If you haven't watched much Drag Race, here are the basics of how it works: Around 14 performers compete each season to become Americas next drag superstar. Every episode has a maxi challenge, in which contestants will be asked to demonstrate a skill like acting, improv, choreographed dancing, lip syncing, celebrity impersonation, stand-up comedy, or all of the above, while wearing an outfit theyve brought with them. The second season of RuPaul's Drag Race premiered on February 1, 2010, and aired its final episode on April 26, 2010. The UK's fiercest queens are back and coming for us on Ru Paul's Drag Race UK series 3.That's right, the show that got us through week 694682457 of lockdown and delivered a serious dose of much-needed serotonin is back and bigger than ever.. Queens are competing for a pretty significant prize. Read Next: 15 Secrets You Didn't Know About RuPaul's Drag Race, Source: Mic,In Style, Vice, Showbiz Cheatsheet. Sasha Velour said she spent $4,000 for her looks, half of which she had in savings, and half of which her father loaned her. To wit: Alyssa Edwards starred in a reality show about her Dallas dance studio. Popular Days. There are people who have spent money on things and it just doesnt look good, because the eye isnt there., Joe Black is actually a good example of the role styling plays in how a look is received; while he was being read for the H&M dress, he was wearing a runway outfit that was also off-the-rack, and it looked incredible thanks to the props hed added to turn it into a windswept day-at-the-seaside look. My waist in a corset is about three inches lower than the average female waist placement. (You just need to wear a suit!) Yvie isnt the only contestant to turn to others for help funding her wardrobe. On May 1, 2009, the casting website for the series opened, allowing prospective contestants to create user profiles and upload videos of themselves to be voted on by viewers; the applicant collecting the most votes being invited to become a contestant of the second season. I wonder if it can be discussed or not. I could tell that I was the cheapest person there. Twelve $500 custom runway outfits (which, again, is on the low end) plus wigs and accessories adds up to $7,800. Though, with drag just recently becoming a viable vocation for stable income, not every queen has the funds to take on these hefty investments. RELATED: Mark Burnett: Reality TV's $500 Million Winner. Though we do not know exactly how much 60 Days In participants are paid, we do know that the A&E show also pays money to the prison to film there. I don't need a small, delicate hidden zipper, she said. The shows impact on the drag industry has been significant too. According to the Drag Race contract, "Cast members are paid $400 per episode for their first season, and their pay increases 5 percent for future seasons: $420 per episode for their second season, $441 for . # . Since theres the possibility of physical or verbal aggression from one queen to another, the contestants have to agree to expressly assume the risk of any physical or emotional injuries I may suffer.. They would buy cheap shit, and then they would make it all glittery and stone it or do whatever they had to do to turn it into drag.. However, the serious money making happens postseason, which is the gift that keeps on giving. She said a lot of her looks were pricelessin the sense that some of the garments her friends created or helped with, like her iconic bone mask or her Dawn oil spill adlooking mermaid outfit, didnt really have a price she could point to. I didnt have much to lose from going. Bob and Sasha certainly didnt; Aquaria and Yvie spent morein line with the shows higher profile and increased focus on the runways in later seasonsbut per their accounts, not as much as one might expect. The glamour of the contestants' outfits and make-up suggests opulence and wealth, so it's easy to assume that those competing are among the rich and powerful. RuPaul's Drag Race U.K. is jumping the pond to its original U.S. network home, Logo, and will premiere Friday, October 11, at 8/7c on the cable network. The collection of legal documents is 51 pages long, and includes background check and medical release forms, plus basic rules. RuPaul's Drag Race has become one of the most successful shows on television, but it's not been without its fair share of unresolved scandals. A confident, charismatic queen truly can make an Amazon jumpsuit or a thrift store dress look incredible, particularly if the garment feels authentic to the queens overall personality and vision. Now drag artists are cutting albums, selling serious merch, being signed to ad campaigns and movie deals. Winning a maxi challenge now nets a $5,000 cash prize, but that only began in Season 12 in 2020; before that, it was gift certificates for wigs and jewelry, and, eventually, in Season 11, nice vacations. I remember when we were talking about it in the Werk Room, we were like, Damn, if they don't do this look on the runway soon, before girls start going home, we're about to be so pissed and so broke.. During casting for season eight, the process required applicants to sign this contract before they even filled out the application or uploaded a video. The queens came with costumes they'd made themselves and rarely breached the costly pricey of contestants nowadays. Brooke Lynn Heights, 2019's US runner-up, shares ALL the behind-the-scenes info you need to know. (Many finale gowns are also huge, so having them shipped can add hundreds and hundreds of dollars to the total. The two mermaids are sipping drinks and discussing how much it cost to transform themselves into glam sea nymphs for this episode of RuPauls Drag Race. There is a three page exhibit attached to the agreement with the production protocol, and its a list of rules. In signing the contract, the participants also give away rights to anything they do on the show, including "characters, songs, and anything they say about themselves.". Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for World Of Wonder Productions. Back in the olden days of Drag Race -when very first, nine fresh faced queens walked into the scarcely decorated World of Wonder set in February 2009 - the scale of the show was completely different. Show: RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. The contestants are said to be paid per episode, and I surmise each one of them is According to Vice writer Rachel Miller, who has spoken to many of the show's past queens, contestants spend anywhere from $4,000 to $20,000 on each season. Producers own the rights and proceeds for anything the queens do on the show, which includes characters, songs, and anything they say about themselves (elements of my life story). When Drag Race first started, they were literally coming in off the street to do this TV show, Fitzgerald said. which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased . As such, the document below was publicly available on World of Wonders website, and that is where I obtained it. News on all your favorite celebs, reality TV, and movies. Dont waste my time. And Drag Race contestants received $400 per episode, according to a contract obtained by Reality Blurred. Upon her much anticipated entrance into All Stars 5, fan favorite Mayhem Miller got smacked with backlash on social media for wearing a $23 bodysuit from Amazon. 8. Drag queen contestants are paid a salary per episode, plus a sweet cash prize for the winner. Plus drag tours are hotter than ever with some queens making between$5,000 and $10,000 per appearance, BBC reports. While its impossible to know exactly how much every queen spends to go on the show, Id estimatebased on conversations with several former contestants and the designers who often dress themcontestants are spending anywhere from $4,000 on the low end to upwards of $20,000 on the higher end. While we dont know what Season 12s top three queens spent (none could be reached for comment for this article), winner Jaida Essence Hall recently said that she made all but two of her costumes herself. I took a loan out against my asshole to get here, Cracker says, and Kameron snort-laughs. So that one's like a $60 look. Thanks, in no small part, to having the sort of je ne sais quois that transcends dollars, she took home the prize of the week while wearing it. Week 9 - Pixie Polite Drag Race UK star Pixie Polite. But its also the case that some of the more affluent girls can also sew (and some broke queens cant), meaning theres no guarantee that a design challenge will favor the people with less money. It was easier and safer to go look for a size 13 pump in a used store than it was to go into the ladies section. Theres an odd line that says the cast is responsible for providing their own food, drink, clothing and personal items. Their own food and drink, really? With that said, as the show continues to see success, the looks become more and more over-the-top and the money spent continues to increase for competitive reasons. The process of going on Drag Race is, in my opinion, more than a fiscal investment, Bob said. The first season of Drag Race had a grand prize of $25,000. DeLa said that contestants often spend money on details that feel important or high-end, but that dont necessarily give them much bang for their buck. (The pandemic decimated live entertainment, including drag performances.) While this was met with exuberant expressions when it was announced to the queens on the first episode, fans and Drag Race alumi can't help but look back the eminence growth. Human hair generally will start around $1,000 or $1,500, and go up from there, depending upon what they want., You can spend an entire week, week-and-a-half working on one thing, Guerra said. Bob the Drag Queen, winner of Chi's season, told Vice, "If I went back on Drag Race now, Id probably be spending $2040,000." If you've already cut the cord, you can watch . And I remember being like, Is this worth it? (Meanwhile, because of British TV standards, Drag Race UK contestants dont win cash prizes at all.). I put it on the line because this is so important.. Below is the contract the contestants had to sign for RuPauls Drag Race season eight, which is the season Bob the Drag Queen won and the last season to be broadcast on Logo. 22 things you didn't know about 'RuPaul's Drag Race'. And Shangela and Willam both appeared in the Oscar-winning film A Star Is Born. Network: Paramount+. And none of them have a name beginning with Q, U, X, or Z. Sam Branman, of the Brooklyn-based queer fashion label 10 Yards, worked on several of Tina Burners looks for Drag Race Season 13. The stakes are just higher., Fitzgerald, Marquez, and many others all agree that drag becoming mainstream is overwhelmingly a good thing. The incident brought long-simmering questions up to the surface: What does it actually cost to compete on RuPauls Drag Race? 4 Contestants Are Paid Per Episode. Royale made her first Drag Race appearance on season 4, where she was crowned Miss Congeniality. For her part, RuPaul has talked about being destitute as a young person. After stunning us with that international all stars season, 2022 gives us another long-awaited first . Occasionally, they appear . Monet X Change was in a Pepsi Superbowl commercial alongside Cardi B. " RuPaul's Drag Race " Season 14 will crown America's next drag