On the heels of the Drag Race UK release, the Aussie version of the show has just been confirmed by ITV Australia, with CEO David Mott telling TV Tonight that the production is “set to shantay onto Australian screens in 2020.”
The original Emmy Award-winning show is gearing up for its 12th season and fifth All-stars edition, with fans excited to meet the new queens as well as revisiting some old favourites. Having just been introduced the UK queens, many fans already have their top (and bottom) picks for who they would like to see take the crown and the cash prize.
UK Drag Race competitor Baga Chipz has already been receiving mixed reviews online with her right-leaning and conservative views seeming “hypocritical” to many fans.
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Though RuPaul herself, along with friend and co-star Michelle Visage, will be heading the judging panel on the UK Drag Race, fans are speculating that similar to the Thailand edition of the show, she may take a backseat in the Australian version. This comes after Ru’s silence on the announcement of the series, suggesting that this spin-off will be hosted by local queens rather than RuPaul herself leading the panel.
However, all is not lost as Ru’s husband Georges LeBar is Australian so she still can make a guest appearance.
Rumours have been floating around Twitter claiming that the Australian season six runner-up Courtney Act is involved in the show somehow, however her rocky relationship with Ru post-season six would suggest otherwise.
Act has openly criticised Ru in the past for her political views and the way in which she has spoken about women, particularly trans women, stating her alarm at the fact that RuPaul as a cis man is “having conversations about, and rule over, women’s bodies” and expressing her dismay at the “public erasure of trans women from the history of drag and then the irony of Ru, a male, telling women, cis and trans, they can’t do drag.”
It is still uncertain whether or not mother Ru herself will grace the mainstage on the Aussie production, or if her and Courtney Act can mend their on-going feud in time for a Snatch Game special appearance from the star, however one thing is clear; RuPaul’s Drag Race Australia will be sickening!
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