Roasts feel like a staple of RuPaul’s Drag Race, but there have actually only been a handful of them throughout the show’s run. They’re tricky to pull off and can easily backfire, so the producers have been more sparing with them than other signature challenges. Like many of the show’s more popular challenges, though, the answer to a satisfying and memorable roast is not solid performances across the board. That’s a bit much to ask for, and it can get boring. Instead, the goal is a combination of creative reads and big swings. “Nice Girls Roast” manages this, combining legitimately funny roast performances with surprise successes, spectacular failures, and laugh-out-loud moments from both the queens and the judges. Throw in some of the clearest and most satisfying judging of the season, and you have one hell of a strong episode.
The episode begins with the queens returning from the runway and reacting to Tina’s elimination. From the jump, there’s a disturbance in the Force; the show has turned on Utica. Rather than supportive, complementary scoring, Utica’s emotional reaction to sending Tina home is contrasted by a sting of silence and skeptical, active scoring. This is followed by not quite the rattle of shade, but not far off, when Utica asks her fellow queens what they thought of her lip-sync. She’s angling for compliments, as she did after her previous lip-sync, and the other queens do not have the bandwidth for it. They’re excited to have made the top six, but very aware that there’s no place left to hide. Either you’re in the top or you’re in the bottom. And as the final queen without at least one maxi challenge win, Kandy is feeling the pressure. It’s time to deliver or get sent home.
The next day, the queens head into the workroom and are almost immediately summoned over by the RuMail siren. RuPaul comes in wearing yet another fabulous, colorful suit—a geometric print with shades of blue and bright orange accents—and introduces the mini challenge. The queens will be doing a live makeup tutorial, promoting the new Anastasia Beverly Hills Norvina makeup palette. It’s named after the President of the company, who will be on hand for the mini challenge. There’s a twist, though: The queens will be working in pairs, with one person presenting and being the face of the group and the other providing the arms, doing their partner’s makeup blind. Think Whose Line Is It Anyways?’s Helping Hands game. The queens partner up—Rosé with Kandy, Symone with Olivia, and Gottmik with Utica—and scramble to get ready, only given nine and a half minutes to get into quick drag.
Rosé and Kandy are up first. Rosé nails her tutorial persona, Samantha, and Kandy goes for it, beating that mug with setting powder, eye shadow, and lip gloss. Kandy doesn’t waste any time and Rosé “Yes, and…”s her way through the demo with aplomb. Olivia and Symone don’t quite match Kandy and Rosé’s timing, but they’re a blast as well, super game. Utica’s reach becomes a significant advantage for Mik as they work together, and Utica’s expressive gestures complement Mik’s descriptions well. Norvina has a lot of fun with Ru and both seem tickled pink by all three groups, but the win ultimately goes to Rosé and Kandy. They each win $2500 worth of cosmetics and the power to set the lineup for the maxi challenge.
Back in the workroom, Ru announces said challenge: It’s time for the roast. They’ll be celebrating, and shading, former Miss Congenialities Valentina and Nina West as well as the current title holder, Heidi N Closet. Some of the queens are excited—Kandy, Rosé, and Utica—but the rest are hesitant. Comedy is not their bag and they know it. Kandy and Rosé sidebar to discuss the order and ultimately decide to take the toughest, but most memorable positions themselves. Kandy will open and Rosé will close. They also seem confident in Mik, even if he isn’t, and they figure he’ll buoy the middle if he goes fourth. That leaves Symone second, Utica third, and Olivia fifth.
Symone is surprised Kandy and Rosé have taken on the riskiest placements, but he’s mostly relieved he doesn’t have to go first or last. Olivia is worried about being too sweet for a roast, which Utica enjoys shading. The episode is Team Olivia, though, cutting right from Utica reassuring Olivia that he’ll do well to a talking head of him detailing why he expects Olivia to struggle. It’s exactly the doublespeak Olivia complained about after the Snatch Game. The episode returns to the queens preparing in the workroom, bantering and trash talking back and forth. This is a solid warmup for the roast, and Rosé and Kandy are in fine form. The others will have their work cut out for them just keeping up.
One by one, the queens head to the main stage to rehearse and get notes from Michelle Visage and returning guest judge Loni Love. Kandy is excited, but he listens carefully to their feedback, writing down notes and doing his best to take in their advice. Mik leads with his insecurity, which Michelle and Loni advise him to reel in. They like his material, but he needs to be confident for it to play. Olivia is similarly timid, with overly long setups. He has a few good ideas, but there isn’t enough there there yet. Rosé crushes the rehearsal, with an easy, presentational tone and some good stings, while Symone struggles, overly reliant on reference-based punchlines that don’t land with either Michelle or Loni. He has a lot of work to do.
So does Utica, who throws out several jokes he’s convinced are great but that either don’t make sense or are more cutting observations than actual humor. Timon (of Lion King fame) rhyming with Symone is the start of something, not a joke in itself and calling Michelle motherly—or old? Maybe his “you look like a mom” crack was supposed to be an age thing?—isn’t a joke at all. The whale line is mean, particularly when he doubles down to Loni, but at least it’s a joke. Both Loni and Michelle try to explain to Utica that he needs to do more than just say mean things. He’s trying to go for insult comedy, but he keeps stopping after the setups. Michelle’s so old that… Nina’s so big that… The creativity and wit comes from the punchline, and without it, a roast turns mean-spirited quickly.
