Let’s go, bitches!
MTV today ru-vealed the cast for Season 17 of the Emmy® Award-winning global phenomenon, ., which returns Friday, January 3rd at 8:00 PM ET/PT with 90-minute episodes. This season, 14 dazzling new queens enter the Werk Room to compete for the title of “America’s Next Drag Superstar” and a cash prize of $200,000 for the winner, sponsored by TodayTix, the theater ticket app.
In the premiere episode, the new cast of queens will compete in “Drag Queens Got Talent” and this season will bring back the gag-worthy “Rate-A-Queen” scoring system, but with an all-new twist.
RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked, the Emmy® award-winning aftershow, will premiere immediately following at 9:30 PM ET/PT on MTV. Untucked gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the backstage drama as the queens anxiously await their fate in the competition
Acacia Forgot – Los Angeles, CA | @acaciaforgot
This honky-tonk diva puts the country in California. Glitzy, glamorous, and with a penchant for blonde hair, Acacia Forgot has never met a rhinestone she didn’t like. Musically talented, as well as being a singer-songwriter, Acacia plays the guitar, piano, banjo and ukulele. Will this aspiring country star also become America’s Next Drag Superstar?
Arrietty – Seattle, WA | @arrietty_theelf
Arrietty hails from the House of Dubois – her drag mother is none other than Drag Race season 15’s Irene (The Alien) Dubois. Obsessed with the fantasy genre, this uniquely creative queen designs and sews her own outfits, often with a “futuristic elf” aesthetic. Add in the ability to beat a mean mug when needed, and this talented, twisted queen is ready to go all the way in the competition!
Crystal Envy – Asbury Park, NJ | @thecrystalenvy
With looks so polished, it’s hard to believe this makeup artist and drag queen has only been performing for 3 years. In New Jersey, Crystal swiftly dominated the club scene. Crystal Envy’s name comes as a mixture of their birth name Chris, and the fact that every outfit she wears is bedazzled and sparkly. This pageant princess commands a club crowd, but can Crystal hold that same command over the judges this season?
Hormona Lisa – Chattanooga, TN | @hormona_lisa
This Southern bubblegum babe was infamously plucked from the crowd by RuPaul on the Atlanta stop of his “The House of Hidden Meanings” book tour, and invited to Hollywood. Now officially a part of the season 17 cast, this campy queen – inspired by Disney princesses and vintage screen sirens – hopes to catch the eye of RuPaul again, this time where it counts the most: on the main stage of RuPaul’s Drag Race!
Jewels Sparkles – Tampa, FL | @thejewelssparkles
Out of drag, this youthful queen has a sweetness and an innocence, and is a self-described “ditzy clumsy bimbo.” But don’t be fooled – Jewels intends to enter the competition with intention and strategy. With influences that range from Ariana Grande to Priscilla Presley, to her Puerto Rican and Cuban heritage, you’d be foolish to underestimate this talented doll as merely a “look queen.”
Joella – Los Angeles, CA | @thejoelladynasty
Joella calls herself “The Slaysian Diva,” and with her own unique style of drag, mixing traditional Chinese costume with street fashion and pop culture, you can see why. Having already won local West Hollywood drag bar contests, Joella is now ready to represent plus size queens in the biggest drag competition in the world.
Kori King – Boston, MA | @koriking
This boisterous queen has rapidly risen to the top of the Boston scene, amassing a respectable TikTok following along the way. Only in the drag game for 2 years, Kori has already been awarded Boston’s Best New Performer To Watch award, and is the name on everybody’s lips. She is season 16 finalist Plane Jane’s drag sister, so expect a razor sharp wit, and somebody who tells it like it is!
Lana Ja’Rae – New York, NY | @lanajarae
Lana’s drag mother is Luxx Noir London, from season 15 of Drag Race, so expect a level of fierceness from this fashionista! Luxx saw Lana competing in a New York drag competition and was so impressed, she approached her backstage and asked if she could adopt her on the spot. Bringing legs and body to the main stage, Lana is ready to strut away from this competition with a crown!
