With all of the drama that happens during any given season of RuPaul's Drag Race, you would think that there wouldn't be much left behind-the-scenes of this controversial reality TV competition. However, you would be wrong.
Even years after these queens end their season-run, they still pick fights with everyone from former and current competitors, the fans, and even host RuPaul. Tea is spilled, gossip is flung, and no secrets stay hidden for long. Even if you thought the show was fake, this drama certainly isn't.
Sometimes the feuds just boil down to which queen is the best queen. Other times, it's a snub or catty remark that sparks a social media war. However, all too often, these ladies get caught up in controversy for saying some incredibly offensive things about the LGBTQ community.
There just doesn't seem to be an end to the drama... and it all may just be even crazier than anything that ever went down onscreen.
From the ill-advised "She-male" segment to threats against DragCon to Pearl's epic stare down, here are the 20 Times Real Drama Between The RuPaul's Drag Race Cast Happened Off-Screen.
Sharon Needles And Phi Phi Had To Be Separated Off Set
Some fans have wondered whether or not the drama that happens onscreen is made up for the benefit of the viewers.
Do producers know how much we love catfights? Are the contestants really this angry all the time? Well, in the case of Sharon Needles versus Phi Phi O'Hara, the onscreen drama was all very real. It only got worse when the cameras weren't rolling-- just in a much more silent, cold shoulder sort of way.
According to Needles herself, there were no other fights offscreen. Everything that happened was actually aired, and she believes that if they had fought more, it would have been aired, too.
There was no editing to create a story that wasn't there. However, that doesn't mean they were friends offset. At first, Needles wondered if O'Hara was acting up her animosity for the cameras, but she quickly realized that it was all too real.
Needles revealed that she would attempt to invite O'Hara out to eat and the answer would always be a very unwelcoming no.
Not only that, but there was so much tension between the two competitors that they would have to arrive at filming locations in separate vehicles. They were constantly kept away from each other.
Tyra Sanchez Made Offensive Remarks About Raja
It all started when Tyra Sanchez threw shade at Drag Race season 9 winner, Sasha Velour. During an interview, when Velour's name was brought up, Sanchez pretended not to know who she was.
Well, Raja was having none of it, and responded to the shady interview with a simple eye roll emoji. Maybe that shouldn't seem like such a big deal, but it resulted in a major online blowout.
Sanchez responded to the emoji by calling Raja a "grandma" and suggesting that viewers run to the bathroom when Raja performs. Raja continued to call out Sanchez, calling the interview petty.
She went on to say that she did not feel self-conscious about her age and suggested that she and Sanchez move past their argument. However, that is definitely not what happened.
Sanchez went on a tirade, comparing Raja to Abu, the monkey in Disney's Aladdin. She also claimed to want to take her scepter and hit Raja in the face with it.
After backlash, Sanchez claimed that the reference to the monkey character was not meant to be racist, but was meant to be a reference to the inspiration behind Raja's name. '
Despite trying to make that clarification, Sanchez doubled down on the insults, changing her avatar to that of an image of the animated monkey.
Phi Phi Says She Was Edited To Be A Villain
Phi Phi O'Hara has a few things to say about her time on Drag Race. The competitor was quite upset about her run in 2016's All Stars, stating that she was edited to look like a villain.
O'Hara has constantly been billed as a Big Bad, and many viewers believed she was catty and manipulative. However, she doesn't see herself that way at all, and she believes if her story had been told properly, that fans wouldn't either.
O'Hara doesn't deny her behavior. She admitted that she really did say the things that she did, but that it was all taken out of context.
According to O'Hara, the editing left out much of the context to her behavior, which only served to make her look manipulative. The former competitor said she wished that RuPaul would speak up about the way that Drag Race has been edited and that she would defend her competitors on the show.
O'Hara claims that this experience has led her to realize how awful the entertainment industry can be and that it has made it difficult for her to continue watching the show.
Phi Phi said the producers had promised her a redemption arc, and that they had supported her through a tough time in order to get her back on the show in the first place.
RuPaul Banned Transgender Competitors From The Show
You would think the host of a drag queen competition would be a little bit more progressive, but RuPaul has made some very problematic statements in the past.
One such comment, made earlier this year, caused a bit of a revolt against the reality competition, prompting backlash.
