat down with the full cast to reflect on the excellence (and perhaps a few missteps) that led the historic group of queens vying for a spot in the Drag Race Hall of Fame to this moment, one that season 12's returning face crack icon Jan promises will be a "chaotic and emotional" journey to the crown.
Below, RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 6 cast members A'Keria C. Davenport, Eureka, Ginger Minj, Jan, Jiggly Caliente, Kylie Sonique Love, Pandora Boxx, Ra'Jah O'Hara, Scarlet Envy, Serena Cha Cha, Silky Nutmeg Ganache, Trinity K. Bonet, and Yara Sofia spill on stolen wigs, on-stage meltdowns, questionable runway outfits of the past ("very St. Tropez!"), and more as they prepare for the battle of their lives.
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A'KERIA C. DAVENPORT (SEASON 11)
A'KERIA C. DAVENPORT: Let's be clear: I'm a huge fan of Mariah Carey! But, I'm not a fan who digs deep into how many kids she has. As long as the bitch makes amazing music, I'm going to listen! I don't give a damn where she lives, I don't give a damn who you're married to, I'm not that type of girl or that type of fan, I just want to enjoy your art.
SCARLET ENVY: My favorite moment A'Keria had was her gold look…. she came out there looking like a RuPaul statue, and she looked so gorgeous. A lot of what I wear in drag, I make, and I think it's important to have that skill set, and I have more respect for girls who did it all by themselves, sewing their look in the hotel room the night before to make sure it looks incredible the next day!
RA'JAH O'HARA: She had a lot of moments and was also underrated, but I think her best moment was the twerking. Ain't nothing wrong with throwing a little ass! You've got to do what you've got to do. That's where she solidified herself as Miss Ass Almighty and twerked her way to the top of the episode. Her gold look, I don't know that there's anything from season 11 that topped that. I can't deny that I live for A'Keria's runways. She most definitely is a queen who has a point of view, a definite sense of style, she's always my runway winner… except for the farm-to-runway! The same episode I got eliminated on, the farm to runway. The judges were not feeling her look and we both ended up in the bottom, that was not a proud moment for either one of us. She likes to forget about that whole outfit, the wig, the shoes, all of it. And we won't talk about the fact that I gave her that wig. [Laughs]
A'KERIA C. DAVENPORT: If I could do a look over, it'd probably be my zodiac look, being that I made that in the room the night before. I wish I had a little more time and material to give the look I wanted to produce, but time and money is low, so I did what I could.
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EUREKA (SEASON 9, SEASON 10, HOLI-SLAY SPECTACULAR)
EUREKA: I'm not as loud as I used to be. I've come into my own. That's what will be different this season: the maturity that I've grown so much. I felt different, like I wasn't trying as hard…. You look back on them old seasons, bitch, like, who was that little baby queen? It's like when you see yourself as a kid on those home videos, it's so cringe-y!
JIGGLY CALIENTE: When she broke her leg! [Laughs] I felt bad for people in Japan. It was like, f---, not another tsunami, s---! When she does that split, you know what I think of? You know in Jurassic Park when the f---ing dinosaur is coming and you see the glass shake and the water is rippling?
RA'JAH O'HARA: I live for that black-and-white houndstooth look that she had with the hat and the cape. I just live for Eureka's proportionizing and how she outfits her body type!
SCARLET ENVY: Her baby [is great]! I love a fashion diaper. The other thing is blowing her knee out. If you're going to do that, your heart is so in it and you're throwing your full self into it mentally, physically, spiritually, the whole f---ing thing, you have to respect that. I just kind of stand and use my smile muscles.
RA'JAH O'HARA: Probably the same interaction with The Vixen. Going through situations like that and having to deal with that throughout the fandom is the thing that builds that tougher skin. It really builds character, so I feel like what Eureka is able to do is walk through the pain that she went through from seasons 9 and 10 and come back stronger and wiser and actually putting into action the things that she's learned!
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GINGER MINJ (SEASON 7, ALL STARS 2)
GINGER MINJ: I'm actually one of the younger ones this season. The Bitter Old Lady Brigade is far behind me. It's a new day, it's a new me, and I'm feeling good. I think that, in the past, I got so bogged down in friendships that I didn't focus on me and what I was there for. This time going in, I've been in the game for a better part of a decade with Drag Race, and I know a lot more about me and myself, and I'm comfortable with me, so I don't have to rely on other people.
