Wild “RuPaul's Drag Race ”season 16 group interview teases 'season full of villains'

EW exclusively speaks with the 14 queens entering the Werk Room about Rate-a-Queen voting, who is "Queen of Untucked," and the "foolery" ahead.

If you thought RuPaul's Drag Race's new episodes were going to be sweet for season 16, the 14 new queens entering the Werk Room have a spicy surprise in store — and EW got an earful in our new, exclusive (and explosive) interview teasing all of the juicy goodness, twists, and "rotted" gaggery ahead.

"I saw a tweet that said, either this whole season is full of villains or we'd all be the individual villains on other seasons we might appear on," Plasma tells EW in our group interview with the new cast (below). "I don't know, I have no reply to that. I just think it's interesting."

Judging by the dynamic (and volume) in the room, there's truth to the sentiment — and it bites. Hard.

"Everybody's not afraid to go in on each other. Honestly, I think this is a cast of really shady bitches and we all like to read and we all understand that reading is a part of drag. There are some girls who dish but can't take in the cast," observes Q. "These queens are just overwhelming and it was really stressful," Nymphia Wind later adds, feigning a sweet baby voice as she reflects on the competition — which also implements several new twists and reintroduces some new ones, too.

"For the Rate-a-Queen twist, the only word is rotted. Why would you make us do that?" Megami says with a laugh, clearly gooped by the fact that the cast — split into groups of seven to compete in separate talent shows across the two-part premiere — was tasked with voting for the best and worst performers of their respective episodes.

The immunity twist is also back for the first time in several years this season, which Megami calls a "nice" development that impacted how she played the game with her sisters, though Hershii LicQour-Jeté — drag sister to season 14's Miss Congeniality, Kornbread — describes the jolts coming up as straight-up "foolery."

Sapphira Cristal also offers a more ominous (and cryptically hilarious) summary of the season, which she says fans will fully understand once episodes premiere throughout the year.

"One of my favorite words to think about this season is 'hoarders.' Think about it, and as you watch the season you'll be like, ohh," She teases. "They will know exactly what we're talking about."

In the end, Dawn insists that no one on season 16 comes off like a nefarious villain, but rather the cast is just plain "fun and a little evil," she says. "It very much feels like a family to me," Plasma summarizes. "We very much love each other — and also hate each other, but it comes with a lot of love."

RuPaul's Drag Race season 16 airs Fridays at 8 p.m. on MTV. Watch EW's exclusive interview with the cast of queens above, and read on for a full breakdown (with timestamps) of major highlights from the interview.

• 3:05 — Despite season 14 and season 15 queens telling EW they all shared porn at the Drag Race holding hotel during filming, season 16 broke the curse: Nobody brought porn! But, Q says queens "hacked the TVs" in mysterious ways. Morphine Love Dion clarifies that she watched "dirty" TV to satisfy herself in the hotel room: an episode of RuPaul's Drag Race season 4.

• 4:10 — Hershii LiqCour-Jeté gives an update on her ex-drag daughter after Kornbread gagged her with a hilarious question about their contentious past in EW's exclusive cast interviews last year.

• 4:49 — Dawn and Plane Jane address their cast members' claims that they are "evil" and "rotted," respectively, and we poll the group and ask the queens to raise their hand if they've ever experienced Dawn being evil and/or Plane being rotted.

• 7:40 — See footage of a prank on Plasma, where we told her she was banned from the building prior to our interview.

• 8:30 — The queens preview a juicy season of Untucked drama ahead.

• 10:16 — When asked to point to the season 16 "Queen of Untucked," everyone in the cast points to Xunami, who answers for herself — and explains her attempt to "rehabilitate" the legacy of her mother, Kandy Muse.

• 11:30 — Mhi'ya Iman Le'Paige adds that she, too, could be in the running for an Untucked title. "These girls were scared to come at me," she says — and the cast agrees. "You'll hear a slight murmur, and you're like, What was that? And it's the nastiest thing you've veer heard!" Dawn recalls.

• 13:50 — Hershii, who parents two children with her partner, talks being a mother to the season 16 girls in the Werk Room.

• 15:10 — Plane hilariously fangirls over season 10 star Kalorie Karbdashian Williams following her on Instagram, while Morphine loses it at the thought of Nicole Paige Brooks and Valentina following her after the season 16 cast reveal.

• 16:33 — Mirage says that, after she shaded her in her Meet the Queens interview, she patched things up with season 9 queen Kimora Blac.

• 17:00 — Morphine sends a special message to Bad Bunny in Spanish, after revealing to EW last year that she snubbed him on the set of a music video because she didn't recognize him.

• 17:18 — Megami and Nymphia Wind preview twists of the season, with Sapphira offering up a cryptic one-word descriptor — "hoarders" — for the season ahead, which even confuses many of her fellow cast members.

• 19:44 — The cast breaks down how they feel about the Rate-a-Queen twist and how they approached voting, strategizing, and potential alliances.

• 22:00 — Amanda Tori Meating speaks on her viral breast plate from her Werk Room entrance.

• 23:40 — After a discussion about social media-based queens came up on the season premiere, the cast offers opinions on the difference in performance styles between queens reared on social media and those who came up on the club circuit.

• 26:27 — Everyone sings opera with Sapphira, while Hershii lip-syncs on her own to Sapphira's voice.

• 27:26 — Xunami and Megami break down Charlize Theron and Sarah Michelle Gellar's gaggy guest-judging spots.

• 27:59 — Geneva Karr and Xunami reflect on representing for DACA queens and the positive response they've had from fans since the reveal.

• 28:59 – The queens split off into teams for a Mini MAGA Makeover Maxi Challenge to put drag makeup on the faces of conservative, anti-LGBTQIA+ politicians — and a team of judges chooses a winner for a special prize.
  

Subscribe to EW's Quick Drag podcast for recaps of RuPaul's Drag Race, including reactions from the cast, special guests, and more.

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Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.