Global All Starsis upon us and it truly is feeding the children. The looks are looking, the talent is talenting, and the charisma is off the charts. But it also does take nerve, and if nerve is code for shade, the queens say this season has it too, in spades.
For Tessa Testicle, who audiences first met on season one of Drag Race Germany (and is happily in the midst of her “menace era”) this season gave her the opportunity to keep it totally real. “Before I came to Global All Stars, I did Drag Race Germany, and I do distinctly remember holding my mouth for quite a lot and just playing by the rules a lot,” she recalls to PRIDE. “I vowed to myself to be myself at all times and not hold back at all. I think a lot of us vowed that to ourselves and Global All Stars came about.”
As a result, she says this season takes the show “back to the roots” in terms of the way the queens aren’t afraid to speak up and even get shady. “Queens from all over the world, all over the planet, come together and you get this really delicious clash of personalities that just isn’t afraid to speak their minds,” she explains while throwing more than a little shade at the same time. “Unlike some of the American queens these days. And I’m just so excited for y’all to know, burn your tongue a little bit on this spice.”
Courtesy of Paramount+
Vanity Vain agrees, but adds that there are real moments of sisterhood this season, too. “Sometimes it’s a little bit like RuPaul’s Best Friend Race, but you can spice it up,” she tells PRIDE, adding that she isn’t afraid to mix up a bit with her sisters, too. “ I love to throw gasoline on a fire. I love that — and then just watch.”
Nehellenia, whom some of her sisters clocked as the most secretly shady of the group, cosigns the spice level of this season. “I’m coming from [a friendly season of Drag Race], So for me, it was a shady season I can say. If there’s one name that is the shadiest, I think you will see like a shady Holy Trinity,” she reveals to PRIDE but she demures from saying who they are. “Oh, I can’t say the name. Sorry, I’m too kind.”
But beyond keeping the library open 24/7 the queens felt like they had a lot to prove to a global audience, and they are ready!
Courtesy of Paramount+
“I really hope that people take away how hard it is to do drag, how challenging, but also extremely beautiful this art form is, and that it is an art form and that it deserves respect and recognition,” says Tessa.
Vanity echoes her sentiments adding that she’s excited to share the joy of drag, too. “I hope people can celebrate this together with us [and] how beautiful this art form is,” she says. However, she has some concerns that not all the audience will see and appreciate what she’s bringing. “ I know the fandom can be really, really hard sometimes, like, they can be tough, but I hope that they can see what all the Drag Race franchises [have]”, adding on a personal note, “I want them also to see how I evolved from my season. I’m not this aggie, bad attitude [girl] all the time, I’m kind of sweet and nice too.”
Courtesy of Paramount+
Most of all, Nehellenia is ready to put the idea that “all drag is valid” to the global test. “We are 12 queens [who are] totally different coming from different backgrounds, different countries. So you can watch and enjoy every kind of drag [from] all around the world,” she explains. “So I think the most important thing about global All Stars is [to] prove it. Prove it that every [kind of] drag is valid and every [kind of] drag is magnificent and amazing.”
With only two episodes out, they are already making that case very well!
