Almost three weeks ago, the cast of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” season 17 reunited at a very busy Quixote Studios in the northern reaches of the San Fernando Valley. They were on hand to shoot a Lip Sync Lalaparuzza episode that saw Suzie Toot tap away with $50,000, and a season finale where Lexi Love, Onya Nurve, Sam Star, and Jewels Sparkles will fight for a $200,000 crown. We’re not sure who wins the title of America’s Next Drag Superstar (yet), but we do know that contestants Kori King, Hormona Lisa, Lucky Starzzz, Arrietty, and Crystal Envy have no intention of disappearing from your screens.
READ MORE: “Drag Race” Season 17 Queens on pre-show advice, that roast, and prepping for the finale
As the queens filed in to speak to the press on the red carpet, we let them rest their heels for some in-depth conversations far from the harsh glare of the spotlight. And yes, we did speak to the popular Lydia B. Collins as well, but that interview will run after a major announcement next week (and will be worth the wait).
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One of the most artistically creative queens in the 17-year history of the franchise, Lucky Starzzz aesthetic is even more impressive when you consider she is based in Miami, Florida. A city that isn’t necessarily hospitable to drag makeup and wigs, let alone the skin covering costume, creative headdresses, and super detailed makeup that Starzzz is known for.
“I have no idea how I do it. No, seriously, I have no idea how I do it,” Starzzz says, laughing. “I feel like I’m just used to it. When you’re used to that weather, you kind of just, I used to sweat my makeup out so much, and I used to think that it was because I did bad makeup, but come to realize, girl, I literally live in the sun.”
An immediate fan favorite for her stunning looks, Starzzz was a surprise first out after her fellow contestant, Hormona Lisa, was saved from elimination in the second episode. Starzzz returned for the Lalaparuza episode 12 weeks later, winning her first round lip sync battle vs. Acacia Forgot to the iconic remix of Whitney Houston‘s “Step by Step.”
“Honestly, listen, I’m still riding the high of the Lalaparuza because I feel like I got to finally redeem myself from last time,” Starzz says. “I got to slay a lip sync the way that I wanted to slay it. I got to be myself. I got to wear what I wanted to wear and truly show the world who the hell I am. So, I made it to the semifinals, so it’s like, ‘Wow, what the hell?’ I was in the winner’s seats with all the winners of these challenges so far. I felt so proud. I felt so happy. I feel like I redeemed myself, and I could not be happier.”
“In the beginning, of course, I felt like a loser for losing so early, but I feel like slowly but surely I’m showing the world the starlight that I have inside of me, and I feel like that’s honestly one of the most beautiful parts of the experience,” Starzzz says. “And seeing the fans, seeing all the love around the world online, it’s really allowed me to think of this experience as something beautiful, something magical, something just out of this world. What can I say?”
Starzz admits, she did have some FOMO over not being able to participate in the ball and thinks she would have surprised many of her doubters in an acting challenge.
“I was so excited to create something out of actual unconventional materials,” Starzzz reveals. “I was excited to show the swimsuit look that I had, this sexy bikini shark woman. I was excited to show my sea slug with giant hands. I had so many ideas and so many concepts that I was so excited to show. I also wanted to do an acting challenge because I feel like a lot of people don’t expect me to slay an acting challenge, but honey, I get real nasty and real funny and crazy and stupid. So, I feel like that’s what drag is all about, and I feel like I have a wild side that I have been dying to [show] camera in an acting challenge.”
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Arietty did not come to play at the finale. Her kitty-inspired makeup and stunning gown were, arguably, the top toot of the episode. It also shows that despite a very dramatic departure, the Seattle queen is still prepared to impress.
“I didn’t expect to be so evil. I’m so evil,” Arietty says, laughing at herself.
In episode 17, “The Villain’s Roast,” Arrietty crossed the line by stealing jokes from a competitor, Jewels Sparkles, because she was angry over her placement in the order. It didn’t matter. Her roast set ended up putting both queens in the bottom, and Jewels sent her home in the elimination lip sync. Up until then, Arrietty seemed to be shy, but slightly shady on screen. When we spoke months later, after the episode aired, she seemed somewhat melancholy, but happy for the fan support she still receives.
“The thing is, when people come across me, maybe I just rub them the wrong way or something. Maybe it’s just my attitude or how I come across or whatever,” Arietty admits. “But I was just very shocked. I don’t really have that many friends, so I was just very shocked that the fan bases, I was like, ‘Whoa, y’all like me.’”