Back in the workroom, Utica is spiraling. Rather than taking in and processing his critiques, he gets defensive and doubles down. Kandy tries to draw his attention to his previous decisions to ignore the judges’ advice before Snatch Game and his commercial, but Utica isn’t open to hearing it. Instead he continues forward with confidence, determined to have a successful roast. The next day, Symone is more centered, though still uncertain of what will happen. Rosé is decidedly more certain, in one of the episode’s better edits. The prescribed mirror talk about using comedy to get through tough situations doesn’t really catch, but the queens pivot back to shade and that keeps things flowing until they head to the runway.
Ru comes out to the main stage in a frankly disappointing look, a gray leotard with a tulle skirt, gloves, and a big blonde wig. Her body looks great, but that outfit would be read in an instant if a contestant trotted it down the runway, let alone Ru. Michelle looks great in a simple black dress with statement earrings and a curled up-do. Ross is in a brightly patterned suit, the fuchsia details popping nicely against the black background, and Loni again looks terrific in sequins. Ru kicks off the roast by introducing the honorees: Nina West, staying on brand in a dress that pays tribute to several pride flags; Valentina, in a glam blue gown with bright flowers and sleek hair; and Heidi N Closet, in a fun Michael Jackson-inspired look, part white suit part blue bra.
Kandy comes out first, wearing a ridiculously cinched black strappy gown. She wasn’t kidding when she said she was serving fish for the roast. She does a great job kicking things off, warming up the room and peppering her reads with enough honey to keep things friendly. She also makes sure to read herself, a key aspect of roasting that most of the other queens overlook. It’s hard to overstate how well Kandy does. This really is a triumph for her, an overdue and needed bit of validation of her place as one of the top six queens this season. Symone looks fantastic in gold, but almost immediately, she loses all the good will accumulated over Kandy’s set. She has the same issue Utica did in rehearsal. She has set-ups, but no punchlines. In the words of the fabulous Trinity Taylor, where are the jokes?
Utica, looking chic in a lavender coat and colorful skirt, unfortunately has to follow Symone. She manages to land a couple jokes right at the top, adjusting her Timon and Pumbaa joke to be about Ross instead of RuPaul—because he’s fat, get it? That only lasts so long, though. Utica’s unable to build any momentum, bombing harder the longer she goes. Eventually, in desperation, she leans on meaner and meaner statements, hoping that will translate. It doesn’t and eventually, Loni starts heckling back, saving the segment with her deliciously timed, “You’re the one bombing.” Then Utica seemingly forgets what show she’s on and asks RuPaul to stand so she can read her look, an unforced error if ever there were one. Ru flips Utica off, with a smile, then gestures something that VH1 blurs enough to get through Standards and Practices, but not enough to obscure the meaning of. Get out of there, Utica, you’re done.
Utica’s spectacular fail actually makes Mik’s job a bit easier. She looks fantastic in a sparkling green dress and reads Utica right from the jump, getting her set off to a strong start and building from there. It’s an impressive turnaround, a second strong comedy showing from a queen who came into the competition assuming it would be her Achilles’ heel. Olivia is up next. She looks lovely in a sunrise-inspired dress and bright orange hair, but her halting delivery undermines her timing. This bashful approach could work, but it needs workshopping and tweaking. She manages a couple decent reads, putting her far ahead of Symone and Utica, but she’s nowhere near Kandy or Mik.
Last is Rosé, whose’80s-inspired look is a definite choice. Fortunately, her set is strong, with specific and entertaining reads of each of the honorees. Like Kandy, she tempers the sour with the sweet and pokes fun at herself in the process. She’s also one of the few queens to tweak rather than repeat a line from her rehearsal, streamlining her joke about Heidi’s makeup brushes. The rankings for this challenge are clear, but before the judges’ critiques, Heidi, Valentina, and Nina get their turns at the podium, rounding out the roast and sending it off on a high note.
The judges’ comments aren’t particularly surprising. Kandy killed—Loni compares her to Don Rickles—while Symone flailed and Utica went mean instead of funny. The judges are shockingly gentle with both Symone and Utica, perhaps anticipating and attempting to head off a strong audience reaction, at least to Utica. Ru compares Mik to Phyllis Diller, massive praise for such a comedy neophyte, while Olivia is critiqued for being overly apologetic with her posture and delivery. Michelle commends Rosé for delivering her set without cards, no small feat, and Loni calls her the Joan Rivers of the evening. Both Loni and Michelle feel Rosé did better in rehearsal than the performance, but she still delivered.
When the queens return from Untucked, Kandy gets her first win and a cash tip of $5000, Rosé and Mik are in the top, and Olivia squeaks out a safe. That puts Symone and Utica in the bottom, lip-syncing to Ariana Grande’s “No Tears Left To Cry.” They strike a pose and emote their way through the opening, all face. When the beat kicks in, they start moving, strutting around the stage. Utica’s performance is good, but this is her third lip-sync and she’s not serving anything Symone isn’t. Symone’s charisma beams through in her performance and she has a much stronger track record than Utica. Ru gives Symone the shantay and bids a fond farewell to Utica. She may have had a few rough spots this season, but Utica shone in her runways and in both the ball and makeover challenges. She’s had a terrific season, and is leaving at the right time, with her head held high. The season is finally down to a top five—or more accurately, a top four plus Olivia. She may be able to pull through to the finale, but after Kandy’s strong showing in the roast, Olivia has her work cut out for her. Regardless, it’s a pleasure to watch such a well-structured and satisfying episode. Bring on the top five!
