Sugar reveals how she and Spice choreographed their synchronized RuPaul's Drag Race lip-sync in 5 minutes
Those canned bits on RuPaul's Drag Race will taste a little saltier from here on out.
The empirical rise of Sugar and Spice's TikTok Twin-Twink Dynasty will go down as one of the most gloriously bonkers things to ever hit the Werk Room, but things got even zanier upon Sugar's elimination. Sadly, the sibling duo split apart at the end of Friday's episode, after pressure from the fan-favorite Snatch Game celebrity impersonation challenge proved to be a tad bitter for the lively pair's tastes.
MTV/World of Wonder Sugar on 'RuPaul's Drag Race' season 15.
After a self-described "messy and chaotic" highly synchronized lip-sync against each other in the bottom two (Sugar landed in the bottom for her performance as Trisha Paytas, while Spice played two versions of Miley Cyrus across separate time periods), Sugar sashayed away, but not without making her mark on the competition. Below, the internet sensation tells EW how the siblings devised their Pat Benatar lip-sync number, reveals her backup Snatch Game choice, and what life is like as the freshly adopted daughter of fellow season 15 queen Mistress Isabelle Brooks.
Before RuPaul's Drag Race season 15 continues Friday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on MTV, read Sugar's full elimination interview below.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: I'm so sorry to talk with you under these circumstances. I hope you're doing well processing this elimination all over again.
SUGAR: I officially have no tears left to cry. Ariana. Come on, promo. I feel like I was in the trenches for about three days after my elimination…. I was sitting in the hotel room, chilling by myself. I had time to write and reflect, and this morning I feel so much gratitude.
You've had a huge impact on this show and fandom across the last three weeks. If you had to go out, Snatch Game is the episode to do it, because so many people tune in. You portrayed Trisha Paytas, but who were your backups before landing on Trisha, and did you have any gags you wanted to do during the challenge, but didn't end up doing?
Another option — we don't want to shun her, she was equally as good — was Christina Aguilera. In hindsight, I should've done her because Ru would've known her. No regrets, I'm happy I did Trisha. With Xtina, it was very "Dirrty" Christina Aguilera, when she was a walking spoof of herself. I had a whole thing to go with that. I'll have to do it on social media. Ru had to get through 14 queens. He was going through it himself, he was probably sick of it, coming from last year, going through Snatch Game again! I had all my bits with eating, and I was going to do a full meltdown with Trisha, like, she's crying on the kitchen floor, so I started eating and whipping chips out of my boobs like Trisha would do, and he looked at me with disgust, and I remember someone saying he doesn't like when queens eat. I was like, maybe we're not going to lean into Trisha's eating schtick so hard.
Unfortunately, you and Spice landed in the bottom, and you told the other queens in Untucked that if they save one of you, you're both out. Were you both fully prepared to quit if the other sibling was eliminated?
Oh, no. That was an immediate reaction. After we got off stage, it's the twin telepathy. I could sense Spice in full mother mode, because she was disgusted by what Michelle [Visage] said…. Basically, there was this sense that Michelle had kind of made her mind up that she didn't like how we came up through TikTok, online, and paving our own way. She kind of gave me my farewell song…. Which was kind of devastating, because you come onto the show and all drag is valid, and we celebrate everyone's difference. I think Spice was like, Oh my God, we're not welcome here. If she doesn't like Sugar, she's not going to like me. Our whole childhood, it's always been the world against us, and we were having so much fun there. Snatch Game was the most fun I had all day; it was the most comfortable I felt. You couldn't tell me I wasn't Trisha…. I understand why I was in the bottom. If you don't get it, you don't get it. In that moment, we were like, oh my God, these people hate us…. Ru didn't even critique me, which was kind of c--ty and iconic! [Laughs] All the judges went down the line and it got to be his turn to say something and he was like, "You heard the critiques!" I was like, oop, I need that on a shirt!.... I'm sure you saw in Untucked, we were going crazy because we hit our breaking point, really leaning into the absurdity of it and regaining control of the situation.
We always see that face Ru does when he's watching a lip-sync, that's the look you got?
It was that look.
Spice made the decision to stay after you left. What changed during Untucked, because we saw the other girls trying to convince you both to stay.
