We are witnessing a RuPaul’s Drag Race season seven revolution. No more will we take that this season was bad, because by the current standard of Drag Race I honestly think most of us hardcore stans would give a limb to once again receive a season of the show even a crumb as good as season seven was in hindsight. Season seven was hated at the time, but we didn’t know what we were talking about. In fairness to fans, we’d just come off the era of Drag Race season one to six – where the show got better every year and got bigger and the queens were just giving iconic moment after iconic moment. Season seven was seen as a letdown, but now with Trixie and Katya rewatching it and the queens in the cast continuing to thrive – a reappraisal is upon us. Now, the winner of season seven Violet Chachki calls out toxic Drag Race fans for the hate they gave the season.
And honestly, she’s RIGHT.
‘It was so bad it was iconic’
Speaking in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly promoting her and Gottmik’s new Knockout tour, Violet Chachki addressed the legacy of season seven in the eyes of the fans.
Violet explains: “I think season seven was a pivotal point in drag culture and Drag Race. It was the beginning of the end of an era,” highlighting that “seasons one through six are the fundamentals of what Drag Race is and what the TV show was, and season seven is the turning point of where we were at culturally and TV-wise.”
It was a big period where Drag Race was becoming event television on social media for fans, and not a random queer hidden gem people were catching up on or finding on Netflix – like me as a lil gay teenager.”It was a period of change, and people don’t like change,” estimates Violet. “The challenges were pissing people off. It was a weird season. The cast was so good. People now realise it was something great at the time, and we just didn’t know it.”
As it’s been discussed with the Trixie and Katya rewatch of season seven too, now we look back and see utter icons in that cast. Violet, Ginger, Pearl, Kennedy Davenport, Katya, Trixie and Jasmine Masters are huge names from the show. Even the absolute mess episodes of Drag Race like Shakesqueer are now practically pivotal chapters in queer history in their own right.
“[It was] so bad it was iconic. Looking back at episodes, [I look] so pissed. I’m f—ing pissed the whole time, and it’s so entertaining,” Violet adds. “There’s something that’s so bad that it’s good. There’s people out there that haven’t gotten their flowers, like Max, Fame, Kennedy. I’m happy for everyone. I’m happy for Ginger, Trixie, and everyone’s success.”
Season seven forever, tbh – and Violet Chachki is right to call out the toxic Drag Race fans for the disrespect.
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