Stray observations
- I loved the facemask gags from Ru about Valentina, “Thank you, Dr. Fauci!”
- Symone and Kandy reacting to Rosé talking to himself is the kind of gag the earlier episodes didn’t have space for. The workroom feels pretty empty at this point, but it’s nice to see some of these smaller moments.
- Welcome back, Valentina, Nina, and Heidi! It was nice to see all three, and they were good sports throughout the roast.
- Rosé, you should not be reading Nina for her shoulders in those puffed sleeves.
- This episode has a bunch of terrific judge moments. Loni booing Utica (in lieu of a more nuanced critique) was delightful. Reader, I cackled. Michelle comparing Rosé to Bianca Del Rio stood out as well—that’s incredibly telling. And Ru’s “Tin roof, rusted” to Symone was withering, but on point.
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Six “bitch”es from Kandy during the roast alone. Sigh.
Good god, Utica’s set will go down in history as one of the cringiest on the show. Took nerve to go after Ru like that, but she was finished as soon as Loni shot back. Actually, she might have been finished as soon as the practice set was just rambling off fat jokes. Quite a turn from not wanting to offend wearing an afro to comparing people to manatees and whales.Mik has surprised me quite a bit. The snatch game and roast show they can be quick and witty, just not convinced they will be able to lipsync to the crown if/when it comes to Top 4 vs. a Symone or Rose.I actually thought Liv had some decent jokes, it just wasn’t delivered with any bite at all. And the edit clearly seems to be they’re flatlining after those early wins with Kandy is apparently trending upwards.
“Actually, she might have been finished as soon as the practice set was just rambling off fat jokes. Quite a turn from not wanting to offend wearing an afro to comparing people to manatees and whales.” Exactly. It’s quite amazing how Utica’s defenders are still trying to defend her lovable quirky weirdo narrative and accept her blatant fatphobia. Multiple commenters are taking her to task for the Timon and Pumba stuff but I guess fat people are fair game. I know some people on these boards fashion themselves as anti-”woke” and being connected to drag’s old “punk” spirit so harmful language etc. is acceptable but what’s everybody else’s excuse. I’ve heard quite a few from she doesn’t follow social cues to no it was all a brilliant strategy on her part to be punk rock etc. so which is it? The way this episode is being talked about it seems like everyone wants to memory hole how harmful and toxic Utica was in order to keep her career going which shows that I guess drag, drag fans Drag Race fans etc. do still have a lot of problems.
oh I forgot the most desperate excuse, that she just got a bad edit lol
As a large person myself, I don’t mind “fat jokes” in the context of a roast. There were plenty of jokes in that realm from other queens that at least made everyone laugh (references to Nina’s size/broad shoulders, Ross getting sexually aroused by pizza, etc.) because they were delivered well and were original enough to not come across as just “haha you’re fat”. Utica’s were just bad, and she didn’t take the blatant advice that she was going too far with it. Maybe it says something that her first instinct in a roast setting was to lay into people’s size, but some of there’s also a whole lot of issues of fatphobia in the fandom to unpack. Fortunately people like Darienne and Lawrence are willing to call out. (edit: not sure why Kinja is eating my Twitter links. Just go to Darienne Lake and Lawrence Chaney’s tweets to see what I’m referencing.)
Fat jokes are the last refuge of cowards. Why think up something genuinely funny when you can go after the low-hanging fruit? The only thing tolerated more widely and openly, and particularly on this show, is ageism. Seriously, everyone over the age of forty is treated as the Joke Candidate. I still hear you, Tamisha!
*thirty
That was the first age I actually typed! I had to change it to 40 because of Raja, Bianca and Jaida.
I agree, it is a fallback when one can’t think of something better. I was disappointed that even someone like Jujubee went for it in AS5.I would prefer jokes to be more about things that are more within a subject’s power rather than about their personal being… things like makeup, fashion choices, performance, etc. However, if they must the golden rule (as many have stated) is that it has to be funny!They say reading is fundamental; insulting is not. A well-crafted joke honors the subject rather than insult them. The best roasters use all the information at their disposal… and that includes taking into account the subject’s tolerance level. So the jokes become a celebration in a safe space.
I thought those examples were more tolerable in the context of a roast but her centerpiece bit was simply calling Nina West a whale? Is that even funny? Is that a joke?
I’m also a large person and, while to each their own I guess, I strongly disagree. All fat jokes suck. Lazy, dumb, degrading, and mostly nonsensical.
“Ross wants to fuck a pizza! Lol! Fat men have no real sexuality! HILARIOUS.”
So I came on here a few weeks back on warned everyone that Utica is an evil bitch . . .That her go to is always fat “jokes” (not even jokes really just calling someone fat in the most obvious way) says a lot about her character. I wouldn’t be surprised if she has eating disorders or something she’s so fixated on the subject. There was a subtle one I noticed during the Snatch Game. In passing as Bob Ross she said that Jaida was fat or “big” or something but it got lost in the sauce and no one noticed it. How do she and her supporters square all this talk of her being all about “love” when she’s also this incredibly nasty insult comic who can’t stop making fun of peoples’ weight? It’s totally at odds with her wannabe crunchy vibe. It was absolutely wonderful seeing her bomb and even having the audience and the target of her nasty unfunny insults turn on her but then in the judging etc. they didn’t really engage with how badly she’d done and what a nasty piece of work she was. Everyone still treating her with kidd gloves and allowing her to delusionally think that she’s the greatest and also the nicest One of the greatest/worst villains in Drag Race herstory
One of the greatest/worst villains in Drag Race herstory Still can’t get behind that line. She’s like Ginger Minj: she’s too much weak sauce, and not enough of a bowdy-bowdy bitch, to rank with the best/worst. She pulled off some amazing looks, and had some good moments, but any mean spiritedness seemed to come from social disconnect, and not strategy, which made her missteps especially cringeworthy and increasingly hard to watch. My main feeling about seeing her leave is one of relief.
