It is no secret that RuPaul’s Drag Race is one of the most popular TV shows currently on air, and also one of the most tweeted-about and meme-friendly reality competitions on television.
With every episode and season of Drag Race, the internet has a ball and goes all out with the memes, gifs, and jokes. The same can be said about the Drag Race: All-Stars spin-off and the Untucked series that accompanies the series, where queens have a chance to shine outside of the main RuPaul’s Drag Race timeline.
RuPaul is not only the most famous and influential drag queen in the world, but also a prominent TV producer and marketing genius who can turn the most innocuous interactions and catch-phrases into pop culture gold.
Over the span of ten years that Drag Race has been on air, the franchise has given us some of the most iconic memes that are used for various situations even by people who have never seen the show.
Thus, popular Drag Race memes can be both deep-cut references to the series and also incredibly relatable reactions and phrases that can be used in different contexts.
Here are 25 Hilarious RuPaul’s Drag Race Memes Only True Fans Will Understand.
NO BEYONCÉS, PLEASE
Despite being the Queen Bey of popular culture and a musician who is adored by millions of LGBTQ fans, Beyoncé has been a historically very challenging character.
Many queens have decided to impersonate her during the Snatch Game challenges of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
The first time a contestant impersonated Beyoncé for Snatch Game was all the way back in 2010, during the second season of Drag Race.
Tyra Sanchez, who proceeded to win that season, chose to do Beyoncé as her Snatch Game character and set a precedent for the various other times that the popstar would turn out to be a really bad choice as a celebrity for queens to impersonate.
The second time a Beyoncé impersonation appeared on Snatch Game was in 2012, during season 4, from contestant Kenya Michaels. It turned out so bad that Kenya went on to be eliminated that very same week.
Finally, Beyoncé went on to be impersonated a third time on RuPaul’s Drag Race, as the celebrity that Asia O’Hara chose for Snatch Game.
Once again, acting as the Queen Bey turned out to be a very bad decision, and Asia nearly landed in the Bottom Two that week. It is probably time for the queens to give up on trying to act like Beyoncé on Drag Race.
BECAUSE I AM WHAT?
One of the most iconic fights in the history of RuPaul’s Drag Race happened in the Untucked lounge on season 3.
The argument happened between Shangela – who was appearing in the show for a second time – and Mimi Imfurst.
Mimi, who was upset about the critiques she received that night from the judges and felt attacked by her former contestant, decided to turn the spotlight on Shangela to defend herself, claiming that Shangela had a “sugar daddy.”
Shangela did not take Mimi Imfurst’s claim lightly and, as she defended herself, she delivered one of the most unforgettable lines in the entire Drag Race franchise: “I don’t have a sugar daddy. If I wanted a sugar daddy, yes, I probably could go out and get one. Because I am what? Sickening!”
Fans of the show often regard that moment as television gold and claim that it set Shangela’s career in motion, earning her a spot in RuPaul’s Drag Race: All-Stars 3 many years later.
Combining the infamous “Meryl Streep yelling at the Oscars” meme with Shangela’s quote is beyond hilarious for Drag Race fans, as it would certainly be funny to hear Meryl Streep yell out “sickening” to complete Shangela’s quote.
ALASKA AND THE ROBBERY
RuPaul’s Drag Race: All-Stars 2 reunited several fan-favorite contestants of the franchise, including Alaska Thunderf*ck (season 5 runner-up) and Katya (season 7’s Miss Congeniality).
From the very beginning of All-Stars 2, it became quite clear that Alaska had walked in to win the entire season, masterfully coming up with gags and surprises to keep judges and audiences interested in keeping her around.
However, Katya also had her share of fans within the Drag Race community, many of which felt like the producers of the show never really gave her a chance to compete fairly against Alaska.
As All-Stars 2 crowned Alaska Thunderf*ck as its winner and left Katya and Detox tied for the second place, there was an uproar among Katya fans who believed that she was not treated fairly by the season or the series in general.
