Lemon spills on fandom delusion, beating the best & why she didn’t need a single alliance to do so

it feel real?

LEMON: It definitely doesn’t. I don’t think that it ever will. At the end of the day, no matter how much success we have as people, there’s always going to be the imposter syndrome knocking at the back of your head saying, like, ‘But you’re just a person.’ But I think that’s the magic of it, and I think that’s what continues you pushing yourself and working hard. I’m just a person, and I walk my dog and I pick up his shit, too.

Do you remember in old magazines they did that, ‘celebrities, they’re just like us,’ thing and it would just be shots of people getting groceries? I remember [seeing] that and being like, ‘Wow, they’re just like us!’ But why wouldn’t they be getting their own groceries? That’s crazy.

I do! But the question is, are you now getting your groceries while wearing your crown and scepter?

I haven’t been sent my crown and scepter yet because once they do I will not be taking them off. They always say wearing a crown is bad luck, but I’ve worn 10,000 crowns in my life, and I just won Drag Race, so I feel like that can’t be true, so I should just keep my crown on forever now.

I agree! So, last time we spoke, we talked about how one of your reasons for coming back was to have the opportunity to redeem yourself. Did it work? Do you feel redeemed?

I feel more than redeemed. I almost feel like I did too well because now people are mad that I did so well. They’re in my comments saying, ‘Oh, favoritism, favoritism!’ You win a competition by the judges picking you as your favorite. So, yes, favoritism, and it’s not a bad thing, diva. You wish you could get favored like me!

I love that! Because I’ve seen the inevitable discourse online. On the right they have COVID denial, on the left we have Drag Race delusion.

I love it. I do think we have to be realistic at a certain point because there are some things that people say that I’m like, ‘Okay, that’s crazy.’ But at the end of the day, I think Kennedy, Alexis, Cheryl, and every single queen from the season is so, so talented. In another universe, they won this season just based on preparation or something happening. If you think someone else should have won, that’s amazing, because I love them, and I hope all of the queens eventually get a crown. But factually, I still won.

I loved seeing some of the recent winners rally around you, like Angeria Paris Van Michaels and Tia Kofi. I saw you guys joking you needed to have a group chat. So, did that group chat happen? If so, is it poppin’, and is anybody else in it?

We’re gonna start a group chat very soon, and put all of the winners in it, just so I can start sending memes to them!

The thing that is crazy is lately, every single queen who goes home is ‘robbed,’ every single queen who makes it to the end it’s ‘rigged,’ and every single queen who wins, it’s ‘rigged for them’. You guys, if you say this about everyone, it doesn’t mean anything anymore. You said that about Jinkx fucking Monsoon! You said it about Alaska. You said it about Shea Couleé. You said it about Tia Kofi and you said it about Angeria. So if you’re gonna loop me in with those girls, be my guest.

Yes, that part! So let’s talk about the drama that popped off with Miss Fiercalicious in the finale and “Alliances!” Now that the show is over, be real, were you in any alliances?

I don’t think I ever said word for word ‘alliance.’ I don’t like the word. I don’t like the implications. I said from five seconds into the season that I want to win this, but I want to do it fairly. Was there an alliance? No, not at all. Not according to me.

Let me ask the universe this: Do you all think that if Fiercalicious had had a chance to save me, you really fucking think that bitch would have saved me? Because I could tell you, from the bottom of my heart, that she would never. No, that’s not true, she might have. That’s the whole thing about an alliance, you can’t just say no matter what happens, I’m going to save you.

For me, I was looking at the bottom three, and my thought process was, if Kennedy Davenport goes home tonight then it doesn’t matter if I win, because everyone’s going to say, ‘Oh, well, Lemon purposely sent Kennedy home because it’s the only way she could win.’ So that was why I was like Kennedy has to stay, she is the toughest competition. She has two wins, and if I’m going to win, it has to be against Kennedy Davenport. I do believe that — and I did.

