Category is: All Star Charity Extravaganza!
Paramount+ and World of Wonder have officially announced the Season 9 cast of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars,” which will consist of eight alumni of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” stretching from its first season to Season 14. It’s the first season of “All Stars” — other than the all-winners seventh season —to feature just eight queens.
They will be competing for a $200,000 grand prize, but for the first time in “Drag Race” herstory, the money will be donated to the charity of the winner’s choosing. The prize is supplied through The Palette Fund, a private foundation “dedicated to breaking down barriers and advancing social change in communities that are under-resourced and facing significant challenges,” according to an official release.
Season 9 of “All Stars” will debut on May 17 on Paramount+ with a two-episode season premiere hosted by RuPaul and produced by World of Wonder. New episodes will premiere every Friday, along with new episodes of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars: Untucked.”
Popular on PvNew
The returning queens for “All Stars” Season 9 are:
Angeria Paris VanMichaels (Season 14): This Atlanta-based queen won two main challenges during her season —including the challenge in which she coined her catch phrase, “you ug-aly bitch” — en route to the finale, where she tied for third. She’s playing for the National Black Justice Collective, “America’s leading national civil rights organization dedicated to the empowerment of Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer+ and same gender loving (LGBTQ+/SGL) people, including people living with HIV/AIDS,” according to a release.
Gottmik (Season 13): The first trans man to compete on “Drag Race” became a major fan favorite for her performance as Paris Hilton in the Snatch Game challenge, which earned Gottmik one of two main challenges wins; she ultimately came in third on the show. She’s playing for Trans Lifeline, “a grassroots hotline, advocacy and micro-grants non-profit offering direct emotional and financial support to trans people in crisis.”
Jorgeous (Season 14): The undisputed lip-sync assassin of Season 14 won one main challenge and tied for sixth place in her season, and she’s appeared in long-running Las Vegas show “RuPaul’s Drag Race Live.” She’s playing for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, “the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental health conditions.”
Nina West (Season 11): The Columbus, Ohio queen won two main challenges, came in sixth place in her season, and won Miss Congeniality from her fellow contestants. Since the show, she played Edna Turnblad in the national tour of “Hairspray,” and played the drag icon Divine in 2022’s “Weird; The Al Yankovic Story.” She’s playing for The Trevor Project, “the leading suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ+ young people.”
Plastique Tiara (Season 11): While Plastique has the lowest showing in her original season among the “All Stars” Season 9 queens — winning one main challenge and coming in eighth place — she has since amassed the largest social media following of anyone from the show, according to a release, including 11.6 million followers on TikTok. She’s also starred in “RuPaul’s Drag Race Live.” She’s playing for The Asian American Foundation, which was created “in response to the rise in anti-Asian hate and to address the long-standing underinvestment in Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities.”
Roxxxy Andrews (Season 5, “All Stars” Season 2): One of the most iconic “Drag Race” alumni as the first queen to debut the double-wig reveal in a lip sync, Roxxxy earned a spot in two finales: She was a runner-up in Season 5 with two main challenge wins, and came in fourth place in Season 2 of “All Stars.” She’s playing for Miracle of Love, which provides “accessible HIV/AIDS prevention programming and supportive assistance to service the multicultural needs of communities in Central Florida.”
Shannel (Season 1, “All Stars” Season 1): The first queen ever to step foot inside the “Drag Race” werk room, Shannel came in fourth in her season, and then tied for third in Season 1 of “All Stars.” She’s playing for the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, “a global nonprofit committed to advancing research and helping people overcome anxiety, depression, OCD, PTSD, bipolar disorder and related conditions.”
Vanessa Vanjie (Season 10, Season 11): Her cry of “Miss Vanjie” after being the first queen eliminated from Season 10 made Vanjie an overnight viral sensation, so much so she was invited back for following season, where she came in fifth place. She’s playing for the ASPCA, the animal rights group that “has been on the frontlines to save, transform and protect the lives of millions of dogs, cats, equines and farm animals in the fight against animal cruelty and homelessness.”