She’s like Ginger Minj: she’s too much weak sauce, and not enough of a bowdy-bowdy bitch, to rank with the best/worst.
I get people who don’t like Ginger Minj because they thought she was a bitch during her season but I can’t wrap my head around thinking of her as “weak sauce”. Personally, I love her.
but any mean spiritedness seemed to come from social disconnect, and not
strategy, which made her missteps especially cringeworthy and
increasingly hard to watch
100% this
but I can’t wrap my head around thinking of her as “weak sauce”. Personally, I love her. Weak sauce as a villain, not a contestant. And, okay, that Alyssaism was directed at Phi Phi, and not Ginger, but I’ve repurposed it for the current circumstances.
Ah, OK. Thanks for the clarification.
I liked Utica a bit more than you do but that social insecurity dressed as “I am insulting now so I feel strong” was very painful to watch. And girl, she really needs black people around her: Timon and Pumba are STEREOTYPES, and a white girl using those against black people is BAD. As much as I am going to defend Utica’s choices and I don’t believe that was bad intentioned, that comparison was racist as fuck given the context. When using it to Ross it was just a really bad one. But hey, this is something I have seen in certain circles of post hippy people: they take what they think it is the better parts of anime and disney thinking that they are reapropiating them and kind of forget that some of them are dark and mean and oppressive. I understand myself if you don’t.
Very fair points. I just didn’t like the joke or get it, either, because a nearly thirty year-old children’s movie is not at the top of my list of cultural references. Actually, it explains alot about Utica’s headspace, and reaching into Disney to deliver the ol’ zingers could really have worked if she’d had about a month to plan it out. And a different plan of attack. And a better set of jokes.
I think she’s racist lol, I took her for being very PC but I don’t think she is. she wasn’t being sensitive before she just knows she can be very insensitive and that’s something people won’t defend for her.
One of Utica’s biggest weaknesses was she didn’t take constructive criticism well. She often interprets them as a challenge to prove wrong, thinking her quirky drag persona will change the context. When that failed, she then hid behind an insecure, self-deprecating attitude that felt increasingly insincere as the season has worn on. But expected free passes on her faux pas by stating she was ‘grasping at straws’ in ‘desperation’; making herself the victim for offending others instead of taking full responsibility (and displaying true personal growth) for her missteps/mistakes. Though I admired her style and camp approach when she was in her element, she needs to let down her guard/ego and realize learning from others won’t compromise her core identity or its eclectic aesthetics.
“ I wouldn’t be surprised if she has eating disorders or something she’s so fixated on the subject”Way to go Dr Freud I still don’t think she’s an evil bitch but she is definitely delusional.
I still don’t think she’s an ‘evil bitch’ but she is definitely delusional.I concur. Utica is a disconnected whackadoodle; but I just don’t see the ugly malice and spite that I tend to associate with actual “evil villains”… y’know, like threatening to blow up a drag convention, or something heinous like that…
That’s a category unto its own and also not something that happened during drag race. I see her fat jokes as clear examples of “ugly malice and spite” and it’s pretty interesting how many people here are defending her
also not something that happened during drag race. Um…What does WHEN it happened have to do with anything?
My point is that the immense dislike you harbor seems very… disproportionate to the actual behavior that the audience has been shown this season, but whatever, sis… do you.
To clarify I was saying that the Tyra Sanchez bomb threat which you brought up (correctly) as an example of the worst behavior from a queen ever was sort of sui generis as it happened completely outside of the context of RPDR itself
That’s a lot of emotion for a homeschooled weirdo from Minnesota.
The second she first gave a shout out to Jesus, I pegged her for a very specific kind of banal evil. And I was right!
I still believe that Utica reminds you of someone that was the trigger for your origin story because what the hell
Now that we are playing cheap Freud, have you ever met someone who doesn’t get social cues?
I’ve never met someone whose reaction to awkward social situations is to unleash a torrent of vicious fat jokes no
Honest, I do have. You have deja vues of people that were nasty, I have deja vues of people that were on the spectrum or just not good at social clues.
Utica simply lacks self awareness so yes delusional.
The way she said “are you triggered??” when she was rehearsing with Loni Love, there was like a cruel glint to it and I was like oh who is dis bitch???
Yes exactly!!! The clapbacks to Michelle and Loni are what I’m talking about and not the roast itself. The things she said to them were not jokes or humor. They were straight up insults and Utica was trying to get the upper hand by putting them down. That’s malice. I can’t believe anyone would try to defend it.I thought Loni and Michelle showed so much professionalism that Utica absolutely did not deserve. They would have been completely justified if they had just cut off the session and told Utica to GTFO. It was complete disrespect that I’ve never seen on the show before… literally calling someone fat and/or old and not as a joke and then trying even more to get under their skin by asking if they’re triggered (the epitome of gaslighting).I thought a very telling part during the actual roast was when Utica used the whale joke and they cut to Loni and you could see her heart sink. On the show, Loni def was not pleased, but fortunately on social media she’s being very gracious to Utica… and again, she does not deserve it.
