Hi all!
Today I am back with a bonus post, discussing all of my issues with Drag Race Holland Season 2. You know by now that RuPaul’s Drag Race is my favourite reality show and I hardly ever say anything negative about it, but I have a lot of feelings about the judging/decisions made and wanted to get them off my chest before the third season is released. I will say, I absolutely LOVED the first season and felt that all the choices were extremely fair. That’s why it was so disappointing to see the exact opposite last year. Before we begin, I want to mention two things. 1.) Please do not send hate to any queens/hosts mentioned. It’s purely a personal rant. 2.) The images displayed below are from an excellent artist – @hannahsgothhaus – on Instagram. I’ve worked with her before on this post and am a huge fan of her talented sketches. Thank you Hannah for allowing me to feature your designs on my blog. Without further ado, let’s spill some tea!
1.) The Ivy-Elyse Monroe vs. The Countess Lip Sync
In episode 4, Ivy-Elyse Monroe had to lip sync for her life against The Countess. This was Ivy’s third time lip-syncing but despite her less than stellar track record, she ate up the stage and wiped the floor with The Countess, who walked around lifelessly, barely knew the words and showed next to no emotion on her gorgeous face. Despite being the clear winner, the judges announced they were going to eliminate Ivy anyway because she had been in the bottom far too many times. This was the first of three terrible decisions I witnessed in Season 2. What was the point of lip syncing for her life, if the judges had already decided they were going to send Ivy home, no matter how badly The Countess did? It was terribly unfair and the majority of viewers agreed. You could tell the panel were annoyed by The Countess’s lacklustre performance, as it gave them less reason to keep her. Nobody was convinced. If you don’t believe me, cut to 1:07 on the video below AND read the comments. We are just getting started here. The worst is yet to come!
2.) Vivaldi Breaks The Rules
This is the biggest and worst mistake the judges made. It absolutely outraged fans of the franchise worldwide. At the beginning, Vivaldi was my favourite to take the crown. However, as the episodes progressed, I noticed she was a bit mean to the other contestants, particularly the winner: Vanessa van Cartier. She was told by the judges and queens alike that she lacked emotion or a ‘happy to be there’ vibe. Halfway through the season, Vanessa announced that Vivaldi had been breaking the rules. She had been secretly keeping a mobile phone in her hotel room from the very first episode. This is a huge no-no in Drag Race. All contestants must sign a contract before they come on the show, affirming that they will relinquish their phones as they are a.) not allowed to have contact with the outside world and b.) could use the internet to their advantage in the challenges. When Vivaldi admitted to her mistake, I was certain she would be disqualified. After all, we saw Willam be asked to leave on season 4 for also breaking contract in the US franchise. Nope! The host, Fred van Leer, yelled at her a little, placed her in the bottom two and asked her to shantay after the lip sync was finished. Vivaldi made it to the finale, despite the other contestants confessing how disappointed they were that she was allowed to stay at all. She 100% deserved to leave. It was a wonder I finished the season after that. But wait, there’s more!
3.) The Front-Runner Gets Eliminated
Last but not least, we have the shocking and outrageous elimination of Keta Minaj. This insanely talented queen was the front-runner to win the entire season. She was consistently in the top and won three maxi challenges (the most out of any contestant). In the episode to determine the finalists, she fell into the bottom for the first time and had to lip sync against…Vivaldi. Vivaldi, who should have been disqualified. I don’t know how or why but she was saved and Keta was asked to sashay away. If you watch the lip sync, they both did well. However, that was the perfect opportunity for the judges to finally send home somebody that broke the rules and keep the most successful/liked queen. It was at that point that I had had enough. I watched the finale but very reluctantly. It felt wrong to see Vivaldi in the top three. Keta should have been there and won. I am grateful they at least crowned the next best winner but the journey to the end was ROUGH, to say the least.
I hope you enjoyed this bonus Drag Race post from me. Did you agree with my claims? Thank you once again to Hannah for collaborating with me. You’re a star!
Thanks for reading! Peace & Love xoxo
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