If you're not watching season 2 of RuPaul's Drag Race UK, here's your sign. In our professional opinion, it's the best season of the competition reality show in years, oozing with the joy, playfulness, and genuinely shocking twists that have been scarce in the last few seasons, especially in the U.S.
In yesterday's episode, RuPaul uttered eight words that have become instantly iconic for fans: "I don't want to see any f**king H&M!"
Some backstory...Drag Race UK filmed last March and was interrupted by the pandemic lockdown. Production took a seven-month break, where it was expected that the remaining queens would step up their p*ssies up, drag wise. This was the first episode back after the hiatus and through a popular vote, the first queen eliminated in the season, Joe Black, was able to reenter the competition. The queens then competed in a girl group showdown.
Despite her best efforts, Black's team didn't live up to RuPaul's high expectations (the judge didn't even applaud at the end of the team's performance). On the runway, Black was read for his off-the-rack main-challenge wardrobe, a simple pink velvet dress with a belt around the waist. That's when she admitted it was an H&M dress. And Ru did not take that too well.
"We’re looking for Great Britain’s Next Superstar, don’t waste my time," Ru snapped. "I don’t wanna see any fucking H&M!"
Needless to say, Black was in the bottom with Tia Koffe and ended up being eliminated for the second time.
In new interviews, Black has responded to the critique. "I was thinking, 'This is very dramatic, isn't it?!'" she told Attitude, saying that on a scale of one to ten, Ru's anger was at a 17. "I mean, I've never seen pink velvet evoke such a strong emotion in someone before. I do not know what H&M have done to RuPaul, but he was not happy."
Fans are calling out the moment as hypocritical and insensitive. Minutes earlier in the episode in the werkroom, the queens were openly chatting about how hard it was to survive financially in lockdown. In another interview with PopBuzz, Black revealed that during the seven-month hiatus when he didn't even know he would return to the competition, he sold many of his outfits intended for the show to support himself.
"Everyone was trying to make money where they could," said Black. "I was doing online shows and stuff. And then I actually sold quite a lot of my stuff, so there were some runways and things and I was like, 'Oh, I don't own those costumes anymore.'" Leading up to his return, he "spent the three weeks gathering back up the ones I had gotten rid of. I had sold them because I needed the money to live...so not only did I need to find the money, but I also needed to get the costumes again."
It's frustrating that the queens weren't allowed any grace during such a difficult time, especially considering that the UK version of the show doesn't even reward the queens with a cash prize. Earlier in the season, one contestant even won a challenge wearing an ASOS jacket. RuPaul's explosion really underscores his own privilege, a confusing contradiction considering the drag legend's humble beginnings and the supposed "punk-rock" nature of the drag queen.
Regardless, we're enjoying the memes:
None— Prince Leia (@Prince Leia) 1613159129
None— iza minaj (@iza minaj) 1613080986
