Ultimate RuPaul's Drag Race Villains: Fan-Casting for All Stars!
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We’d love an All Stars with queens who were labeled ‘villains.’
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Over the years, we’ve observed several paths that can lead a RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant to get the “villain” label. And while many of them have already gotten a full Ru-demption story arc on All Stars, that hasn’t been the case for everyone. To misquote Gia Gunn, “There isn’t room for everybody, let’s just say that!”
The “villain” label can be given out for a variety of reasons. For one, a lot of queens were considered “villains” during their respective seasons just because they didn’t get along with a fan-favorite. This automatically placed them in the wrong side of fan-favoritism, and it’s hard for viewers to check those biases.
Meanwhile, certain queens have been called “villains” after appearing on Drag Race due to issues they’ve had with producers, judges, or even with RuPaul herself. Because so many of these issues take place behind the scenes, it’s up to the fans to determine which sides of the story they believe.
Last but not least, there are also queens who deliberately stir the pot and create drama while competing on the show. These contestants are aware that they’re playing the “villain” role and seemingly choose to have fun with it, which can make for great reality TV. We love camp!
But let’s get one thing straight: being labeled a “villain” from Drag Race does not mean that a drag performer is a bad person. There is no excuse for any fan to attack drag performers simply due to how they were edited on the show, or because of some silly social media drama. The “villain” label is used for queens who became polarizing figures either on Drag Race or after the show ended… not for queens who literally had to be edited out of their seasons due to very serious allegations against them.
So buckle up and have some light fun with us as we daydream about an all-villains cast of All Stars! It would be a gag!
Scroll through to see our top picks for an all-villains season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars.
Shannel (Season 1)
Shannel is, in many ways, considered to be the OG “diva” of Drag Race. We were obsessed with her when season one aired, and we are very much still obsessed with her in 2023.
Even though Shannel had a much less polarizing run on All Stars 1, it feels like the fans’ core memories of this queen are mostly from Drag Race season one. During that season, Shannel regularly fought with the judges and disagreed with their critiques. Ironically, Shannel was right about a lot of things she was saying. And yet, it still feels like this queen is due for another All Stars run where she can finally redeem herself with the fandom once and for all.
Tyra Sanchez a.k.a. King Tyra (Season 2)
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Anyone who dares say that Tyra Sanchez (now known as King Tyra) shouldn’t have won season two of Drag Race was probably not really paying attention to the show. Tyra steamrolled the competition all season long, and her only fumbles took place in weeks where she had immunity. In the end, Tyra was the obvious and clear winner of season two, and RuPaul rightfully crowned her.
The reason some fans consider Tyra a “villain” from this franchise had to do with the years that followed her reign. Tyra felt slighted by the judges, overlooked by the fans, and even talked about her disappointing interactions with RuPaul. When the all-winners edition of Drag Race was announced, many fans brought up Tyra’s name as someone who’d be an incredible competitor… but don’t hold your breath, because Tyra has expressed zero interest in returning to the show. Still, if this ever changes, we’d truly love to see it!
Mimi Imfurst (Season 3 & All Stars 1)
After picking up India Ferrah during a lip sync on Drag Race season three, Mimi Imfurst prompted RuPaul to establish the rule that “drag is not a contact sport,” and that queens were not allowed to do that ever again. When she returned to compete on All Stars 1 and was teamed up with a massively popular fan-favorite like Pandora Boxx, things soured even further for Mimi, who got all of the blame from the fandom for Pandora going home in the first episode.
While she’s certainly a polarizing Drag Race queen who’s been labeled a “villain” in the past, it could be sort of fascinating to see what she’d do on another All Stars run – similar to India Ferrah’s journey on All Stars 5.
Willam (Season 4)
After being disqualified from season four of Drag Race for “breaking the rules,” Willam evolved into a total badass who was in on the joke and built an absolutely incredible career for herself. And yet, Willam has also been very open about her issues with RuPaul and the things she dislikes about Drag Race, so casting this queen in a future All Stars would truly be the gag of the century. It would also be very interesting to see how Willam would navigate her way in the competition, and just how much her drag has evolved over 10 years later.
Phi Phi O’Hara a.k.a. Jaremi Carey (Season 4 & All Stars 2)
On both season four and All Stars 2, there’s no denial that Phi Phi O’Hara – who now goes by Jaremi Carey – was absolutely edited to be the “villain” of those seasons.
First, in season four, Phi Phi’s fierce rivalry with Sharon Needles was the driving factor for her to be considered a “villain.” She then got a similar edit on All Stars 2, this time being placed in opposition of Alyssa Edwards. Over the years, Phi Phi has explained herself time and time again to the fandom. Many fans already have a better understanding of who Jaremi actually is and don’t hold any grudges from watching those seasons… but there’s still a segment of the fandom that has a bad image of Phi Phi. Jaremi is no longer doing as much drag as he once did, but we just couldn’t fantasize about a fierce cast of “villains” without including Phi Phi coming back for another All Stars.
Pearl (Season 7)
Pearl did have dramatic moments on Drag Race season seven, like her standoff with RuPaul in the werk room (“do I have something on my face?”) and the times she criticized the judges for saying that she didn’t have a personality.
Alas, it was Pearl’s post-season era that would eventually get her labeled as a “villain” within the franchise. Namely, she talked about not-so-nice interactions she apparently had with RuPaul while filming, and has always been outspoken about her damaged relationship with the series.
Derrick Barry (Season 8)
Derrick Barry was really irked by Bob the Drag Queen throughout season eight. With Bob being such a fan-favorite, this absolutely turned Derrick into one of the “villains” of that season.
Unlike many of the queens on this list, Derrick actually has a great relationship with production. She is a regular performer on the show’s Las Vegas residency show, and even came back to compete on All Stars 5. Nonetheless, it only takes a quick re-watch of season eight to remember that this queen’s original run on the show was pretty controversial at the time.
Acid Betty (Season 8)
Acid Betty was another polarizing figure in the eighth season of Drag Race. Her biggest drama was with the late Chi Chi DeVayne, who was universally beloved by all the fans. Even if Acid Betty was just kidding when she threw shade at Chi Chi, fans still picked a clear side.
It was a shame that Acid Betty’s run on Drag Race was so full of little fights and side drama, which overshadowed just how talented this queen actually is. Giving her another shot in an All Stars season could give her a fantastic Ru-demption story arc that’s been years in the making.
Milk (All Stars 3)
When Milk first competed in season six, fans actually loved that she took risks and defied the judges’ expectations of what drag was (and could be). But her run on All Stars 3 flipped all of that upside down.
When she came back for All Stars, Milk got a pretty unhinged edit that made her look like a really overconfident and mean queen. After the season aired, Milk explained that she said a lot of things in a sarcastic way and would laugh at herself right away. However, the show edited out those moments and left viewers with just the mean parts, which would eventually also get her to be labeled as a “villain” on All Stars 3.
Gia Gunn (All Stars 4)
Gia Gunn can throw some serious shade – and on All Stars 4, it seemed like she knew exactly what she was doing to stir the pot, create some drama, and literally deliver some of the most iconic moments of the entire franchise.
Many fans theorize that Gunn was fully aware of the “villain” role she had been designated and chose to completely lean into it. Honestly, we were living for it, and having her back on our screens would be fabulous.
