Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

The top 16 robberies in RuPaul's Drag Race herstory, ranked

These controversial moments still frustrate fans, even years later.

Denali, Jane Don't, Manila Luzon for RuPaul's Drag Race.

Denali, Jane Don't, Manila Luzon for RuPaul's Drag Race.

World of Wonder

This is a she-mergency!

RuPaul's Drag Race has become an undeniable pop culture phenomenon, as many queens who've competed on the reality show have become household names.


Although Drag Race continues to break viewership records and has received an endless amount of awards since its debut in 2009, fans are quick to call out some of the wildest eliminations and shocking moments that have defined the show over the years.

The term "robbed" is thrown around a lot in the Runiverse as many fan-favorite queens have either been eliminated from the competition too early or just barely missed their chance to snatch the crown.

For this list, Out compiled the top 16 robberies that have occurred on RuPaul's Drag Race and its successful spinoff, RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. (Stay tuned for international Drag Race robberies, which will be compiled on a separate list.)

Take a peek at Out's selection of biggest robberies ahead!

16. Brooke Lynn Hytes Comes in Second Place on Season 11

One constant debate amongst Drag Race fans is whether a queen's track record should be taken into consideration when deciding who makes it to the finale and eventually wins the show.

The track record discourse was very much prominent during the finale of season 11. The top two queens, Yvie Oddly and Brooke Lynn Hytes, had an iconic rematch lip-sync to Lady Gaga's "The Edge of Glory" that had mouths on the floor.

Oddly gagged everyone with sickening dance moves and a headpiece that featured a two-sided design. She eventually won the competition, but many fans thought Hytes deserved the crown for having the best track record from the season.

15. Trixie Mattel's Elimination on Season 7

Even Trixie Mattel came from humble beginnings.

Although many fans know her as one of the most successful drag queens in the world, Mattel had a rough start when she was initially cast on season 7 of Drag Race.

After landing in the bottom two during episode 4, Mattel lost her lip-sync against Pearl in a decision that fans still don't understand to this day. Mattel returned to the competition and came in sixth place on season 7 before eventually winning All Stars 3.

14. Plastique Tiara Doesn't Make Top 3 on 'All Stars 9'

Justice for Plastique Tiara!

All Stars 9 truly featured a legendary cast of queens as Tiara competed against Angeria Paris VanMicheals, Roxxxy Andrews, Vanessa Vanjie Mateo, Gottmik, Shannel, Nina West, and Jorgeous in a very cutthroat season.

Tiara demolished the competition and brought some of the most beautiful runways the show has ever seen, but she just barely missed her spot as a finalist after losing a slew of lip-syncs.

13. BeBe Zahara Benet Sends Aja Home on 'All Stars 3'

Fans loved watching Aja compete on All Stars 10, but some viewers are still frustrated that she was eliminated so early on All Stars 3.

The Drag Race legend is known for slaying All Stars premieres as her jaw-dropping talent show on season 3 is still talked about to this day. However, her time was sadly cut short when she was eliminated during the ball challenge.

Aja looked gorgeous, helped BeBe Zahara Benet make her winning look, and slayed the competition up until that challenge. She deserved more screen time, period!

12. Lexi Love Doesn't Make Top 2 on Season 17

There's no denying that Lexi Love had true star quality on season 17.

She came out swinging at the beginning of the season for her viral roller skate routine that led to her winning the talent show. With two challenge wins under her belt, Love came ready for the season 17 finale.

The star brought her roller skate skills back to the main stage in a dance number that had everyone chanting for the talented queen. However, she did not advance to the top two, which had many fans confused.

When Love was eliminated, she quickly revealed all of her planned stunts for the "Abracadabra" lip-sync in front of RuPaul, which left fans frustrated that they didn't get to see her perform in the final lip-sync to the hit Lady Gaga song.

11. Alaska Sends Tatianna Home on 'All Stars 2'

Rolaskatox was in full effect during All Stars 2. Widely considered as the best Drag Race season ever, there were still some questionable eliminations that frustrated fans.

Tatianna proved why she was a legendary queen after slaying the talent show with her spoken word poem and earning her spot back in the competition during her iconic lip-sync against Alyssa Edwards to Rihanna's "Shut Up and Drive."

Sadly, her memorable moments couldn't save her as Alaska decided to save Roxxxy Andrews and Detox over Tatianna in episode 6... over a rhinestone tank top.

10. Detox Sends Alyssa Edwards Home on 'All Stars 2'

As if Tatianna's exit weren't frustrating enough, Rolaskatox prevented another fan-favorite queen from making it to the finale: Alyssa Edwards.

The tongue-popping drag queen delivered countless iconic memes on All Stars 2, but Detox refused to save Edwards over her longtime best friend Roxxxy Andrews as the competition came down to a top four.

To make it worse? It was the one-year anniversary of Edwards's mother's passing. Even RuPaul was gagged over the elimination.

