The first season of ''
RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under
''RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under'' is a reality competition streaming television series based on the American television series of the same name produced by World of Wonder and Warner Bros. International Television Production New Zealand. The s ...
'' began airing on 1 May and concluded on 19 June 2021.
Ten Australian and New Zealand-based drag queens competed for the title of the "Down Under's first Drag Superstar", a one-year supply of Revolution Beauty Cosmetics, and a cash prize of $30,000. The winner of the first season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under'' was
Kita Mean
Nick Nash (born 14 April 1986), better known by the stage name Kita Mean, is a New Zealand drag performer best known for hosting ''House of Drag'' and winning the first season of '' RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under''.
Career
Kita and Anita Wi ...
, with
Art Simone
Jack Daye (born 9 September 1992), better known by the stage name Art Simone, is an Australian Drag (clothing), drag performer best known for finishing as a runner-up on the RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under (season 1), first season of ''RuPaul's Dra ...
,
Karen from Finance
Richard Chadwick, better known by the stage name Karen from Finance, is an Australian drag performer and a runner-up on the first season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under
''RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under'' is a reality competition stream ...
and
Scarlet Adams
Scarlet Adams is the stage name of Anthony Price, an Australian drag performer who competed on the first season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under''. She has been described as a burlesque performer, costume designer, and pole dancer. She was nam ...
as runners-up.
Production
Initially announced as a solely Australian version in 2019, production was moved to New Zealand due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
The COVID-19 pandemic in Australia is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The first confirmed case in Australia was identified on 25 Januar ...
. Filmed in
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
, the series features
drag queens
A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part of ...
from both Australia and New Zealand competing to be "Down Under's first Drag Superstar".
Australian comedian
Rhys Nicholson
Rhys Nicholson (born 22 April 1990) is an Australian comedian and known for being a judge on ''RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under'' from 2021 onwards.
Career
In 2014, Nicholson featured in the ABC documentary ''GayCrashers'', alongside Joel Crease ...
was confirmed to join
RuPaul
RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960; stylized as RuPaul) is an American drag queen, television personality, actor, musician, and model. Best known for producing, hosting, and judging the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' ...
and
Michelle Visage
Michelle Lynn Case (nee Shupack), better known as Michelle Visage (born September 20, 1968), is an American singer, television host, actress, radio DJ and producer. She first gained recognition as a member of the musical group Seduction which ...
as a judge. They officially announced the ten contestants at the
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras
The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras or Sydney Mardi Gras is an event in Sydney, New South Wales attended by hundreds of thousands of people from around Australia and overseas. One of the largest such festivals in the world, Mardi Gras is the ...
on 6 March 2021.
The three New Zealand-based queens were on ''
House of Drag
''House of Drag'' is a New Zealand reality competition television series produced by Warner Bros. International TV Production New Zealand for TVNZ OnDemand and OutTV. It debuted on 15 November 2018 on TVNZ OnDemand. It is hosted by New Zealand dra ...
'', with
Anita Wigl'it
Nick Kennedy-Hall (born 10 July 1989), better known by the stage name Anita Wigl'it, is a British and New Zealand drag performer best known for hosting ''House of Drag'' from 2018 to 2020, and competing on the first season of ''RuPaul's Drag Ra ...
and
Kita Mean
Nick Nash (born 14 April 1986), better known by the stage name Kita Mean, is a New Zealand drag performer best known for hosting ''House of Drag'' and winning the first season of '' RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under''.
Career
Kita and Anita Wi ...
as judges and
Elektra Shock
James Luck (born 30 September 1992), better known by the stage name Elektra Shock, is a New Zealand drag performer best known for competing on the first season of '' RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under'' and the second season of ''House of Drag.
E ...
as the runner-up on season 2.
Contestants
''Ages, names, and cities stated are at time of filming.''
Contestant progress
Lip syncs
Legend:
Guest judges
Listed in chronological order:
*Elz Carrad, New Zealand actor
*
Rena Owen Renas may refer to:
Places
*Rena, Badajoz, a municipality in Extremadura, Spain
*Rena, Norway, a village in Innlandet county, Norway
*Rena, Washington, a community in Clallam County, Washington, United States
People
*Rena (given name), list of pe ...
, New Zealand actress in theatre, television and film
Special guests
Guests who appeared in episodes, but did not judge on the main stage.
Episode 1
*
Taika Waititi
Taika David Cohen (born 16 August 1975), known professionally as Taika Waititi ( ), is a New Zealand filmmaker, actor, and comedian. He is a recipient of an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Grammy Award, and has received two nominations at t ...
, New Zealand film and television director
Episode 2
*
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...
, Australian singer and actress
*
Dannii Minogue
Danielle Jane Minogue () is an Australian singer, television personality, and actress. She initially gained recognition for her appearances on the television show ''Young Talent Time'' (1982–1988) and for her role as Emma Jackson on th ...
, Australian singer and actress
Episode 3
*
Troye Sivan
Troye Sivan Mellet ( ; born 5 June 1995) is an Australian singer-songwriter, actor and YouTuber. After gaining popularity as a singer on YouTube and in Australian talent competitions, Sivan signed with EMI Australia in 2013 and released his thi ...
, Australian singer-songwriter
*
Leland, American singer
Episode 5
*
Suzanne Paul
Suzanne Paul (born Susan Barnes in November 1956)[S ...](_blank)
, infomercial hostess and television presenter
Episode 6
*
Aunty Donna
Aunty Donna is an Australian surrealist comedy group formed in Melbourne in 2011. The group consists of performers and writers Mark Bonanno, Broden Kelly, and Zachary Ruane alongside writer and director Sam Lingham, director Max Miller, and co ...
