Drag Race winner Jinkx Monsoon hilariously explains why she appeared to be 'zooted' on The Pit Stop

Two-time RuPaul's Drag Race winner and Chicago Broadway star Jinkx Monsoon wasn't smoking all that jazz during her instantly iconic appearance on The Pit Stop — she just did a little.

After her guest spot alongside longtime collaborator BenDeLaCreme on the popular Drag Race review show's January season premiere went viral in the fandom for Jinkx's allegedly "zooted" behavior, the All Stars 7 champion hilariously addresses the moment in an exclusive interview with EW's Quick Drag podcast (below).

"Do you want me to reveal the secret? I was happy to just let everyone think that I was zooted. I'd never heard that word before The Pit Stop. I was happy to let everyone think I was just stoned out of my gourd. Honestly, I had a head cold that day, and I was so doped up on Dayquil. I'd smoked a joint, but that's usual for me. It wasn't like I'd smoked 15 joints or found some secret edible, the Everlasting Gobstopper of edibles," she explains of the episode, hosted by Drag Race season 6 winner Bianca Del Rio. "I was just trying so hard to not let my nose run that I was being very still, and I was in a weird headspace that day. Dayquil and Emergen-C."

Jinkx — who's set to embark on her upcoming Everything at Stake tour in June — stresses that she tested negative for COVID prior to filming the show, but she was still worried about getting DeLa sick, because they shot their segment amid their most recent joint holiday tour.

"I didn't want her to be like, 'Oh my God, Jinkx, you can't be sick!'" Jinkx says. "So, I was trying to hide it. It ended up being a great episode, but people thought I was a little more stoned than usual."

Still, it sounds like Jinkx was, if not fully zooted, at least lightly zooted — for professionalism, she promises.

"What I like to say is [I was] consummate professional zooted," she finishes. "I was zooted to do my job!"

Listen to Jinkx's full interview above, hear more RuPaul's Drag Race chats and recaps in the Quick Drag feed below, and be sure to check out EW's exclusive premiere of all of the Everything at Stake tour dates.

Subscribe toEW's Quick Drag podcast for recaps of RuPaul's Drag Race, including reactions with the cast, special guests, and more.

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