N.J. drag queen responds to controversy after shocking ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ elimination
Crystal Envy on “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 17, Episode 2. New episodes air every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on MTV.Courtesy of MTV
A New Jersey drag queen, who was competing on the current season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” is speaking out after she was unexpectedly eliminated from the reality TV show Friday night.
Crystal Envy, a popular performer based in Asbury Park, was sent packing by host RuPaul after losing a lip-sync battle to fellow contestant Lana Ja’Rae, of Dallas.
Envy’s elimination shocked fans of the show, as she’d been one of season 17’s more well-rounded queens so far. Friday’s episode was her first appearance in the bottom two, while it was Ja’Rae’s second.
The two queens performed a “Lip Sync For Your Life” to Selena Gomez’ song “Hands to Myself,” which included a couple controversial moments, namely the two queens bumping into each other and Envy crawling between Ja’Rae’s legs to gain better position on stage.
Envy, 27, was ousted once the performance was finished, and Ja’Rae was allowed to stay.
Envy (born Christopher Cianci) has since spoken out against the elimination and claimed it was not “justifiable.”
“I don’t even remember bumping into her. I turned and she was right next to me,” Envy told Entertainment Weekly. “I crawled through her legs because she was blocking me. If you’re going to block me, I’m going to find my light, even if I look like a werewolf (the week’s costume).”
The Jersey queen also took to X (formerly Twitter) to argue that she didn’t get intentionally get physical with Ja’Rae during the performance, describing it as a “playful moment.”
“I’m sorry, but anyone saying I got ‘handsy’ with Lana in our lipsync is delusional. Lana stood in front of ME first, so I found my light by crawling through her legs,” she wrote. “The second time I accidentally bumped her not knowing she was right next to me. Thank u, NEXT.”