In an interview, RuPaul was asked to compare Drag Race with being transgender. RuPaul then admitted that had it been known ahead of time that competitor Peppermint was transgender, she probably never would have been allowed on the show, especially if Peppermint had already begun the process of physical gender reassignment.
RuPaul claimed that actually going through the transition was different than simply identifying as a woman.
Peppermint had been worried about coming out, thinking that she would not "belong" on the show if she did. She felt that her admission had been treated as a "non-issue" at the time, but seemed to be somewhat disappointed at RuPaul's later remarks.
RuPaul initially made things worse, making the comparison of transitioning to that of using steroids as an athlete.
This only worsened the backlash and RuPaul eventually issued an apology. Peppermint called RuPaul's apology an "important step" but also noted that "gay men do not own the idea of gender performance."
Pearl Said RuPaul Was Super Rude BTS Of Their Stare Down
The stare down between Pearl and RuPaul is considered to be one of the most epic moments in all of Drag Race.
RuPaul walks up and compliments Max's "big personality" but then blatantly tells Pearl, to her face, that she does not have a big personality of her own. Pearl insists that she does, in fact, have a great personality.
At this point, RuPaul kind of goes on the defensive, saying that it was merely constructive criticism and that she meant to instill confidence in Pearl. Pearl calls RuPaul out, saying that the opposite effect had been the result and the two begin an epic stare down.
Finally, Pearl puts an end to the tension by uttering the now iconic phrase, "Do I have something on my face?"
Fans of the show loved this moment, thinking it was hilarious, catty, intense, and awkward. However, Pearl said there was more to the story that didn't show up onscreen.
Pearl indicated that she had actually dealt with 20 minutes of harassment without saying anything before the stare down happened for the cameras.
Pearl accused the show of being edited to specifically show her in an aggressive light and claimed that she loved RuPaul too much to actually have started the stare down unprovoked.
Carmen Carrera Hates Caitlyn Jenner
Caitlyn Jenner is a very controversial figure in the transgender community. Some commend her for her bravery and for speaking out about her experience publicly, while others condemn her for being selfish and attention-seeking, putting a bad face on the community.
Well, there's at least one more person who isn't a fan of Jenner-- Drag Race star Carmen Carrera. Carrera was very outspoken about her thoughts on Jenner, and they definitely aren't positive.
Carrera blasted Jenner for addressing the UK Parliament. According to the Drag Race contestant, Jenner should have focused on representing the transgender community in the US first.
Carrera implied that Jenner wasn't actually thinking about the transgender community at all, but was actually stoking her fame with her trip to the UK. She then suggested that Jenner should pick up the phone and have a conversation with her to learn how to better serve as a role model for the transgender community.
Carrera has commended Jenner on her bravery, but she has also claimed that Jenner needs to work on becoming more relatable.
She recommends getting to learn about the people of the community and their struggles and story as a start. The Drag Race star also conceded that Jenner's fame and experience are complicated.
Robbie Turner Might Have Faked A Car Crash
People expect a lot of drama from a reality TV show. Also, obviously, some fans even expect some of that drama to be manufactured, though it doesn't always hurt their love for the show.
However, in the case of Robbie Turner's alleged car crash earlier this year, maybe some fake drama is just too much. It's not really known what happened to Turner in her alleged accident, but that's the problem.
Nothing can be verified, which is a fact that has left fans criticizing her for apparently seeking attention in the worst way possible.
Turner had posted tweets claiming to have been in a car accident. She said that she had taken an Uber and that her driver had ended up passing away in the accident.
It was later revealed that no ride-sharing services had records of such a dangerous accident happening during the time frame in question. When asked what had provoked the claims, Turner said that she must have assumed there was an accident because she had slipped in the shower and had woken up with bruises.
She thought perhaps something had been slipped into her drink while she was out earlier that evening. She blamed her assumption of a crash on a very vivid dream.
Tyra Sanchez Told Fans Not To Attend RuPaul's DragCon
Tyra Sanchez may have won season 2 of Drag Race, but she still has some shade to throw at the reality series. Sanchez went on Facebook and posted what many considered to be a threat earlier this year.
A couple of months before 2018's DragCon, Sanchez warned people against attending the event. She told people to stay away, listing the exact date of May 12, 2018.
Her exact words concluding the post were, "Don't say I didn't warn you." Sanchez was likely lashing out, as she had been banned from the event after threatening violence against Tatianna and Phi Phi O'Hara.
