Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
If you don’t want to see which queen was eliminated after the queens filmed their own TV pilots on RuPaul’s Drag Race, now is your chance to sashay away (for the moment, at least). After an episode where the queens broke up into teams and filmed their own (insane) TV pilots, perpetually annoyed Nina Bo’Nina Brown ended up in the bottom two against judges’ fave Valentina, and it seemed obvious that Valentina was going to prevail. But when it came time to lip sync, and Valentina wouldn’t remove the costume veil she’d worn for her runway look, Ru and the judges weren’t having it. It was only when RuPaul stopped the lip sync and outright ordered Valentina to take the veil off, that she complied. And once the lip-sync resumed, the words to the Ariana Grande’s “Greedy” escaped her, and she was shockingly eliminated.
WHAT. HAPPENED?
We spoke to Valentina this week about what was going through her head during that disastrous lip sync.
Decider.com: After you finished the challenge with Nina, after you were done filming your pilot, did you have any sense that you would be in danger of lip syncing that week?
Valentina: No.
Did you practice for the lip sync at all before then or did you think you were completely safe?
You never know if you’re going to be completely safe ever. I prepared the best that I could for the lip sync with the amount of time that I had, but I was unprepared for the lip sync.
When Michelle and Carson were watching you film, was it a lot of good feedback? Was that what made you think that you and Nina were safe?
There was a lot of laughter in the room. There was great advice that we were given, and we were having a really great time.
When you put your “club kid” look together, including the veil, you, Shea, and Trinity all had things covering your mouths with your looks. Was there any conversation between you three backstage about what would happen if you were to have to lip sync with those outfits?
Never. I was too focused on getting ready.
What goes through you mind when you do end up in the bottom three, knowing that you have this look and have to make a decision very quickly?
What goes through my mind? I was in a state of shock so I wasn’t really processing or thinking or feeling. I think I was just in a blur, and I don’t know what I was thinking. I still don’t know, I haven’t even seen the episode.
By the time that Ru stops the lip sync, did you feel like, “Oh god, I’m in trouble”?
The moment Ru stopped the lip sync, I didn’t know what was going on.
Once [Ru] seemed pretty perturbed about the veil, what was your thought then?
That was the only moment I felt something. That’s the moment I felt like, “Oh shit. What’s going on?”
When Ru says, “Can you please take off your mask?” and you say, “I’d rather keep it on,” did you feel like performing a lip sync with the veil on should not have been an issue for the judges?
Do I feel like keeping the mask on should have not been an issue with the judges? I don’t know.
You have the time before that, between when the judges talk to you all and then you all go back to the Untucked lounge. Talking amongst the other queens, who did they think was going to be lip syncing?
I don’t remember. I was in a state of shock. I kind of shut down and I was very quiet during Untucked because I shut down. So, I don’t remember.
You don’t remember any of the other queens talking to you about what you would have to do if it was you?
No, I don’t remember.
In terms of the whole competition, what were your feelings about your chances to win the whole thing, at the outset of this week? Did you feel like you were in a really good spot?
I walked into the entire experience knowing that I was going to win. That was my goal. Yes.
Once you saw you were going up against Nina in the bottom two, and Nina having been in the bottom two before and the judges had called her out on some attitude things before, did you feel like you had an advantage over Nina if it was just the two of you?
Had I not been in shock, I probably could have processed and thought that because, you saying that to me, it seems logical. But when I was in that moment and in that state of shock I wasn’t really processing or thinking. It could have been anybody. It could have been anyone that I lip synced against. The issue was me and my self-saboteur that didn’t allow me to break through and wake myself out of this state of shock.
Was this the first time in the competition where this self-saboteur popped up for you?
Yes, and it was my very first time in the bottom.
Earlier in the competition ,we had seen a sense from the other queens, certainly from Aja, that the judges were being favorable to you and that was something that had gotten her irked. And maybe the other queens had some thoughts about that. Do you feel like you were a favorite of the judges early on and what were your responses to the other queens saying those kinds of things?
Do I feel like I was a favorite? I feel like I was a favorite in the eyes of RuPaul. What would I say when they had these comments? Nothing. I didn’t want to make anyone feel any type of way with the love that I felt with the comments from the judges. I didn’t want to throw it in anybody’s face so, I just let them talk, because my focus was to win and not to discuss people’s emotions and feelings about why they think it’s unfair that I’m doing so well.
Did that annoy you, that the other queens were bringing this up?
Not at all. I’ve been used to it.
Used to it from what?
I went to performing arts school, so I’ve been through lots of auditions and wanting to get certain roles and lots of rehearsals and wanting to excel and do my very best. When you go to a performing arts school, it’s very much like Fame or like Glee, where it’s this very competitive artistic environment where you want to excel. I’ve always been a very kind person, and I’ve always been able to connect with lots of people. Being somebody that really has a good heart and loves people, with that comes responsibility of people not liking you [because other] people like you. I’ve always tried to be fair and nice to people and make sure that I focus on the positive things, not the negative things. It’s something I’m used to because I’ve dealt with it, and I know how to deal with that kind of behavior, where people feel a certain type of way towards me, but that’s not my issue. It’s very not my issue.