Thus, Katya’s fans claimed that Alaska “robbed” her of a well-deserved crown. To symbolize that feeling, fans created this meme, which is a fake news article that points Alaska as a main suspect of targeting elderly Russian women – such as Katya’s character – for a “robbery.”
Katya’s best friend, Trixie Mattel, would go on to win Drag Race: All-Stars 3. However, fans of Katya still wish that she had been crowned.
BACK ROLLS?
Alyssa Edwards, a queen who is known for her perfectionism and overall poise, was accused of having “back rolls” showing during one of her runway looks during RuPaul’s Drag Race season 5.
Throughout the fifth season of Drag Race, it was clear that Jade Jolie and Alyssa Edwards did not get along.
However, that animosity became undoubtedly evident during one of their arguments in which Jade accused Alyssa of having “back rolls.”
What Jade Jolie meant is that Alyssa’s skin was squished in the back and could be seen while she was wearing that particular outfit.
Despite being an otherwise silly comment that did not impact Alyssa Edwards’ performance in the challenge whatsoever, Alyssa took offense to the comment and delivered one of the most iconic quotes in the entire RuPaul’s Drag Race franchise.
Even years later, Drag Race fans still remember “back rolls!?” as one of the most memorable and authentic reactions that contestants have ever given on the show. It is certainly interesting that Alyssa Edwards, of all people, was the queen accused of having such “flaw,” as she always carried herself as a drag queen who always looks her very best.
Thankfully, Alyssa came back during All-Stars 2 and gave fans even more unforgettable moments.
STRAIGHT PEOPLE?
RuPaul’s Drag Race is a show for everybody, of course. As a matter of fact, the show has become so popular that it has moved from LGBTQ-centric network Logo to VH1, a channel that has a much broader reach and a significantly wider audience that contains people of all ages, genders, races, and sexual orientations.
However, it is still curious whenever LGBTQ fans of Drag Race stumble upon straight people talking about the show, as the franchise was ignored by mainstream audiences for so long prior to landing on VH1 and reaching more people.
With the growing popularity of RuPaul’s Drag Race, it turns out that the show’s contestants have become increasingly famous and a topic of conversation in numerous social spaces, including the workplace.
This meme points to the fact that LGBTQ fans of RuPaul’s Drag Race are still intrigued and curious to watch straight people discovering – and discussing – the franchise.
As a consequence of the show’s popularity, it is clear that Drag Race season 10 is heavily self-referential, alluding to several quotes and bringing up the names of many queens from past seasons.
At least straight people can count on LGBTQ fans to guide them through all of the references that they might not understand.
YOU’RE PERFECT, YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL
It takes a true friend – or a very shady one – to look at your outfit and say that “You’re perfect, you’re beautiful, you look like Linda Evangelista, you’re a model.”
That iconic quote was delivered on RuPaul’s Drag Race season 9 by Aja during an Untucked episode. Aja was upset about the constant negative feedback she was receiving in comparison to the regular praise that fellow contestant Valentina was getting from judges.
So Aja lashed out – almost in a temper tantrum sort of way – and said that Valentina would be called “perfect” and “beautiful” and be compared to Linda Evangelista by the judges no matter how she presented herself on the runway.
Despite the fact that this was a moment of jealousy from Aja, this quote ended up skyrocketing her career and landing her a spot on RuPaul’s Drag Race: All-Stars 3 right after season 9 finished airing.
Additionally, that quote was made into a song and remixed over and over again, yielding t-shirts, pins, tote bags, and all sorts of other merchandising for both Valentina and Aja.
The lesson here is that friends should always tell one another that they look perfect, beautiful, and like Linda Evangelista. Even if it is technically not true, it may actually work out in your favor.
ZOIDBERG THE DRAG QUEEN?