Sanchez was informed that she would be able to attend DragCon as long as she gave a sincere apology. Instead, Sanchez refused, saying that she had already apologized and would not do so again.
Tatianna spoke out about Sanchez's attitude. She said that Sanchez had had a bad attitude in 2009, when she first became involved with the show, and that she still had a bad attitude in 2018.
Tatianna went on to claim that Sanchez would not have had any fans show up to see her at the convention, anyway.
The threats appear to have been idle, though, as DragCon 2018 took place earlier this month.
Carmen Carrera Let RuPaul Have It On The “Shemale” Segment
RuPaul's Drag Race is constantly controversial. Sometimes its over the drama between the contestants. Sometimes fans get up in arms over the chosen winner. Other times, there's simply too much offensive content for viewers not to say something.
Following backlash against a controversial 2014 segment titled "Female or Shemale", former contestant Carmen Carrera lent her own voice to the fray, speaking out about the use of the offensive language.
The segment depicted judges attempting to decide whether photos of body parts belonged to cisgender or transgender women. The producers of the show addressed the backlash in a sort of apology, but didn't actually mention the segment in their apology.
Instead, execs said that they were in support of the transgender community and that they were dedicated to spreading love and support.\
However, Carrera didn't feel like it was enough to make up for the offense that was caused. Carrera spoke out about the use of the term, saying that judging women of any kind in this manner was "getting old."
Monica Beverly Hillz also chided RuPaul on the use of the language, stating that it was not "cute" and that she has constantly fought to be accepted as a woman.
Aurora Sexton Put Contestants On Blast
Aurora Sexton has great respect for the LGBTQ community. She also has great respect for the many contestants who have been featured on Drag Race over the years.
However, in 2017, Sexton was appalled by the behavior of an unidentified season 9 contestant, and she let the internet know exactly what was on her mind.
Sexton began by commending the many professionals she has worked with over the years, stating that most of them have been nothing but kind, courteous, and accommodating... and most importantly, on time. Then, she went into a list of reasons for being so upset with the contestants of season 9.
According to Sexton, some of the contestants were late to an event, demanded drivers pay for multiple restaurant visits, demanded police protection, and refused to meet and greet with fans, among other things.
She wanted these ladies to understand that, while it's important to have standards, it's also important to remain humble. Sexton referred to the Drag Race experience as a gift that most have not ever had an opportunity to experience.
She also warned these contestants that people would eventually forget their costumes and performances, but that their attitudes would be forever.
Bianca Del Rio Made Transphobic Remarks Toward A Model
Carmen Carrera has always been very vocal and honest about the harassment that she has received over being transgender. Her experience has led to her becoming an activist and fighting for the rights of the people in that community.
She has also called out RuPaul over the use of transgender slurs on Drag Race. RuPaul went on the offensive, saying that people offended by the use of the language needed to "get stronger." Logo claimed that RuPaul's statements did not accurately portray the network's own opinion on the matter.
Bianca Del Rio felt it necessary to come to RuPaul's defense... but the manner in which she chose to do so was incredibly offensive.
Del Rio made a disparaging remark about Carrera's nether regions, implying she may be able to stifle her words with a specific body part. The remark led to backlash toward Del Rio from those who took Carrera's side.
Carrera took it all in stride. She simply stated that she felt like Drag Race was opening up a conversation about the drag community and hoped that equality would eventually follow.
Del Rio later apologized via Twitter for her offensive remarks, joking that she fired herself from her own joke writing team.
Tyra Sanchez Was Callous To Those Who Take Their Own Lives
Most of the time, when drama surrounds a reality TV series, it's the fans backlashing against the cast or crew, or it's the cast and crew backlashing against each other.
Season 2 winner Tyra Sanchez has always been accused of being aggressive and, at times, even violent. However, it was truly a surprise when Sanchez turned her anger on the LGBTQ community as a whole.
Sanchez tweeted that she had "no sympathy" toward those chose to end their lives. She referred to those people as "cowards" and accused them of giving up.
The former contestant then told her followers to stop talking to her about the issue. She then allegedly posted a tweet telling people who were contemplating taking their own lives to do it, stating that it was their own lives that were on the line.
The alleged tweet was said to have been deleted. Sanchez received a lot of backlash over the remarks, with many followers turning away from her.
