Every Drag Race reference in Stop! That! Train!, explained

RuPaul's character's name

RuPaul publicly professed his love for a couple of strong, powerful women named Judy throughout many years, so it only makes sense that his own presidential persona was also named Judy by cowriters Christina Friel and Connor Wright. Ru's favorite movie is 1939's The Wizard of Oz, which centers the character Dorothy Gale played by Judy Garland. For years, RuPaul also established that his favorite TV show was Judge Judy, fronted by Judy Sheindlin herself. (It's worth noting that the original series ended in 2021, and it's unclear if Ru kept watching her in subsequent iterations of that show. But the point remains.) On Drag Race, Bianca Del Rio brought Judge Judy to life in the season 6 Snatch Game, while Jinkx Monsoon embodied Judy Garland as one of her two characters in the all-winners Snatch Game edition.

Oh, Pit Crew!

An early scene of the movie shows the Glamazonian Express train being supposedly cleaned up by three hunky men who wear basically nothing while working on it. Two of them are established Pit Crew members that fans will recognize: Bruno Alcantara and Bryce Eilenberg. The third man, Brock Yurich, is an actor who's never appeared as a Pit Crew member before and might not get immediately recognized by Drag Race fans, so consider this your heads-up. (Also catch Yurich in the upcoming film Test, which centers on a queer bodybuilder.)

Conductor Davenport

The man in charge of the Glamazonian Express, Conductor Davenport (played by the hilarious Chris Parnell), is obviously named after the Davenport drag family — which has had a massive impact not only on Drag Race, but in overall queer spaces and other competition formats. Notably, Kennedy Davenport and A'keria C. Davenport are both competing on All Stars 11 as of this writing. Ra'Jah O'Hara competed thrice and won Canada vs. the World season 1. Sahara Davenport was the first named Davenport to compete, but sadly died at a young age. Honey Davenport, known for competing in season 11, won the title of International Mr. Leather 2026 last month. All things considered, it feels correct for the Davenports to get this nod.

A sewing challenge?!

Ginger and Jujubee try to fake their way into working for the Glamazonian Express by sewing their own uniforms. Alas, this pretty unexpected sewing challenge in Stop! That! Train! ends up being a complete mess. Things only work out after the BFFs find out that Latrice is working for the Glamazonian Express and can give them official uniforms to pretend they've also been hired, even though they haven't.

The blueprint of leopard print

RuPaul and Michelle Visage love leopard print, and that's never been a secret. When evaluating the parallels between season 7's "Glamazonian Airways" and Stop! That! Train!, the touch of leopard print is a good starting point to consider. For instance, it's easy to forget that the uniforms in Glamazonian Airways did not include any leopard print. The wonderfully loud print is seen on Michelle's recreation of the uniform (as she sat on the judging panel), but not on the actual uniforms worn by the queens. It was added on by Michelle.

Welcome aboard, Glamazonian uniforms

In Stop! That! Train!, RuPaul is the one who adds leopard print to the characterization of President Gagwell. While serving presidential pantsuit realness in the film, leopard print stands out as a rather gay flair that doesn't seem like a natural match for the rest of the look, but somehow just works.

Meanwhile, the Glamazonian Express uniforms (sans leopard print) are much more sophisticated, realistic, and stylized than what is seen on season 7's Glamazonian Airways — which is of course expected given the new teams involved and the different parameters of a maxi challenge and a motion picture, but still exciting to see on the big screen nonetheless.

Bimini Bon-Boulash's 'nipples are the eyes to the face'

Missi Pyle plays a "Horny Divorcee" in Stop! That! Train! who references a line fans will recall from Bimini Bon-Boulash's Snatch Game-winning impersonation of Katie Price on Drag Race UK season 2: "The nipples are the eyes to the face." Pulitzer Award-worthy poetry, if you ask us.

Fun fact: Outside of Drag Race lore, the term is commonly associated with 2008's The House Bunny starring Anna Farris, in which her character says the exact same line. Ironically, Katie Price never said that sentence on record… But please put your paws down, dear fans. A queen's ability to smoothly combine unrelated elements while playing the Snatch Game is a recurring theme from several great performances on the iconic maxi challenge. Jus think about the "sensible 74 degrees" Eartha Kitt by Jujubee on All Stars 5, or even the sapphic, pregnant Alicia Keys by Alexis Mateo in season 3.

Jaida Essence Hall's 'look over there!'

The second musical number in the film (featuring Ginger, Symone, and Marcia) has the lyrics: "Hey, you, look over there!" They sing those lines pointing to a different direction on the train, which is shaking in its boots while facing a deadly Stormaganza. During the "Choices 2020" debate of season 12, Jaida ran a campaign entirely "of the bitches, for the bitches," which highlighted the general "confusion" that's become a new normal for politics. A bitch ahead of her time, Jaida was. (She won that challenge.)

Sasha Velour's rose petal wig reveal

That second musical number in Stop! That! Train! — which, to recap, is all about distracting passengers and telling them to "look over there!" in any other direction — has a dazzling ending that involves Sasha Velour's legendary rose petal wig reveal from the grand finale of season 9. That herstory-making moment on Drag Race had been featured on Saturday Night Live and even on Broadway musicals over the years. Now, it also has its own callback in Stop! That! Train!, as Ginger takes off her uniform cap to reveal rose petals falling down on her face.

RuPaul's 'reading is fundamental'

NAFTA?! I hardly know her! RuPaul, in full superhero/Matrix leather fantasy, throws some major shade at Brooke Lynn Hytes aboard the Glamazonian Express. After reading Brooke's character to filth, Ru echoes the iconic line, "Because reading is what?! Fundamental!" And just like during Reading challenges on the show, the train passengers join in for the "fundamental" bit.

Fun fact: The concept of "reading" is explained in Paris Is Burning, hence why RuPaul credits the 1990 documentary every season. Meanwhile, the term uttered by RuPaul combines the general concept of reading with a catchphrase that encourages people to read (and isn't mentioned in the documentary). The "fundamental" bit originates from an organization named Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) — founded by Margaret McNamara in 1960, the year Ru was born — to incentivize children's literacy. Given that RuPaul was indeed an avid reader as a child, it all worked out.

RuPaul's 'Good luck, don't fuck it up'

Besides reading Brooke to filth, Super-Ru also instructs Ginger and Jujubee on how to maneuver the train so they can save it. As expected, the instructions end with Ru delivering another fan-favorite catchphrase: "Good luck, and don't fuck it up!"

It must be fried chicken

Does fried chicken play a role in this treacherous saga between a Glamazonian Express train and a Stormaganza? Maybe so! And, well, it all feels like a nod to Jujubee's several callbacks to the delicious fried food. From entering the competition on All Stars 1 ("I love long walks on the beach, big dicks, and fried chicken") to celebrating her Double Shantay with Raven ("I want fried chicken now"), it stands to reason that the food appears in Stop! That! Train! to honor the adult-teeth diva herself. We're just saying!