The first season of RuPaul’s Drag Race: All-Stars was controversial, to say the least, and is often regarded as the worst season in the history of the franchise as a whole.
Be as it may, that season decided to have contestants competing in pairs, and paired up Chad Michaels – who was clearly set out be win the show – with Shannel, a queen that was not as well-regarded.
Chad and Shannel formed Team Shad and went on to the finale to compete against Team Rujubee, which consisted of Raven and Jujubee.
On the finale of Drag Race: All-Stars 1, Shannel decided to wear the look that can be seen on this meme. Needless to say, fans were quick to point out that she looked oddly like Zoidberg, the crustacean-like alien doctor from Futurama.
Despite Zoidberg not being the particular point of reference that Shannel was aiming for, it is definitely hilarious to think of that character as part of the Drag Race mythos and to imagine him competing among so many drag queens.
Is Zoidberg the next Drag Race all-star? Probably not, if we’re being honest. But who knows? It wouldn’t be the first time that RuPaul and his series would make a controversial decision.
CRYING IN DRAG LANGUAGE
Perhaps the single most emotional moment in the entire history of RuPaul’s Drag Race took place during season 5, when contestant Roxxxy Andrews revealed to the judges that, as a child, she was abandoned on a bus stop.
Roxxxy proceeded to cry on the runway and made the judges and her fellow contestants also shed tears, but that did not stop fans from making a little bit of a joke from the entire situation. It’s drag, after all, isn’t it?
On this meme, one can see a still shot of Roxxxy Andrews crying after making her revelation to the judges. While there is nothing funny about that image alone, the subtitles read, “crying in drag language,” which is a hilarious reference to the “crying in Spanish” meme that came from the Mexican telenovela character Soraya Montenegro.
Despite not being an official language spoken by dozens of countries around the world, the art of drag has definitely yielded its very own extensive lingo throughout several years, which RuPaul’s Drag Race has certainly contributed to.
“Crying in drag language” is not a thing, but it may not be so wrong to consider drag as sort of a language, as it is spoken by various LGBTQ people around the world.
DO I HAVE SOMETHING ON MY FACE?
Historically, it has been rare to see RuPaul get off-balance on Drag Race, his very own show. It wouldn’t be until season 7 that contestant Pearl would challenge the host and create what is perhaps the most awkward stare-down in the entire franchise.
During a particular challenge, Pearl was teamed up with Max, and seemed to be completely out of it. As RuPaul made his way around the workroom to talk to the queens as they were getting ready, Pearl just seemed to not be giving RuPaul any actual answers, failing to even entertain the interaction in general.
Then, RuPaul proceeded to just stare at Pearl and wait until the contestant realized that she was acting in a very cringe-worthy way, but instead, Pearl went one step ahead and asked, “Do I have something on my face?”
“Yeah,” RuPaul replied, and then proceeded to walk up to other contestants and talk to them.
It was the first time in the history of the series in which we saw a queen act in a mean and snarky way toward RuPaul.
Additionally, it was also the first time in which we saw Mama Ru lose her patience with one of her "children."
SEASON 48
Despite being on air since 2009, it seems like RuPaul’s Drag Race only gets increasingly popular over time, and at this rate, it doesn’t seem like the franchise is slowing down any time soon. Maybe we’ll one day see Drag Race season 48?
Other popular reality TV competitions have certainly managed to get close to that number of years. For instance, Survivor has reached season 37, America’s Next Top Model has gotten 24 seasons, Big Brother is set for season 20, and Project Runway has spun 16 seasons.
With RuPaul’s Drag Race already filming its 11th season and All-Stars 4 pretty much confirmed, we can certainly dream of the show reaching season 48, with RuPaul appearing as a holographic Zordon inspired by the original version of Power Rangers.
With seasons 9 and 10, as well as All-Stars 3 breaking all-time records for Drag Race ratings, it may not be so hard to imagine that the show will last for at least two or three decades.
