’Drag Race’ Star Responds to Alleged ‘Favoritism’ on ‘All Stars 10’

Currently airing on Paramount+, “RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars 10” has been dripping with reality TV drama since it made its streaming debut in May. In the series’ first-ever “Tournament of All Stars,” the 18-queen cast have given birth to some of the series’ most talked about feuds, including Mistress Isabelle Brooks who, in Bracket 2, narrowly secured a spot in the semi-finals after betraying Kerri Colby in Episode 6. 

Most recently, the penultimate episode of the season’s preliminary rounds, saw the Bracket Three contestants compete in a country-inspired girl group challenge. After the challenge, RuPaul declared Ginger Minj and Denali as the Top Two All Stars of the week. 

After a lip sync performance to Miley Cyrus’ “See You Again,” Ginger was declared the victor for the second week in a row – but fans and former queens alike have taken to social media to disagree, arguing that Denali’s high-energy choreography clearly distinguished her as the winner of the lip sync, and to accuse “Drag Race” of “favoring” Ginger Minj. 

Denali Calls ‘Drag Race’ Judging ‘Biased’ & ‘Subjective’

After Ginger was declared the victor on Friday’s episode, Denali can be seen looking visibly upset on the Main Stage before a sneak peek at Episode 9 shows Denali assert, “I am very proud of the lip sync that I did. I think it was perfect.” Some eagle-eyed fans have even claimed that Denali walked off stage following Ginger’s lip sync win, noting that the queen cannot be seen while the other contestants exit the stage at the end of the episode.

Many impassioned “Drag Race” fans have been inclined to agree, taking to social media with comments claiming: “No one has ever been robbed as severely as [Denali]” and “Denali looked like she was genuinely having fun as well as perfectly embodying the spirit of the beat…I can’t believe they did this to you queen.” Alongside comments praising Denali’s lip sync performance, others have accused “Drag Race” of unjustly favoring Ginger Minj on “All Stars 10.”

During a Roscoes viewing party appearance discussing Episode 8, Denali discussed the alleged “favoritism,” saying: “Listen, I will repeat what I’ve been saying kind of to myself and what I’ve experienced. This is ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race.’ It is a formatted, biased competition show with a lot of subjective judging.”

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Speaking specifically on whether or not she thinks the show is “rigged” in Ginger’s favor, Denali added, “At the end of the day, it is literally woven into the fabric of ‘Drag Race’ for it to favor certain individuals. Certain people that are really good at the show, certain people that RuPaul really likes and that her humor vibes with – or people that are really experienced.”

“All Stars 10” marks Ginger’s fourth “Drag Race” appearance. Originally a finalist on Season 7, Ginger returned for “All Stars 2” and “All Stars 6” before joining the cast of the “Tournament of All Stars.” So far, the Bracket Three challenges, inspired by musical theatre and country music, have seemed to cater to Ginger’s skillset and background, leading some fans to argue that the show was “rigged” in her favor from the very start. 

Denali addressed these rumors at Roscoes, telling fans, “If I had walked in there and all of the challenges were ice skating, reggaeton song challenge and a dance challenge – I would also be like, huh, those are kind of skewed toward Denali. Interesting.”

“Saying that,” she added, “Ginger Minj is extremely good at ‘Drag Race.’ I would not want to take away at all her ability to do really well in this show. We saw it. Let me say this so hard, because this fandom thinks sometimes that things are just black and white: Two things can exist at once. This show is built to favor people, [but] those people can also be really good at this show.”

Denali Performs ‘See You Again’ On Ice in New Video

Despite a disappointing loss in last week’s lip sync, Denali hasn’t let it stop her from making the most of the now-iconic moment. On June 22, the Alaskan queen uploaded the full choreography of her lip sync performance of Miley Cyrus’ “See You Again” to her YouTube channel – but this time, it’s on ice!

The mesmerizing video sees Denali bring her routine to the ice rink, joined by former U.S. figure skating champion Timothy De Luc and “ice princess” JY Sun.