Mhi’ya Iman Le’Paige says she was only afraid to lip-sync against this one queen

Congrats on an incredible run on Drag Race! You certainly earned your title as the season’s lip sync assassin! How are you feeling about it all?

I haven’t had that much fun in a while. I was able to make new sisters bond. I’ve gotten closer with some of the girls outside of the show. Becoming the lipstick assassin, I kind of already knew that that was going to happen because I know that I’m a great performer and I knew that I probably would have to lipsync a lot because ... my designer kind of screwed me over with looks.

That honestly must have been kind of terrifying! How did you bounce back and mentally prepare for that?

I went into the competition feeling a little defeated because I didn’t have everything that I wanted to go and present everything to everyone. So that’s why I was shy and kept to myself, because I was always told growing up in the drag world that if you’re going to talk BS, you have to be able to back it up. And so that’s really why I wasn’t given that much because I felt like I didn’t have the stuff to back it up with.

I feel like in some ways, your ability to stay in the competition as long as you did despite those challenges is such a testament to just your talent and your charisma! You were certainly feared by your competitors when it came to lip-syncing. I am curious, was there anyone you were worried about going against?

Nobody ever asked me that before! The only person I knew who would give me a run for my money was Sapphira [Cristál]. I’ve seen Morphine perform and I underestimated her because she was performing better on Drag Race than what I’ve seen her perform in other shows. I think she did great with her performances on Drag Race — and everyone else I kind of knew that I was gonna beat them.

One of the things I am enjoying this season is the moments of sisterhood between you and Sapphira, can you talk a little bit about that connection you share?

Sapphira was so open and so caring. She would see how quiet I was after the critiques from the judges and she would always come and uplift me. There were times that I just kind of wanted to quit and I would talk to Sapphira and she was really there for me. I think I probably wouldn’t have made it that far if it wasn’t for Sapphira.

I love that! On the other hand, I did sense a little tension and shade between you and Morphine — plus I heard a rumor she kicked you out of the group chat! How do things stand between you two now?

I was drunk the night when she kicked me out [of the group text] but Megami or Dawn added me back. We’re good. We have our little shady moments with each other. That’s [how it is with] sisters and friends we have our shady moments. It’s not like a mean shade where I hate her or she hates me. We have our fun moments being shady and don’t take it personally.

As you mentioned, you were a little shy early in the season and RuPaul accused you of being timid. First of all, I loved your response, which was just “no.” Which to me feels pretty bold. But watching it back, do you see where she was coming from?

Absolutely I see where she was coming from. When she asked me that question, I honestly was zoned out. I didn’t hear anything, so I just said “no.” [Laughs]

Well, one of my favorite moments this entire season had to be when you impersonated Cher. You said you were zoned out when Ru asked you about being timid on the main stage — what was going through your head when he asked for your Cher impression?

I’ve never impersonated Cher a day in my life. I’ve always seen people impersonate how she talks. I know she has this kind of deep, funny voice. So I was like okay, whatever word comes out my mouth, make it sound like Cher — and ‘great’ was the first thing that came to mind! Watching it back, I can’t believe I did that.

Let’s end with a fun question! So Xunami let it slip that she has a little showmance with Mirage and now the fans are shipping Nymphia and Plane Jane — do you have a secret showmance? If not, who would you want one with?

My little secret was Q. We had our little flirty moment. We actually have nicknames for each other. I called her Hiyou and she called me Little Bill.

That’s so cute but what does it mean?

We remind each other of those characters. Like the whole look and everything. Yeah, she was cute — but also married, so I had to step back.