Pearl From “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Accuses RuPaul Of Breaking Her Spirit
That loud squeal you just heard was either the sound of a spare chair being pulled over to Willam, Phi Phi O’Hara, and The Vixen’s table in drag queen detention, or that one friend who lives for RuPaul’s Drag Race drama. Season 7 co-runner-up Pearl recently spoke about her time on the show, and she’s painted RuPaul as more of a drag than a queen.
While on the web talk show Hey Qween, Pearl talked about her flazéda/not-really-into-it attitude on Drag Race including her famous silent stare-down with Ru, which ended with her asking in a deadpanned voice: “Is there something on my face?” Well, today her face is covered in tea stains after she spat a mouthful all over the place. There’s a reason why that interaction was so uncomfortable, and it’s because Pearl wasn’t much of a fan of Ru by that point.
Pearl confessed that during a break in filming one of the episodes, she poured her heart out to RuPaul, saying it was an honor to be on the show, that it was a pleasure to meet Ru. Unfortunately, Pearl didn’t get the special moment with Mama Ru that she was expecting. Pearl says:
“[RuPaul] turned to me and said, ‘Nothing you say matters unless that camera is rolling.’
That broke my spirit, and that is the reason why I had one foot in, one foot out the entire time I was on that show. Maybe that was me being petty, maybe that was me thinking it should’ve been something I never should’ve expected it to be, but in that moment it was so heartbreaking because I idolized her, I worshipped her, and I felt like it was so disrespectful…so Hollywood, rotted, and gross. How could you say that to someone who’s just, like, obsessed with you?”
To be fair, if Pearl was a fan of she show before she became a contestant, she would have already known (to quote the ever-quotable Lashauwn Beyond) that this is not RuPaul’s Best Friend Race. But I think I understand where Ru was coming from. You can’t get those sweet Emmy nominations without cheesy, heartstring-tugging moments. I’m sure Ru could try, but I don’t think the Emmy committee will recognize whole seasons of contestants asking the crew what’s for lunch and when they can get more tuck tape.
Pic: YouTube