VH1 – and its parents company Viacom – are certainly betting on the franchise, giving it the proper marketing and budget that it deserves, and even greenlighting 90-minute long episodes alongside Untucked episodes.
Come through, holographic Mama Ru.
CALL ME BY YOUR MISS VANJIE
2018 has experienced two major moments in LGBTQ culture so far: the popularization of Call Me By Your Name as an Oscar frontrunner, and the introduction of Drag Race contestant Miss Vanjie to mainstream audiences.
So it makes sense that when Elio asks Oliver to call him by his name, Oliver would respond with “Miss Vanjie… Miss Vanjie… Miss Vanjie…” right?
This meme pokes fun at the internet sensation that Vanessa Vanjie Mateo – also known as just Miss Vanjie – has become since appeared on season 10 of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Despite being the first queen to go home, Miss Vanjie caused a major impression on the judges and other fellow contestants, and had her name being shot-out at least once in nearly all of the episodes that aired after her elimination.
Miss Vanjie, of course, is the drag daughter of Alexis Mateo, who appeared as a contestant on the third season of RuPaul’s Drag Race and on the first Drag Race: All-Stars.
Unlike Alexis Mateo, however, Miss Vanjie did not manage to go very far in the competition, but seems to have gained more popularity than any of the other season 10 queens.
Rumors are that Miss Vanjie has already been picked to appear on the season 11 of Drag Race, but such speculation won’t be confirmed any time soon.
MISS VANJIE
You know you’ve made it in popular culture when The Simpsons mention you or include you in one of those episodes.
While that hasn’t happened to Miss Vanjie – or any of the other RuPaul’s Drag Race contestants – yet, we certainly can fantasize about how funny it would be if Bart Simpson was writing “Miss Vanjie” over and over again on the chalkboard during the opening of a Simpsons episode.
Running for 29 seasons and already confirmed for its 30th, The Simpsons has had its fair share of LGBTQ characters and LGBTQ-themed episodes. On episode 15 of season 8 (“Homer’s Phobia”), Homer appeared to be slightly homophobic upon discovering that John, a store clerk, was gay.
However, on episode 17 of season 14 (“Three Gays of the Condo”) Homer visited the Gay District of Springfield and moved into an apartment with two gay men called Julio and Grady.
Then, on episode 11 of season 22 (“Flaming Moe”), Moe turned his establishment into a trendy gay bar due to a suggestion from Smithers.
So why can’t Miss Vanjie – or even RuPaul, for that matter – be featured on The Simpsons? As Drag Race becomes more and more popular and RuPaul is even awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, maybe we are closer to that reality than we think.
IVY WINTERS
A contestant on season 5 of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Ivy Winters became famous for the particular way that RuPaul said her name every time she walked the runway. “Iiiiiivy wintersss,” RuPaul would enunciate in a somewhat heavy country accent. The queen, however, was sent home on the 8th episode.
The Ivy Winters name entered the Drag Race mythos for good and has been referenced a few times through the years.
For instance, on season 10, during the “Breastworld” acting challenge, contestant Eureka O’Hara was prompted to yell out the Ivy Winters name for her role as a robot.
The fact that all of the queens were familiar with the reference shows how self-referential RuPaul’s Drag Race has become, borrowing from its own history instead of relying on works such as Paris Is Burning and John Waters’ Pink Flamingos.
Despite being voted as the Miss Congeniality of season 5, Ivy Winters was never featured on a Drag Race: All-Stars season and only came back to Drag Race during the season 6 finale, when she passed to BenDeLaCreme the title of Miss Congeniality.
Since leaving the show, Ivy Winters has hosted webshows, featured on Watch What Happens Live, and released songs such as “Overcome” and “Elfy Winters Night.”
OPEN TO ALLIANCES
The episode that sent Thorgy Thor home on RuPaul’s Drag Race: All-Stars 3 was a very complicated one, as the queen was visibly struggling with the way she was being treated by the show’s producers and fellow contestants.
On that particular episode, titled “Divas Lip Sync Live,” each queen was assigned a diva popstar to impersonate. Certain pairings were beyond perfect, such as Trixie Mattel (as Dolly Parton), Shangela (as Mariah Carey), BeBe Zahara Benet (as Diana Ross), and Chi Chi DeVayne (as Patti LaBelle).
Other choices, such as assigning Julie Andrews to BenDeLaCreme, Amy Winehouse to Aja, and Stevie Nicks to Thorgy Thor, seemed a little more challenging.
Despite the fact that Stevie Nicks was her actual gay icon, Thorgy Thor felt that Drag Race producers were setting her up to fail, as Stevie Nicks does not have the bubbly personality and gay-friendly humor that divas such as Mariah Carey have.
Ultimately, Thorgy Thor was put in the Bottom Two by the judges. She proceeded to try to form alliances backstage with Shangela, who was in the Top Two of the week alongside BenDeLaCreme, in order to save herself from elimination.
However, the alliance was not strong enough, and Shangela sent Thorgy home.
I’D LIKE TO KEEP IT ON, PLEASE
RuPaul’s Drag Race season 9 was full of gag-worthy moments that are now part of the franchise’s mythos and will never be forgotten by fans.
Perhaps the most shocking twist of the entire season included Valentina’s elimination, which no one could foresee at the time.
Upon landing in the Bottom Two for the very first time and lip-synching against Nina Bo’Nina Brown, Valentina seemed to be in a very safe position to stay in the competition and make her way to the top.
That is, if it wasn’t for the fact that she did not learn the words for Ariana Grande’s “Greedy” and decided to keep wearing her outfit’s mask to conceal that fact.
After realizing that Valentina was keeping her mask on during a Lip Sync For Your Life, RuPaul stopped the lip-sync and told her to take it off.
“This is a lip-sync for your life, we need to see your lips. Take that thing off your mouth,” RuPaul said, to which Valentina replied, “I’d like to keep it on, please.” Then, RuPaul responded, “It’s a lip-sync, what part of that don’t you understand?”
Valentina’s insistence caused her to be eliminated from Drag Race, but it certainly reminds us of friends in parties who get access to the aux cord, doesn’t it?
SHANGELA’S TROLLING
This meme makes fun of one of the most hilarious moments in the entire RuPaul’s Drag Race: All-Stars 3 season. Upon landing in the Bottom Three alongside Chi Chi DeVayne and Kennedy Davenport, Trixie Mattel was beyond certain that she was going to be sent home by Shangela.
Chi Chi and Kennedy were some of the closest and most personal friends Shangela had on the series, and it was hard to imagine that she was going to send any of them home that night.
To top it all off, upon providing her explanation regarding which queen she was eliminating, Shangela said a few things that seemed to unquestionably point out to Trixie’s elimination.
Then, as Shangela revealed the lipstick she had chosen containing the name of the queen she was going to eliminate, it read “Chi Chi,” not “Trixie.”
The elimination came as a shock not only because Shangela was sending home a friend, but also because Shangela’s given explanation seemed to be about Trixie instead.
This meme takes the whole situation even further, making Shangela’s explanation even more clearly about Trixie Mattel, while still showing that Chi Chi DeVayne was actually being sent home.
As Trixie would go on to win All-Stars 3, maybe Shangela should’ve eliminated her instead?
MOST LIP-SYNC LOSSES AWARD
Despite being a Drag Race all-star and winning All-Stars 3, Trixie Mattel seems to have broken a record that most winners are not often associated with: most lip-sync losses in the history of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
On season 7 of Drag Race, Trixie Mattel was eliminated, then brought back, then eliminated again, earning her two lip-sync losses.
Then, on All-Stars 3, Trixie made her way to the top twice before the season finale, but lost the Lip Sync For Your Legacy both times, earning her two more losses.