SILKY NUTMEG GANACHE: I think Ginger's best moment was making it into the top four. She was one of the first plus-sized girls to do that, and I think it instilled hope for big girls like me.
YARA SOFIA: I've always loved Ginger! She's good at acting and she's funny. By the way I just learned her name is Ginger Minj, and I don't know if I'm correct, but it's like a little ginger [vagina], it's just hilarious. I didn't know. I thought it was like because of Nicki Minaj!
KYLIE SONIQUE LOVE: Ginger is a class act…. After the show aired, she did a thing on the Tonys where she sang, I thought that was amazing to see that. I just felt like drag went to a whole other level seeing drag queens [there]. The finale, she really blew me away with her performance!
SERENA CHA CHA: Anything that she does that has to do with comedy, she slays. She's a great actress and she's a fast, witty thinker. She always has something to say. Ginger doesn't have looks, she's a comedy queen, how dare you call those looks! When it comes to Ginger, you've got to step it up, because she always has something to say.
TRINITY K. BONET: A lot of comments about what fans have said or what people have said about her not winning, that holds heavy on her heart. Most of us want to win, some of us just want to make it, and I think Ginger, she really wants it, and to not get it and basically be beat up for, I can tell that it's something that really bothers her.
SILKY NUTMEG GANACHE: Wearing that god-awful silver costume! She put it on and I said, "Oh my God, that's one of the ugliest costumes I've ever seen!" But you know what, that's my sister, Ginger, and if she likes it, you're supposed to say, "I love it," but I can't even spit that out of my mouth. It was just a moment, let's put it that way!
KYLIE SONIQUE LOVE: There was a makeup thing with Ginger, a dark color of hairspray on her wig line. I think it may work for club lighting, but when it comes to television and high-def, that stuff really doesn't read as well. She evolved from that and you can see her growth. Maybe the makeup wasn't that wonderful, but it has gotten so good over the years. I'm not trying to come across shady or anything. I mean, I looked like a f---ing wood carving on my season!
GINGER MINJ: I should have been in the top for the challenge I got sent home on All Stars 2, but that runway was atrocious. I looked like a baked potato from outer space who stuck her finger in the plug socket. It just was not a good look, and I knew that. I just had nothing else to wear. Now I'd be a loaded baked potato.
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JAN (SEASON 12)
JAN: There's one runway I'd love to redo: my cape. I wanted that to burst out instead of doing a stop, drop, and roll like it did before. If I get the chance to do that, I'd love to recreate that. It wasn't even bad. I love the look, I just wish the parachute was [better].
KYLIE SONIQUE LOVE: I wasn't surprised that she did well in those challenges. She did well in the Madonna Rusical…. when you expect to win things that you're already good at and you don't, it makes you think you're not as good as you thought you were, and it can f--- with you. I could see that in Jan. But, I think she was amazing the whole way through, so I hope she's proud of what she did.
SILKY NUTMEG GANACHE: Her best moment was losing the Madonna challenge because so much came from that moment. Sometimes you've got to lose to win again. That look on her face, I think America just felt her in that moment, and it's a tragic, but it's such a beautiful moment.
JAN: I love that I can turn my trauma into something that's relatable to all. It's nice to be mentioned, it's nice to see my sister shining and doing so well on season 13, even if it's not always in the best of graces, at least they're saying my name. I feel like I'm the secret 14th queen of season 13!
SILKY NUTMEG GANACHE: A moment she should forget is when she kept hitting that shade button in Untucked. Nobody was paying attention to her and she kept hitting it and shaking her head. It wasn't a moment! If you want to do something, you have to take off your clothes and scream "I was motherf---ing ready!"
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JIGGLY CALIENTE (SEASON 4)
JIGGLY CALIENTE: I'm 50 pounds lighter than I was on season 4, and I also have brand new teeth. I'm more aware of the woman that I am today than I was 10 years ago. So, when I filmed, I was 30, and I was going through a lot in my life at the time. I didn't even realize there was so much going on until I saw myself on television and I was like, wow, you need help! I went from a little girl to a grown woman in All Stars 6.