9. Max's Shocking Elimination on Season 7

It's never fun seeing a frontrunner go home on Drag Race.

With two wins under her belt, Max seemed like the perfect queen to make it to the finale on season 7. However, her lackluster impersonation of Sharon Needles during the Snatch Game landed her in the bottom two and her lip-sync against Jaidynn Diore Fierce to Mary J. Blige's "No More Drama" resulted in her elimination.

Fans argue that Max didn't deserve to lip-sync this episode given her strong track record. Also, Max herself later said that production edited her in a way to make her look delusional, which resulted in more backlash.

8. Raven Comes in 2nd Place (Twice)

Raven just narrowly missed her shot at the crown two times on Drag Race.

After losing both of her final lip-syncs to Tyra Sanchez on season 2 and to Chad Michaels on All Stars 1, many viewers find it unfair that the legendary queen never won her crown.

Tyra Sanchez is also considered a disgraced winner from the franchise after many public meltdowns on social media, while Raven has built an illustrious career as a professional makeup artist.

7. Katya Loses 'All Stars 2'

To this day, many people are still #TeamKatya.

Katya Zamolodchikova is one of the most beloved queens to ever grace the main stage of RuPaul's Drag Race. After winning Miss Congeniality on season 7, the fan-favorite contestant returned for All Stars 2.

After just narrowly missing her shot at the crown to Alaska, longtime fans still believe Katya deserved the crown and her spot in the Hall of Fame.

6. Shuga Cain's Confusing Elimination on Season 11

Justice for Shuga Cain!

Her elimination on season 11 is still a head-scratcher to this day. The queens were tasked with creating a magic show in groups, but Vanessa Vanjie Mateo and Shuga Cain eventually ended up in the bottom two.

The gag is that Shuga Cain was actually in the winning group and did well during the challenge, but the judges said she didn't "stand out" compared to her scene partners. We smell a stunt!

5. Monét X Change Loses the Lip-Sync Against Jinkx Monsoon on 'All Stars 7'

Even the magic of editing couldn't help Jinkx Monsoon during her final lip-sync against Monét X Change for the All Stars 7 crown.

There's no denying that Monsoon obliterated the competition and deserved the title of "Queen of All Queens," but her rematch lip-sync against Monét X Change still has many fans saying... rigga morris!

X Change has even gone on record saying that the editors removed some of her stunts throughout the lip-sync to make it look more evenly matched, but even the final edit still shows that X Change demolished this Nicki Minaj lip-sync.

4. Jane Don't's Shocking Elimination on Season 18

This one still hurts.

After making herstory with the best track record ever seen on RuPaul's Drag Race, Jane Don't was eliminated on season 18 in fifth place.

Don't and Nini Coco landed in the bottom two after their impersonations of a crazy Karen in an improv challenge failed to impress the judges. Once the two entertainers lip-synched against each other to Lady Gaga's "Garden of Eden," Don't was sent home in one of the most shocking exits ever seen on the show.

3. Denali's Eliminations on Season 13 & 'All Stars 10'

There's no denying that Denali's time on Drag Race was cut short both times she's competed.

Fans were in an uproar when she was sent home during the makeover challenge on season 13 over mistakes her partner, Olivia Lux, made.

Viewers were hoping she'd get her redemption on All Stars 10, but were left even more disappointed when she lost her controversial lip-sync against Ginger Minj. Denali didn't even end up making the merge, which still doesn't sit right with many longtime supporters.

2. Naomi Smalls Sends Manila Luzon Home on 'All Stars 4'

The screams of Manila Luzon's husband, Michael Alvarez, still echo in the Werk Room halls over Luzon's shocking elimination on All Stars 4.

After Luzon landed in the bottom two for the first time alongside Latrice Royale during the makeover challenge, Naomi Smalls did the unthinkable and sent her home.

Prior to her departure, Luzon was demolishing the season and proving why she's one of the most talented queens to ever grace the main stage. Following her exit, Smalls infamously declared, "Life's not fair," as her daring decision left social media in shambles.

1. Shangela Loses the Jury Vote on 'All Stars 3'

You knew it was coming.

All Stars 3 truly had it all. Surprising eliminations, queens returning to the competition, memorable challenges, gag-worthy lip-syncs, juicy drama, and so much more.

However, a very controversial twist turned the game on its head when the eliminated queens decided which two deserving contestants from the top four would lip-sync for the crown.

After BeBe Zahara Benet, Shangela, Trixie Mattel, and Kennedy Davenport pleaded their cases to the jury, the eliminated queens decided to send Trixie Mattel and Kennedy Davenport to the final two.

The unbelievable vote left Shangela in tears on the main stage and resulted in an uproar from the Drag Race fandom. Shangela was the clear frontrunner to win All Stars 3 after BenDeLaCreme decided to quit the show two episodes before the finale.

Despite the fact that it's considered the biggest robbery in Drag Race herstory, there's no denying that it made a TV moment that will still be discussed for years to come.

FROM OUR SPONSORS