Top 20 Worst Snatch Game Performances on RuPaul's Drag Race

Trixie Mattel’s impersonation of RuPaul started out strong. She had the look down, and it seemed like she understood the task in her introduction. But what goes up must come down, and Trixie’s impression fell flat quickly. Her head movements were too much, and her answers grew more odd and repetitive than funny. Sure, she plugged some of Ru’s famous lines, but it was poorly executed. If you’re looking for a quick chuckle, there’s short snippets of this Snatch Game performance that’ll probably do the job. But it gets old and awkward fast. There’s only one person who can do RuPaul, and that’s the queen herself.

#19: Max as Sharon Needles Season 7

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Top 10 Worst Snatch Game Performances on RuPaul’s Drag Race

Queens doing impressions of other queens rarely seems to work out well in Snatch Game. Max proved this point very well in Season 7 with her impersonation of Drag Race royalty, Sharon Needles. Sharon is, of course, known for her spooky persona, but there’s a lot more to her than just white make-up and Halloween costumes. Snatch Game is all about creating a recognizable caricature, and while Max did have a recognizable Sharon look down, the voice was totally wrong. [Max’s bad Sharon Needles voice] And, from what was aired, it didn’t seem like she had any jokes prepared outside of empty references to creepy things. [Max references a haunted house] It’s a strange choice for Max, particularly when, after watching her Snatch Game audition tape, it was clearly the weakest of her options. [Max doing Sharon in her audition tape]

#18: Gia Gunn as Jenny Bui All Stars Season 4

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After her lackluster Kim Kardashian performance in Season 6’s Snatch Game, [Gia as Kim Kardashian] Gia Gunn needed to redeem herself when she returned for “All Stars 4.” Originally, she planned on finding redemption by playing Caitlyn Jenner, but Trinity The Tuck fought her for it. Gia settled on her back-up: superstar nail technician, Jenny Bui, which turned out to be a terrible decision. While Manila Luzon got away with her stereotype-laden Barbra Streisand impression because she was hilarious, [Manila Luzon as Barbera Streisand] Gia’s lack of good jokes made her deliberately offensive performance super uncomfortable. [Gia makes an offensive joke] To make matters worse, she kept cutting off Latrice Royale. [Gia interrupts Latrice] Bui herself found the impression so bad, she called Gia out on Instagram for misrepresenting her Cambodian heritage as Japanese.

#17: Detox as Ke$ha Season 5

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From Lady Gaga to Beyoncé, there are just some pop stars who are hard to make funny. [Phi Phi O’Hara as Lady Gaga] Detox learned that with Ke$ha in Season 5’s Snatch Game. Despite describing the singer as a friend of hers, Detox was unable to draw much insight or humor out of her characterization. Though, with her frizzy hair and hungover acting, she did manage to tap into the wild child persona that the singer projected through her branding at that point in her career. [Detox’s hungover acting falling flat] Unfortunately, Detox didn’t take it anywhere near far enough, coming off as half-asleep rather than a party animal. The lowlight was when, perhaps in desperation, Detox decided to have a bathroom break on the stage floor. [Detox takes a bathroom break] We admire the risk-taking but… really, girl?

#16: Milk as Julia Child Season 6

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As Jinkx Monsoon showed with her standout Little Edie impression in Season 5, [Jinxx as Little Edie] as long as you can make a celebrity entertaining, it doesn’t matter if they’re not that well known. The problem is, if you can’t make them entertaining, they’ll crash and burn, as Milk did in Season 6. [Milk’s joke falling flat:] The oddball queen chose to portray television chef and cookbook author, Julia Child, a fairly obscure figure for a significant portion of “Drag Race”’s younger audience. Though Meryl Streep’s take on the French-cuisine expert in “Julie & Julia” gave Milk plenty of material to work with, [Meryl Streep as Julia Child] as Bianca Del Rio bluntly put it: [Bianca Del Rio: “Milk ain’t no Meryl Streep”] In an episode of strong performances, Milk’s underwhelming one simply faded into the background.

#15: Morgan McMichaels as Pink Season 2

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On the very first “Snatch Game” in Drag Race herstory, the queens didn’t quite know what to expect. This was no more evident than in Morgan McMichaels’ lacklustre impression of Pink. Though Morgan was instantly recognisable as the singer with her short, bleached haircut, she failed to match that in her performance. You’d think that with the singer’s bitter, musical rival sitting in the front row, she would have had more than enough ammunition [Tatianna as Britney Spears]. Yet, Pink’s rebellious spirit and outspoken attitude were totally smothered by Morgan’s low energy, not to mention completely overshadowed by Tatiana’s winning Britney Spears impression. Even when she did try to throw jokes in, they unfortunately fell flat

Doing justice to an actress with a presence as huge as the late, great Joan Crawford is no easy task. And unfortunately, in Season Three, Mariah came up dramatically short. Though she tried to heighten the performance with her dark contouring - perhaps in an attempt to make the impression funnier - the makeup came off as sloppy instead. It’s hard to imagine Joan Crawford would have ever left the house with unblended cheeks [Joan Crawford]. Though Mariah attempted to mimic the Mildred Pierce actress’ distinctive way of talking, the impression sorely lacked any drama [Mariah lacking drama], humor, or memorable answers to RuPaul’s questions. And in “Snatch Game,” being unmemorable... is unforgivable.