Utica racist and a fatphobic, it’s clear. She got some good looks and I’m not surprised fashion magazines were drawn to her because she touts those values.
It’s clear? Are you one of those that have strong opinions on famous people given what appears on the tabloids?
nah
No matter what you think of Utica’s journey this season — and boy, has she had some lows to go with a few highs — you can’t deny that she’s a mesmerizing presence on the stage. She should be rightfully proud of her lipsyncs, and probably won it tonight, although it would have been a true travesty if she had been saved over Symone. I’ll be curious to see if she’s going to be invited back to an All Stars season: flipping off RuPaul has to be a first.
Yes I can. Easily
(Best Alaska voice): “Burn”
Best Alaska voice
I disagree with the grade given to this utterly predictable ep.That said, I can’t argue with Utica going home; her time was up.It looks like Olivia is gone next week, unless she pulls a miracle out from… somewhere, and we’re going to end up with the top four predicted eons ago back when this season first started.Though I’m glad Symone is still in it, I’m beyond ready for this season to end, finally… whereas I’m still pining for DRUK, which seems like it ended too soon.So I came on here a few weeks back on warned everyone that Utica is an evil bitch . . .One of the best things about Utica sashaying tonight is that you can stop complaining about her now.
To be fair to Kate — and with the exception of Miss Symone — the entire season has really underwhelmed, so I don’t begrudge a high grade for an episode that’s been one of the high points of this long, tiring, drudge. And I have to say it was nice to have a real plot twist in discovering that Kandy can be fun and competent and interesting to watch. I can’t forget the rest of the season, though. WHAT did the editors do to this season??? That said, I can’t argue with Utica going home; her time was up.True, really, for most of the episodes this season. I like Utica, but this was not her venue. She’d possibly be fun to watch as a standalone (warmup) act where she can pull off sickening looks, stellar lipsyncs, and keep the jokes to a minimum.
the entire season has really underwhelmedReal talk.
DRUK was truly season 6 level material, and a season I’ll revisit.This one is painful because Symone is really the only one with a unique perspective. It’s getting a little too inbred with all the queens knowing each other on the American one too, so it seems like a lot of the queens we’ve seen versions of before.
This one is painful because Symone is really the only one with a unique perspective. That’s because USDR has become little more than a carefully curated collection of audition tapes for RuPaul’s empire: why show anyone but the season goats in a bad light when they’ll be making money for you on tour?I keep fantasizing that I’ll tune into the final and we’ll get to see Symone, Rose, Bimini, and Jimbo compete for the Crown…
Whoever convinced Utica that she is a comedy queen really did her a huge disservice. She bombed the snatch game, the advert, and now the roast. She has….a crappy sense of humor. Somebody needs to sit her down and tell her that her strengths lie elsewhere. She’s got legs for days, a talent for working both strange and couture looks, and she’s a lip sync assassin. She should be emulating Symone or Evie Oddly instead of trying to be a comedian.
She actually won that lip sync, but after her horrific performance in the roast, there was no way they weren’t sending her home. (And no way they would send Symone home.)
She had some of the best looks on the runway this season, no misses really. Even the earring one I liked. But yes, she had a lot of rage beneath the surface that bubbled up in passive aggressive ways and she didn’t know when to stop performing out of drag.
I agree, but I’m always wary of reading too much into these edits, where musical cues are increasingly used to manipulate the audience’s expectations of a contestant and their talent. Yes, Utica said those things, but we’ve certainly heard worse from others (like Tina), and she I’m sure she was prompted to do it. I was particularly displeased with Gottmik’s talking head in which she doubted Utica’s sincerity for liking the lipsyncs. So what? She’s good at it, and enjoys it. Is that a bad thing? And why be suspicious of Utica’s motives because she didn’t tell Olivia to her face that she was struggling? It’s not like being a cutthroat bitch to Olivia would win her points for honesty from anyone. And it’s not like we all couldn’t see who was going to be in danger this week from the previews…
I actually would give this win to Symone. It wasn’t a blowout in either direction but Symone’s emoting sealed it for me.
I felt like she did the same thing in this lip sync that she did in the other two, she just wiggled her arms real weird. What sent Tina home last week was being too predictable and that’s what I was getting from Utica’s lip sync; by the third time, it’s boring. I don’t think she’s an assassin if she comes out and does the same thing every time. Symone was giving more range.
Utica was not gonna win but that was a crash and burn for the ages. She definitely should stick to what she’s good it (hint : it’s not comedy) It still should come down to Rose vs Symone
pretty meh on Rose, I hate her runway looks, all of them. Bad taste level. She’s likeable enough though just as a person.
If Ru didn’t care so much about what the fans want then she would pick Kandy for the win.
Now this is an interesting thing to debate. I don’t really think that Kandy is Ru’s personal pick or protege this season; her “Kandy, I’m not ready for you to leave yet!” double save was actually pretty cruel in the way she delivered it. Her edit — at least through the first half of the season — was also terrible and not something you typically see in a front-runner. Symone, on the other hand, is currently getting the “inner saboteur” edit we all know and love hate, and is being set up nicely for a big finish. Unless, of course, she blows it big time over the last few episodes.
