Drag Race UK’s Kiki Snatch on RuPaul’s critique: ‘Don’t judge me for being me’
Exclusive: "It’s disheartening because just when you think you know yourself a bit better, and you’re comfortable with who you are, you get judged for it," the eliminated queen said
By Dale Fox
Kiki Snatch, the latest queen to leave RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, has opened up about RuPaul’s parting words following her performance in the show’s chat show challenge, saying, “Don’t judge me for being me because that’s not fair.”
In an exclusive chat with Attitude, the London queen added: “You’re literally judging me for being me… Judge me for my brand.”
In this week’s episode, the queens were challenged to take part in a talk show hosted by Graham Norton, with the task of staying charming, relatable, and engaging under the pressure of live TV.
Kiki’s performance didn’t quite meet the mark for RuPaul, who said her approach “could have used just a little bit more humanity… you are human, right?” Kiki admitted the comment hit her hard. “When [RuPaul] told me that, I thought, ‘If you’re gonna put it some way, maybe it could have been put a little bit better.’”
“It really put me in my head again”
Indeed, RuPaul’s feedback struck a nerve for Kiki, who said it took her back to a time when she was still discovering herself. “It really put me in my head again,” she explained, describing the feeling as if she were “back to when I first came out, trying to find myself again.”
“It’s disheartening because just when you think you know yourself a bit better, and you’re comfortable with who you are, you get judged for it. It makes you wonder where you’re supposed to go from there,” she explained.
On her fellow queens’ support, she said: “We have this group chat, and this morning, everyone was sending love. They were all congratulating me, saying they loved what I brought and to keep going.”
She also recalled individual messages that meant a lot. “Kyran sent me a voice yesterday, saying, ‘Girl, you’re amazing, don’t even worry, you’ve been yourself from start to finish.’ Zahirah called me while I was on the way to the viewing party,” Kiki added. “We’ve all got each other’s backs in there, no matter what.”
Kiki Snatch on her Snatch Game character
Although her time on Drag Race UK ended sooner than hoped, Kiki still had some surprises up her sleeve that audiences didn’t get to see, including her planned Snatch Game character. She revealed she was set to portray Scary Movie’s Brenda Meeks, played by Regina Hall, which she described as “so exciting,” adding, “Unfortunately, that didn’t come to pass… until All Stars, maybe?”
What’s next for Kiki Snatch? She confirmed she’ll be joining fellow Drag Race queen Lemon on a tour starting in January, will be appearing at DragCon UK, and also performing with her Drag Race UK girl group The Things. “Make sure you stream our track!” she added.
RuPaul’s Drag Race UK continues every Thursday on BBC Three and the BBC iPlayer from 9pm.