Having impressed with her Britney moves in the previous episode, Peppermint’s impersonation of The Real Housewives Of Atlanta star NeNe Leakes was highly anticipated in Season Nine’s “Snatch Game.” Perhaps that’s why it was also such a big letdown. Peppermint certainly nailed NeNe’s look, but seemed nervous and unfocused in her performance. She not only failed to make the performance big enough, but also fumbled the delivery of most of her jokes too. RuPaul even had to remind her of NeNe’s trademark catchphrase [NeNe’s catchphrase “bloop”]. Luckily, Peppermint was able to save herself from elimination with some great Madonna choreography [Peppermint’s Madonna lip sync]. It’s just a shame she couldn’t have delivered in the “Snatch Game” to keep herself out of the Bottom completely.

Utica was really excited about bringing Bob Ross to life. But he’s a cherished and unique artist, so there was no telling if the risky choice would pay off. While we hoped Utica would be able to channel Ross, her performance was not it. Her take on the famous personality simply did not work. After all, Bob Ross’ soothing voice was nowhere to be found. So it was honestly hard to watch at times! At the end of the day, the impersonation wasn’t true to the figure so many people love. Most importantly, Utica didn’t abide by the Snatch Game’s number one rule: create laughs.

You know what makes this bad performance even worse? Knowing that it could never have happened. Originally, Roxxxy had Sofia Vergara picked out, but after a chat with Phi Phi caused her to doubt her choice, she made a last minute change to fellow contestant, Alaska. Though a strange move, as a former member of season five’s “Rolaskatox” clique, Roxxxy should have been able to use her knowledge of her BFF to her comedic advantage. Unfortunately, either she was too scared to make Alaska look bad or too unprepared to take the performance to the next level. She also missed a clear reference to Alaska’s music, drawing some side-eye from the top row.

Aiden Zhane crashed and burned when she tried to bring Patricia Quinn to the Snatch Game stage. The performance was flat, and didn’t even incorporate basic elements that the Rocky Horror Picture Show star is known for. How Zhane thought it would be okay to impersonate Quinn without doing her accent is beyond us. Not to mention the way she portrayed the icon as a confused actress with substance abuse problems was clumsy at best. Patricia Quinn herself said she was “disgusted” by the performance. You know you’ve done a bad job when the celebrity you portrayed releases a statement condemning your performance!

Season Eight’s “Miss Congeniality” Cynthia Lee Fontaine was the surprise addition to Season Nine, and expectations of her were high because of her past experience. Though she often gets people laughing, Cynthia was eliciting smiles for all the wrong reasons with her impression of Sofia Vergara. The Puerto-Rican queen could have taken advantage of having a similar-sounding accent to the Colombian actress. Instead, Cynthia seemed to struggle to make sense at all, let alone land any jokes. The “cucu” queen also missed two very, um, big opportunities to exaggerate Sofia’s physical assets [Sofia Vergara]. Cynthia’s elimination in tenth place made her the first queen finish the competition in the exact same position in two seasons.

You have to give her points for effort. After Yara told RuPaul in the workroom that she planned on doing an Amy Winehouse caricature for Season Three’s “Snatch Game, Ru was skeptical. The Puerto-Rican contestant was unperturbed though, convinced that studying the Harry Potter movies had helped her nail a convincing British accent. Sadly, it wasn’t enough. Admittedly, any contestant with a thick accent starts at a disadvantage, but failing to get the singer’s look right is what really did Yara in. Though she was obviously trying to exaggerate the troubled musician’s wilder side, the performance was just bizarre and underbaked. Was it funny? Sure. Was it a good Amy Winehouse impersonation? Nope.

#7: Alyssa Edwards as Katy Perry Season 5

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Alyssa is one of the biggest personalities to ever set foot on the Drag Race runway. So, it was pretty disappointing when she delivered this meek and mild Katy Perry impression in season five’s “Snatch Game.” The blue wig and fragrance plugs [Alyssa spraying fragrance] clued us in just enough as to who the celebrity was, but that was about it. Alyssa failed to find anything about the singer that was funny. Even worse, she missed all of the softballs RuPaul threw at her, including one incredibly obvious reference to the singer’s breakout hit song [Alyssa misses Ru’s reference]. Luckily for Alyssa, she had immunity that week. She DID manage to redeem her damaged “Snatch Game” reputation in All Stars 2 though.

