'RuPaul's Drag Race' season 14 queens dish on twists, trade, and Maddy's manspreading meme (original) (raw)
The RuPaul's Drag Race season 14 cast tells EW about trade of the season, who brought porn to set, and answers questions from past queens Kandy Muse, Lala Ri, and Kennedy Davenport!
Published on January 4, 2022 03:00PM EST
There's no other way to view RuPaul's Drag Race season 14 — with its multiple twists, a Jennifer Lopez cameo, and queens who admittedly snuck a jolly stash of porn onto the set for communal usage — than through the eyes of Kornbread Jeté: "The tagline should be RuPaul's Drag Race Season 14: Chaotic Tranquility," she tells EW in our exclusive roundtable interview with the cast. "We're chaotic, but we're at peace with that."
EW's wild session (above) with the new class of queens set to enter the Emmy-winning competition this Friday proves as much, from President June Jambalaya delivering a full State of the Queer Union address from her office inside the Real Housewives of Drag Race mansion and Daya Betty's statue couture that belongs in the Louvre, all the way to a surprise cameo from season 11 winner (and, seemingly, Willow Pill's one-woman drag queen tech support team) Yvie Oddly.
The eclectic chemistry and shenanigans of this new batch of queens is, in the spirit of Kandy Muse, turning over a new leaf for the franchise, but so is the diverse nature of their identities.
"There's so much of drag that has been influenced by trans women over the years, especially trans women of color," says Kerri Colby, one of season 14's trailblazing trans competitors and daughter of iconic pageant queen Sasha Colby. "This is how it's supposed to be."
'RuPaul's Drag Race' season 14 cast of queens. VH1
Before RuPaul's Drag Race season 14 premieres Friday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on VH1 (followed each week by EW's new Quick Drag recap series on Twitter Spaces immediately after), watch our exclusive video interview with the full cast above, and read on for all the highlights (including timestamps).
- 6:15 — After Bosco and DeJa Skye jokingly say Lady Camden was "selling smut on the side," the British queen elaborates on the adult-oriented videos she brought with her during production, which Angeria Paris VanMicheals later dubs The Sisterhood of the Traveling Porn after they, uh, all took turns with it!
- 8:16 — Kerri describes the runways ahead as "the Olympics of drag" with some of the most jaw-dropping fashions the show has ever seen.
- 10:45 — The group says the heavily teased chocolate bar twist isn't the only surprise in store: "It's one of the biggest twists in Drag Race history, but it's not even the biggest twist of the season" says Maddy Morphosis.
- 13:11 — Kerri and Kornbread discuss their trans identities and the bond they formed during production, with the latter saying the former was one of the first to know about her transition: "She's literally walked me through so much of my transition that no one understands how much she's done for me personally. She's not my drag mom, but I tell her she's definitely partly my trans mom."
- 15:40 — Maddy, the first cisgender, heterosexual man to compete on Drag Race, addresses fan backlash and support from castmates — particularly Angeria, Daya Betty, and Jasmine Kennedie, who voice admiration for their sister: "You see a lot of negative comments that say drag is a queer space; no, baby, drag is an artistic space for all of us," Angeria says. "It's all valid, and that's why I'm so proud that we get to share being on this season with [Maddy]. To show our community period, the drag community, is all about inclusion."
- 18:35 — Maddy addresses that instantly iconic "manspreading" meme from the official Meet the Queens videos.
- 19:50 — Daya Betty recalls giving season 12 queen Crystal Methyd the legendary shorts she wore on the show as alter ego Phenomal Phil: "The bitch took them!" she says with a laugh. "I painted those.... I wore them first! And then I was just nice to give them to her for the show. I'm such a good sister!"
- 22:18 — Yvie makes a surprise cameo during Willow's response to a question about their relationship.
- 25:12 — During a game of superlatives, Jorgeous recalls being cast in Kacey Musgraves' and Troye Sivan's "Easy" music video.
- 26:19 — Alyssa Hunter is crowned "Trade of the Season" and gives a coronation speech.
- 31:12 — The queens answer questions from past contestants Lala Ri, Kandy Muse, and Kennedy Davenport!
- 36:57 — President June Jambalaya gives a State of the Union address before the season begins.
Subscribe toEW's BINGE podcast for full recaps of RuPaul's Drag Race_, including our new season diving into all five_ All Stars seasons, featuring exclusive interviews with Jujubee, Alexis Mateo, Shea Couleé, Alaska, Detox, BenDeLaCreme, Kennedy Davenport, and more. And be sure to catch up on our BINGE recaps of RuPaul's Drag Race seasons 1-13 with Symone, Jaida Essence Hall, Trixie Mattel, Katya, Peppermint, Bianca Del Rio, Bob the Drag Queen, Sasha Velour, and more!
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