Save The Queens: Has ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Become More Harmful Than Helpful For Contestants?

When controversial RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Jaremi Carey, more recognized by his queenly persona Phi Phi O’Hara, decided to sign on the dotted line for the second RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars season, he had a specific goal in mind: to show viewers that he wasn’t as bad as he seemed during his Season 4 go-round.

Those who witnessed that cycle saw a maniacal and masterful manipulator who didn’t make friends easily — save for Jiggly Caliente, and even that connection had its issues — and often clashed with two of his fellow competitors, Sharon Needles (Aaron Coady), the eventual winner of RPDR Season 4, and Willam Belli, an actor who was notorious for reminding others that he had stood alongside nearly every celebrity in Hollywood and had the high-end retail shoes to prove it.

Belli would ultimately be outed from the competition by way of the series’ first-ever disqualification — more on him later — but Phi Phi held her ground, albeit to the displeasure of viewers, and placed third that year.

Speaking to Vulture recently, Carey expressed that along with displaying his elevated drag sense to a wider audience outside of his “365 Days of Drag” Instagram postings, the goading of certain staffers behind the scenes of RuPaul’s Drag Race and World of Wonder, the show’s production company, made it seem like returning to the show could be a good idea.

“They would be like, ‘No, we want to give you this, we love you. We care about you. We want to give you this redemption story,” he remarked. “Then, after the second DragCon [an annual gathering of RPDR fans and contestants, both past and hopeful futures], they were like, ‘We want [you] to do [All-Stars 2]. And so I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, totally.'”

What ultimately occurred, as viewers witnessed throughout the first five episodes of the season, was something Carey says he isn’t: The same ol’ Phi Phi O’Hara that audiences came to loathe back in Season 4. The backstabbing comments, the sneaky “helpful” hints to fellow competitors, and, of course, one main source of ire for his overall annoyance — this time around, it was Alyssa Edwards (Justin Johnson) of Season 5 fame — were all present and, in certain instances, deemed even worse than before.

A full-on rant from Jaremi regarding Edwards’ ability to seemingly skate by in the competition despite some questionable sartorial choices was made just moments after Alyssa got chopped. Furthermore, the wordy diatribe was seen and heard not just by the show’s audience in last week’s “Drag Movie Shequels” episode, but by Alyssa herself, who, along with three other eliminated queens, stood behind a two-way mirror that had been set up by the production staff to reintroduce them into the competition.

Understandably, Carey felt embarrassed and offended, but not for the reasons you think.

“I remember telling the girls backstage [before we re-entered the workroom after elimination], ‘I’m telling you right now they’re bringing Alyssa back.’ We had to wait backstage for an incredibly long period of time, which had given them time to set up behind the mirror. And as soon as the [lights surrounding the mirror clicked on] I was like, ‘I told you, I told you guys they’re bringing her back!’ I just remember being yelled at by producers to stop talking, and I was like, this is it, and then they [brought] the girls in one by one.”

Carey goes on to say that a reconciliation with Edwards was filmed, but suspiciously, it never aired. What viewers did see, however, was Phi Phi brushing off Alyssa as she was given the boot, and Alyssa gaining another shot at All-Stars glory.

https://youtu.be/uRjQpgw_ttQ?t=4m17s

“I didn’t hug Alyssa because I didn’t want to cry,” Carey added, “and I wrote that on the [mirror], but I don’t think that they show that this episode [Editor’s note: they did]. I’m a very emotional person, and I felt like if she hugged me the tears would come out. I just saw how fake she was and I didn’t want that to be what I ended on.”

Whether or not anyone believes Carey is getting a bad RPDR rap for the second time, the oft-repeated claims of production tampering are not anything new when it comes to former RuPaul’s Drag Race girls. Beginning around Season 3 of the show, rumors about inconsideration and unfair treatment of the ones who were said to have enough charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent to participate have run rampant, and we’re not just talking about situations that occur on-set.

To date, only a handful of RuPaul’s Drag Race personas have been brave enough to speak out about those experiences, but coincidentally, doing so often causes them to be treated as social pariahs from those who are still connected to the franchise in some form, usually through World of Wonder. One of the biggest detractors, the aforementioned Willam Belli, became notorious not just for breaking rules on the show, but for lifting the curtain on it in several interviews and on his personal Tumblr page.

“[It would be] impossible for me to be happy working with some of the people who produce his show [that] don’t treat others the way they want to be treated,” Belli explained of his reasons not to sign up for All-Stars 2. “My priority is my happiness. There are plenty of lovely people who work at [World of Wonder], but after literally being called ‘a cancer’ to my face by someone who works there, I realize that their avoidance of me might be a unfortunate company mandate.”

Obviously, certain RPDR staff members haven’t been too happy with his candor.

Other seasoned queens — performers who have worked for years — such as Kennedy Davenport and Jasmine Masters of Season 6, and Pandora Boxx of Season 2, have also spoken out about how the askew, televised edits of RuPaul’s Drag Race continue to mar their lives during and after the show, while also occasionally being the targets of hateful death threats from fanatical fans who don’t know that certain conversations and confrontations on the show are left on the cutting room floor.

“Because someone has been edited to tell a story, [that somehow allows] someone to write such vile hateful things [based off] of a reality competition show elimination,” Boxx, born Michael Steck, sardonically shared on Facebook. “I just don’t get it. It’s just a show. You don’t know these people. You don’t know their real lives and struggles.”

But RuPaul does, doesn’t he? Well, not really, at least, according to what Jaremi says was a lapse in memory regarding a queen from Season 7, which occurred less than two years ago.

“She walked on the set on the very first day when she said that Raven-Symone was going to be a judge, [and then], one of the girls did a Jaidynn Diore Fierce joke.”

For those who are confused, Diore parodied Symone during a memorable, yet lackluster “Snatch Game,” a parody of Match Game, that year.

“Ru didn’t even know who that was,” Carey continued, “and I was like, ‘What do you mean you don’t know?’ She literally just walked out the door. I’m confused how [she didn’t] know who these girls [were], which, [in turn]. let me know we’re just… not people to her. We’re just game pieces for her show and she didn’t care enough to know who we were.”

Interestingly, for being the one who seemingly possesses the most level of control when it comes to anything related to Drag Race, Ru only seems to use it occasionally, such as when it comes to eliminating contestants, which she hasn’t been doing during All-Stars 2 (that falls on the challenge winners each week), or if she feels personally slighted by one of them, such as when she recently unfollowed Jaremi on Twitter.

“She has the power to stand up and say, ‘You know what, this show is only for entertainment purposes,'” Carey acknowledged. “If this show is really about family coming together and standing, bringing this community together, then why won’t you speak out on it?”

RuPaul has yet to respond to Carey’s Vulture interview. RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars airs Thursday nights on LOGO.

[Featured Image by RuPaul’s Drag Race/Facebook]