Top 20 Funniest RuPaul's Drag Race Comedy Performances
#20: Pearl & Max
“The DESPY Awards”
The queens of season 7 were tasked with presenting and accepting awards at the first, and since then, only edition of the DESPY Awards. Pearl and Max came out to present the trophy for Most Busted Drag Queen. Nailing the fake banter and insincerity of awards show presenters, their set was actually a surprising success. Pearl went from essentially daring RuPaul to send her home in the Work Room to winning the challenge with her partner, Max. But their jokes were fun, and Pearl’s personality was able to shine through as they skewered the other queens.
#19: Lydia B. Kollins
“The Villains Roast”
Roasting the villains of previous seasons led to one of the more entertaining comedy challenges in recent years. Even when season 17’s contestants didn’t have the jokes, the villains on stage always did. Lydia Butthole Kollins showed no fear as she made her jabs at Mistress Isabelle Brooks, Plane Jane, and Kandy Muse. But it’s her parting shot, a tribute to her boyfriend Kori King, that had the judges screaming. She also might be one of the first contestants in “Drag Race” herstory to use her time on stage to hit on RuPaul. We’ll have to check the stats on that.
#18: Raja
“Draguation Speeches”
All Stars 7 competitor Raja played to her strengths. She created a character for the “Draguation Speeches” challenge that can only be described as the most popular witch in school. This is a speech so pompous, she almost sounds like an alien addressing an inferior lifeform. Raja pairs her grand gestures and sage-like demeanor with some hard-learned life lessons about generosity, taxes, and sex. All of them are unhinged and hilarious but also genuinely helpful. Well, mostly helpful. Raja landed in the week’s top two, earning her first Legendary Legend Star of the season.
#17: Sasha Velour
“RuPaul Roast”
This season 9 queen dropped some knowledge on the Michelle Visage Roast. And we’re not just talking about the fact that she uses “edifying” in a sentence. Sasha Velour turned her ultra-academic approach to drag on its head. Using her extensive vocabulary and talents for social commentary, Sasha’s jokes almost seem like they’re going to be too serious before she delivers a swerve of a punchline at the last second. Even when one joke is a little too niche, she owns it, and it’s somehow even funnier. If Peppermint hadn’t smashed it out of the park, Sasha probably would have won this one.
#16: Monét X Change
“Roast in Peace”
The best roasts come from people who have respect for the guest of honor. It’s clear Monét X Change has love for Lady Bunny, the guest of honor at this combination roast and funeral. Swiveling in with her big padded hips like she had had a few drinks before the funeral, Monét fully embodies her character here. She hooks us immediately with that opening visual gag with her glasses. Monét is fantastic at casting off rapid fire one-liners like she just thought of them in the moment. She even has Lady Bunny laughing from beyond the grave.
#15: The Vivienne
"The Kennedy Davenport Center Honors Hall of Shade"
The “Drag Race UK” alum closes out what she calls a “celebration of horrible, horrible men” with style and dry British humor. The Vivienne absolutely destroys her “All Stars 7” castmates with her razor-sharp wit and incredible timing. Viv takes aim at Trinity’s silicone injections and Jinkx’s Zoom wedding. But she saves her most devastating blows for Monét X Change, attacking her talent, personality, and her canceled talk show, “The X Change Rate.” Shockingly, Viv didn’t make the top two for this performance. We’d like a recount. Which manager do we need to talk to?
#14: Trinity K. Bonet
“Drag Queens of Comedy”
There was no way Bianca Del Rio wasn’t going to walk away with the win this week. But even she was laughing herself silly during Trinity K. Bonet’s set. The elderly audience seemed like they were enjoying it too once she told them she already had their wallets. Given that Trinity had been struggling to let herself shine the entire season, this was a triumph for her. Trinity starts the set by saying she isn’t a comedian. She could’ve fooled us. Trinity delivers jokes about her race and her poor upbringing as if she has been telling them her whole life.
#13: Jessica Wild
“The Roast of Carson Kressley”
Delivering her jokes in a way that only she can, the “All Stars 8” finalist uses her effusive and exaggerated personality to absolutely trash rotating judge Carson Kressley. What makes it work is that Jessica Wild is usually so sweet. But the minute she heard it was a roast, she turned the oven up to 500 and put her sights directly on Kressley. She brings the house down with her reasoning why he should have been a contestant instead of a judge. By the end, RuPaul is hooting and hollering louder than anyone else in the room.
#12: Jimbo
“The Roast of Carson Kressley”
Resurrecting one of the best roast comics of all time is a big risk. For Jimbo, it paid off. Appearing in character as the late Joan Rivers, Jimbo honored the landmark comic’s sense of irreverence, audacity, and her skill for truly deranged insults. There are times during her roast where it genuinely seems like Rivers is there. She spreads the wealth. No one is safe from her turns of phrase and nasty comments. From Kandy Muse’s face to RuPaul’s age to Carson Kressley’s resemblance to Ellen DeGeneres, no one is safe and no topic is off-limits.
#11: Jinkx Monsoon
"The Kennedy Davenport Center Honors Hall of Shade"
The Kennedy Davenport Center Honors may be an imaginary event, but there’s nothing imaginary about Jinkx Monsoon’s comic timing. Her set is professional, polished, and so, so funny. Once she starts talking about Yvie Oddly’s… gifts, one of the week’s Legendary Legend Stars was hers. And don’t just ask us. The cardinal rule of “Drag Race” is to make RuPaul laugh. Few queens have the host in stitches quite like Jinkx Monsoon. There are times during this roast where RuPaul literally seems to be gasping for air. If that’s not a ringing endorsement, what is?
