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No gurl, Ru hasn't said she's quitting Drag Race Down Under — here's the actual tea
Why are people talking about RuPaul retiring again? That’s a great question!
Another month, another rumor about Mama Ru supposedly retiring from her hosting gig in the RuPaul’s Drag Race franchise. Eyeroll!
This time, the rumors are specifically related to RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under — the international spinoff of the show based in Australia and New Zealand — and it all started with a few comments from Willam during an episode of Race Chaser.
“Those Australian girls already know [RuPaul] because she judged down there,” Willam said while talking about Down Under star Hannah Conda competing on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs the World season 2. She added, “But not anymore, [RuPaul is] leaving, and that’s tea. You heard it from Race Chaser.”
Due to Willam’s complicated relationship with “spilling Drag Race tea” in the podcast, Race Chaser cohost Alaska did warn fans to “take that [information] with a grain of ketamine.”
Nonetheless, X fanbase @ThePopTingz still reported on the “report” shared by Willam, adding that Michelle Visage is “rumored” to be the new host of Down Under starting with season 4. Again, this is all based on a comment made in passing by Willam on Race Chaser. There are no real or actual reports about RuPaul stepping down from hosting and judging Down Under as of this writing.
“Poptingz reporting on offhand comments Willam makes on her pod,” actor and writer Paul McCallion wrote. “I can’t wait to see how this turns out.”
Unlike McCallion (and I), Drag Race fans have once again been quick to jump to the conclusion that this information is absolutely true. They’ve also started speculating who would replace Mama Ru in the Down Under series — from Michelle Visage to Courtney Act to other names being thrown in the mix.
And yet, it bears repeating that RuPaul stepping down from any Drag Race hosting gig has not been reported by any publication thus far. Quite the contrary, actually. There are plenty of rumors and reports that RuPaul is working on even more shows than before, which is the opposite of what is being suggested in this new update regarding Down Under season 4.
As of Tuesday, Feb. 20, casting for Down Under season 4 is open for applicants, and there’s no update about RuPaul stepping down from the series. If he were to do it, one could assume that Michelle would be a good option to step up to the hosting gig. But, again, that hasn’t been confirmed or even rumored outside of Willam’s statements in the podcast.
While some fans have questioned the continuity of Down Under due to low engagement about the series on social media, Ru’s role on the show hasn’t been a point of contention. So, as expressed by Alaska, definitely take this “rumor” with a grain of salt.
RuPaul’s Drag Race season 16 airs every Friday on MTV.
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Bernardo Sim experiences and explains queer multiverses. Born in Brazil, he currently lives in South Florida.
Bernardo Sim experiences and explains queer multiverses. Born in Brazil, he currently lives in South Florida.
