RuPaul’s Drag Race stars who ditched drag afterwards – and some slammed the show
As RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15 ends, we look back at some of the performers who have hung up their heels and left the world of drag behind after appearing on the show
Not every Drag Race contestant has enjoyed post-show fame(Image: BBC)
Emmy winning show RuPaul’s Drag Race has seen over 200 queens grace the runway just in the US alone, with hundreds more across the international versions.
Since 2009, RuPaul has been introducing fans to the best queens their country has to offer making them instant stars with sold out shows but with 14 years since the first season aired, not all queens have kept up their personas.
With some queens being shunned by fans, others transitioning and one or two simply disappearing off social media, there’s a long list of queens who have turned their back on Drag Race fame.
Princess Poppy
Princess Poppy was the first eliminated from season 15
Second eliminated from season 15, Princess Poppy from San Francisco returned for Reunited in an iconic homage to season one queen Rebecca Glassc**k but is actually looking to take a step back from the world of drag for the “foreseeable future”.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, she said: “I want to fall off the face of the planet. I don’t want to be famous. I want to fade into obscurity. That’s not a bad thing.
“I think people put so much emphasis on success and fame, and it’s okay to not want to be famous. It’s totally valid to not want to be known by a bunch of people. That’s just not what I want. I don’t want that for my life.”
One of the most well known divorces from the Drag Race world is season one’s Tyra Sanchez, a controversial winner who has had long documented issues with other queens.
Claims of “The Other Tyra” threatening multiple contestants with violence and saying Morgan McMichaels had passed away despite her being alive and kicking caused many fans and fellow queens to reject Tyra. Rumour has it she was also banned from attending celebratory DragCon.
She retired her crown and cut ties many years ago, going by birth name James Ross but returned in September 2022 under the name of King Tyra and set up an OnlyFans.
A member of the “Heathers” clique on season three and the source of some drama as she was the second contestant to return to the show after being eliminated.
Carmen later announced she was not a drag queen but a transwoman and works as a trans rights activist. She now focuses on her life as a fitness influencer as well as a career as a model, burlesque performer and actress.
Throughout her post-Drag Race years, Carmen has been openly critical of the show’s use of terms like “she-male”, which was removed by showrunners in season seven.
Her stance has been that although she is grateful for the platform Drag Race gave her, the show should push for more inclusionary language – a shift that has been notable over the years.
Ivy Winters
Winner of the much loved Miss Congeniality award in season five, Ivy is known for her impressive appearances on stilts and connection with fellow contestant and season winner Jinx Monsoon.
Ivy Winters has turned her back on live drag performances and embraced a very cottage core lifestyle full of farming and handmade clothing. Her Instagram is filled with wholesome posts about her garden and vegetables grown there.
Although not performing, Ivy’s posts are regularly flooded with comments from queens and she still uses a picture in full drag as Ivy for her profile picture.
Rebecca Glassc**k
An often overlooked queen from season one, Rebecca managed to come third on the show despite being somewhat of an underdog throughout thanks to her daytime style of drag.
In the 14 years since the season aired, Javier Rivera has retired his drag personality and calls himself an artist, singer and make up artist on Instagram. Her impact is not to be underestimated, with Princess Poppy’s reunion tribute but the queen herself has left the drag world behind.
The former drag queen addressed Poppy’s outfit in a post captioned: “Yooooo!!!! Everybody was blowing up my phone and sending me pics!!! I thought it was hilarious!!! This b**** did her homework. For a minute I saw that pic from the panel and said: ‘When did I film that? Oh s**t! That’s not me!!!!’
“@poppyprincesspoppy Hats off to ya babe!!!! You had me down to the pumps and the necklace!!! You fuggin turned it!!! You had me LMFAO!!! Beautifully executed.”
READ MORE: ‘I could have bought a house’ shares Drag Race UK winner who received no cash prize
Kenya Michaels
Lil’ Kenya Michaels, the five foot tall Puerto Rican queen from season four now goes by Kenya Olivera since transitioning into a woman.
She works as a fashion stylist and wig designer, having completely retired her drag persona since appearing on the show. Now Kenya has her own wig company called Peluka Labs, based in Puerto Rico.
Although she is no longer a drag queen, she does post cosplay on her Instagram such as Disney’s Tinkerbell and Ariel. Kenya is still popular with fans and has over 100k followers on Instagram.
Magnolia Crawford
There seems to be no rhyme or reason behind this departure from drag but season six’s Magnolia Crawford appears to have left performing behind.
Magnolia’s Instagram bio says: “Comedian, humorist, artist, and creator of Magnolia Crawford” so clearly he has not completely divorced from the personality. However, Reynolds Engelhart, the man behind Magnolia hasn’t posted a picture of the character since 2018.
It seems he is creating other female characters for his art series “Portrait of a Lady” but these don’t appear to be drag personas in the way Magnolia was.
Robbie Turner
Robbie Turner was involved in a strange car crash – or not
Possibly one of the strangest turns away from Drag Race is Robbie Turner from the eight season of the US show. Robbie was eliminated in episode six after a lip sync with Derrick Barry and failed to make an impact with fans.
Two years later, in 2018, Robbie, real name Jeremy Baird, tweeted that he had been involved in a car crash with an uber driver who had died.
Uber announced the story was untrue and the queen later admitted that the crash never happened, let alone a fatality occurring. Since this, Robbie has not been seen in public and not returned to drag at all.
Vivienne Pinay
Icon in Drag Race “herstory” for being one of the first ever queens to go home in a double elimination, way back in season five with Honey Mahogany, who coincidentally has also left drag behind and is now a politician.
The queen has disappeared from social media, with their last picture posted on Instagram in 2016 – three years after the season aired. She also appeared on tv shows Face-Off and Skin Wars in 2015 before her retirement.
Vivienne has given no indication of intending to return to drag or why she stopped in the first place. It’s thought the New York queen now owns a wig company, called FairyTale Wigs, who provide hair pieces for cosplayers.
Monica Beverly Hillz
Another queen who announced they were transgender while appearing on the show, Monica Beverly Hillz gave an emotional confession to her fellow queens.
She has since transitioned and retired her drag persona but now works as an activist for trans rights. Along with Carmen Carrera she spoke out against transphobic language used in the show.
When Caitlin Jenner first began to transition, Monica said: “I think it’s so wrong in so many ways for them to poke fun and do such things to someone… They know nothing about just to make money and make a mockery of trans people everywhere. They need to educate instead of just doing nonsense like that.”
Alisa Summers
Sometimes queens will simply pack up their wigs and leave drag behind, Alisa Summers is one of those queens. The season four contestant was the least followed queen from the entire franchise back in 2021 and has less than 3,000 followers on their.
No one knows why she has left drag behind, but this lack of interest could be a factor.
They now post pictures of their marmoset monkey, calling themselves a “monkey dad” on social media.
