RuPaul confronts Drag Race star over blackface.Things then went from bad to worse when the show attempted to address Scarlet Adams' problematic past by acknowledging and then absolving her on the main stage – a move which was likely intended to ease fan's complaints about racism on the show, but that only highlighted the show's lack of understanding about the severity of the issue. This would be bad enough, but the issue is further exacerbated by the fact that Art Simone, the (white) queen eliminated between them, was then brought back into the competition and given a free pass to start over when Jojo and Coco were robbed of the same opportunity. On its own, the casting of two problematic queens can be written off as the producers not knowing any better, but unfortunately for Down Under, the race-related issues the season suffered didn't begin and end merely with the casting.Īfter turning out a hometown runway celebrating her Aboriginal heritage, Jojo Zahoe was the first queen sent packing, followed by the only other queen of colour, Coco Jumbo, two weeks later. Obviously, it's impossible for producers to know 100% of what a queen has said or done before they're cast on the show, but when the Drag Race: Down Under cast list was announced, Scarlet Adams and Karen From Finance immediately came under fire for their racist history. Namely, those with a history of racist and otherwise problematic behaviour. Whether a season sinks or swims can largely rest on the talent of the queens, and for Drag Race Down Under, much of the scandal and heat the series took was because of the queens selected. After all, Drag Race UK s eason two also shot and aired during the pandemic, and that turned out to be one of the most well-received seasons in Drag Race herstory. Some leniency can understandably be given considering the production was likely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but that's not entirely a solid excuse. Even things as small as Ru not being in Drag in the series premiere, and the lack of memorable guest judges took a toll on the overall quality of the season – it lacked the polish and vibrancy that we've come to expect from Drag Race. The season also neglected to shoot proper promo photos for each queen – their entrance looks doubled for promo looks, thus limiting the queens' ability to give audiences their first true taste of the talent they could bring to the table. RPDR's Michelle Visage on queen's use of blackface.
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