‘RuPaul’s Drag Race Global All Stars’ isn’t as bad as the internet says it is

Spoilers for “RuPaul’s Drag Race Global All Stars” below.

After its premiere on Aug. 16, “RuPaul’s Drag Race Global All Stars” has been deemed controversial, with TikTok user @notadmsellie saying “‘Global All Stars’ is officially the worst season of Drag Race ever lowkey.”

Those who watch “Drag Race” know it’s a big claim.

The 12 contestants are as follows: Alyssa Edwards (USA), Kitty Scott Claus (UK), Pythia (Canada), Kween Kong (Down Under), Soa De Muse (France), Eva Le Queen (Philippines), Athena Likis (Belgium), Gala Varo (Mexico), Miranda Lebrão (Brazil), Nehellenia (Italy), Tessa Testicle (Germany) and Vanity Vain (Sweden).

The array of global queens stirred up excitement in the “Drag Race” fandom when the cast list was revealed on July 15 — especially when it was revealed that Edwards would be representing the United States. Edwards quickly became a fan favorite because of her eccentric personality, witty one-liners and dancing abilities.

Not to mention, Edwards has been severely robbed: finishing in sixth place on season five of “Drag Race” and being eliminated twice in season two of “All Stars.”

However, Edwards is one of the main sources of this season being as controversial as it is. Many users on TikTok believe that this installment of the “Drag Race” franchise is a setup for an Edwards win.

That, and the host, RuPaul Charles, is being accused of only placing the queens he himself has judged (as Rupaul has only hosted “Drag Race USA,” “UK” and “Down Under”). In a separate TikTok, @notadmsellie asked, “So are we sensing the favoritism already in ‘Global All Stars?’” This was after only three episodes and one elimination.

The next three episodes have proved this theory true so far, with Lebrão’s elimination in episode four, La Queen’s elimination in episode five and De Muse in episode six.

That being said, I do not think that “Global All Stars” is that bad. Predictable? Yes.

Aside from Likis’s and De Muse’s eliminations (hearing RuPaul tell them to ‘sashay away’ was absolutely devastating to me), I believe that Lebrão’s and La Queen’s eliminations are justifiable — in the sense that Lebrão was the weakest link in episode four’s dance challenge. La Queen also had an unconvincing performance in episode five’s acting challenge.

“Global All Stars” has displayed some of the most creative takes on runway themes that “Drag Race” has shown in a while — from Nehellenia’s violin maestro look in episode five’s ‘brown town’ runway to Vanity Vain’s ‘international queen of mystery ball’ runway outfits. The global queens did not come to play this season.

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Even some of the more practical ‘Lip Sync For Your Life’ looks have been more than the basic spandex bodysuit (La Queen in episode five … talk about a concept look). The silhouettes have been campy and avant-garde, namely Pythia.

Pythia’s ‘color my world’ runway looks transcended beyond both old school drag (akin to queens like Latrice Royale from “Drag Race” season four or the infamous Lady Bunny) and new style drag (queens like Violet Chachki from “Drag Race” season seven or Gottmik from season 13) — no, Pythia’s style of drag has been more like sculpture work, highlighted in episode one’s ‘garden of eden’ apple core dress and her monster cloak in episode five’s ‘color my world’ runway.

The challenges are about the same, with the typical talent show in the two-part series premiere, corny (yet somehow hilarious) acting challenges and of course exhilarating — yet aggravating — design challenges; because really, who knowingly applies to “Drag Race” without learning how to sew?

Despite me being upset with De Muse’s elimination, I at least understand her being in the bottom two, as De Muse glued her fabric to her corset. Even Vanity Vain struggled with this one in an act of self-destruction. And it wouldn’t be a “Drag Race season” without a good old villain edit: This time around it is Nehellenia featuring some shady talking heads from Scott Claus and Pythia, as well as catty comments in person.

Of course, it’s a popular prediction given the controversy, but my best bet for the winner would be between Edwards, Kong, Pythia or Vain. I personally would love to see a Varo or Vain win, as their respective styles of drag appeals to me the most — but with how this season has been playing out and the speculations online, believe me when I say that an Edwards win wouldn’t surprise me.

leeam8@miamioh.edu