Lexi Love – Louisville, KY | @mslexilove
Lexi Love is a full-time “playmate” at Play, Louisville: a bar known for its high energy drag excellence. As a performer, Lexi knows how to turn the party up – but she’s also someone you’d love to kick it with. Having survived a period of homelessness and drug addiction, she has emerged a stronger and more independent queen, and is ready for the re-birth of Lexi to take over the world!
Lucky Starzzz – Miami, FL | @theluckystarzzz
Born in Havana, Cuba, Lucky Starzzz is an expressive, colorful, living cartoon! Lucky’s drag meets at the intersection of club kid and camp, and this resourceful queen uses as much paper and spray paint as she does sequins and rhinestones. Lucky describes her drag as “a venus fly trap in a room full of roses.” Can Lucky’s eye-catching creativity catch the eyes of the judges this season and win her the crown?
Lydia B Kollins – Pittsburgh, PA | @foreheadbrows
To understand this absurdist, unique queen you only need to know that the “B” stands for b*tthole. Named after Winona Ryder’s character in Beetlejuice, Lydia Deetz, and inspired by Tim Burton, John Waters and David Lynch, Lydia B Kollins is a queen who values creativity over perfection. Will the judges find Lydia’s looks BOOTYful, or will her time on Drag Race be a disASSter?
Onya Nurve – Cleveland, OH | @onyanurve
Smashburger cook by day, enchanting and in-demand drag artist by night. Onya Nurve got bitten by the performance bug in high school, and took an artistic career path to drag via a BFA in Painting from the Cleveland Institute of Art. A comedic actress as well as being able to belt out a tune, Onya represents a real threat in this competition!
Sam Star – Leeds, AL | @samstarqueen
Stunning, stylish, SOUTHERN! Sam is quite the Renaissance queen, having trained in musical theater, and being a retired gymnast / cheerleader who can do back handsprings! With polished makeup skills and a gorgeous mug, Sam has gone on to win an impressive number of pageant titles for such a young queen: it’s no surprise to learn that Trinity The Tuck is her drag mother and mentor.
Suzie Toot – Fort Lauderdale, FL | @suzie.toot
Suzie’s uniqueness is her greatest strength in drag. A professional tap dancer, with a look rooted deeply in 1920s and 30s fashions, Suzie describes herself as the “cross section between Betty Boop and Lucille Ball.” A skilled actor with a wild sense of humor and excellent comedic timing, Suzie hopes to wow the judges with her quirky take on drag!
Look at all those beautiful, occasionally fresh faces! You might think we’re a couple of jaded old bitches after all this time – and you’d be right! But one thing about which we’re not jaded yet is a new crop of queens to be put through the wringer their paces on a new season of Drag Race. Oh, sure. We’ll be bitching our way through every exhaustive recap, pointing out all of the ways that the franchise is stale and limited as it approaches its third decade, but we’ll never not love watching drag queens do what they do best. It’s just that RuPaul’s Drag Race only occasionally allows for that to happen. Anyway, who are you rooting for! Who’s going to be the bitch of the season? Miss Congeniality? Cannon fodder?
[Photo Credit: MTV – Video Credit: MTV/YouTube]
Previous post:
Charli XCX Covers VARIETY’s ‘Hitmakers’ Issue Next Post:
THE LAST SHOWGIRL Star Pamela Anderson in Oscar de la Renta at the Gotham Awards
Charli XCX Covers VARIETY’s ‘Hitmakers’ Issue Next Post:
THE LAST SHOWGIRL Star Pamela Anderson in Oscar de la Renta at the Gotham Awards
-
THE LEOPARD | Poster, Teaser Trailer and Images
-
RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE: Drag Queens Got Talent – Part 2
-
A THOUSAND BLOWS Starring Malachi Kirby, Erin Doherty, and Stephen Graham | Trailer, Poster &...
Please review our Community Guidelines before posting a comment. Thank you!
