DeJa Skye went out laughing for her sisters — and RuPaul's Drag Race was better for it

In high drag, DeJa Skye is a woman; under the wigs and the pastel fantasy, she's a woman of her word who made season 14 feel, at its core, like a heartfelt family affair.

Though the California queen met her untimely end after her stand-up set at the RuPaul's Drag Race roast of Ross Mathews, DeJa did what a sister does best: she put as much thought into camping up own performance as she did making sure her castmates had a safety net of loving laughter to fall back on if they, too, bombed their way through the fan-favorite comedy challenge.

"I felt like, if I was in their shoes, at least I have my sisters' backs," DeJa tells EW of the moments she made herself laugh at her fellow queens' reads — even if the jokes weren't funny. "If it's silent, it gets in your head. If a joke doesn't land, it can throw you off. I didn't want that situation for my sisters, so I was like, let me just laugh. Even if it's not funny, at least I'll keep them motivated to continue."

While DeJa herself won't continue on in the competition, she leaves behind a warm spirit that, like her best bit during the roast, needs no introduction to be felt. Read on for EW's full elimination interview with DeJa, in which she discusses rallying for her sisters from the Main Stage sidelines, the double standard she felt fans holding her runways to throughout the season, and the collaboration she's cooking up to pitch Lil Jon after she annihilated the Snatch Game.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Hello DeJa! I'm so sorry to see you go, but we can at least savor the fact that Lil Jon made contact with you during the season, right?

DEJA SKYE: He retweeted and commented on my actual post. Hopefully there's a collaboration with Lil Jon and Not-So-Lil Jon. You never know. My voice is so hoarse form everyone wanting me to scream "YEAH!" I need to calm down and give you the gay version that's like, "yeeeeyaaaaaahh."

Yes, the smooth version. You're actively trying to collaborate with him?

I want to. I need to slide into his DMs or have my management reach out to him. I'd love to collaborate: Lil Jon featuring Not-So-Lil Jon ... I think it's really f---ing cool, I've seen him more and more ever since. I'm not going to say I …

…are you going to cite the power of DeJa Skye?

I mean, literally, I'm tagged left and right. There was a TikTok that went viral with him after [Snatch Game]. Maybe I refocused his career. Give me a little credit, mama! I think it's cool that he, being a cis straight man in the hip-hop industry, is like, ok, that's rad! They didn't air it, but Ru said that what she loved most about my impression is that Lil Jon would enjoy it.

Let's look back at some of your runways because they were intensely dissected by the fandom. You improvised some runway looks in the past, like your blue cheetah look, right?

I made them the night before in the hotel room. I'm confident and I knew that fans would have opinions, but what people don't realize is that I didn't have a job, it during a pandemic, and we had zero time. I'm not about to break the bank to potentially go home early. That was a fear of mine. I know how to sew, I might not be the best, but I can do it decently. I was happy with my package. Looking back, a couple I maybe wouldn't have worn, but what frustrates me is that people tell me how to dress for my body, while not being my body type. It kind of went into the realm of disrespect, as opposed to people having an opinion.

Body positivity is an important part of your art, do you feel like, through that lens, your runways have been treated fairly by the fandom? Is the standard different for queens of different body types?

Absolutely. There's a thing called skinny privilege. There are maybe two fashion girls on our season, the rest, our talents lie in other places. I'd see it countless times: if a skinny person was wearing this, it would be a different story, and it shouldn't be that. When some people don't take into consideration that we all have a distinct style. Rather than think of it subjectively, like, this is DeJa's style, it looks great for her, they think that it's not their style. But you're not competing, sweetie. I wanted to represent myself to the fullest. I know my proportions and what works best for my body, so don't tell me that and be okay with someone right next to me being skinny and pulling off the same look and not say anything about it.

It reminds me of people thinking your Mirror, Mirror look was improvised in the moment instead of being made ahead of time for the theme, even though it was the same material Angeria used.

It was the exact same material. I think they didn't understand that the title was Mirror, Mirror, but the description was anything reflective. I had rhinestones all over my gown and reflective material. That sufficed. It wasn't just "I don't like the silhouette," it was "she didn't meet the challenge." I did meet the challenge. There were only two costumes that had mirrors on them, but [the fans] make excuses for someone like Willow Pill or Bosco.

To confirm: that was the runway look you planned from the beginning?

Yes, that was the prompt. I wanted to have the contrast with the black … I wanted to see my shape with it. I was the only one that actually had a mirror, guys! [Laughs]

You were so good at Snatch Game, so the roast surprised me. Your coaching session with Dulcé Sloan and Michelle Visage didn't go over well. They said you decided to keep jokes they told you to remove. In Untucked, you said you felt like you did take their advice. Can you clarify what you meant and what jokes they told you to remove that you kept in?

I knew that if I was going to go out, I wanted to go out on my reasoning. I took some out, but the jokes that they didn't like, I felt I could get laughs from because they're two judges; I knew there were two more judges. I listened when they were like, maybe you should adjust this joke or add this. Michelle said I kept the jokes that they were giving me, and I was like, yeah, isn't that the point of the coaching session? [Laughs] It was a confusing time because I felt like I listened. The jokes I kept didn't land. That's fine. I only have myself to blame.

You did one of my favorite things this season in this episode, when you told Willow that you'd laugh at everyone's jokes regardless of how funny they were, and you actually did! Even when everyone else wasn't laughing, there was DeJa, cracking up. That was intentional, right?

We were all under so much stress in that moment, and we knew the crown was so close. Sorry, I'm getting emotional. [DeJa's voice cracks] I felt like, if I was in their shoes, at least I have my sisters' backs. I understand judges are doing their job, but I wanted to make sure that everyone felt comfortable. I knew it could be an uncomfortable situation. I've seen it on the show for years. It can be awkward. So, let me be that person to keep [them] going on. If it's silent, it gets in your head. If a joke doesn't land, it can throw you off. I didn't want that situation for my sisters, so I was like, let me just laugh. Even if it's not funny, at least I'll keep them motivated to continue.

It made me smile. Did anybody do that for you?

I don't know if I completely put this out of my head, but Daya, Angeria, and Jorgeous giggled a lot. Ru was giggling at every joke. She wasn't busting a gut, but she was giggling, so, she kept me motivated. Obviously, Michelle and Dulcé weren't. [Laughs] I didn't feel like I bombed, but there was so much strength in the other girls. By comparison, it was like, alright, girl …

The lip-sync was surprising because you and Jorgeous were both deemed to be lip-sync assassins. What went wrong for in the performance for you?

Every person has their strengths when it comes to lip-syncing, and it's mainly song choice. You're going to excel at what you're strong at. Jorgeous and I aren't rocker chicks. I couldn't connect to the song as much as I wanted to. I was so in my head about having to lip-sync against people I cared about, and I'd already lip-synced against Daya before. I felt like it was my time. Maybe in hindsight, I could've given a little more oomph, but I hate when someone does too much or is too desperate in a lip-sync. I wanted to stay, but I didn't connect with the song.

Subscribe toEW's BINGE podcast for full recaps of RuPaul's Drag Race, including weekly season 14 recaps with the cast, adapted from our new Quick Drag series airing Fridays at 10:05 p.m. ET/7:05 p.m. PT on the @EW Twitter account.

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