Yvie Oddly Claimed She Didn’t Recieve "Drag Race" Prize Money For “Over A Year” And Called The Show’s Producers “The Greediest, Most-Calculating, Capitalist Culture Thieves”
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UPDATE: Voss Events, which is Yvie Oddly's management team, said in a statement to BuzzFeed, "Management asked that Yvie’s prize money be held as they were in the process of establishing her LLC to receive payment. The money was wired shortly after her business account was opened and payment requested."
May. 31, 2023, at 20:01 PM
Yvie Oddly is well known in the RuPaul’s Drag Race world, having won Season 11 in 2019 and competed on the all-winners Season 7 of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars. However, on Tuesday, the performer made several allegations on Twitter about treatment from the show’s producers, including a claim that she wasn’t paid swiftly for their Season 11 winnings.
While Yvie did not mention specific producers by name, the show is produced by the production company World of Wonder. BuzzFeed has reached out to representatives from World of Wonder and RuPaul’s Drag Race for comment on Yvie’s allegations.
Yvie issued a series of tweets in response to catching up on the currently airing All Stars Season 8. She initially commented on how “remarkable” the season’s drag queens are, noting “the drag artists are and have ALWAYS been the lifeblood of what makes this franchise great.”
Specifically, Yvie credited the show’s queens with creating the “looks,” “catchphrases,” “memes,” and “drama” that have made the multiple Emmy-winning series a hit.
Yvie then went on to allege the show’s producers “are often the greediest, most-calculating, capitalist culture thieves.” In particular, she claimed the show messes with “real people’s lives, career opportunities, and health.”
“They drive themselves home in their luxury cars when their contestants are sleep-deprived, depressed, and DRASTICALLY underpaid for their contributions to the cultural phenomenon,” she said.
“Then they tell themselves they’re good people for showcasing queer content and creating opportunities for us while ignoring the irreparable damage they cause, and creating a chokehold monopoly on how drag artists can succeed,” she continued.
Yvie then called attention to the show not having featured drag kings as contestants and its controversial history of supporting out trans performers competing on the show.
Victoria Scone competed on RuPaul's Drag Race UK and Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. the World. In the latter series, Victoria wore a drag king look.
Nevertheless, Yvie maintained she is “so so SO thankful” for the show.
“That show changed my life LONG before I was ever a part of its fiber, but I’m hopeful for a future where queer people have opportunities to flourish outside of a fake competition to make a few rich old gays richer,” she said.
In addition to accusing the show of underpaying contestants, Yvie also alleged she was not paid her $100,000 for winning Season 11 for over a year and even claimed the following winner, Jaida Essence Hall, was paid “months” before she was.
Yvie made the latter allegation in her “final notes,” a response to her initial comments being picked up by Pop Crave. In her final notes, Yvie expressed her appreciation for her fans, noting they’re the reason she chose to compete on All Stars and tour.
Yvie has previously appeared in Werq the World, an ongoing drag tour, and the Las Vegas residency RuPaul's Drag Race Live! Both are also produced in affiliation with World of Wonder.
However, she said she was “foolish” for returning to the show, considering her live performances are not populated by other alums of the show.
She ended her tweets by noting she “milked the system.”
“No, I don’t regret it. But yes, I want to see a brighter future for our entire community,” she said.
“One that isn’t solely controlled by the kinds of people who would preach ‘we’re all born naked and the rest is drag’ before condemning someone for their ‘boy body’ (in 2023!) all while cashing in on their catchphrases and trauma,” she said.