It’s because Ru cares so much about what the fans want that Kandy is still in the race. She covers 3 or 4 demographics in one: big girl, Gen Z, Latina implied from a modest urban Bronx upbringing. There hasn’t been an episode someone doesn’t point out one of those aspects about her. Because they know it holds a large part of the viewing audience’s interest, which would rapidly disappear if she were eliminated early on (or even before the final 4).
Rose is really picking up but I still think it’s going to be Gottmik to challenge Symone (if Symone doesn’t crash and burn before the finale!) Gottmik just has the better narrative
If it comes down to the lip sync format I don’t see Gottmik winning two of those especially if the other 3 are Symone, Rose and even Kandy
Oh I think it will, rosé can really win this, you will see!
Utica roast forgot that there is a set up with is the admire and the love, and then the punch, and it works. I mean, it is not that hard if you think of it. Rosé was doing it all the time. For example, “you guys give the most uniqueness and fun to the comment section, just not intentionally”. Sharp. Short. This joke is shit but I think we get the point.
The problem is Comedy Central has tainted what roasts used to be. It used to be comedians being roasted by their friends and contemporaries. Now it’s celebrities being roasted by comedians and D-list celebrities who don’t even know them and there’s no love. It’s just all mean all the time and trying to get a bigger groan than the guy before you.
To repeat: that people think they can get a handle on *anyone*’s character based on an edited reality TV show is deeply stupid and dangerous. Also, Drag Race fans lecturing about what it means to be “hateful” is just fucking rich.Personally, as a Utica fan myself, I had a ball this episode. She flamed out spectacularly, and it was exactly the kind of bizarre-ass display I love from her. The jokes were clumsy and mean-spirited, yes, but they were jokes from someone trying to roast and failing, not someone trying to cause psychological damage. Lighten the fuck up.
She flamed out spectacularly, I don’t think she flamed out: that performance was punk, and a giant finger in the show’s face, and I think it was very much planned to be an affront to the show. And I don’t think that Ru hated that aspect of it, but did want jokes. While she may be delusional, I don’t get the sense that Utica’s stupid, and she probably knew that she was in danger of going home every episode, so she just went ahead and did things her own way. I get the feeling that she performed each challenge as a conceptual art piece, rather than caring to do it to the brief, and that made her hard to watch at times. I definitely think that Utica likes competing, but didn’t really care about the Race itself. And that was a problem for the show.
“I get the feeling that she performed each challenge as a conceptual art piece, rather than caring to do it to the brief…”I feel that’s a pretty far reach in trying to justify her actions. The comments she made during the rehearsal were not part of some long game performance. They came from a BAD place.
what comments, the post production ones?
Sorry, thought you were responding to someone else… the formatting on kinja comments are so weird.I was referring to the clapbacks she made to Michelle and Loni during the rehearsal. When Michelle said she had kids, Utica responded with something like “you look like it” and Michelle was obviously taken aback. What was the point of that?? And then she made that hand motion implying Loni was large and said some even worse things. And the “does that trigger you?”. It was all so gross. During Snatch Game, Utica made a similar comment to Pork Chop and Pork Chop was definitely not there to be roasted. So no excuses can be applied there.
yes, that girl is tone deaf, I think she was so careful about appropriating black culture because she knows she’s that tone deaf that she would probably offend and we mistook it for caring.
That is a nice optic but again I am not that sure. I think, again, reading the caracter with the limitations of the edit, that there was a point where Utica felt strong with those insults and making the judges shut up, and stuck with that.
Utica was clearly filling the “lovable weirdo” slot of the season, but the “lovable” eroded very quickly. Her looks are fantastic- the sleeping bag look alone is a gag- but it’s clear she’s far pricklier than she appears. I don’t think Drag Race is her best showcase- I imagine if left to her own devices, she would create something stunning. I guess we’re getting Kandy in the top 4, which is some rigga morris. She did well tonight, but the challenge was the nail to her hammer. It’s a major eyeroll for the judges to slam other queens for being one-note or predictable when Kandy is nothing but one-note predictability. She’s gotten so much focus and such heavy handed story arc building, and I’m just left asking… why?
I love Symone’s drag. Even if the season has sometimes been lackluster, I’m excited for each episode to see Symone’s drag. She has been so smart, so funny, so beautiful and to see her stumble this hard, was a shock. The only thing I can compare it to is Valentina who admittedly stumbled harder (hell, she fell off the damn cliff!) and I hope Symone can pick it back up. She deserves the chance to win the whole thing.
Speaking of Valentina, I guess she got a face lift because her once gorgeous, gigantic eyes are gone. At first I thought it was because she obviously changed how she was doing her makeup (and I thought her makeup looked bad) but I’m not so sure. At some point, Drag Race (or maybe just Drag in general) has to deal with some big issues and one should be the pressure that absolutely beautiful queens have to go under the knife at such a young age.
I’ll agree with everybody saying that Utica really has to start focusing on what she does well. This is going to be a hard episode for her to recover from (she was apologizing on Twitter right before the episode aired) but she developed a fanbase and I’m sure she can make it grow. At the very least, I think she should snag a lot of Milk’s fanbase (or, at least, the ones that aren’t there just because Milk is hot) because she does weird and conceptual better, I think.
