The RuPaul's Drag Race format typically ends with a runway presentation followed by judging. The judging panel almost always holds four seats: one for RuPaul; one for Michelle Visage; one for a third, semi-regular judge; and a fourth for a celebrity guest judge.
Over 13 seasons and counting, Drag Race has hosted hundreds of these guest judges. Most have been good. Some have been forgettable or outright terrible. A few are the cream of the crop: the funniest, warmest, most entertaining and insightful judges a queen could ever hope for.
Rachel Bloom
Rachel Bloom of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend showed up looking stunning as a guest judge for "Choices 2020," one of season 12's best episodes. Bloom and actor Jeff Goldblum were both guest judges for that episode's runway, but it was Bloom who drew the most praise from the show's fans.
After the episode aired, Bloom (via PinkNews) tweeted that she was pregnant at the time of shooting and remarked, "I was only 2 months along when this filmed and as I watched all of the queens I got really emotional thinking about how proud I’d be if I had a son who did drag."
Michelle Williams
Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child was one RuPaul's Drag Race's first high-profile celebrity guest judges. The singer appeared on the show's second episode ever, and bore witness to the queens lip-syncing to her solo single "We Break the Dawn."
Williams immediately left her mark on the show, spouting a signature Drag Race comment that fans still quote to this day. While critiquing Akashia's sloppy runway presentation, Williams stated, "I just see a messy man." The bar for runways was a little lower back then, but not as far as Williams was concerned.
David And Amy Sedaris
Humor on Drag Race doesn't exactly come dry or pithy, so writer David Sedaris seems like an odd choice of guest judge at first. But Sedaris is a devoted fan of Drag Race, as he told BBC Radio 4. Additionally, his sister, comedian Amy Sedaris, is right in the pocket of RuPaul's sense of humor.
The siblings turned out to be great judges when they appeared during season 8. Both were predictably funny in their own unique ways. However, David Sedaris surprised the audience when he appeared to be sincerely moved by Kim Chi's runway look, which she explained was inspired by her Korean mother.
Joel McHale
As a cishet actor and comedian with no apparent ties to the drag world, Joel McHale was a surprising choice to guest judge an episode of Drag Race when he showed up in season 11. But McHale brought an appropriately over-the-top amount of energy to the judges tables. While fans were divided on his performance, those who liked him loved him.
"I think Michelle [Visage] wanted to rip by head off," McHale later told Wired before clarifying, "Michelle and I are friends, OK?" He added that he loved judging on the show and remarked that "the amount of work the performers put in is staggering."
Elvira
Elvira is an icon, of course. She's so essential to drag and drag culture that it would be nonsense and an outrage if she wasn't a guest judge on RuPaul's Drag Race multiple times over.
As such, Elvira has been a guest judge several times. It's clear she's a favorite of RuPaul's. Elvira, real name Cassandra Peterson, always delivers thoughtful runway critiques with sweetness and good humor. Don't be surprised to see her at the judges table again in the future. After all, she hasn't had any complaints yet.
Leslie Jones
Drag Race started as a cult hit on the margins of cable television, airing on Logo TV. By now, it's been mainstream popular for long enough that its celebrity guest judges are often huge fans themselves.
Comedian Leslie Jones was the epitome of this. Too excited to play it cool, Jones practically screamed with joy during her time as a guest judge on Drag Race, giddy to be on the set of what is clearly one of her favorite shows. Her delight was infectious, and her episode was one of season 12's most fun.
Leah Remini
RuPaul is practically God on Drag Race. As the name instructs, it's her show. But one could make a strong argument that co-judge Visage is more intimidating. Though she can be warm and even maternal, Visage takes attitude from no one. Except, apparently, Leah Remini.
Maybe it's because they're from similar East Coast backgrounds, but Remini and Visage bounced off of each other perfectly. Remini had no problem affectionately giving Visage the business. It was like a visit from a cool aunt who's completely immune to Mom's authority because they grew up together. The vibe made Remini an irresistibly entertaining guest judge.
Lizzo
Lizzo was a guest judge during Drag Race season 10. That was back in 2018, right before she absolutely exploded into mainstream success the following year. At the time, she wasn't quite a household name yet, but she was already fully on the radars of people who tune into Drag Race every week.
As a judge, Lizzo showed the warm, embracing personality that would later win all of America's hearts. It was pure delight to see her watch fan-favorite queens Kameron Michaels and Monet X Change lip sync the house down boots to her soon-to-be hit, "Good As Hell."
Nicki Minaj
A really good teacher is one who heaps praise when and where it's deserved, but equally deals out criticism when necessary. A teacher like that will lift a person up, but they also won't let them get away with giving less than 100%.
Nicki Minaj was like a good teacher when she guest judged on Drag Race. She took the gig seriously and demonstrated her depth of knowledge. She surprised many fans with her emotional investment in the queens and her lack of hesitancy about harshly reading those whose runway looks weren't good enough. In short, Minaj was one of the best guest judges because she obviously cared about the show, the queens, and every step of the process
Lady Gaga
Arguably the biggest star to ever guest-judge on Drag Race is also the one who went the most above and beyond the call of duty in fulfilling the role. Lady Gaga gave the queens of season 9 a tremendous amount of time and personal attention when she appeared on the season premiere.
First, Gaga provided the best joke of the season when she showed up during the workroom entrances, posing initially as a Lady Gaga impersonator only to shock the queens by revealing her true identity. However, she truly shined during the post-runway Untucked segment. There, Gaga offered her heartfelt thanks, praise, and thoughtful, one-one-on critiques to each queen. It's safe so say no guest on RuPaul's Drag Race has ever made the contestants feel more seen, more understood, and more loved than Lady Gaga did.