10 Times Drag Race Queens Cracked RuPaul Up in the Werk Room
#10: Yara’s English Accent
“The Snatch Game”
When it comes to the Snatch Game, Ru has a habit of sensing when there’s trouble ahead. She was worried that Season 3’s Yara Sofia, who is from Puerto Rico, was biting off more than she could chew by doing Amy Winehouse. The very thought had RuPaul wheezing. Yara said she’d been watching “Harry Potter” to prepare, and demonstrated for the host. That just made her laugh even more. Yara ended up in the bottom, but we’re still calling foul all these years later. If the challenge is about being funny, she certainly did that.
#9: “How’s Your Head?”
“Conjoined Queens”
Miss Fame didn’t exactly have her head in the game in season 7. When it came to serving looks, she knocked it out of the park. When it came to being in on the joke, she was batting zero. For weeks, RuPaul was trying to prompt her with a classic Elvira punchline. Fame whiffed it every time. It finally came to a head during the conjoined queens challenge. During the Werk Room segment, Ru sets her up for the joke and her answer is just pitiful. It’s such a swing and a miss that Ru basically doubles over laughing.
#8: Raven’s G-A-P
“Choices 2020”
Making RuPaul laugh is sometimes as simple as going for the filthiest possible joke – ideally by saying it all without saying too much. For the presidential debate challenge in season 12, RuPaul had her makeup artist and former contestant Raven at her side. They give the usual perfunctory advice about how to approach the challenge. But while visiting with Heidi N Closet, Raven takes the opportunity to play on the queen’s tooth gap for a filthy joke with a double meaning. It sends Ru into hysterical convulsions, as most vulgar puns usually do.
#7: Raja’s Reading Challenge
“Legends”
“All Stars” 7 is just a good time all around. All the previous winners are happy to be there, and it feels more like a family reunion than your average “All Stars” premiere. During the opening episode’s reading challenge, RuPaul’s infectious laughter is pretty much present throughout. But it’s Raja’s simple, succinct callback to her original run that has the host doubling over. After designating her seven fellow contestants “boogers,” a derogatory term she used on season 3, Raja throws Ru’s reading glasses back at her and stomps back in line like the Heather she is. Judging from the host’s reaction, it’s exactly what she wants from a challenge like this.
#6: Lil’ Pound Cake
“Draggle Rock”
Alaska and Lineysha Sparx probably had no idea they were giving birth to a “Drag Race” legend. Tasked with creating junior pageant contestants out of mannequin dolls, they unleashed Lil’ Pound Cake on the world. With one of the most rotted and twisted bios of any pageant contestant ever, Lil’ Pound Cake’s grown-up hobbies clearly tickle RuPaul’s funny bone. Her cackling nearly drowns out everything else on the soundtrack. She isn’t alone. This season 5 moment has gone on to become an essential part of “Drag Race” lore with fans and within the show itself.
#5: “No as in Yes”
“Disco-Mentary”
Before a maxi-challenge, RuPaul grills the queens on their disco knowledge – a reasonable line of questioning considering that the challenge is about disco music. When she gets to Kandy Muse, Ru can barely keep it together. Kandy may be fabulous, but she’s not always the most eloquent of queens. Her indecisive and somewhat nonsensical answer to a “yes” or “no” question makes perfect sense to her. But Ru is so dumbfounded, she literally looks off-camera for some clarification. She’s literally gasping for air between laughs, so she could also be looking for an inhaler.
#4: “They’re All Helping Me Out by Being Horrible”
“Drag Queens of Comedy”
Bianca Del Rio was a complex character. She came across as a rotted insult comic on and off the mainstage, but she downplayed her gracious, even motherly approach with the other competitors. Before the standup challenge, one where everyone expected her to shine, Ru makes the mistake of trying to have a human moment with Bianca. But she’s not having that. When asked how the other queens return the help she gives them, she insists that they’re being helpful by doing horribly in the competition. This is exactly the kind of shady response that Ru just eats up with a spoon.
#3: Introducing Lazy Susan
“Drag Race Vegas Live! Makeovers”
Season 16’s cast was tasked with making over the hunky dancers of the live “Drag Race” show in Las Vegas. Paired up with dancer Nick, Plane Jane doesn’t seem to expect that much of a reaction when she introduces her to Ru under her new name: Lazy Susan. But a big reaction is what she got. Ru is practically despondent with laughter. Plane Jane is clearly a little taken aback by the response, but she’s not complaining. The rest of the episode is just a formality at this point. Even if her makeover was a failure, Plane would’ve won the challenge based solely on her drag daughter’s name.
#2: Scarlett Harlett as Macaulay Culkin
“Snatch Game”
When Ru tells you to change your Snatch Game character, you do it. Scarlett Harlett isn’t sure which celebrity to do when the week begins, but a Werk Room visit from Ru makes the decision much easier. Ru begs Scarlett for her Macaulay Culkin impression, and all Scarlett has to do is throw her hands over her face in the “Home Alone” pose and RuPaul is done for. The host is genuinely screaming over this one little gesture. For a second, it looks like she’s having some kind of medical emergency. If that’s not a sign that you’re on the right track, we’re not sure what is.
#1: Utica’s Facial Expressions
“RuPaulmark Channel”
When RuPaul asks season 13’s Utica Queen whether she’s ever experienced a certain illicit herbal substance, the queen doesn’t know how to answer. In fact, she opts for a nonverbal response instead. RuPaul immediately starts cackling and just doesn’t stop. Knowing that the number one rule of “Drag Race” is to make RuPaul laugh, Utica just keeps miming for the camera as long as she can. And she does it for a while. You can almost feel the envy of her fellow competitors as Utica cements a place in Ru’s heart before their very eyes.
Which of these clips had you laughing right along with Ru? Tell us in the comments.