superstar on April 22 when the finale airs on VH1. Essentially, she said, they might be discouraged from participating in the sort of activities that can help a person develop a good eye., I think a lot of times, because of where Black and brown people grow up, they don't have that safety of expression that I think white people have, Monique said. That's an astounding amount seeing as how she only spent around $4,000 her first time around. The fans, when they expect that glow-up, I don't think they realize how much money goes into that, Yvie, who is now working on growing her YouTube channel, said. Jinkx Monsoon - $332,500. I mean, it was just hard.. Behind the couches is artfully layered backstage detritus: two megaphones, a couple of directors chairs, a ladder, and a neon light shaped like a pair of lips. how much do drag race contestants get paid uk . Additionally, for the first time in the history of drag race, the runner-up will also receive $50,000 cash prize, powered by Cash App. The next logical option is DIY, which is what a lot of contestants who can sew or even just wield a glue gun effectively choose to do. In a behind-the-scenes video by WOWPresents, queens shared different shocking experiences, such as being blindfolded on the way to their hotels and being forbidden from opening the curtains of their room. I've already packed all my bags, I'm already here.. Michelle puts up a finger, the long nail filed into a sharp point, to stop Chi Chi. Be there. And because of that lack of expression, and that lack of exposure to different forms of expression, I think that sometimes we are just confined to that which we know., Contestants of color might also not have the kinds of connections to designers and other queens that make all of this easier. That said, everyone I spoke to for this story said that styling and swagger matter a lot to the judges. Fans can soak up drag glory in September in New York or in Los Angeles in May, . For 12 runway looks, thats $5,400. And this goes to all of you up here: If it is from H&M, you better glitter the fuck out of it, and make it something special. A post shared by RuPaul's Drag Race (@rupaulsdragrace). Dont waste my time. I reused my same Target heels that I'd been wearing every night, she said. Photo by Bennett Raglin / Getty Images. Having an experienced team behind them to cultivate the best deals makes a big difference, obviously.. Not every reality show contestant earns asalary. Destaques; Timeline; Bio; Pataco Maps; Acompanhe; PT; EN; ; Crditos; Privacidade The underground aspect of drag defined the aesthetic for a very long time., Even in earlier seasons of Drag Race, when contestants were competing for an amount of money that was unprecedented in the drag world, the runways had nowhere near the scale that they do in more recent seasons. DragCon is the cherry on top of the drag sundae. Just like the UK show, the Chasers are hired talent from their respective production company/networks. Now, she seems to truly believe, in the way only a very wealthy person who was once very poor can, that you dont need money to succeed. While this has been quietly discussed among viewers and contestants for years, the now-infamous H&M incident from the just-aired season of RuPauls Drag Race: UK put it on the forefront of a lot of viewers minds. There's stuff like that that you really have to learn, because it is a waste of money, she said. (Bob said she and Derrick have talked about it and are cool now.), Monique Heart pointed out that young queens of color dont always have the kind of community support that allows them to embrace activities like, say, reading Vogue or playing with makeup while they are still in high school. Latrice Royale was ranked in the tenth position on the list. The American Civil Liberties Union is tracking a record number of 349 bills targeting LGBTQ rights introduced during the legislative session, causing the reality competition series queens to speak out at a recent viewing event . (Above: never-before-seen footage of Sasha Velour trying on her faux fur runway outfit in her Brooklyn bathroom before going on the show. Bob the Drag Queen, winner of Chi's season, told Vice, "If I went back on Drag Race now, I'd probably be spending $20-40,000." That's an astounding amount seeing as how she only spent around $4,000 her first time around. Jinkx Monsoon made $100,000 for winning season five of RuPaul's Drag Race. As the shows profile has grown, so too, it seems, has the budget needed to feel competitive. Photo by Chelsea Guglielmino / Getty Images. When does RuPaul's Drag Race UK 2021 air? And, as the show is currently auditioning for it's 14th cycle, it can be inferred that the price tag for contestants will continue to rise. Some areeven starting their own series like Alyssa Edwards Netflix show, Haus Of Edwards or Vices series, The Trixie and Katya Show. Even if the winning queen doesn't walk away with 100,000, we are sure they will make it up with increased booking fees after their global exposure. For example . The contestants also have to prepare looks for the entire season knowing that if they get eliminated early, the outfits wont see the light of day. Similarly, RuPaul herself openly chastised competitor, Joe Black on the second season of the show's UK spin-off. This statement rings true as viewership of the show continues to rapidly expand along with the program's prize money for lucky contestants. I think I had a month's worth of time between getting the phone call and leaving. There are eight reasons given why someone might be disqualified and ejected from the show. The Pit Crew, also known as the Scruff Pit Crew, are a group of muscular men who appear on