And as for her actions on that episode, she says, with a wink, “I’m like, ‘O.K., I got some growing to do,’ which is nice, but I stand by retaliation. If you do me. I got to do you.”
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Hormona Lisa did not get a Rupdemption during the Lip Sync Lalaparauza. The Tennessee queen lost a very close battle vs. Collins. She did, however, spoil things for the episode’s eventual winner, Suzie Toot, but picking the lip sync song “Say Liza (Liza with a “Z”)” which was tailor-picked for the fan favorite.
“It was a little different than I expected because it’s so fast,” Hormona Lisa says. “Whenever you perform these songs in the club, it sometimes can feel like you’re just going on forever. But it’s like the music started, and then it was over. It was really jarring how quick it went by. And then when the music starts too, my mind just goes blank every time. So, there’s not even a real point for me to have choreo or whatever because I’m not going to remember it. And if I do try to plan something in a lip sync, I get really, I don’t know, overwhelmed with, ‘Oh, I got to do it. I got to do it.’ And then that song is over and you’re like, ‘Well, s**t, it’s over. So yeah, that’s why so fast.”
One of two trans queens this season, Hormona Lisa had social media buzzing over a confessional look that seemed like an unintentional homage to the character Sadness from the “Inside Out” movies. Something top of mind after “Inside Out 2” came out last summer. Surprise, it was a very intentional choice.
“The [first] movie came out in 2015, and I saw it with my mother, and she was the first person to tell me that looked like Sadness,” Hormona Lisa recalls. “My mom was like, ‘Do you want to wear contacts?’ And I’m like, ‘Why?’ And she was like, ‘Because you kind of look like Sadness.’ So, it was surprising that it took off like it did. But it wasn’t surprising that people thought I looked like Sadness because I’ve gotten that for years now.”
Out of the entire cast, it appears Hormona Lisa made the fewest close friendships. She says she’s probably the quiet one among the competitors, zinging, “because I don’t believe in just talking without a purpose. And they all do, of course. So, I like to say things with purpose and that add to the conversation, not just to hear myself talk. And with a group of people that talk all the time, it’s sometimes hard to get your moment to even have a little word in edgewise.”
She does add, “But they’re fun girls.”
No one should mistake her attitude for delusion, however. That may be an issue with other members of the cast, but not her. She enjoyed her experience but does have some advice for future contestants, though.
“I think that something that anyone who wants to do ‘Drag Race’ should always remember is that just because you see yourself one way doesn’t mean that someone else or other people will see the same way,” Hormona Lisa says. “I know I’m annoying because I’ve been in my body for 31 years. Girl, I’m going to be annoying for the rest of my life, too. But people thinking that I bragged a lot about things was weird to me because I’ve never been told that. In fact, I’ve always been told the opposite, that I need to talk myself up more. So for that to be something people thought that I was just a bragger was really weird, honestly.”
After surviving elimination in the second episode by picking the right lever from the Badonka Dunk Tank, Hormona Lisa lasted four more weeks. And the challenge that occurred right after she departed? The one she was looking forward to the most.
“Snatch Game was always the challenge for me that I’ve always wanted to do. I would’ve killed it. And I think it’s sad that I went out in the episode before because I would’ve saved it from being a very lackluster Snatch Game this season,” Hormona Lisa says with utmost confidence.
She won’t give away who she planned on impresonating, she’s saving that for a potential All Stars appearance, but did discuss her long list of backups.
“Trisha Paytas was going to be my last resort just because it’s been done before,” Hormona Lisa reveals. “And then I was going to do Charlie the Turkey, which was the first Turkey to be pardoned by a President. That was in 1987. And then I was going to do Kenneth Copeland. He is that crazy preacher from Texas. And then I was also potentially going to do Betty Crocker.”
You can tell how long and how popular a “Drag Race” queen will shine based on their plans after the show. For example, it’s never a good sign when a queen seems to be playing it by ear and just enjoying the Pride Season or regular gigs that slowly disappear after their “Drag Race” comes to an end. Hormona Lisa already knows what’s next and it’s a very smart strategy.
“In the fall, I’ll be doing a one-woman show for a couple of cities that I wrote myself,” Hormona Lisa says. “It’s called ‘Seasonal Depression,’ and I’m actually doing it as Sadness. And then I have a song called ‘Seasonal Depression’ that I’ll be releasing in a couple of weeks from now, too.”
