“RuPaul's Drag Race” season 17 twist revealed as hilarious Michelle Visage dunk tank with immunity powers (exclusive)

RuPaul's Drag Race season 17 is about to flood Michelle Visage's basement with a literal dunk tank of water for its highly anticipated secret twist of the year.

Entertainment Weekly can exclusively reveal that the twist (and gag) of season 17 is a giant dunk tank called the Badonka Dunk Tank that holds healing immunity powers and could save a queen (or, perhaps, queens!) from elimination. But, there's even a twist to the twist.

Upon their elimination after the lip-sync, queens will make their way toward the Badonka Dunk Tank, atop which Visage will sit. They will choose from one of 10 random levers. If they choose the wrong lever, they'll sashay away to go write their lipstick mirror message. If they choose one of two levers that send Visage into the depths below, shantay, they'll stay among the season 17 cast of queens for at least one more week. If they choose one of the eight fake levers, they'll be eliminated.

"The first thing I said was, 'What about my hair?'" Visage exclusively tells EW of the twist, which will fully immerse her in a giant vat of liquid. "That's all I thought about. Contrary to popular belief, this is my hair with hair pieces in it, and when you get them wet together, they're difficult to take out."

And yet, there was a saving grace of glamour for the multi-Emmy-winning judge: "I said, 'If I can wear a different fabulous swimsuit every week, then I'm in!'"

Visage says that the twist allowed her to wrap her head in equally divine headscarves paired with her suits. It also led her to experience both her "Esther Williams fantasy" and a childhood dream of becoming a mermaid — she and her family regularly visited the real-life mermaids swimming in the ponds at Weeki Wachee Springs State Park in Florida.

Related: RuPaul's Drag Race season 17 queens promise 'profane imagery' on runway, loads of drama, and twisty 'panic' ahead

"I felt in my head that I would look like that. Spoiler alert: Absolutely not!" she jokes, adding, "I didn't love going into the water in full drag, but I would do it for the cause. It was so fun in the end to see the queens who were saved by the Badonka Drunk Tank get really excited, and I'd be dancing in the water with them. It's just so camp, and that's what this show is all about: having fun!"

In addition to revealing the Badonka Dunk Tank twist, EW recently sat down with the season 17 cast of queens for a new round of exclusive video interviews, in which the queens promised that the season ahead is filled with drama both on the runway and off.

"I don’t know if it’s possible to completely blur out a look for profane imagery, but I think I might have done that [on the Main Stage]," horror enthusiast Lydia B Kollins reveals in her interview. "I didn’t ask for permission; I asked for forgiveness, and by the time I was on the runway, it was too late, you know?"

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Lana Ja'Rae, a signed model living in New York City, also tells EW that the drama is intense this season.

"We can call you a bitch, but we love you, you know?" Lana muses. "There’s lots of drama, good performances, good challenges, good people — lots of beautiful people. What more could you ask for? The perfect package."

Guest judges for the season ahead — which also includes the return of the Rate-A-Queen ranking system across the two-part talent show premiere — include Katy Perry, Doechii, Sandra Bernhard, Julia Schlaepfer, Paul W. Downs, Hunter Schafer, Quinta Brunson, Jamal Sims, Law Roach, Adam Lambert, Betsey Johnson, Whitney Cummings, Sam Smith, Jerrod Carmichael, June Diane Raphael, and Tracee Ellis Ross.

RuPaul's Drag Race season 17 premieres Friday, Jan. 3 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on MTV. Watch the season 17 trailer above.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly