Ellie Diamond has made it to a coveted top four spot on the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race UK. Ellie, along with Tayce, Bimini Bon Boulash, and Lawrence Chaney, are all competing for the title of UK's Next Drag Superstar and the Scottish queen is in it to win it. As the youngest queen on season two of RuPaul's Drag Race UK, she wanted to share some advice for people thinking about pursuing drag.
Ellie Diamond, 21-years-old at the time of filming the season, has been in drag for three years, citing YouTube as where she learned to hone her amazing makeup skills. The self-described "baby doll of Dundee" has a unique drag aesthetic blends cartoons with glamour. Ellie learned how to sew, and made everything that she brought with her to RuPaul's Drag Race UK, all while working a full-time job. When the queens were back from their seven-month hiatus, she revealed that she had to go back to working at a McDonald's to earn money for a place to live.
Ellie said in an exclusive interview with Vogue that she was inspired by Drag Race itself, and she wanted to be able to give some advice of her own to new queens starting out. Since she now has a platform from the show, she wants to emphasize that educating people on queer culture as a whole and drag is essential. Her first piece of advice to those looking to pursue drag is to "treat others as you want to be treated."
It seems self-explanatory, but there has been some toxicity and bullying towards multiple RuPaul's Drag Race UK contestants. In the Drag Race fandom, Sister Sister shared how much online bullying she has received during her stint on the show. It seems that some of this advice is not just to those pursuing drag, but those who are fans of the show and sometimes cross the line from sharing opinions to bullying.
Ellie also said "don't live your life to please others, live your life to please yourself." She has personal experience with this, as she revealed in an episode of the show that her sexuality and drag career were not accepted by her father. Ellie also took this advice during a recent episode of RuPaul's Drag Race UK, after ruffling A'Whora and Lawrence's feathers when she had the power to decide the comedy lineup. She ultimately made a strategic move that was best for her and has shown that this is advice to live by for anyone pursuing drag or who is in the spotlight. Whether or not she wins RuPaul's Drag Race UK, she is sure to have a great drag career ahead of her!
Source: Vogue