Maybe this was purposefully timed, maybe not. But on the night that Logo announced it would pull the offending Drag Race episode that features a mini-challenge “Female or She-male” and that they would remove the “You’ve got she-mail” intro to all new episodes of the series (after saying they weren’t going to), trans man Chaz Bono and his grandmother Georgia Holt appeared as guest judges on last night’s show, along with Paula Abdul. Each of the queens were tasked with hosting their own talk show, with Chaz and Georgia as interview subjects. Sometimes their questions about the transgender experience got dicey, most of the time it was fine, so kudos Logo for actually listening. Now, onto the queens!
Wild Child: Adore Delano
I don’t think we can use Adore’s young age as a defense — I’m in my early 20s, and I definitely know about the Great Depression. Georgia talks a bit about her experience growing up during the Depression, and Adore just doesn’t seem to get it. Like, she doesn’t seem to understand that Georgia didn’t have a stage parent because she grew up in a time when they had no money. You can tell that Adore is nervous and struggling, which is a bit unnerving coming off her last few strong performances. Though she doesn’t get sent home, she’s up for elimination for the first time in forever.
Ignored Ya: Bianca Del Rio
Normally, Bianca kills each challenge that focuses on her personality. She’s got the wit, the sass, the shade, the heart. But this time, Bianca let her desire to be a “serious” talk show host get the best of her. (And if you think talk show hosts aren’t serious, well, they are compared to night club hosts.) She prepared plenty for her interview, but she didn’t let her usual banter trickle into her interview. And, most crucially, she failed to ask Georgia even a single question. Bring back old Bianca!
Defenses Down: BenDeLaCreme
For the most part, BenDeLaCreme is a strong competitor, but she’s a little bit like Anne Hathaway. People bristle at her super-polished, seemingly manufactured niceness and the judges keep asking to see a little bit more BenDeLaCreme. And so she stepped it up, showing a bit more heart, asking Chaz and Georgia smart and interesting questions, cracking a few jokes. The verdict? Waaay more likeable.
Easy, Breezy, Beautiful: Courtney Act
This week, Courtney didn’t get by on her good looks and charm, and for that, we are all pleasantly surprised. Ru suggests Courtney show more humanity and vulnerability, and her interview comes off as the most breezy and light, for which she gets her second win.
Middle of the Pack: Darienne Lake
While Darienne is safe because she was a generally likable interviewer, her nervousness — jewelry falling everywhere, Cher impersonations that fell flat — kept her from making her mark either high or low.
Clueless as Usual: Joslyn Fox
Sigh. Joslyn’s talk show stint can best be described as: DON’T make an abortion joke. Her interview goes pretty well, even despite a few quips about Cher’s vagina, but when she asks Georgia a question about how she feels about abortion, the entire tone of the interview changes. Everyone feels awkward. And the worst part is that Joslyn just doesn’t get it, which is perhaps even more embarrassing. Do we have another Gia Gunn on our hands?
Mistaken Identity: Trinity K. Bonet
It is sad to see Trinity, who has undergone such a transformation in this competition, get sent home this week. It is even more painful to sit and watch her call Chaz “Chad” throughout the entire interview, during which she asks even more awkward questions about celebrities he’d most want to sleep with and whether or not he’s a boxers or briefs kind of guy. But her runaway look was still amongst the most fabulous, so she really did have a great sashay away.