Trixie Mattel: ‘I don’t think Drag Race judges are qualified half the time’
Tell us how you really feel, gurl.
By Will Stroude
She might only just be settling into her seat in the Drag Race Race Hall of Fame, but Trixie Mattel apparently doesn’t think much of the the revolving line-up of guest judges on RuPaul’s Drag Race.
The All Stars 3 winner and firm fan favourite has admitted she doesn’t like the “competition” aspect of the world’s biggest drag competition, and that she often doesn’t think the judges are “qualified” to pass judgement on contestants.
Asked whether she’d ever be tempted to appear on the panel herself, Trixie tells Attitude: “Oh God, no. Never. Nope. I don’t like competition, I don’t like the evaluation.
“I don’t know who’s qualified to judge drag queens. I don’t even think the judges are qualified half the time, do you know what I mean?”
Asked whether she felt that way about the judging during All Stars 3, the 28-year-old country singer and comedian says: “Not so much, but I just feel that at the end of the day, drag queens probably know more about drag than non-drag queens.
“What is drag really? Drag is comedy and acting and music and entertainment.
“If queens are doing that, then it’s good drag.”
As a queen with a distinctive signature look, Trixie also has plenty to say about judge Michelle Visage’s criticism of season 10 contestant Dusty Ray Bottoms in week one of the competition, when she applied trademark dots to her face.
Asked how she felt about the critique, Trixie says: “I don’t know, it’s so basic! Like, it’s week one. How can [Michelle] be like, ‘We want to see something different’? You’ve only been there a day.
“Like, Derrick Barry was there for a week and they were saying, ‘We feel like you only do Britney.'”
The Trixie & Katya Show host continues: “They never said anything about my make-up though. The only thing they said when I did soften it was that it made a nice change and they noticed it.
“But at the risk of sounding like an asshole, my face is pretty iconic and recognisable. Why would I change it?
“To be honest, all of my favourite drag queens look the same all the time. Look at Katya.”
While Trixie might not be keen on passing judgement on the panel herself, she does have a few season 10 favourites she believes are the ones to watch this year.
“I’m obsessed with Eureka, Cracker, Monet”, she reveals. “They’re amazing.”
RuPaul’s Drag Race continues tonight on VH1 in the US and the latest episode will be available to stream on Netflix in the UK tomorrow (April 13).