GINGER MINJ: I think her most iconic moment ever was when she was walking around the Werk Room going "Where's my f---ing t-ts? I can't find my t-ts?" We tease her about that every time we're on tour.
JIGGLY CALIENTE: Everybody knows [my worst look] is going to be the f---ing RuPocalypse! Yes, that. I know, and then f---ing Lala Ri had to ruin my steam. Now she has the worst outfit on Drag Race, that was mine! The Potato Bag Tour.
JAN: The one [good outfit] that's coming to mind, just for sheer hilarity, I'm going to say her "very St. Tropez" boat. I say "St. Tropez" all the time because of her. My eye [makeup] today? Very St. Tropez. Because it was iconic and sticks in my mind, I'm going to say that's her best look, for better or worse.
GINGER MINJ: She came out in like a yellow, pageanty dress. I loved her entrance look and we laugh about this, because I'd forgotten what she wore for her entrance, and then I turned around and walked in on season 7 wearing almost the same thing. Different fabric, but the same dress, same hair, I think that's probably my favorite because it bonded us.
EUREKA: Her drag potato getup! Also I really love the moment she wore that yellow gown on the runway, it was such a beautiful moment - and "Snooki loves smoosh smoosh!" in Snatch Game.
PANDORA BOXX: As iconic as it is, the baked potato look was really f---ing terrible, but I love it because it's terrible!
GINGER MINJ: I know it's the moment that's haunted her forever, that damn postapocalyptic train wreck of an outfit! I think it's her best moment, because when Jiggly is backed into a corner, that's when those performative instincts come out. People think about it to this day. She's standing up there wrapped in tin foil with a foot hanging from her waist, and she's still jumping into splits and all this high-energy stuff. That was such a perfect moment because it's so representative of drag: Throw something on and turn it the f--- out, and she always does!
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KYLIE SONIQUE LOVE (SEASON 2, HOLI-SLAY SPECTACULAR)
JIGGLY CALIENTE: To me she's like Selina Kyle, Catwoman, that's Kylie's vibe. Kylie's best moment was at the reunion when she told the world who she is. She basically paved the way for all the other girls that have come forth since Kylie. Kylie walked so the rest of us could run.
KYLIE SONIQUE LOVE: It was the first time I was saying it out loud for the world to know, so it was super emotional for me, and it was a kick in the ass that I needed. You have to be a strong person to go through a transition. I feel like I was part of that traction that slowly opened the door for the mainstream world to see someone transition and at the time when I came out, people were not coming out on TV like that.
RA'JAH O'HARA: That Snatch Game [was her worst]. That Lady Gaga was not Lady Gaga!
PANDORA BOXX: I think Kylie didn't get a chance to shine on season 2, because she's such a dynamic performer. When the elimination was up, it was between her and Morgan, and I didn't really want to see either of them go, so it was an upsetting elimination.
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PANDORA BOXX (SEASON 2, ALL STARS 1)
PANDORA BOXX: It's more about All Stars 1, and I wanted a complete do-over of my wretched c--t attitude.
GINGER MINJ: I'm sure the one she'd love to forget is All Stars 1, being paired up with Mimi [Imfurst]. She wasn't in a good headspace and it didn't work out. I felt bad watching her because I was such a fan on season 2, and when she came back, she was just not the same person, I could tell she wasn't in it. She was the first girl I watched like me that I watched on the show and went, "maybe I could do this," because she's giving what I give. I was sad to see her not be able to do that.
PANDORA BOXX: We were immediately the underdog team. I didn't know at the time that I'd be an underdog. I felt like it would be a harder struggle to last longer…. It came out and the fans can be not very nice. It was not a very good experience, so I'm happy to come back in a better headspace and just come back and let people know that I exist!
GINGER MINJ: Carol Channing of course, shining Drag Race moment! It speaks to how iconic it was that she didn't win that challenge, Tatianna won that challenge, but everyone associates the very first Snatch Game with Pandora's Carol Channing. You don't have to win something for people to look at you as the face of that moment, and that's what she did.
RA'JAH O'HARA (SEASON 11)
RA'JAH O'HARA: Leaving season 11, I got a lot of flak from the fans and viewers, so I have to prove who I am as a person and a queen, because what you saw on season 11 was just a stressed out, temperamental, insecure version of Ra'Jah. I went into season 11 thinking that was my time to shine, but I also squandered that opportunity focusing on the girls in the room rather than what I can bring to the competition.
