Certain queens had to sashay away from RuPaul’s Drag Race after having to lip sync for their lives for the very first time. Some of these eliminations were truly shocking due to a series of factors, such as how well these queens had been doing in the competition or the edit they had been given on the show up to that point.
One important note to make is that this list is not considering whether a queen did better or worse during the lip sync that got her eliminated. This list is also not declaring that these queens were necessarily “robbed” of their spot on the show. Most of these eliminations were justified when it all came down to a Lip Sync For Your Life. Alas, this list is taking into consideration queens who had shocking eliminations due to the season-long track records and storylines that were set up for them – which made us believe that they’d get farther in the competition or even make it to the grand finale.
Fans will always have their opinions about the placements on Drag Race, but the final decision is always RuPaul’s to make. From strong contenders faltering in a lip sync to fan-favorite queens not breaking through with the judges, Drag Race certainly gagged its viewers with certain eliminations.
Scroll through to find out which queens were unexpectedly sent home after lip syncing just once on RuPaul’s Drag Race.
All photos courtesy of VH1 and World of Wonder.
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Pandora Boxx was a fan-favorite all season long and changed the way that many viewers – and even the judges – appreciated comedy queens on the show. However, Boxx was sent home during her first time in the bottom two, which took place episode eight of RuPaul’s Drag Race season two. She lip synced against Jujubee to “Shake Your Love” by Debbie Gibson.
Mariah Paris Balenciaga was an extremely polished queen who, for some reason, the Drag Race judges were just not impressed by. She went home in episode six, and it was a real shock not only to her but also to the rest of the season three cast. Balenciaga lost the lip sync to “Looking for a New Love” by Jody Watley against Delta Work.
The elimination of Lineysha Sparx during Drag Race season five was truly shocking. She had a very strong track record at the beginning of the competition (including a maxi challenge win), so sending her home in episode five was absolutely unexpected, to say the least. Alas, Sparx lost the lip sync to Cher’s “Take Me Home” against Detox.
Another gag-worthy elimination in season five was Ivy Winters. She did great all season long, won a maxi challenge, and fell into the bottom two for the very first time in episode eight. And yet, Winters went up against Alyssa Edwards in a lip sync for their lives to “Ain’t Nothin’ Goin’ On but the Rent” by Gwen Guthrie – which Edwards won.
14 seasons later (and even a bunch of All Stars seasons), Max’s elimination is still considered one of the most shocking in Drag Race herstory. Max won two maxi challenges throughout season seven and was absolutely getting a “finalist” edit on the show… then she fell into the bottom two for the first time in episode seven and was promptly eliminated. She lip synced against Jaidynn Diore Fierce to “No More Lies” by Michel’le.
The judges absolutely saw Valentina as one of the frontrunners of Drag Race season nine, but they didn’t count on the fact that she wouldn’t know the words to “Greedy” by Ariana Grande upon landing in the bottom two for the first time. Despite winning a maxi challenge and landing in the top several weeks, Valentina was sent home in episode nine after losing the lip sync to Nina Bo’nina Brown.
Mo Heart (formerly known as Monique Heart) was an incredibly hardworking queen on Drag Race season 10 who also gave the show a lot of fantastic talking heads. Though Heart struggled to keep up with the fashion level of season 10, many viewers assumed that she’s get much further in the competition. Unfortunately, Heart fell into the bottom two in episode seven and was sent home after having issues with her wig during the lip sync to “Cut to the Feeling” by Carly Rae Jepsen.
Miz Cracker had a hard time breaking through with the judges, but she finally won her first maxi challenge in the 10th episode of Drag Race season 10. Considering that Cracker had landed in the top basically all season long, many viewers assumed that this maxi win would take her to the grand finale. However, she landed in the bottom two in episode 11 and lost the lip sync to Vanity 6’s “Nasty Girl” against Kameron Michaels.
Beloved by the queens, the judges, and the fans, Nina West had a solid run in season 11 of Drag Race despite not living up to the fashion standards set by the series. In fact, West made it to the top six having won two maxi challenges and never landing in the bottom. Still, she did have to lip sync for her life in episode 11 against Silky Nutmeg Ganache to “No Scrubs” by TLC. Both queens did poorly in the lip sync, but West was sent home. Overall, it would’ve been shocking for either Ganache or West to be sent home at this point – but that ended up being West’s fate.
A lot of viewers were really passionate about rooting for Jan on Drag Race season 12, and for good reason! She came off as being extremely talented, trying really hard to impress the judges, and also oozed charisma when out of drag. Nonetheless, Jan landed in the bottom two for the first time in episode eight and had to lip sync against Widow Von’Du – who was also considered a frontrunner in the competition. Jan ultimately lost that lip sync to “This Is My Night” by Chaka Khan, and it sent shockwaves within the fandom.
