Drag

Drag Race UK vs the World: How the season 2 winner just made herstory

By Jordan Robledo

30th March 2024

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Spoilers ahead for the grand finale of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs the World. 

RuPaul has crowned the second ‘Queen of the Mothertucking World’ (baby!).

For their final maxi-challenge, the top four contestants – Hannah Conda, La Grande Dame, Marina Summers, and Tia Kofi – were tasked with sashaying down the runway in their finest drag before competing in lip-sync smackdowns for the crown.

But before the epic showdown could commence, the foursome unexpectedly reunited with Michelle Visage and the eliminated queens, setting the stage for some intense drama. 

As expected, the sit-down was not without its fair share of shade. The drama started with Scarlet Envy confronting Hannah over her elimination, sparking a tense exchange. 

“I could have gone strategy and removed Marina. It would have been a clear path to £50,000, I suppose,” the Aussie queen explained. 

“I took into account everybody’s track record… and for me, out of the three girls that were up for elimination, it was you that I felt had the weakest track record.” 

Scarlet questioned Hannah’s reasoning in response, adding that the latter had downplayed the track record talking point two weeks prior.

“Yeah, and I said that I would take it by a week-by-week basis and see how the lay of the land was. Everything changes, you know? Again, it’s nothing personal; it was just the performance,” the Down Under star explained. 

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While Tia also admitted to selecting Scarlet’s lipstick, the New York-based queen said Hannah’s decision felt more personal. 

Elsewhere in the reunion, Michelle asked the UK queens if they had an alliance, resulting in Jonbers Blonde playfully confronting Tia over choosing her lipstick in episode three. 

“Did you have my lipstick?” the Northern Irish queen asked before delivering crocodile tears over Tia’s choice. 

“I can forgive you now, but I can’t forgive you for that fucking wig and those white boots that you are wearing!” she screamed across the stage. 

When the laughter died down, Tia was asked to explain her decision by Michelle. 

“I feel like you were weaker in the challenge. There was a little bit of strategy in it because I felt like everyone kept going on about the fact that the UK queens still had four,” she said.

“We had a target on our back, so I was like, ‘Well, now’s my chance. It could have been anyone, but I wanted to get to the end.”

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In response, Jonbers made one final shady comment, joking that she always preferred the South London-based queen’s ex, Pixie Polite. 

For context, Jonbers and Pixie didn’t have the best relationship while competing on Drag Race UK season four. 

Towards the end of the reunion, Michelle announced Arantxa Castilla-La Mancha as the winner of the “Miss Congeniality” title.

Wasting no time, the final four queens returned to the main stage to showcase their stunning Finale Eleganza Extravaganza ensembles.

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The contestants were then critiqued for their performances throughout the entire competition in front of the eliminated queens.

The panel praised Hannah for comedic timing across the season’s various challenges, including her epic Snatch Game performance as Shirley Temple. 

“I’ve just enjoyed watching you so much. You represent a country that I love. The humour, the beauty, the fun, it makes me so proud,” Ru added. 

The judges echoed similar sentiments for La Grande, who lauded the French queen as a showstopping force throughout the competition. 

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“You’ve pushed so many boundaries. I respect that so much,” Alan Car gushed. 

For Marina, the panel celebrated the Filipina queen for her gag-worthy showmanship and unique approach to the runway themes. 

“Everything you do is flawless. A lot of the times in your outfits, you went with this theme of the sea, Marina, and I get it… and that can get very old, very quickly,” Graham Norton said. “That never happened with you. Everything was different enough and so beautiful.”

Lastly, Mama Ru and the panel praised Tia for her drag evolution and determination throughout the competition, with Michelle adding: “You’ve really knocked it out of the park.”

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After unpacking the critiques and impromptu reunion in Untucked, the top four queens returned to the stage for the final Lip-Sync Extravaganza. 

Like last season, Ru revealed that the wheel of fate would kick off the lip-sync order. 

Ultimately, the wheel landed on Marina, who chose Hannah as her competitor. 

To the beat of Anastacia’s pop anthem, ‘I’m Outta Love,’ Hannah served campy comedy with a mic prop while Marina wiped the mot’ertuckin’ floor with hair flips and her jawdropping dance skills.

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Following their performance, RuPaul announced Hannah as the winner of the lip-sync showdown, leaving Tia and La Grande to battle it out to ‘Booty Luv’ by Boogie 2Nite. 

Both contestants gave it their all, but ultimately, Tia emerged supreme – relegating La Grande to third.

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Following the epic final lip-sync smackdown, where Tia and Hannah competed to Kylie Minogue’s ‘Your Disco Needs Your, RuPaul announced the former as the second ‘Queen of the Mothertucking World’.

“This means the absolute world to me. To go from baroness basic to ‘Queen of the Mothertucking World’ is wild, but it proves that you can do anything that you set your mind to,” she exclaimed during her speech.

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With her win, Tia makes herstory as the first queen of colour to win a Drag Race UK season!

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Here’s how viewers reacted to the Drag Race UK vs the World finale, including the epic lip-syncs and winner.