Yahoo Lifestyle Drag Race Mashes Squid Game With America’s Got Talent in Nightmare-Inducing Season 17 Premiere
Katy Perry always knows how to make an entrance, so when she sashayed into the Werk Room for the Season 17 premiere of RuPaul’s Drag Race, she did it on the balls of her feet. Literally.
The former American Idol judge made her Werk Room debut on Friday in a jaw-dropping pair of “dick heel” boots, which get their name from… you know what, it’s probably just better if we show it to you:
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Given that Perry’s mission was to inspire the new queens of Season 17 to present “the full package,” it was actually a fitting wardrobe choice. And no one was more inspired than Los Angeles-based queen Joella, who has apparently been a stalker fan of Perry’s for years. The question is: Did Perry actually recognize Joella, or was she prepped by the show’s producers ahead of time? (Reality TV is so authentic and unscripted, it’s hard to tell sometimes!)
And this was just one of many ridiculous moments from the premiere, which opened with a Squid Game parody starring some of the franchise’s most famous faces. One by one, legends like Trinity the Tuck and Victoria “Porkchop” Parker were taken down by a larger-than-life Lil Poundcake, who filled in as Drag Race‘s answer to Squid Game‘s Young-hee. It was a fun, unexpected (funexpected?) way to introduce the Season 17 queens, who were the only ones left standing after Lil Poundcake was done having her fun.
The rest of the premiere was mostly business as usual. The 14 new queens kiki’d in the Werk Room before strutting down the runway in this season’s first (and brilliantly named) category, “Masc 4 Masked Singer.” And while some contestants struggled to tell the difference between wearing an actual mask and simply holding a prop in front of their faces, it was a strong first showing all around.
The main challenge was a talent show featuring half of this season’s contestants, officially titled Drag Queens Got Talent; the other seven will get their moment in the spotlight next week. And in yet another polarizing twist, Mama Ru announced the return of Rate-A-Queen, turning the power over to the seven queens who didn’t perform this week.
The two top-rated queens, Suzie and Jewel, battled it out to Perry’s “Woman’s World,” with Jewel’s high-energy moves earning her an early lead. Not to be counted out, Suzie went full Toot, tapping and Charleston-ing her way into the judges’ hearts. So it was no surprise when Ru announced her as the first main-challenge winner of Season 17. Toot, toot!
As for the lowest-rated queen, poor Acacia will have to lip sync for her life next week against whichever queen from the second group lands at the bottom. We wish her well.
Since no queens were eliminated this week, and therefore our thirst for drag-related judgment remains unquenched, we’re going to share our first impressions of the queens who performed in the premiere. (Don’t worry, we’ll get to those seven other hags next week.)
Photos: Drag Race Season 17 Cast Ru-vealed!
OK, let’s get this roast recap a-cookin’!
ACACIA FORGOT | This queen’s name doubles as our prediction for how she’ll end her time on the show… forgotten. Not only did her runway snowman trigger our Shangela-related PTSD, but it looked like her fellow queens were sneaking in a nap during her country music performance. Personally, we thought the group was a little hard on her — it was “just fine” at the very worst — but we also weren’t surprised to see them rate her into the bottom. Hey, someone has to go home first.
ARRIETTY | Never did we think we’d witness a traditional folclórico dance in which the performer aggressively fans her nethers, but that’s really what Drag Race is all about — introducing the world to culture. This season’s contestant from Middle Earth (there’s always one!) also made a memorable splash on the runway, dripping in glamour… and blood. We’re keeping an eye on this one.
JEWELS SPARKLES | The second coming of Jorgeous had everyone thirsty for moo juice with her talent show performance, the perfect blend of sexy and stupid (aka Ru’s favorite flavors). Her Ariana Grande-inspired runway look was equally impressive, exhibiting the “cutesy, slutty” aesthetic she’s apparently known for.
JOELLA | With all love and respect to the KatyCats out there, Joella was a serious contender for this week’s bottom queen in our eyes, narrowly getting edged out by Acacia’s nightmarish snowman. (Sorry for making you think about it again.) She’ll need to step it up if she wants to stand out from the pack. You can only coast on “…cute?” for so long.
LUCKY STARZZZ | Given that Perry was this week’s guest judge, it was extremely on-theme for Lucky’s talent show performance to involve squirting lemonade from her boobs, a la Perry in the “California Gurls” video. That said, her lemon butt is already a strong contender for our 2025 Scenes We Wish We Could Unsee list. Fortunately, she more than made up for it with that stunning full-body pizza lewk.
LYDIA B(UTTHOLE) KOLLINS | We love a nightmare-inducing puppet, and Lydia’s talent show persona was definitely that, but something about the overall execution left us wanting more. And that alien runway look needs to be shot into space. Ms. Butthole really needs to start stretching herself in the competition.
SUZIE TOOT | Suzie Toot, Suzie Shoot, “This Elder Orphan Annie Lady” — whatever you want to call her, we’re obsessed. Against all odds (because theater queens can be annoying), we fell in love with her the moment she danced her way into the Werk Room. We also love that she’s totally giving Jughead out of drag, and it doesn’t help that she basically gave her own version of his “I’m a weirdo” speech in the Werk Room. It was fitting her to walk the runway with a giant coin on her head, because she is money.
OK, your turn: Which of these seven queens are your early favorites? And was Acacia the right pick for the first bottom? Weigh in via our poll below, then drop a comment with your thoughts on all things Season 17.
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