The second I learned it was a roast episode, I knew exactly
how it was going to go down for Utica. After Snatch Game, it was pretty
obvious she has her own idea of “comedy” and it’s not from the same
Earth upon which we live and breath.There’s a very
disturbing quality to Utica’s humor and it cannot be justified by her
kookiness. It is nasty and I wouldn’t be surprised if deep down inside
there is something ugly and sinister that she needs to start working on
now. They way she snapped back at Michelle and Loni… it reminded me of
a serial abuser… the way someone would talk down to someone they try
to subordinate. I’m so glad it’s off my screen and I never want to see
it again.I think in her review, Kate is right on the
money that production (through the judges) want to just quickly power
through this with as little collateral damage as they can manage. I
don’t think they want to be responsible for the forthcoming hate Utica
is going to get. Utica is LUCKY they didn’t go in… they didn’t even
scratch the surface. That was the nicest thing they could have done.
“Serial abuser”!!!! For fuck’s sake, Utica is a real person and this show is pure editing and narrative.
Also noted: Ru got rid of Tina in a questionable elimination right before a challenge that was made for her talent. And kept Utica and Olivia, who — given their respective areas of talent — had almost no chance of doing well. Well, that’s one way to get rid of queens without anyone being able to wag their finger at you! It all seems a little cowardly, though.
Actually Bob and Monet on their YouTube show said that Tina wouldn’t have done well on a Roast. They should know since all three are NY queens and they have seen her perform.
Okay, but it’s doubtful that RuPaul would have known that. This is also something that we’ve seen in a number of other seasons: queens being eliminated right before a challenge that would seem to play to their strengths. I have no doubt that Ru and the producers use their decision of who to put in the bottom two in order to cut a contestant of whom they’ve grown tired or to ensure that certain storylines continue.
I saw this as well. I love learning these little tidbits from queens that know each other outside of RPDR!I am praying that Trixie has Bob or Bianca on the Pit Stop this week!!!
I’m not trying to start any kind of rumors or bullying. I just said it reminded me of a serial abuser’s language… that’s how triggering it could possibly be. That was not the editing, that was Utica’s immediate, instinctual reaction to being disagreed with. It was ugly and left me really creeped out.Real people can exhibit awful behavior. The kind of things she said back to Michelle and Loni sound exactly like the insults you hear from a bully when they feel their ego is wounded.
“it reminded me of a serial abuser… the way someone would talk down to someone they try to subordinate.”We’ve been very blessed with the presence of these internet psychologists in these threads today <3
Oh cut that out. We’re allowed to react to behavior that we recognize without being criticized as the oft-chagrined typical armchair expert. Never claimed I was an expert, but I can still call out toxicity.
… following a very controlled narrative from a heavily edited show. I mean, you seem very sure of it given how fake is drag race the narration.
I am sure that it sounds like toxic stuff, yes. Do I think Utica is an actual serial abuser? Probably no… but keeping in mind that verbal abuse is still abuse. But the way fans are coming out and defending this behavior and making all kinds of excuses from Utica just being delusional, or oh Utica’s just tone deaf, or that Utica’s on the spectrum (I’m unaware if this has been disclosed this or not)… I just think it’s bad that some fans don’t hold certain types accountable because they like their “art”.
Behavior like this from this kind of queen always gets defended by this toxic fan base. It’s like the Swifties when they come out in droves.
“Behavior like this from this kind of queen always gets defended by this toxic fan base”You’re reading way too much into this shit. BreatheUnclenchRepeat
We’ve been very blessed with the presence of these internet psychologists in these threads today <3Word; the sheer amount of armchair psychological projection up in here is rather staggering, especially for such a mediocre episode in such an subpar season...
It’d be one thing to say Utica is an asshole which, maybe? Maybe Utica is on the Lea Michele side of the theater geek spectrum. But some of these reactions are SOOO over the top. Until I hear from the other queens to confirm then this is just excessive
Until I hear from the other queens to confirm then this is just excessiveAgreed.I personally didn’t care for Kandy or Tina this season, but I’m not gonna expend any extra energy on them, especially after they’re gone.
The problem with Utica’s jokes is that they just weren’t funny. There were other fat jokes, but they were funny. There was plenty directed at Kandy’s looks, but the jokes were funny so the person being mocked is laughing and so is everyone else.You can be mean in a roast if the jokes are also funny.
So Utica frets over wearing an afro as Bob Ross as being too appropriative, or going along with Symone’s makeover, but is a-okay going out on stage and just lobbing fat joke after fat joke… shows just how performative her wokeness is, literally skin deep.I was grateful Ru just flipped her off instead of standing up and engaging with whatever trash Utica was about to spew at her, I couldn’t watch it get any worse than it did.
It’s a somewhat open secret that all of Ru’s gowns the skirts are tear-aways and she wears sweats under the table during judging. Utica telling her to stand up was to call attention to that.
Well I’ll be damned! Learn something new every day.
Ironically enough this is the week Ru was actually just wearing a leotard.
I love Utica, but girl, as a fat person myself- If you’re gonna make fat jokes, make ‘em FUNNY!
People…WE FINALLY GOT RID OF BUDGET LAGANJA!!!!
I disagree on this being some of the clearest and most satisfying judging of the season. The choices for top and bottom queens were absolutely on point, but there was an awfully wobbly landing on the verbal gymnastics required to justify Kandy’s win over Rosé. I don’t hate Kandy as much as some people seem to – she and Rosé are both solidly middle of the pack for me – so this isn’t motivated by the “Kandy is the second coming of Silky Ganache!” conspiracy talk, but giving her the win was very obviously an example of the judges’ overpraise all season.(I also would have put Oliva in the bottom over Symone, personally, but they were both awful and Utica was clearly the queen on the chopping block, so that’s a less annoying quibble.)