, Australian absurdist comedy group from Melbourne
Episode 7
*
Raven
A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus ''Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between "crows" and "ravens", common names which are assigned t ...
, American drag queen and runner-up on both the
second season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and the
first season of ''
All Stars''
*
The Veronicas
The Veronicas is an Australian pop duo from Brisbane. The group was formed in 2004 by identical twin sisters Lisa and Jessica Origliasso.
In 2005, the Veronicas released their debut studio album, titled '' The Secret Life of...'', which peak ...
, Australian pop duo from Brisbane
Episode 8
*
Dame Olivia Newton-John
Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Awards, Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one s ...
, British-Australian singer, songwriter, actress, entrepreneur and activist
*
Chloe Lattanzi
Chloe Rose Lattanzi (born January 17, 1986) is an American-Australian singer and actress.
Biography Personal life
Lattanzi was born on January 17, 1986, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. She is the daughter of the lat ...
, American singer and actress, daughter to Dame Olivia Newton-John
* Lance Savali, New Zealand dancer/choreographer from Wellington
Episodes
Controversies
Following the cast reveal, video footage and images surfaced of Scarlet Adams "wearing a shirt with the Aboriginal flag, with dark tanned skin and two teeth blacked out". ''
Guardian Australia
''Guardian Australia'' is the Australian website of the British global online and print newspaper, ''The Guardian''.
Available solely in an online format, the newspaper's launch was led by Katharine Viner in time for the 2013 Australian fede ...
'' reported that the image was taken in 2012 during
Australia Day
Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port Ja ...
celebrations. Other images feature Adams in
blackface
Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-Black people to portray a caricature of a Black person.
In the United States, the practice became common during the 19th century and contributed to the spread of racial stereo ...
as an African American woman and playing Asian stereotypes by wearing a
sari
A sari (sometimes also saree or shari)The name of the garment in various regional languages include:
* as, শাৰী, xārī, translit-std=ISO
* bn, শাড়ি, śāṛi, translit-std=ISO
* gu, સાડી, sāḍī, translit-std= ...
as part of a Bollywood character. Adams apologised via social media in 2020 before being revealed as a cast member and later released a new apology in March 2021.
In the series fifth episode, RuPaul addressed the controversy during the judges' critiques. Adams said, “I can’t deny that that happened. As a dumb, ignorant teenager, I made some mistakes that I’m really not proud of, and every day, I regret those decisions, I regret the fact that I used my platform as a performer to ridicule people who have faced systemic racism for hundreds of years and I’m so ashamed of the person I once was. I’m really sorry to you and to everyone that I have hurt.”
Another contestant, Karen from Finance, was also reported to be involved in racial insensitivity after photos emerged showing a tattoo of a
golliwog
The golliwog, also spelled golliwogg or shortened to golly, is a doll-like character – created by cartoonist and author Florence Kate Upton – that appeared in children's books in the late 19th century, usually depicted as a type of rag ...
. Karen from Finance addressed the controversy on their social media by saying "I made the uninformed, ignorant and regrettable decision to have one of these dolls tattooed. In the years that followed ... I realised how irresponsible and stupid I had been so I disposed of the dolls to landfill and had my tattoo covered."
Art Simone's return to the competition in Episode 4 also led to accusations of racism, with the show's lack of explanation for Simone's return leading to some viewers to question why a white contestant was allowed to return, but not the two recently eliminated contestants of colour.
Etcetera Etcetera's performance as
Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton
Alice Lynne "Lindy" Chamberlain-Creighton (née Murchison; born 4 March 1948) is a New Zealand–born Australian woman who was Miscarriage of justice, wrongfully convicted in one of Australia's most publicised murder trials. Accused of killing ...
in the
Snatch Game
Snatch Game is a challenge on the ''Drag Race'' reality competition television franchise. Beginning with the second season of the original American series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', the challenge has taken place on every season since. It has also o ...
(episode 2) draw widespread condemnation, as her impersonation heavily mocked the
death of Chamberlain's baby daughter, accompanied with a bloodstained
dingo
The dingo (''Canis familiaris'', ''Canis familiaris dingo'', ''Canis dingo'', or ''Canis lupus dingo'') is an ancient (Basal (phylogenetics), basal) lineage of dog found in Australia (continent), Australia. Its taxonomic classification is de ...
puppet, which was criticised as being cruel, offensive and insensitive considering how Chamberlain-Creighton was wrongfully convicted for her daughter's death.
[RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under star Etcetera Etcetera under fire for portrayal of Lindy Chamberlain](_blank)
- Perth Now, Krystal Sanders, May 9, 2015[RuPaul’s Drag Race: Fans Denounce Etcetera Etcetera's Snatch Game Choice](_blank)
- Screenrant, Maggie Mead, May 12, 2021
Certain jokes made by Anita Wigl'it about
Prince Andrew
Prince Andrew, Duke of York, (Andrew Albert Christian Edward; born 19 February 1960) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger brother of King Charles III and the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince ...
during her Snatch Game appearance as Elizabeth II in Episode Two were censored by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
for the UK screenings of the episode. Wigl'it was later accused of
, who claimed that Wigl'it stole a joke that he had originally cracked in August 2020. Wigl'it later issued an apology on her
, saying “Oh no! I do apologise!! When I was doing research for the Queen character I knew that there was something funny about the letter writing
riends suggested the text. Turns out they had heard it somewhere before!”