That does make sense. If anything, I thought maybe you had an alliance with Alexis and Kennedy.

If anyone on Earth has tried Kennedy’s mac and cheese, you’d have an alliance with her too bitch, because the girl knows how to keep you fed and happy and healthy. She’s just as a light and such a wonderful spirit to be with. But no, there was no alliance there either.

For me, there were no alliances. I didn’t need an alliance. I was never in the bottom. So why would I have agreed to that? I won the first week, why would I need an alliance? Fuck you guys.

I grew up as a dance competition girly — and I lost every time. I never won a title. I never won Young Dancer of the Year. I never ever won it. But the point of it isn’t to win, it’s to go and compete and it’s to go and try and win. It’s to go and compete harder next year… and then I still didn’t fucking win. Did that ruin my life? No, absolutely not. Is not winning Drag Race going to ruin someone’s life? No, not at all. There’s room for all of us to work, be booked, and have fun. Most of these bitches don’t even live in our country. So they’re fine, we’re all going to be fine. You don’t lose Drag Race and they take you into the back and put you down with a shot like a dog.

As the lyrics from one of my all-time favorite rapstresses once said, “It’s not that deep.”

It really isn’t. I came into this competition so prepared and so ready to compete that it was hard to compete against me and that’s a good thing. But at the same time, there were legends there that were hard to compete against, too. I personally feel that I did exactly what everyone else did, and I competed fair and square. I showed up and brought my best, and this time, it was my time.

You did ultimately manifest the thing that you wanted: You faced down both Kennedy and Alexis in the finale. Starting with a lip sync against Kennedy — and that moment where you both pulled the same song, you both looked plucked!

I really love Kennedy, and she is one of my favorite performers. So immediately, when we were supposed to lip sync against each other in round one, I was like, no, because I wanted to have, frankly, the top two lip sync with me and Kennedy. She had done so well throughout the whole competition, I really did want to see her in that place. But to go up against her first was really scary.

At the same time, as much as she is a legend, I’m a legend in a lot of ways, too. So I had to let go of the idea of like, ‘Oh, I’m not blah blah, blah’ because at the end of the fucking day, I got called to do the same competition she did. So we were on the same level in my mind. And it was really to me about who’s going to kill this lip sync.

I knew every single word, I knew every single breath. There is not a shot of me in the entire lip sync, no matter how long or how edited, where I don’t know the words. I’m always on the music. So, yes, it was tight, but at the end of the day, someone’s got to win it.

I would imagine it’s probably validating to see that she had nerves as well. She sees you in the same way that you see her.

That was a huge honor for Kennedy to say she didn’t want to have to lip-sync against me right away. I love Kennedy. I hope eventually she does get a drag race crown. She’s a fucking star. Even without a crown, she’s still one of those legendary girls. And I hope after this season, she can really recognize that as well and see herself in that top tier of Drag Race girls because she deserves it.

If there’s anything that’s going to happen on Drag Race, it’s that these girls are going to come back! You have now won a crown, what’s next for you? Do you have a new dream and does it involve All Winners?

I don’t know. Would I ever say no to Drag Race? I’m not sure. I love the show. I love to compete. I love putting together a package. And frankly, the more times you do it, the better you get at it. Now I know exactly who to call and what to ask for. So, I guess maybe that’s my answer, but who knows until it happens.

For me, what’s next is to continue what I have been doing, which is work hard, constantly, and continue to improve my drag. Continue to make myself that bitch.

The competitive dancer in me is of the mindset that a win is not the end. You don't get the win and it's like, 'Well, now I can relax.' It's actually the opposite. So, there's so much in the works. I'm going on tour internationally and I have a new album coming out. I'm working on getting myself back into television and I've been writing TV shows and pitching them. There will be lots more Lemon in the future. And the truth is, that's good for all of us, because lemon is a super fruit and it's really good for your skin.