I think Kandy deserved the win. No queen did soooo well that they stood out spectacularly, so I would have also been ok with Rosé winning the challenge. I think Rosé is obviously more comfortable and confident speaking in front of an audience, but Kandy wrote the better jokes. So ultimately I think Kandy executed the challenge a little better. (Rosé should have known and had time to take out the redundant Nina West joke.)
Did we catch the same roast? In the one I saw, Gottmik completely ate everyone else alive to an unprecedented degree. Rosé was also passable, but not in the same league. Kandy was self-assured and comfortable and delivered not a single funny line; the closest she got was a couple of lame old canned gags she probably picked up from a 1950s joke book, and the furthest was just saying nonsense and punctuating it with b-bombs over and over again.I would’ve scored it Gottmik win, Rosé safe, everyone else lipsyncs.
Olivia’s schtick was so annoying I would have put her in the bottom for that; I feel like the only reason Ru had Symone lip sync was to give her a little kick in the butt heading into the final stretch. No way she was going to keep Utica over Symone.
Kandy’s win seemed choregraphed pretty early when half the talking heads/shade talk were about how she hadn’t won a challenge yet and needed to at this point in the season.
Kandy’s win seemed choregraphed pretty early when half the talking heads/shade talk were about how she hadn’t won a challenge yet and needed to at this point in the season.To be fair, though, she’s been saying the same thing in her talking heads for most of the season. But this time she was right!
I think Symone did worse than Olivia, but I can’t argue with what you said about Olivia’s choices. She was going for lovable mean girl, but it came across as fake a$$ b—-h hahaha. Also, fidgeting is never a good character choice for stand-up. As an audience, we want to be comfortable and that accomplishes the exact opposite. Nina West’s roast in Celebrity Drag Race is a good example of excellent sugar-coated venom.
Utica has apologized to Michelle and to Loni Love and said that it’s never okay to make fun of someone’s size. But according to most people in this comment section she had nothing to apologize for so . . .
Oh, f off. Of course she does. Empathy does not mean that she is going unaccountable for.
If she’s just awkward (slash possibly “on the spectrum) and/or was just channeling a punk rock spirit or was just the victim of bad editing what could she possibly have to apologize for?
Just because you’re being “punk” doesn’t mean that you can’t be a complete and total asshole while engaging in boundary-pushing behaviour. Here, that was unacceptable. Whatever her motivations might have been, Utica miscalculated and she really should feel badly about that roast. But this is going to follow her forever on social media, and it’s not like she killed anyone or anything (beyond her own career), so I feel no need to pile on. I actually feel badly for all of the contestants on this show, as I know we can expect endless hateful comments in the coming months from a certain segment of the “fanbase”. I just hope Widow is back to doing drag now.
Just FYI, they were being sarcastic and summing up other posters’ big reaches.
Then Utica seemingly forgets what show she’s on and asks RuPaul to stand so she can read her look, an unforced error if ever there were one.Wasn’t she trying to get Ru to stand because the rumor is that Ru wears sweatpants during the runway and not drag from the waist down? Not that it makes it better, but I don’t think the goal was a read.That said, ugh, Utica. You really made me root for Kandy lol. I actually think Kandy has shown to have a surprising amount of ability, but it might be because I had the bar set low.
Whatever the intent, it was another tactless call on Utica’s part. Unless you’re judging someone’s look for the actual competition, you do not tell someone to stand up and parade themselves for the audience in that manner. There’s a difference between going “stand up girl you look amazing” vs. “why don’t you stand up and show everybody what a pretty little thing you are…”; Utica did the latter and it was demeaning.However… I did live for the sheer horror it elicited from the other girls… Kandy and Gottmik in particular lollllll.
For the record, I agree. I hated all the Utica stuff. I just thought that was the intent, not that it made it better. It was also just stupidly planned because you had to know that she wouldn’t. If it was Gottmik making the comment, I would think the goal would be to build banter, but that wasn’t what Utica was capable of.
Thanks for clarifying. I got that you were just referring to what may have been Utica’s intent.I’m not totally sure that’s what Utica was doing because that would mean that Ru’s sweatpants thing is true and I don’t completely buy it. I doubt that that many of her outfits are two pieces that easily come apart. But who knows!
Kandy clarified herself (pun intended) a major reason I dislike her – HER IRRITATING VOICE. She rapidly mumbles at the same loud pitch, with a screeching voice that perpetually sounds like she’s recovering from a cold that’s left her a sore throat, and some phlegm stuck in the back of her nasal cavity she badly needs clear so she’ll stop spitting out her words. It’s one reason I watch the show with subtitles, otherwise I’d be constantly repeating her dialogue, further ruining each ep’s flow each time she opens her mouth.
With this I will kindly but completely— and hopefully respectfully — disagree. The best thing about Kandy — by far — for me is the fact that she is completely and unapologetically herself. Ru and the Drag Race producers haven’t done themselves any favours by artificially limiting contestant eligibility to outdated concepts of sex and age and gender, but what it does do right is its insistence in showing that beauty takes many forms. I don’t want to see a season of Pearl or Milk clones! One of the most arresting things about Vangie on her first season was the fact that she may have painted like a gorgeous queen…but sounded like a longhaul trucker. It’s stuff like that that keeps me coming back for more.