10 Times the RuPaul's Drag Race Judges Made No Sense

Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the moments when the judging on “Drag Race” was giving “buffoonery, riggory, and straight-up tomfoolery.” For this list, we’re focusing only on “Drag Race” in the U.S.

#10: Naomi’s Boat Don’t Float

Season 8

To commemorate the show’s 100th episode, the queens of season 8 were tasked with giving their best version of a design challenge from a past season. Naomi Smalls got the Pride float theme from season 4. The show provided her with a huge boat-shaped costume to wear around herself. Naomi is petite already, so giving her this huge prop that will swallow her up and make it hard for her to walk was already some prime “Drag Race” riggory. But then the judges actually had the nerve to critique how she looked trying to drag the thing down the runway. It’s not like she brought it with her. The show gave it to her. What was she supposed to do?

#9: Aja’s Pop Art Critique

All Stars 3

It’s the critique that will live in infamy. That was the day we experienced #Francesgate. Or is it #Frahnce-gate? Aja stomped back to the “Drag Race” stage and really proved herself. But her shimmering disco look didn’t impress the judges. They seemed to have a huge problem with her mispronunciation of France Joli’s name. She got no points for the reference, even if she used it well. Just weird looks from RuPaul and Michelle Visage. Frankly, some of this show’s best moments have been mispronunciations. Where would we be if Alyssa Edwards knew how to say most words? It honestly felt like Aja was simply the next scheduled queen to go, even if they had to nitpick to make it happen.

#8: The Worst Look?

Season 5

Santino Rice was a “Project Runway” finalist, so he should know something about fashion. But he told Alyssa Edwards that her look in episode 9 was one of the worst to ever grace the mainstage. We’re not gonna say it wasn’t challenging to look at, but it wasn’t even close to the worst disaster to happen on the runway that season, let alone the entire series. Serena ChaCha’s soft sculpture look from early in the season would like a word. Serena ChaCha’s follow-up look would also like a word. The late and eternally great Jiggly Caliente’s baked potato couture in season 4 is iconic for all the wrong reasons. Let’s not pretend some rhinestones and a mess of black tulle is the ultimate fashion crime.

#7: Jan: The Unauthorized Winner

Season 12

Safe is a bad word in the “Drag Race” world. Jan was declared safe, once again, after giving it her all during the All Stars 6 talent show challenge. It was a continuation of the “Jan, you’re safe” marathon that happened in season 12. Look, we get it. Gigi Goode was great as Madonna, but Jan got arguably better critiques. RuPaul said it herself. She ruled the world. Evidently, Jan has to rule the entire universe to get a win here. We think former winner Bob the Drag Queen put it best. At this point, “Drag Race” is trying to break her down.

#6: Adore’s Critiques

All Stars 2

Given that Adore Delano is one of the few “Drag Race” queens to make music that actually charted, it’s wild that her only variety show critiques were about her look. Michelle Visage took her to task for her appearance and Adore was clearly shocked by the harsh critiques. In fact, it almost sounded like Michelle is minimizing the season 6 finalist’s accomplishments outside the show to humble her. Only Todrick Hall had compliments, and he was the only one who mentioned the singing. That’s a huge problem, considering it was a talent show. Adore quit the season soon after.

#5: Tina Burner’s Brand

Season 13

There were a few moments when it looked like the New York queen was getting a raw deal. In her last episode, though, she and the other queens were tasked with creating a soda pop capturing their brand. The judges told Tina that she was relying too much on what they had already seen and wasn’t pushing through. It’s a branding challenge. That’s not the time to completely reinvent yourself. If she had, they probably would have said it was the wrong time to switch it up on them. There was no winning this, and it was evident they’d simply decided it was her time to go.

#4: Shuga Cain’s Elimination

Season 11

Fans have long criticized the show for picking and choosing when a team challenge is actually a team challenge. Sometimes, there’s a winning team, which exempts them all from elimination. Sometimes, they’re judged as individuals. This season 11 challenge didn’t actually have a winning team, but anyone with eyes and ears knew that Brooke Lynn Hytes, Nina West, and Shuga Cain had the better showing. And Shuga Cain still went home! She was critiqued for not standing out. That’s it. Meanwhile, the other team was a mess from start to finish. They were disorganized, one-note, and lackluster. But sure, Shuga was just middle-of-the-road, and apparently, that means bottom two this week.

#3: Rock M. Sakura’s Humor

Season 12

Queens, you can’t be crude here, this is the mainstage of “RuPaul’s Drag Race!” In her verse for “U Think U Know Me,” Rock M. Sakura introduced herself and her array of incredible voices. To many viewers’ eyes and ears, her performance and her fashions were a slam dunk. But a quick joke about a fart saw her taken to task for being a little too crude. Then, not two seasons later, the show debuted “The Daytona Winds,” an acting challenge based around fart jokes. They liked it so much, they did the same challenge the next season! Ru and Michelle doth protest too much, wethinks.

#2: Costumey: Yay or Nay?

Seasons 6, 7, 13 & All Stars 10

Michelle Visage kicked off another round of judging panel controversy when she accused “All Stars 10” contestant Aja of looking too costumey. Aja’s graceful and perfect response aside, it begs an interesting question. Fans immediately remembered Visage’s previous comments about this very topic. She accused season 6’s BenDeLaCreme of the same. It wasn’t until BenDeLa was literally dressed as a fly that she thought they were now seeing the person behind the costumes. Then, at the start of season 7, she had the audacity to ask why costumey was a bad thing on a drag queen. It was certainly okay when Symone wore a fox costume on stage. So is costumey a bad thing? You tell us, Michelle.

#1: It Actually Does Take Money

Season 8

Chi Chi DeVayne had to do amazing things with limited funds. But her budget was not as big as some of her season 8 castmates and she said so. This prompted one of Michelle Visage’s more well-meaning but ultimately tone deaf critiques. Drag, like any art or craft, can be done on a tight budget if you’ve got enough skill and ingenuity. “Drag Race” used to honor that wisdom. But even as early as season 8, queens were spending more money on their runway packages. Many contestants have come clean about how much debt they accrued to have a chance. If the show did more to curb the wealth disparity among its cast, maybe Michelle would be right. Until then, money plays a huge part.

Were there times when you thought the “Drag Race” judges were totally wrong? Tell us in the comments.