Sasha Colby has revealed why she chose to lip-sync to The Cranberries’ iconic hit Zombie during the Drag Race talent show.
The drag icon stunned her season 15 sisters and the judging panel – including guest star Ariana Grande – as she performed a straitjacket-assisted dance routine to the grunge track, which was written by Dolores O’Riordan in response to the 1993 Warrington bombings.
In a video posted to her TikTok, Sasha explained that Zombie holds “so many significances” for her.
“My father is 100% Native Hawaiian, my mother is Hawaiian, Irish, and other Caucasian. My mom always wanted us children to learn about all the ethnicities that make us up,” she wrote.
“Knowing why Dolores O’Riordan of The Cranberries wrote this song as a protest after a brutal IRA attack which two children, Johnathan Ball and Tim Parry were killed in the 1993 Warrington bombings, this song was written.
“I was so sadden and fearful watching this in the news as a child.”
As a result of her mother ‘refusing’ to be treated for her bipolar disorder, Sasha explained that she and her six siblings grew up in a “volatile household” where they were ‘physically abused’ and ‘mentally manipulated’.
“I grew up very scared and very lonely, only finding solace in music and make believe,” she said. Whenever her mother would have “one of her episodes,” Sasha would “drown out the screams” with Zombie.
“I chose to do this song for my talent because it perfectly incapsulates my inner child work,” Sasha continued.
“The black and white symbolizes my mother and father and the straight jacket symbolizes mental illness that not only plagues my moms psyche but the toll it took on my father which ultimately lead to my fathers suicide in 2016, he was just a few years shy of 80 years old.
Sasha revealed that “the one thing that always” got her to persevere through the darkness was her queerness, which allowed her to “accept” her parents for “who they really are, not what I need them to be.”
“Although it felt like a war zone for so long growing up and I never felt that there could be a way out. I look back and am so grateful I never gave up on myself,” she concluded.
Sasha’s statement was met with praise from fans and Drag Race alum.
“Wow I never knew any of this about you. It just makes me appreciate you and your fight so much more! What a true leader and force, this crown is yours!” said Laganja Estranja, while Lady Camden wrote: “Grateful you never gave up on yourself.”
Trace Lysette added: “We’re loving on you sister. You are so brilliant. Thank you for the share and the realness even though you don’t owe it to anyone. Cheering you onnn mama.”
Thanks to Drag Race’s move to MTV, the season 15 premiere marked the series’ highest-rated in six years and ranked as the number-one cable entertainment telecast of the day.
RuPaul’s Drag Race season 15 is available in the UK via the streamer of all things drag, WOW Presents Plus, from 2AM GMT every Saturday. Subscribe now via https://uk.wowpresentsplus.com/
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