Drag queen Mimi Imfurst spoke up about the comments, saying that depression was not a thing that should be joked about.
Sanchez responded to the criticism by defending herself and telling responders to "get over it." Finally, she posted on Facebook, refusing to apologize for her "opinion."
Carmen Carrera Is Harassed For Not Menstruating
Carmen Carrera made history as the first openly transgender contestant on Drag Race. Unfortunately, this also opened her up to trolls-- and there have been many.
Carrera doesn't shield herself from this negativity, however. The model says that she reads comments online, even the negative ones, so that she can better defend the transgender community.
Carrera is frequently told by both men and women and that she will never actually be a woman because she doesn't menstruate or look like Kim Kardashian, despite having had successful gender reassignment surgery.
Sometimes that trolling extends to more "professional" settings. Carrera was harassed for her gender identity while appearing on an episode of the reality TV series, Cake Boss.
Carrera refuses to think about these harmful remarks too much. She does admit that they make her feel insecure at times, but overall, she's very confident in her makeup skills and her new persona.
The model said she understands that there are a lot of people hesitant to accept the transgender community and she has made it a priority to help teach acceptance to the next generation. Carrera credits her mother with helping her to shape who she has become, as she has always looked at her parental figure as a role model.
Phi Phi Revealed Private Messages Between Her And Tyra Sanchez
Tyra Sanchez threw her crown in losing Drag Race contestants' faces, showing it off and claiming that her competitors would never have one of their own.
Some have suspected that the tweets were aimed at Raven and/or Phi Phi O'Hara. After O'Hara sent out a Snapchat claiming that Raven, a fan-favorite who only made it as far as runner-up, was a "winner," Sanchez apparently felt the need to point out her own "actual" win.
O'Hara was having none of this negativity and tried to speak with Sanchez privately about the posts in question. Sanchez went off on O'Hara, claiming that it was her fault that she was being bombarded with racist remarks over the Raven Snapchat in her inbox.
O'Hara defended herself, claiming that she had been attempting to turn negativity into art by creating a "Raven was robbed" poster.
The two could not see eye to eye over these events, and O'Hara decided to tweet screenshots of the conversation with Sanchez in which Sanchez started to rant, claiming that O'Hara had no talent and was addicted to illegal substances.
O'Hara's followers supported her decision to air the conversation publicly, indicating that Sanchez needed to be put in her place for behavior.
Asia Called Out Eureka At The 2018 DragCon
Asia loved her time at the 2018 DragCon. She loved reconnecting with old friends, taking pictures with them, and visiting their booths to say hello.
What she didn't love, though, was that there was just one former Drag Race contestant who couldn't be bothered to visit with her. Asia let out her frustrations on Twitter, stating that an unnamed "season 10 sister" was simply "too grand" to reconnect with her.
Though Asia never mentioned a name, fans immediately began to suspect Asia was talking about Eureka. Some claimed that season 6 winner, Bianca Del Rio, had confirmed that Eureka was not a very pleasant person offscreen.
Asia then sent out a video stating that it was not Eureka personally who sent her away from the booth, but rather her staff who didn't recognize her. She then apologized for any inconvenience and harassment that this may have caused Eureka and asked that followers refrain from attacking her former co-star on a personal level.
Asia then took on some of the blame, admitted that feelings were hurt and perhaps the situation could have been handled in a more professional manner. Asia then promised to be the first in line to get a picture with Eureka at the next convention in New York.
Willam Belli Made Transphobic Comments On Her Show
With a title like Suck Less, offensive comments are kind of to be expected. Howeverm viewers were truly shocked when former Drag Race contestant Willam Belli made transphobic remarks on her show.
It happened when Belli and Courtney Act were answering questions from viewers during a segment of the program. Fans expect a certain amount of cattiness, as jabs at the viewers' looks are a common factor in the segment.
One viewer asked for advice about dating a transgender man, as she wasn't sure that she would be comfortable with his body. Belli claimed that surgery "doesn't change chromosomes" before referencing the violent demise of Brandon Teena, hinting that there was some "bamboozling" going on.
Belli claimed that without medical assistance, a transgender person would not fully be whatever gender they identified as. Act immediately spoke up against the comments, saying that they were transphobic, but Belli doubled down on her assertions.
Act continued by stating that the viewer was simply dating a trans man, regardless of whichever body parts he has at the moment.