In the end, as Trixie made her way to the Top Two, she won the lip-sync and was crowned the winner of All-Stars 3. However, she still had four lip-sync losses under her belt during the franchise, which is certainly a weird fact.
Is there another Drag Race queen with similar stats? Why, yes there is: Katya, Trixie Mattel’s BFF and co-host of The Trixie & Katya Show. Katya, who was also originally on season 7, earned one lip-sync loss during that season.
Then, as she was brought back to All-Stars 2, Katya made it to the Top Two three times but lost all three lip-syncs. In total, Katya also lost four lip-syncs, but unlike Trixie, she did not go on to win a season.
IF THIS AIN’T ME
The library is open, darling.
When teachers say that “reading is fundamental,” they probably do not mean it the same way as RuPaul. However, it is certainly very important for Drag Race fans to get their education not only from school, but also from watching the series.
To be fair, RuPaul’s Drag Race does an unquestionably good job at presenting new generations with cultural references and important figures from LGBTQ history.
Aside from the numerous Paris Is Burning and John Waters shot-outs, Drag Race has also become increasingly political over time, regularly referring to global warming, calling out politicians, advocating for the importance of voting, and even challenging the queens to come up with looks that pertain to social issues.
Therefore, despite being a reality competition that sets out to entertain us, one can certainly argue that RuPaul’s Drag Race has some educational value as well.
It’s hard to tell whether teachers can understand that, but one can try to make an argument for it.
Additionally, with so many TV shows currently on air, there are very few LGBTQ-centric ones, leaving Drag Race in the unique position of carrying that torch almost by itself.
One way or another, skipping class to watch drag queens on television is definitely worth consideration.
HIGHLIGHT EVERYTHING
Speaking of RuPaul’s Drag Race and education… you know when a teacher tells you to highlight the important stuff in a chapter?
Well, Detox probably took that suggestion way too literally, and chose to wear highlight-colored clothes and hair dye when she recorded her confessional scenes for All-Stars 2.
Detox was one of the clear frontrunners in the second All-Stars season of Drag Race, but unlike other contestants, she seemed to be at peace with the fact that she could not win the crown while competing with Alaska Thunderf*ck.
During her verse on “Read U Wrote U”, which was the challenge that took place during that season’s finale, Detox said, “I ain’t saying I’m the best, but I ain’t the worst,” and then added that she felt comfortable being in the “number two” position.
The Drag Race clique Ro-Laska-Tox – which was formed by Roxxxy Andrews, Alaska Thunderf*ck, and Detox on season 5 – was featured on All-Stars 2 and made its way to the Top Four of the season alongside Katya.
Thus, unlike Katya’s fans, people who cheered for Roxxxy and Detox seemed at peace with the fact that Alaska was meant to win that season, as even the queens had already accepted that reality.
MAY I SPEAK WITH THE MANAGER, PLEASE?
Katya’s charisma and charm is tightly correlated with her ability to provide RuPaul’s Drag Race fans with looks and expressions that are incredibly relatable and adaptable to several situations.
It is that ability from Katya that earned her a spot on Drag Race season 7, then on All-Stars 2, then on the webseries UNHhhh, then on Viceland’s The Trixie & Katya Show.
This meme pokes fun at the fact that Katya looked, while wearing this particular outfit, like the type of woman who goes to stores and, upon feeling mistreated, asks to speak to a manager in order to overcome her problems.
To be fair, that behavior couldn’t be further from the truth of who Katya really is: a stern Russian woman who is both poised and insane.
Brian, the real person behind the Katya character, announced in January of 2018 that he was taking a hiatus from doing drag to work on his mental health.
Then, in March, he started a podcast called Whimsically Volatile to explore his feelings and open up about the psychotic break he went through recently.
After entering rehab and working out his issues, Brian has made sporadic appearances as Katya, but has yet to fully return to drag.