A'KERIA C. DAVENPORT: Ra'Jah's best look was her orange alert also. It was quintessential Ra'Jah. That's who she is, very edgy, but fun at the same time!
SILKY NUTMEG GANACHE: Her lip-sync to "Living in America" was the best lip-sync of the season. It's a song that drag queens just don't perform, and she truly brought that song to life.
KYLIE SONIQUE LOVE: There was something about her energy and her sassiness, she just speaks her mind and some people can take that the wrong way, but I admire that.
TRINITY K. BONET: [I don't want people] thinking that she's mean or vindictive, because she's none of those things. When you're put in a foreign situation, you react to the best of your ability. She did all she could do, but that's a lot of pressure to be under.
A'KERIA C. DAVENPORT: [Her worst is] probably those damn burlap pants that fell apart. I'm sure she doesn't even have those anymore. I wonder if she's triggered by burlap now?
KYLIE SONIQUE LOVE: Her concept was amazing, but sometimes when you're filming TV you have to talk and interact when you're trying to get ready and make things and it's hard to squeeze all of that into a couple of hours.
SILKY NUTMEG GANACHE: She was unfairly eliminated and unfairly put in the bottom. Yes, the pants tore on the side, but at the same time Ra'Jah's was the most well-thought-out outfit on the runway…. She excelled!
SERENA CHA CHA: I guess when Ariel left wigs there and some of the girls took them and Ra'Jah had one of them. At DragCon, Ra'Jah came back in the middle of Ariel's runway and threw the wigs back at her! That's epic.
RA'JAH O'HARA: You have to stay tuned to see if there are any wigs that made it in my suitcase. Yes, I did leave with a couple of new wigs, but we'll have to watch the story to see how it all plays out and see how they ended up in my suitcase.
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SCARLET ENVY (SEASON 11)
SCARLET ENVY: Something that I'd like a do-over on, maybe my entrance look. I was feeling as c--t as I ever did, and then I got the response, like, maybe I could've adjusted some things. The girls on season 11 love to read me for not wearing makeup, that's what I can say: I worked a lot on my makeup. I wear more of it now!
KYLIE SONIQUE LOVE: There's something about her that she has such a unique energy to her. She's very charming out of drag and very seductive in drag.
SILKY NUTMEG GANACHE: Her best moment was when we were doing the acting challenge, and I said I'm going to choose all Black girls and one white girl, and I chose that poor white girl. Her best moment was that acting challenge. She won that week. She felt the pressure and rose to the occasion, and that was a beautiful moment for Scarlet, but I like to pat myself on the back because I gave her that role!
A'KERIA C. DAVENPORT: That was a setup on her behalf! Fans love that moment because they don't see the struggle that she had cutting the actual dress. We got to witness the 30 minutes it took to get through the dress before she came out of the dress!
SILKY NUTMEG GANACHE: Her doing "Last Dance." Honey, let me tell you, this is some shade, I was on the set, I saw the lip-sync, people were like, "Scarlet was robbed!" She was not robbed, baby. She robbed herself with those little scissors. It was horrible.
SERENA CHA CHA: I think she was a little too quiet for me, I think she'd want to be louder because she has a tremendous personality and it's contagious. She's always animated and had good energy, but I saw her as shy.
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SERENA CHA CHA (SEASON 5)
SERENA CHA CHA: I've translated what folklore from Panama is into a lot of my looks on the show…. [I'm] taking that soft sculpture label I created and making it something refined that everyone can love and wow the kids.
JAN: This is actually a niche one, but my favorite thing Serena did on her original season was say, "Shopping spree, shopping spree, no credit cards involved!" It's like, in the back, you really don't even see her saying it, but you know it's her. Me and one of my dear friends quote that all the time.
EUREKA: Who? I'm just kidding…. I guess it's not her iconic moment that I remember, I just remember Alyssa Edwards being like "Sit your ass down and shut the f--- up, bitch!" So, I don't know if that's her iconic moment or Alyssa's!
GINGER MINJ: My favorite moment from Serena was actually the "Party in the U.S.A." lip-sync. I knew Penny Traytion going into the season and I expected her to wipe the floor with Serena…. Boy was I wrong when I watched it! Penny didn't know it and covering her mouth, but Serena turned it out and that's when I looked at her like, oh, this bitch is a performer; she knows what she's doing.