each season of RuPaul's Drag Race. The contestants on RuPaul's Drag Race receive $400 each per episode, and the winner walks away with the grand prize of $100,000. I spent more on this competition than I did on college, Cracker replies solemnly, and a moment of silence falls over both queens. Johnny and I didn't sleep for two weeks, she said. After a rough calculation, Mic estimated that she spends somewhere around '$45,000 alone on wigs'. Ru has always had a soft spot for those girls., Still, it isnt necessarily fun to be the broke but charming queen who is regularly in the bottom because of her runways. "When Drag Race first started," Tom Fitzgerlad, author of Legendary Children:The First Decade of RuPaul's Drag Race and the Last Century of Queer Life tells Vice, "they were literally coming in off the street to do this TV show. Drag race also pays for their hotel and airfare while they're touring for the show. Of course, it's true appearing on the show can boost celebrity and launch careers. Brooke Lynn Heights, 2019's "Drag Race" runner-up, shared with Cosmopolitan . With . Because the show tapes more than six months in advance of its broadcast, that option could expire well over a year after filming ends. White homos tend to know other rich white homos with money or if they dont have money, they know someone who does," Monique said. Drag Race contestants can make a pretty penny per episode, depending on the season and their placement. 418 posts. 317 posts The No. Each one of them scooped 25k. Nor is not having it., For me, it was [worth it]definitely, 100 percent, Heidi, who recently released GAP, her first single, said. In other words, it seems like contract language that acknowledges what many reality shows do: they ask contestants to repeat a conversation or line, or dosomething again if the cameras missed it. It also includes fittings, and back-and-forth. (He said that last-minute edits and additions are fairly common during the process. OBSESSED with the fact that there's no cash prize for Drag Race UK, just the WOWPresents series that most US queens get just for showing up Lex (@lexfirth) October 3, 2019 Early on in her drag career, she walked around the East Village asking people for money while wearing literal trash as a drag costume. Cast members are paid $400 per episode for their first season, and their pay increases 5 percent for future seasons: $420 per episode for their second season, $441 for their . RuPauls Drag Race is a pageant, the biggest pageant out there.. September 23rd. At the other end of the spectrum, the glam Jack-in-the-box look Sasha put together for a club kidsinspired runway was fairly cheap. Kameron Michaels on RuPaul's Drag Race Untucked. Still, phrases like a great eye or can pull off anything are the sort of fashion-industry compliments that are often only applied to people who fit a certain mold: thin and tall, for starters, and likely also white and able-bodied. My body shape is very unique in drag; I have a huge ribcage, she said. I mean, rent in New York is expensive, even if you're not in a fierce place. Still, when she got the call, she decided to spend everything she had because it was her one shot. While Aquaria had a major hand in creating her own pieces, including designing, sewing, and stoning many looks herself, she got a lot of help from extremely talented friends who happened to work in fashion, and who were excited to help her prepare. Im not even gonna say how much money I spent to get here, because it is She doesnt finish her sentence and instead twists her overdrawn hot pink ombre lips into a frown you could see from space. 3. With that, the winning queen will also receive a cash . I created reality blurred 22 years ago as a place to collect interesting links I found. Which was funny because in the moment, I didn't feel ratchet, or particularly urban or hood. I felt really elegant in this gown with my Afro. As revealed in episode 122 of the So Dramatic! Series 2 (2016) was won by Nick Cummings and Ayo Adesina who took 50k each. Welcome! Take Season 12s Heidi N. Closet, who said that her annual salary at the gas station where she worked before the show was $9,000. With that, the winning queen will also receive a cash . Up until the 80s and the 90s, drag queens essentially dressed in vintage clothing, Fitzgerald told VICE. According to Vulture, the winner's grand prize was upped to $150,000 in the latest, Season 14 of the show the first prize increase since 2011. Receiving an invitation to compete on Drag Race is many queens dream come true, but its quickly followed by the reality of the huge logistical challenge ahead. David Petruschin (born April 8, 1979), best known as Raven, is an American drag queen, iconic make-up artist, and reality television personality from Riverside, California.Raven was a fixture in the Southern California nightclub scene before gaining international prominence for appearing in both the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race and the first season of All Stars. I asked Milk when I saw him and I've asked The Princess before because she didn't get to officially tour with Drag Race. Contestants on RuPauls Drag Race earn a salary more in line with what someone might receive on Amercian Idol. The RuPaul's Drag Race winner opens up about her spending, saving, and very glamourous splurging. Drag queens are known for stretching a dollar, so, ahead of their . For those wishing to Drag Race with RuPaul, the out-of-pocket expense can be surprising. And Drag Race contestants received $400 per episode, . These should, in theory, level the playing field a bit, and benefit the DIYers in the group. So, is going on RuPauls Drag Race worth it?