#6: Brooke Lynn Hytes as Celine Dion Season 11

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Brooke Lynn Hytes was untouchable throughout much of Season 11. Then, Snatch Game came along, and suddenly she came crashing back down to earth. As a nod to her Canadian roots, Brooke Lynn picked iconic diva, Celine Dion to impersonate. It seemed like a safe choice for her, but unfortunately things nosedived immediately during the actual challenge. Brooke Lynn barely looked, sounded, or acted like the pop superstar. The only things she had to make the character recognizable were a slew of “Titanic” references and an accent that sounded more Jamicaan than French-Canadian. It was a shoddy performance that almost tanked her flawless run on the show.

Jiggly Caliente’s run on Season 4 of “Drag Race” was a bit of a hot mess in places. And nowhere was she messiest than in the Snatch Game. Jiggly chose to take on “Jersey Shore”’s Snooki, a similarly messy reality star who you’d assume would be perfect for the challenge. It’s not that Jiggly didn’t put the effort in, either. She had a decent look and a bunch of props with her. In fact, if she’d just stayed in her seat, she might have skated through. Instead, in an effort to match the already out-of-control energy in the room, Jiggly “smoshed” her way through the bottom row of queens. She’s since become synonymous with everything disastrous about Season 4’s Snatch Game.

Lineysha always found the language barrier on Drag Race difficult, and unfortunately it finally got the best of her in the “Snatch Game.” Lineysha initially perplexed RuPaul in the workroom when she revealed her first choice for the challenge - Michelle Obama [Lineysha tells RuPaul she’s going to be Michelle Obama]. Ru’s doubts made Lineysha also question the pick, so she decided that swapping to the Queen of Salsa would be a safer option. It wasn’t. As well as failing to look anything like the Cuban singer [Celia Cruz], Lineysha’s characterization was way off. It was also hard to tell whether she was deliberately not answering Ru’s questions properly as part of the act or actually struggling to understand. Either way, Lineysha sashayed away.

#3: The Vixen as Blue Ivy Season 10

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Season 10’s Snatch Game unexpectedly became the battle of the celebrity babies when Eureka O’Hara and The Vixen decided to be Honey Boo Boo and Blue Ivy, respectively. While Honey Boo Boo’s huge personality made for the perfect Snatch Game performance for Eureka, Blue Ivy doesn’t really have a big, public persona, leaving The Vixen with nothing to work with. We can’t for the life of us figure out why she thought it would be a good idea to play her, and, judging by her performance, neither could The Vixen. Combined with Asia O’Hara playing a weirdly stern version of Blue’s mother, it made for an almost unwatchable viewing experience. Apparently the Snatch Game Beyoncé curse runs in the family!

#2: Every Beyoncé Ever Season 2, 4 & 10

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Every time a queen attempts to impersonate Beyoncé, we see why it’s a terrible idea. In season two, the performance was full of Tyra Sanchez, but contained 0 Queen Bey. That alone should have served as a warning to other queens! But they didn’t listen, and Kenya Michaels was the next to flop. Her poorly aimed shot at imitating Sasha Fierce in season 4 was disjointed and odd. So by the time Asia O’Hara decided to portray the icon in season 10, we kept our expectations low. And we were right to! Like those before her, she didn’t deliver on Beyoncé’s humor or mannerisms, and flat out missed the mark. Maybe we should just leave the Knowles-Carter family out of this challenge moving forward. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few dishonorable mentions. Tatianna as Ariana Grande, All Stars 2 Unfortunately Tati couldn’t recapture the magic of her Britney impression. Monique Heart as Maxine Waters, Season 10 The congresswoman might want to reclaim this impersonation. Ivy Winters as Marilyn Monroe, Season 5 Fumbled a JFK joke so bad Jinx had to step in. Farrah Moan as Gigi Gorgeous, Season 9 Farrah failed to capture this influencer’s essence, or any laughs. Yvie Oddly as Whoopi Goldberg, Season 11 The eventual winner shows how not to get an EGOT

#1: Phi Phi O’Hara as Lady Gaga Season 4

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Of all the “Snatch Games” in Drag Race herstory, season four’s stands out. But, not in a good way. Phi Phi was one of the contestants that sat on the infamously messy bottom row. Though she was not the biggest troublemaker during the challenge, her Lady Gaga was a caricature. Mother Monster had already proved a tricky celeb to pull off when Sonique unsuccessfully attempted her in Season Two [Sonique as Lady Gaga]. Phi Phi managed to replicate one of Gaga’s signature looks better [Lady Gaga look Phi Phi was referencing], but went way over the top with her mannerisms. Her jokes about the singer snatching the new “diva crown” didn’t ring true to Gaga. But, most importantly, they didn’t crack a smile from RuPaul.