GINGER MINJ: I think the whole "ghetto" thing, that whole conversation between her and Coco, I don't know if she wants to forget it, but to me that was probably her lowest moment from her original season. We all call Coco old because she is old.
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SILKY NUTMEG GANACHE (SEASON 11)
SILKY NUTMEG GANACHE: I could barely compete, just thinking about everything I went through on season 11…. the experience with the way people perceived me could change my whole way of competing. I'm glad that I had this opportunity because I'm in the process of rebuilding who I am as a queen and where I want to take my career, but at the same time you're going to see the raw Silky, the vulnerable Silky, which you didn't see in season 11. I chose not to show any of that on television, so you get to see a whole other side of Silky.
GINGER MINJ: I love her and I've done pageants with her for years, so I expected the level of performance she gave us during the season, but I didn't expect her to run away with all of Untucked. She's the queen of Untucked! She came into it like the Tasmanian Devil, ripping things off and spinning through the room!
A'KERIA C. DAVENPORT: Silky's most memorable moment is breaking those lights in the middle of trying to lip-sync the song she was so ready for. Silky's orange look was my absolute favorite look she ever did.
JIGGLY CALIENTE: Silky's worst moment was when she did that hate crime on Soju's face. It's kind of easy to do makeup on Asian queens, it's not too hard to make us look fishy, but, bitch, what she did to Soju, that was a hate crime. She did the Nike symbol in Neapolitan on her face.
A'KERIA C. DAVENPORT: I'm sure Silky wants to forget her lip-sync, but I never want Silky to forget that lip-sync, because anytime she gets ready to do anything, I need her to remember not to redo that lip-sync, so she should never forget that one!
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TRINITY K. BONET (SEASON 6)
TRINITY K. BONET: I understand the industry a lot more. Before, it was a foreign environment; I'd never been on set. You watch 25 minutes at home but it's 16-hour days, you get five hours of sleep and do it all again…. Now I get it and I was able to walk into the experience knowing what to look forward to versus not being aware, and it made it so much more comfortable to compete and enjoy it.
SCARLET ENVY: I liked her comedy. She had a good stand-up moment with her grandmother, the light bill. That's an iconic moment and relatable, too, as somebody who's lights have been turned off!
RA'JAH O'HARA: She served major lip-syncs. Anything with her in the bottom having to lip-sync, that's a moment she can definitely stand proud on and hold her head up high…. she wore out all of those girls.
O'HARA: She'd probably want to redo her Snatch Game. Nicki Minaj. Uh-uh. That was not Nicki Minaj. The girl thought she was going to bring it out and make it happen, but, no ma'am!
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YARA SOFIA (SEASON 3, ALL STARS 1)
YARA SOFIA: You're going to see some [pop-it-ons]. I don't know if people really know the meaning of pop-it-on, but, it's dick. I don't know if you know that.
PANDORA BOXX: The most memorable thing about Yara is that she lives on her own planet. Sometimes you don't know what the f--- she's saying, but, somehow I do…. Everything she does is iconic, and she's a little crazy, but good crazy!
SCARLET ENVY: My favorite thing about her is Yara's stand-up routine. "Get out get out get out get out!" It's so funny. It gets me every time. She's running around, making poop jokes. This bitch!
RA'JAH O'HARA: I live for her personality…. I live for her spiciness, that flavor, that salt that she brings!
YARA SOFIA: [I'd like to forget] crying on national TV on stage! It was so much. I'm not even a crier. I don't even take off my wig. This wig is super glued. But, I guess it was demons that I had.
PANDORA BOXX: I felt so bad for her because I completely understood and sympathized, because I had those breakdowns, but I had them in the hotel room where no one saw me. That's where I had my breakdowns and cried, and then I'd go back to the set and have that judge who shall not be named ripped me apart again!
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 6 debuts on Paramount+ on June 24 with two new episodes, followed by weekly drops every Thursday.
Subscribe to EW's BINGE podcast for full recaps of all 13 seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race, featuring exclusive interviews with the season 13 top four, Jaida Essence Hall, Trixie Mattel, Katya, Peppermint, Bianca Del Rio, Bob the Drag Queen, Sasha Velour, and more.
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