Culture

Drag Race viewers react to shock All Stars 7 twist: ‘The most creative shift in the show’s history’

By Sam Damshenas

8th July 2022

The latest episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 7 spiced up one of the franchise’s most iconic formats.

Last week, Raja and The Vivienne both earned their second Legendary Legend Star after acting in the soon-to-be Oscar-nominated short film slash comedy slasher, Santa’s School For Girls.

Following a hilarious lip-sync smackdown to Rick James’ classic funk hit Super Freak, which saw Raja emerge victorious, the season three champion chose to block frontrunner Jaida Essence Hall from receiving a star in the next challenge.

For their ninth maxi-challenge, the winners choreographed and performed a viral dance challenge that emphasised their personal brands before serving their best ruveals on the runway for the category ‘What Lies Beneath’.

While all the contestants received rave reviews for their videos, because this is All Stars 7 and negative critiques are now extinct, Jinkx Monsoon won her fourth challenge of the season and third Legendary Legend Star, while Monét X Change earned her first win since the premiere and second star.

The format of All Stars 7 remained the same throughout the entire episode, until it came time for the lip-sync smackdown. Ahead of the lip-sync, RuPaul announced that, for the first time in Drag Race herstory, they will perform a dramatic spoken word – instead of a song! In the word of Gottmik, “Gagatondra!”

Jinkx and Monét subsequently lip-synced to a monologue from the 1980s sitcom Designing Women, The Night The Lights Went Out in Georgia, delivered by Dixie Carter’s classic character Julia Sugarbaker.

The surprising switcheroo to Drag Race’s most iconic format was met with praise from viewers, with one fan saying it gave them the “chills” before describing it as the “most creative shift in the show’s long history”.

The same fan also called for it to become a mainstay in future episodes, adding that if it’s “used correctly in the future”, it could become a “fresh” new change for the Emmy Award-winning series.

“The way Tatianna opened the door for a spoken word lipsync. Truly iconic,” tweeted another, referencing the aforementioned season two queen’s legendary performance of The Same Parts on All Stars 2. 

One viewer said the spoken word lip-sync “singlehandedly revived” the franchise.

Monét ultimately conquered over Jinkx, winning her first lip-sync of the season (and $10,000) in the process. As the only queen who hasn’t been blocked, Monét decided to bestow the Platinum Plunger to Raja.

Check out the best reactions to the latest episode of Drag Race All Stars 7 and the surprising change to the format.

Next week, the queens will “take turns roasting each other to a crisp” for The Kennedy Davenport Centre Honors Hall Of Shade.

RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 7 is now available to watch in the UK exclusively on the streamer of all things drag, WOW Presents Plus. Subscribe now via https://uk.wowpresentsplus.com/