Words: Will Stroude
The line-up for RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 4 has been announced.
After months of speculation and accidental leaks, the queens returning to the work room for another shot at the crown and a place in the Drag Race Hall of Fame were confirmed by Entertainment Weekly on Friday afternoon (November 9).
The contestants returning when the new seaosn premieres on 14 December on VH1 in the US are as follows: Monét X Change, Latrice Royale, Trinity Taylor, Farrah Moan, Valentina, Monique Heart, Jasmine Masters, Naomi Smalls, Gia Gunn, and Manila Luzon.
Gia Gunn, who originally finished in tenth place on season six of the drag competiton, becomes the first openly transgender queen to appear on Drag Race since RuPaul’s controversial comments about trans contestants earlier this year.
The show’s host sparked a fierce backlash after saying in an interview with The Guardian that he would “probably not” allow trans women to compete on the show if they had undergone a physical transition.
Gunn, who came out as transgender in 2017, was one of the many former contestants to criticise the remarks, for which Ru later apologised.
Monique Heart (left) and Naomi Smalls
Meanwhile, Latrice Royale and Manila Luzon become the first queens to appear on two seasons of All Stars, having previously competed in the original incarnation of the series, finishing in joint seventh place.
“The girls on All Stars 4 are exciting and they have so much more to show,” RuPaul said of new series, which still is yet to get an official premiere date.
L-R: Latrice Royal, Manila Luzon and Monét X Change
“I think it will shock fans, although I don’t think they’ll be as disappointed.”
Acknowledging the controversy surrounding the finale of All Stars 3 earlier this year, which saw fan favourite Shangela eliminated from the competition by her fellow queens in shock finale which was eventually won by season 7’s Trixie Mattel, Ru added: “We always try to do something fresh and interesting, and sometimes it turns out in a way that you don’t really expect.”
Trinity Taylor (left) and Valentina
“I love Trixie [Mattel]. She’s a real superstar, but I really didn’t count on the other girls who came back being so vindictive.”
All Stars 4 premieres on Friday 14 December at 8/7c on VH1 in the US, and the series will be immediatley followed by the premiere Drag Race season 11 in early 2019.