Thank God for those girls. It almost feels like you're at school and all of a sudden, they call you down to the principal's office and you're in trouble, and all of a sudden there's a thunderstorm over us. You're in that mindset, and you're so emotional. Of course I know Spice didn't want to go, but she was like, no, they were so horrible to you, I need to stay here and protect you like we've done our whole life. It wasn't until those girls — especially Sasha — were like, "There are little Sugar and Spices out there that relate to you guys so much, and you have to do it for them." They were like, Sugar, if you go, you have been Spice's sister this whole time, it's always been you two, you guys haven't had a drag family, we will be the Sugar to her Spice, we are her sisters now, we are her family. I get emotional thinking about it. I was like, "Spice, you have to stay. I've always been the stronger one, the mama bear." I was like, "If anyone has to go, it should be me. This is your chance, you have your sisters' support, you don't need me anymore." It really was a beautiful moment.
MTV/World of Wonder Sugar and Spice lip-sync on 'RuPaul's Drag Race' season 15.
If Spice was eliminated, would you have quit?
I would've felt the same. I would've been in full protective mother mode, like, this is a set-up, this is crazy, what world are we living in? With the show sometimes, it can be queens acting a certain way because they don't want to upset the fanbase or they want to come off in a good light, but those were real, vulnerable, raw moments because we were going through it.
As Marcia pointed out at one point, the lip-sync choreography was clearly prepared and planned by you two. I think everyone at some point anticipated that we'd get a lip-sync between the twins. Did you both anticipate that as well and plan that lip-sync performance before even coming to the show, or did you plan it in Untucked?
As much as we play our dumb bimbo schtick, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to think they're going to put the twins in the bottom. They pulled the plug very early…. We knew a lip-sync was coming, unfortunately it would've been even more planned if we weren't breaking down in Untucked. I think we had 10 minutes to get it together. The producers were holding us like a caged bull, because right before the lip-sync they were separating us [to go back on stage], and I was like, girl, I don't know these words. I think we had five minutes to be like, "Okay, on this, do this, and do this." That's why it was so messy and chaotic. Everything went out the window!
You really choreographed this in Untucked?
Yes, the last few moments of Untucked, we're listening to it. It came to us really quick. That's a testament to the artistic process. Sometimes when you go with the flow and you go with it and there are no canned bits, that's when the magic happens.
You fell a few times. Was that planned?
Uh, yeah, it was totally planned. [Laughs] No, you know me with heels, I should take a page out of Mistress' book with little kitten heels. Of course, I did platforms. My line is, "It doesn't matter if you fall, it just matters how hot you look when you get back up." I told that to the queens all season…. I [was] manifesting a fall. I want an iconic Farrah Moan fall. I hope a good meme comes out of it.
MTV/World of Wonder Sugar and Spice on 'RuPaul's Drag Race' season 15.
You had some emotional moments discussing your family in Untucked, and it hit Spice hard, the part about your mom saying hurtful things to you, and the revelation that your parents didn't know you were on the show. Has that situation changed, and how did that feel to have Mistress Isabelle Brooks step in as your drag mother and adopt you, given the struggles you had to find your place with family and in drag?
I'm so grateful for Mistress and the other girls to be there and support us. Spice getting up, that was the first time we'd ever talked about it with anyone else besides super close people in our life. My family now, they've come around because of the show. They've been supporting in their own way, and I'm accepting it…. And I hope it keeps moving forward.
How did Mistress come to adopt you?
I remember the first day, the day they were all taking shots at us, once the other girls let their guards down and were able to get more comfortable with us, that's when they were like, these people are pretty cool…. Mistress adopting me, it was after the [she got] the wig glue for [us], she was helping me get ready, and I think she could also relate because she's also shared her story as well on the show that her family didn't accept her. Especially after some long bus rides, it was realizing we're more similar. Yes, Mistress is old-school drag and I'm this crazy TikTok twink, but we have so much in common.
It was her idea to adopt you?
It was, totally. She was like, "You need a mom!" I was like, "I'm Spice's mom, but I need a mom, too." Malaysia was just good friends with Mistress, and it all kind of happened, and now we're this amazing, big drag family.
Now you're Davenports!
It's like a porn star name: Sugar Brooks Davenport.
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