'Snatch Game' disaster sends 'Drag Race' into smackdown chaos (original) (raw)
The RuPaul's Drag Race season 14 Snatch Game went down like a libation flavored with far too much citrus.
For the first time in franchise her-story, virtually all of the queens competing in the fan-favorite celebrity impersonation challenge received negative critiques from the judges, and were told they'd square off against each other in a paired lip-sync smackdown set to unfold across next week's episode.
The only queen declared immune from the impending war on the Main Stage was challenge winner DeJa Skye, who wowed RuPaul with her spot-on interpretation of recording artist Lil Jon. Nearly every time DeJa opened her mouth (mostly to shout an interpretation of the performer's signature "YEAH!" tagline), she had Mama Ru on the floor as her sisters struggled around her.
The rest of the performances ranged from light camp (Lady Camden's uber-queer, attention-whoring take on William Shakespeare was worth an affectionate chuckle) and amusing physical embodiments (Willow Pill studied that Drew Barrymore accent) to slightly confusing (Angeria Paris VanMicheals had her first major misstep of the season as Drag Race icon Tammie Brown). Beyond DeJa, most of the queens' work lacked the kind of comedic flair and improvisational prowess that, well, usually makes Snatch Game a beloved comedy challenge in the first place.
Jasmine Kennedie as Betsy DeVos, RuPaul, and Daya Betty as Ozzy Osbourne during a disastrous Snatch Game on 'RuPaul's Drag Race.'. World of Wonder/VH1
"Throughout this competition, you girls have performed amazingly well, and I know personally what you can live up to. I'm just kind of speechless at this Snatch Game," Michelle Visage said during her opening critiques for the group, which also included Daya Betty as Ozzy Osbourne, Jorgeous as Ilana Glazer, Jasmine Kennedie as Betsy DeVos, and Bosco as Gwyneth Paltrow. "I don't know where everybody went, so, I'm not here to shame, I'm here to investigate and find out what had happened."
RuPaul later joked that the episode would be called "'Who Killed Snatch Game?'" before informing the seven bottom-placing queens that they'd be competing in next week's lip-sync LaLaPaRuZa — not entirely unlike past iterations on All Stars 4 and All Stars 6 — to determine who would be eliminated.
"This week, the rest of you snatched our attention, but for all the wrong reasons. I really expected more from you. I'm sorry my dears, but you are all up for elimination," Ru told the stunned gals. "To make my final decision, we need to see you all lip-sync for your mother-tucking lives."
"You know when your mom says, 'I'm not angry, I'm disappointed' — that's what this feels like," Willow summarized in a confessional. "I think everyone right now is just trying to not go cry in the bathroom."
See which queens survive the season 14 LaLaPaRuZa when RuPaul's Drag Race continues Friday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on VH1.
Tune into EW's Quick Drag post-show recap beginning at 10:05 p.m. ET/7:05 p.m. PT onthe @EW Twitter handle to get more tea from the episode.
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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