#10: Coco Montrese
“RuPaul Roast”
There were a number of truly hilarious performances during Season 5’s roast challenge. Alaska certainly stood out, with practically every one of her lines drawing laughs. Plus, who could forget Jinkx Monsoon’s legendary opening line at Coco’s expense? However, Ms. Montrese snagged the challenge win, and we can totally understand why. First of all, her idea of appearing as RuPaul’s forgotten cousin from back home was wildly original. But Coco backed up her unique premise with great characterization and side-splitting jokes. If you ask us, Ru may never live down being told he looks like Pee-wee Herman.
#9: Gottmik
“Nice Girls Roast”
No one can argue that Gottmik brought the looks and the makeup skills to Season 13. But as she grew in confidence throughout her appearance, she also developed a strong comedic voice. After her stellar “Snatch Game” outing, this performance proved she was seriously funny. She began with a witty joke about Utica’s bombed set moments earlier. Gottmik then laid into Valentina’s appearance in “Rent: Live,” Ru’s recording career, and Heidi N Closet’s stints in the bottom two. Her jokes were just personal enough but it was her expert delivery that made the routine so special.
#8: Manila Luzon
“Roast in Peace”
In “All Stars” Season 4, the roast challenge featured a special guest and format. Rather than targeting someone on the judging panel, the sets served as eulogies at a mock funeral for the iconic Lady Bunny. We’ve already given Monét X Change props for jokes about the queen’s age and her appearance out of drag. But arguably the top performer of the night was Manila Luzon. From the moment she recoiled at the sight of Bunny in a coffin, we knew we were in for some laughs. While some competitors tried out characters to varying success, Manila had the genius idea of reading Bunny’s will aloud.
#7: Alaska & Alyssa Edwards
“Revenge of the Queens”
One of the best twists ever on “All Stars” came about in Season 2. The eliminated queens were all brought back and paired up with the remaining contestants. Then, the duos had to perform stand-up routines in front of a live audience. Alaska and Alyssa are individually hilarious, but their comedic sensibilities are arguably quite different. Nonetheless, they turned out to be the perfect match on stage. While Alaska delivered dry, deadpan quips, Alyssa’s zany personality was on full display. As for funniest moments, there’s really only one contender. “BEAST” will certainly go down as one of the show’s best one-word punchlines.
#6: Bosco
“The Ross Mathews Roast”
After the trainwreck that was Season 14’s “Snatch Game,” we weren’t exactly sure how this insult comedy challenge would turn out. Bosco took on the daunting task of opening the roast, but thankfully, she knocked it out of the park. Her dry sense of humor won her the “Menzeses” panel challenge, and it also helped out here. Coming off of her near-elimination, Bosco started out by poking fun at how many people had told her to go home. However, she spun this into an opportunity to tease the judges and her fellow contestants. Plus, she had a truly original read for Ru calling all the way back to the stone age.
#5: Miz Cracker
“Stand-Up Smackdown”
Fans of the show know that this comedy queen can sometimes get in her own head. However, she had no trouble showing off her one-of-a-kind personality in this stand-up set. She started off her routine by commenting on the notorious isolation “Drag Race” queens put up with during filming. However, it didn’t take her long to turn her sights on her fellow competitors. She finished the performance with a commentary on body-shaming. Unexpectedly, the bit went from serious and somber to utterly joyful in a matter of moments. The joke, like Miz Cracker’s entire personality, was perfectly offbeat.
#4: Darienne Lake
“Drag Queens of Comedy”
Bianca Del Rio may hold the title for the shady lady of season six. But if there was ever a runner up, it would have to be Darienne Lake. We already knew she was a clap back queen by the time of the stand-up comedy challenge. But here, the lip sync assassin showed she could deliver pre-written jokes with aplomb, too. Her set quickly delved into self-deprecating humor about her childhood and single status. It was refreshing to see Darienne take aim at herself instead of, well, BenDeLaCreme. Ultimately, the set made us fall even more in love with this multi-talented performer.
#3: Peppermint
“RuPaul Roast”
In Season 9, New York City legend Peppermint quickly established herself as an incredibly likable personality. She scored her only win for the challenge themed around roasting Michelle Visage. It’s particularly impressive that she stood out amongst multiple hilarious performances. Shea Couleé, for instance, pulled zero punches when speculating about Michelle’s private life. For her part, Peppermint commented on Michelle’s rise to fame and her age. Her most hilarious jokes, however, were about the judge’s writing career. “The Diva Rules” may not yet be classic literature, but at least it gave us these hilarious on-screen moments.
#2: Kandy Muse
“Nice Girls Roast”
Kandy Muse was arguably the unofficial narrator of Season 13. With her bold personality and quick wit, her commentary on the competition was endlessly entertaining. It was no surprise, then, for her to absolutely kill the roast of past Misses Congeniality. She radiated confidence on stage, which allowed the cutthroat humor in her jokes to shine through. Kandy had the difficult task of opening the show, with no audience to boot. However, she used this as an opportunity to come for Michelle Visage’s performing career. Her jokes aimed at the likes of Valentina, Nina West, and Ru herself were short, to the point, and truly hilarious. Although the venue wasn’t exactly packed, Kandy made sure it was filled with laughter.
#1: Bianca Del Rio
“Drag Queens of Comedy”
Going into this challenge, we were expecting comedy gold from this quick-witted queen. From the moment she compared her audience to the geriatric cast of sci-fi film “Cocoon,” it was clear she would nail her set. She quickly turned from teasing her audience to poking fun at her own family and upbringing. The shift in content made her routine feel equal parts ruthless and personal. Another clever turnaround came when Bianca compared her own track record to Michelle and Santino’s. With a perfect blend of insult humor and self-deprecation, Bianca showed why she’s remembered as one of the funniest queens ever.
Which of these comedy queens made you laugh the hardest? Tell us in the comments.
