Drag Race‘s dirty dozen came together for a virtual reunion on Friday, and while they didn’t directly address the biggest scandal of Season 12, the queens still served a few slices of shady pie.
Crystal Methyd, Gigi Goode, Jaida Essence Hall, Jackie Cox, Heidi N Closet, Widow Von’Du, Jan, Brita, Aiden Zhane, Nicky Doll, Rock M. Sakura and Dahlia Sin kicked things off with a group number, “The Shady Bunch,” led by… oh, like I even need to say. “We were 13 queens competing all together,” they sang, followed by a record-scratch moment, courtesy of Ms. Jaida: “Well, technically only 12.”
The second indirect reference to Sherry Pie came during the too-brief reading segment, with Brita delivering this surprisingly savage line to Dahlia: “You sure do talk a big game for someone who came in 13th place on a 12-person season!”
Keep scrolling for a recap of the biggest make-ups, throw-downs and Ru-velations from the 90-minute therapy session, led by a mysterious luchador with a striking resemblance to RuPaul:
HEIDI MAKES GOODE | The first uncomfortable Season 12 moment addressed (directly) in the reunion was Heidi and Gigi’s awkward exchange after the Frozen-themed runway challenge. “I completely regret the way that it came out,” Gigi said. “It was meant to be constructive. It definitely came out really wrong, but in the moment, I just wanted you to excel in the areas that others wanted you to excel in. … The most important thing is, look at you now. You’ve [had] such a glow-up. Look at you now!” Not that this was much of a feud to squash, but Heidi “100-percent” accepted Gigi’s apology.
TRAPPED WITH ‘N CLOSET’ | As much as Heidi appreciates the many alternative names Ru came up for her during the season — from Heidi Aphrodite to Heidi Almighty — she says her fans have dubbed themselves “Closet Cases,” so she’ll have to keep the “N Closet” in her name for a little while longer. The host’s Ru-sponse? “Well, just let me say that, um, that is… a mistake.”
DOLL’S NOT PLAYING | Remember when all of the queens said Nicky should be sent home, but rather than defend herself, she also picked herself? Yeah, she regrets that. “I feel very stupid now, because I feel like, rewatching the episode and watching it as a viewer, I should have backed up my role way more,” she said. “It’s a lot of emotions when you’re being named one after the other. I let the stress get the most of me.” And things got super awkward when Ru asked the queens if they regret choosing Nicky. Brita played it safe, saying “we all did an amazing job” and “we had to pick someone,” while Heidi straight up told Ru, “I said her name and I’d probably say it again.”
AIDEN, UNFILTERED | Though Aiden clarified that she didn’t consider the other queens’ treatment of her to have been “bullying,” she did acknowledge that she was “terrified” to compete this season, and that “fear is like blood to a shark.” The self-proclaimed “bedroom queen” also found herself defending the nap heard ’round the workroom, explaining, “It wasn’t a matter of me being lazy or me not giving a f–k.” She simply felt the garment was done. After Aiden called out Brita (“She came in with expectations of herself, and she felt she wasn’t living up to that”), Brita admitted that she let the competition get to her, adding that she didn’t like the person she saw while watching the season. She also tried to say that she loves Aiden “when it comes down to it,” but Widow called shenanigans immediately. And I can’t say she’s wrong.
DAHLIA’S ORIGINAL SIN | When asked why she angrily stormed off after being eliminated, Dahlia surprised the entire assemblage of queens by saying the could think of a few girls who deserved to be go home over her. In fact, she named them: “Crystal, I definitely thought you should have been in the bottom,” the Broc-ally declared. “Crystal, Nicky and Widow — the bottom.”
ROCK ON A ROLL | Speaking of emotional exits, Ru also had Rock walk the queens through her own tearful outburst. “When you called my name, I thought I was going to be in the top,” she sad. “So it was like a steady incline on a roller coaster, and it fell so hard.” Crystal called it “the hardest elimination” to watch because “you could hear her crying backstage and it broke all of our hearts.” Fortunately, Rock says she’s now a much more confident queen than she was during the competition.
TEARS OF A JAN | Dressed in a bathrobe patterned with that face, Jan admitted that her own emotional breakdown wasn’t entirely over her best friend Brita’s elimination. “When you said my name, I was like, ‘Here we go, this is it!’” Jan told Ru. “I definitely did cry and was upset about Brita leaving, but the girls were right. I was definitely more upset because I’m a singer, so If I didn’t win this challenge … why am I here?”
PAIR OF QUEENS | As for the rumors of a romantic relationship between Gigi and Crystal, the queens played relatively coy at the reunion. “Ru, you know just as well as I do that that mullet can really do something to ya,” Gigi said, to which Crystal added, “I think that there’s always a little bit of fact in the fiction.”
Your thoughts on Drag Race‘s first-ever virtual reunion? Were you hoping the queens would at least address the elephant-sized disclaimer in the room? Drop a comment with your take on the evening below.
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