She also stated that the viewer's boyfriend deserved respect and condemned offensive language being used to describe him. Act chided Belli, telling her that she had no right to determine how someone else identifies.
DWV Breaks Up
Willam Belli, Detox, and Vicky Vox formed DWV in 2012, but the musical comedy group split just two years later.
The band had several parody songs to its name at the time of their break up and had managed to keep their closeness despite two of the members finding solo stardom thanks to their runs on Drag Race. The break up was less than amicable.
When a Reddit user asked if the group had broken up, and pointed to an update on Detox's Facebook page as proof, Belli stepped in.
Detox had mentioned nobody liking working with an unnamed person, and Belli admitted that it seemed obvious that she was the person in question. She then posted the lyrics to a Destiny's Child song, referencing the fact that that band had broken up in the end.
Detox kept up the shade, claiming that being in DWV had hurt her popularity.
Willam revealed that she and Vox were working on projects away from the rest of the band. Vox finally chimed in, stating that when they had finished their final gigs the band members would be going their separate ways.
According to Willam, the entire break up was really just because they didn't have any gigs planned for the future and they had never really planned out their careers in the first place. They pretty much just wing it.
Mimi And Jade Got Into A Twitter Feud
Nobody really knows what happened to cause Jade Jolie and Mimi Imfurst to get into a nasty Twitter feud in 2013. Speculation hinted that Jolie was offended by the way Imfurst had introduced her at Logo's Pride event in New York City.
Imfurst claimed that it was just her style of comedy and that Jolie shouldn't have been offended. However, she also turned it back around on Jolie, saying that if she was offended, it only showed her own insecurities.
That was only the start of this feud, though. Jolie tried to bash Imfurst's comedic skills, saying that the real joke was that Imfurst thought she was funny in the first place.
Things then took a bit of a nasty turn, as the subject of street working was brought up. Imfurst implied that that was the line of work Jolie belonged in. Jolie responded by calling Imfurst a loser, which seemed to put Imfurst in a bit of a bad mood.
Eventually, Drag Race judge Michelle Visage stepped in to put an end to the chaos, simply telling the two to stop.
Visage's message seemed to get the point across, as the feud was dropped and many of the tweets were deleted.
Phi Phi And Roxxy Feud Over A Tutorial Video
Yara Sofia posted a tutorial on how to become a b***h. It was all meant to be a joke, but Roxxxy Andrews didn't take it that way.
Andrews responded with a simple, "Wow." However, it was quite apparent to Phi Phi O'Hara that Andrews was against the video. When a follower informed Sofia that he loved the tutorial, O'Hara pointed out that Andrews had not, which Andrews admitted to, setting off a major feud.
After revealing that she had not enjoyed the video, Andrews alluded to her own b***hy nature. This prompted O'Hara to insinuate that Andrews has no fans, because of her attitude.
The two continued to square off, calling each other broke and taking jabs at each other's careers. O'Hara insisted that she was in the middle of packing for a tour, which caused Andrews to allude to the fact that she should keep packing and stop arguing with her on social media.
Accusations over smoking cigarettes and losing affection from their Drag Race "sisters" were also thrown around.
Eventually, Chad Michaels stepped in, telling the two ladies to settle down. Andrews promised that she really did have nothing but love for O'Hara, essentially ending the argument.
People Accused Producers Of Rigging Results
Every reality show gets blamed for manufacturing its controversial plot, especially if the said reality show also happens to be a competition of some sort. It doesn't matter what kind of competition it is, either.
However, when it comes down to who's hot and who's not, there are always going to be some super angry fans when their favorite contestant doesn't go all the way.
Drag Race has been accused of being rigged on more than one occasion. In 2016, Thorgy Thor complained that the contests were not entirely fair.
She claimed that some contestants were given easier, and in some cases better material to work with. This, of course, was supposed to give their performances an edge over the rest of the competition.
That could sound like a contestant having an off-week, but Thorgy isn't alone in her opinion. When Alaska won over Katya in 2016, many took to Twitter to claim the game to have been rigged in the winner's favor.
However, some have posited that Alaska simply dominated the competition and that she may have understood how to get stronger competitors sent home over the weaker ones, securing the win for herself.
Either way, these aren't rumors that are going away any time soon.
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Can you think of any other times when the drama on RuPaul's Drag Race happened behind the scenes? Sound off in the comments!