Many no doubt remember Yvie Oddly as the winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 11. With her unique fashion sense and avant-garde drag performances, it was no wonder that she walked away with the victory.
For a long time, Drag Race has seemed like a net positive for everyone involved. It puts drag into the mainstream and provides a great deal of needed queer representation. While certain stars like Shangela have had their controversies, the show itself has seemed mostly spotless. This feels self-proven by the show’s longevity. RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 8 is currently airing, after all.
That said, it is still a reality show driven by profit, so it’s not too terribly surprising that the show has a seedy underbelly. We might’ve hoped for more considering all the good the show seemed to be doing. But Yvie has spoken out.
Yvie gets real on Twitter
Yvie took to her Twitter page where, in multiple threads, she called out what is taking place within the show. She also outlined the negative effect the show has on its contestants and drag performers in general.
In an initial thread, she called the producers “the greediest, most-calculating, capitalist culture thieves.” She praised the contestants for giving us “all the things we love” about the show but then pointed out how often they’re left “sleep-deprived, depressed, and DRASTICALLY underpaid” by producers. With recent claims from Heidi N Closet losing a net $100,000 to compete on All Stars, Yvie’s probably not far off.
She also alleges the producers are culture vultures and hypocrites, forcing contestants to hide their true selves. “Ask any of the drag kings who’ve never been cast. Or the trans contestants who were barred from being themselves … until [producers] realized how lucrative that representation was.” This is, of course, antithetical to the show’s most important notions—taking pride in one’s self, and the notion that gender isn’t as simple as just A or B.
In her next thread, Yvie then built on her claim that the producers have monopolized drag. Her decision to return to the franchise was colored by the fact that it’s “the biggest (and sadly often the only) platform drag fans care about.” Ultimately, she admitted, “I was foolish to return.”
With everything that RuPaul’s Drag Race apparently steals from its contestants, it seems justified for them to steal right back. Yvie admits that she “milked the system,” but only because she had to. All in all, she hopes for a brighter community, one that’s not controlled by greedy hypocrites. And with the current climate in the US, we could really use more supportive drag representation.
RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 8 continues Fridays on Paramount+.
TELL US – DO YOU THINK YVIE’S CLAIMS ARE ACCURATE? WHAT WOULD YOU HOPE TO HEAR IF THE PRODUCERS RESPONDED?
