Longtime Fans Are Giving Up on RuPaul’s Drag Race (Producer Manipulation Is Ruining the Show)

Ru Paul Drag Racing is a television phenomenon that has conquered generations and the world! The main series has spawned different franchises in various countries around the world and created superstars that international fans love. The winning queens became prominent in mainstream media, such as magazine covers, fashion weeks, awards shows, films, Broadway productions and in the music industry.

However, fans have become increasingly exasperated with the last few seasons in which producer manipulation and judging panel favoritism prematurely eliminated talented queens to create a narrative that caters to a supposed predetermined winner. Online forums are filled with public discussions focused on editing flaws, unfair judging criticisms, as well as other issues that indicate the show has become less focused on giving unknown queens an equal chance to win. The show is now more about fast-forwarding a few to the end for plot purposes.

It is equipped with favoritism and production manipulation

In the past, several drag queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race revealed that production teams applied special treatment to some cast members and not others. Producers overcame obstacles with editing techniques, contestant manipulation, and even subtle sabotage in the form of unfair judging boards, to ensure some contestants won weekly challenges or lip sync battles. In fact, astute viewers have pointed out numerous incidents where the final two queens may be given a last-chance song that one of them is likely to know or perform better.

This has led to growing fan dissatisfaction and more recent allegations that the seasons have become too predictable. Currently, there is controversy surrounding the inaugural season of Global stars. Fans were quick to scream RuPaul’s favoritism over previous competitors such as the United States, United Kingdom and Australia, as well as mainly eliminating drag queens who do not speak English as their primary language. While it may be difficult to prove, evidence continues to mount that certain queens are given a free pass for tasteless challenge performances and bad runway looks to save them from elimination.

How the show can become enjoyable again

The overwhelming accusations of Biased judging and frustrating favoritism could be a sign that longtime fans are giving up on the show. Another sign could be that The traitors host Alan Cumming won the Emmy for Outstanding Host for a Reality Competition Program in 2024, a title RuPaul has held since 2016. However, these issues can be fixed so that some drag racing franchises become new and enjoyable again.

To begin with, the production team should make fairer and more transparent edits of the queens because important details are often left out of many episodes. Next, judges should work to be more impartial and give equal advice to all contestants across all franchises. For example, avoid calling out a drag queen for having a “boy’s body”, but praise other queens with the same silhouette or shape.

Another suggestion would be to have judges stop giving free passes to queens based on personality preference, even if they didn’t perform as well during the weekly maxi-challenge or pageant. Finally, remind participants to simply have more fun, as the entire experience is just a game show meant to be fun. Authenticity would go a long way toward adding to the relatability and, frankly, realistic drama.

With Global stars coming to an end and other franchises coming soon, long-running RuPaul’s Drag Race fans hope improvements will be made to episode production and editing, as well as judging criteria. Otherwise, viewers may end up feeling just as manipulated and exploited as the drag queen contestants, leading to further cynicism and disillusionment. After all, no one wants to watch a rigged competition; at least not anymore.