The All Stars Chop: The First Queen Gone Talks Who This Season Is Missing and What Sent Her Home
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The very first queen has been eliminated from RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 3, and we’ve seen rather quickly how tough the competition is going to be this season. For many, the Morgan McMichaels All Stars 3 elimination, after she found herself on the bottom with Chi Chi Devayne, came as a shock.
Stepping out of her comfort zone with a self-recorded track might not have worked in her favor on the show, but McMichaels is used to being a maverick.
We had a chat today about last night’s elimination, touching on which queens she was surprised to not see in the workroom on All Stars 3, her “honest” elimination strategy and the juicy story that her workroom entrance tagline was referring to.
What made you want to return to the runway for Drag Race All Stars 3?
Well, it was definitely an opportunity, and you just don’t say no to Ru! It was an amazing opportunity to be in the “Drag Race Hall of Fame” next to Chad Michaels and Alaska, and also to win $100,000. It’s also great to compete again with my sisters, so that’s always fun.
When you hit the workroom and saw the rest of the cast, who were you most surprised to not see as part of the cast?
Ongina. Definitely Ongina. She’s a little firecracker who I absolutely adore. She is quite effervescent, and I love that about her. Mariah Paris Balenciaga also; I was surprised not to see her. I mean, so many girls, there are over 100 of us now. I mention those two because they are two of my closest friends, and we actually just started a radio show together!
A radio show with three fierce queens from early seasons of Drag Race?! Tell me more.
Yes! It’s on UBN Radio and it’s called “What About That with M.O.M.” for Morgan, Ongina and Mariah. It’s on Tuesdays at 4 p.m. PST, but I think we are moving it to Monday; it’s easier for everyone. We just talk about our weekly obsessions, a topic of the week, and we have guests on to promote their own brands. It’s a good old kiki with the girls!
Now, many die-hard fans will know what your tagline meant when you walked into the workroom, but please explain what you meant when you said “Not Bad For a Dead Bitch.”
Well, a queen who shall not be named posted on social media on my birthday last year that I had passed away — to the dismay of quite a few, as you could imagine. Drag Race sisters, friends, family members, fans and even people who were not fans of mine thought it was uncouth, to say the least.
So the very next night at Showgirls [at Micky’s in West Hollywood], I threw myself a funeral. It was packed, of course, and it was the most fantastic funeral that I think I’ve ever seen! You don’t have to say anything to throw shade….
When Season 1 winner Bebe Zahara Benet hit the workroom as the surprise 10th contestant, some of the ladies looked absolutely gagged. Were you surprised to see her as the final contestant?
No, because I think she’s one of the most humble, down-to-earth queens out of all the winners. It’s definitely a ballsy move; I was really proud of her to do it. She has nothing to prove; she already won the crown. To put yourself into the line of fire where people are going to be judging you for coming back — that was ballsy.
Last night’s talent show challenge was such a mixed bag, with people doing recorded tracks, dancing, even playing live instruments. Was it intimidating to perform a track you’d never performed before that you had recorded?
Well, with All Stars I didn’t want to do anything you had seen me do in a club before. It’s an opportunity to take risks, and it never obviously works out for me to take risks on Drag Race, but it gives me butterflies and it keeps me fresh.
I had never recorded a track, and I wanted to do it. Was I nervous as fuck? Absolutely. It was a huge stage, and I thought it would be kind of tongue-in-cheek, coming from Season 2. I thought people underestimated Tatianna on her season of All Stars, and I thought they may underestimate me also.
I wanted to have fun, no matter what. All of the girls really did a spectacular job; I particularly was obsessed with Thorgy Thor. Her performance was amazing.
Your attitude about eliminations and wanting to eliminate the strongest competitor was very real. Do you think it contributed to your ultimate elimination?
I think my honesty is truly who I am. It may come off harsh or not strategic, but I let them know exactly what would happen if I were to make it into the top. I was sending the strongest girl home just like they would be doing. I was just honest about it.
Why would you want to send the weakest girl home? That’s stupid. The point is to win; but can you be honest about it? There is a way to do it. I live an honest life. [All Stars Season 1 winner) Chad Michaels called me and told me she saw the show, gave me her opinion like all drag mothers do, and told me she loved me no matter what.
In the political climate we’re in, and with the LGBT community under what feels like constant attack, how hard is it to stay positive and give the children a fantastic show every time you hit the stage?
That is the duty of a drag queen, and it has always been the duty of a drag queen: to take people out of their reality and pull them into your fantasy. One of my favorite things to do is to pull people onstage, especially queens.
If you come to Micky’s in West Hollywood, one of my favorite things to do is pull them up onstage and let them do the runway, and I give people a chance to live a fantasy. I make sure that I am the last bitch in the building taking pictures and making sure everyone has a good time. That is the duty of a drag queen.
We now have a global responsibility to do that. Like RuPaul says,“With great power comes great responsibility.” Every queen, from local queens who have not done Drag Race yet to queens like me who have done Drag Race and Drag U and All Stars, we all have to do it for our community.
Donald Trump is a fucking idiot. This administration is a bunch of fucking idiots, and they are coming down on our community with a hammer. What they don’t realize, though, is the harder the fire, the hotter the steel.
