Photo: Paramount +
Warning: This post contains spoilers from the season 7 finale ofRuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 7
TheRuPaul’s Drag Raceseason 5 champ was crowned the “Queen of All Queens” on Friday’s season 7 finale ofRuPaul’s Drag Race All Starson Paramount+, becoming the first previous winner to nab two titles in the history of the franchise.
Jinkx beats out previous winners Monét X Change, Trinity the Tuck and Shea Couleé— all of whom had made it to the top four to compete in the LaLaPaRuZa Smackdown for the Crown.
Trinity and Shea had been knocked out in the first two lip syncs, Jinkx beating Shea after lip syncing toLady Gaga’s 2011 banger “Judas” and Monét winning over herAll Stars 4"twinner" Trinity after lip syncing to Pink’s 2008 single “So What.”
“Drag is my passion and something I’ve dedicated more than half of my life to at this point,” said the entertainer, who identifies as non-binary andprefers she/her pronouns in drag and they/them pronouns outside of drag, after the win. “I feel so grateful to be invited here, and I just hope to share the gifts that you’ve bestowed upon me and show them that we are all beautiful no matter who we are and how we present ourselves to the world.”
“I claim this on behalf of Hecate, mother of witches,” she teased with a cackle. “Thank you!”
Jinkx Monsoon.Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images
As for the season’s other four former winners —Jaida Essence Hall, Yvie Oddly, Raja and The Vivienne— they went head-to-head in their own LaLaPaRuZa Smackdown for the Crown, this time for the newly announced “Queen of She Done Already Done Had Herses,” which came with a lesser (but still noteworthy) $50,000 prize.
Yvie beat The Vivienne in the first round, with an energetic performance of Salt-N-Pepa’s 1986 hit “Push It.” Jaida and Raja were up next, taking on Denise Williams' 1984Footloosetrack “Let’s Hear It For the Boy” in a lip sync that Raja ultimately won.
“I’m so thankful to you, Ru,” Raja said after her win, breaking into tears. “Ru, you know how much you mean to me. The trajectory that you made in my life? You’ve always been such a huge part of it. You’re an actual in my life. So thank you so much.”
“I’ve always been a fan, and always seen your remarkable spirit and talent,“RuPaultold her. “It gives me so much joy and so much pleasure to have you on the stage.”
Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images
Even though they didn’t make it to the top again, all the queens had their chance to say their thank yous, receiving a sparkling scepter of their own.
“Thank you so much,” said The Vivienne. “You made us feel so amazing and loved and I just can’t wait to see you all again.”
Added Jaida: “I have found such a renewed sense of myself from being here. I have found so much confidence from being here. Y’all have made me learn that everything I have inside me has always been there. Thank you so much, Ru.”
“This has been such an unbelievable journey,” Shea gushed. “I just am so grateful for everything that I’ve learned, for how much I’ve grown, and I’m just so excited to continue to make you proud.”
Trinity exclaimed, “This has been so much fun. I can’t thank you enough for bringing me back here one more good time.”
“Thank you for this opportunity to come back and share my art all over again,” said Yvie.
This is the first time a season ofRuPaul’s Drag Race All Starshas featured previous winners from the main show.
Unlike previousAll Starsseasons where the winners of each week’s lip sync get to vote off one of the bottom queens,All Stars 7let all eight of its previous champs stay around all season long.
Of course, even the twist had a twist! Each week, RuPaul dolled out “legendary legend stars” to the top two queens who triumphed in the challenge. They then competed in a lip sync, with that winner getting both a cash tip of $10,000andthe power to block one of their fellow queens from getting a “legendary legend star” the following week.
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Prior to the premiere, Jinkx told PEOPLE that the season would feel very different than what fans had experienced in the past.
“I think this is going to be an uplifting, very positive season, and I’m just honored to be a part of that,” Jinkx said. “It’s a season ofDrag Racethat really celebrates each of the competitors and relies less on failures and sending people home. It shows we can still have very good drag through celebrating one another rather than being cutthroat towards one another.”
All episodes ofRuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 7are now streaming on Paramount+.
source: people.com
