Warning: Spoilers ahead!
The latest episode of “Drag Race Philippines” might just be the most divisive yet: Fan favorite Viñas DeLuxe was sent sashaying away and a number of fans disagree with critiques from the judges.
Shots were fired at judge Rajo Laurel on Twitter after a clip of his comments on Eva Le Queen’s “Divi Divas” runway look went viral. But not to worry. It’s all coming from a place of love… [Xilhouete voice] right?
But before we get down to the tweets, let’s do a short Rucap of Laurel’s comments on Eva’s look. The designer called it a mortal sin for Eva to glue her materials onto a bodysuit.
“What saved you perhaps was the presentation in the luxury department ’cause it was funny,” he said. “It made me laugh. It made me forget this atrocity that is before me because that actually, if you look around you, that’s ugly. And I’m being fierce because I know you can do better. And I’m being hard because I’ve seen what you can do. And this is trash.”
Some fans didn’t find the criticism constructive, even likening Laurel to infamous judges like “Canada’s Drag Race’s” Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman and “RuPaul’s Drag Race’s” Santino Rice.
Fans also brought up how Laurel’s critique seemed to be a 180 from his “glue gun is your best friend” tip from the first design challenge. Also, was it really a sin if queens are allowed to use hot glue and basic pre-existing garments like plain bodysuits and bras for design challenges?
Eva’s look may be one of the weaker ones in the episode, but as her “Drag Race PH” sister Prince said, her look wasn’t that bad. Corazon even tweeted that it was better than her chicken wire dress—the same one that got her to the bottom in the second episode.
Indeed! It was better than my chicken wire dress! LOUDER!
— CORAZON (@CorazonFilipina) September 21, 2022
One of the “RuPaul” queens who shared her thoughts on it is Kandy Muse. “I would have thrown a shoe at the judges, now critique that,” she tweeted. Laurel playfully replied, “SUBUKAN MO!!!!!”
SUBUKAN MO!!!!! https://t.co/DPFQTIE4bR
— Rajo Laurel (@rajolaurel) September 21, 2022
Another RuGirl, Jasmine Kennedie, also reacted with a tweet. “The fact that her outfit is a lot better than anything that came out of sewing challenges this year…. And she still got read for filth,” she said.
The fact that her outfit is a lot better than anything that came out of sewing challenges this year…. And she still got read for filth😂 https://t.co/Aq871qivZ3
— Jasmine(Mouth Almighty)Kennedie (@jasminekennedie) September 21, 2022
While there may be fans who are hoping to see more drama unfold, the real score is that Laurel and Eva are on good terms now. The queen posted a thank you note to her fans earlier today, Sept. 22, with a shout-out to Laurel that reads, “To Sir Rajo, thank you for reaching out and patching things up. [On] better days, let’s have that nice dinner and drinks!” We love to see it.
— Ms. Eva Thrasher Le Queen (@eva_lequeen) September 22, 2022
Still, Eva admitted that she found the incident hurtful and didn’t miss the opportunity to remind people that what you say can have a lasting effect.
“NGL, I was bleeding inside [while] enduring the critiques and lipsyncing against one of my closest friends. Pero we all signed up for this and that’s the way it is,” she said. “What I want to say is, words have power. Imagine a piece of your soul die and give up on what makes you come alive. It only takes seconds to utter words that damage a person for a lifetime.”
Hopefully, all this shade won’t distract us too much from all the gorgeous and uniquely Pinoy looks that the queens made in such a short time. And Eva was right when she said that Viñas is one of the best lip-syncers in the country—both delivered a super fierce lip-sync battle. Thank you for the serve, queens.
Art by Ella Lambio
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