Mama, kudos for saying that. For spilling.
Best known for starring in Lopez vs. Lopez and the George Lopez TV series, Mayan Lopez appeared as a guest judge on episode 12 of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 16. Overall, she seems to have really bonded with the queens competing on the show and recently did a live-stream with Plane Jane, Morphine Love Dion, and Dawn on social media.
A clip from that live-stream (as re-posted by @cesarflores._ on TikTok) starts with Morphine saying, “I remember it was like 50, 49 degrees… and they were like, ‘Mama Ru loves the cold.’”
“Oh, yeah,” Mayan replies, “because behind the desk they’re like, ‘Do you wanna take your shoes off? You wanna, like, get comfortable?’ I was like, ‘And ruin my look?’ Like, no.”
Mayan adds, “They had like heaters underneath and they had like blankets and… I have to tell you guys this thing you may not realize. You know what, it’s not part of my NDA. But what is the craziest thing is that Ru underneath the desk was wearing Gucci track pants and Gucci mules.”
@cesarflores._Mayan Lopez Spills Tea With Season 16 RuGirls on IG Live About Behind The Scenes of the Rupauls Drag Race judging panel - - - - #rupaulsdragraceseason16 #rupaulsdragrace #fyp #rpdrseason16 #planejane #dawn #morphinelovedion #dragracettea #rupaultrackpants #rupaul #dragrace #instagramlive #iglive #mayanlopez #episode12 #rupaulsdragraceepisode12 #dawnelimination @The Plane Jane @Dawn @Morphine Love @Mayanlopez
After that Ru-velation, Plane, Morphine, and Dawn all cover their faces and look completely gagged. Dawn responds, “Mama, kudos for saying that. For spilling.”
As Mayan continues her tea-spilling and recalls asking herself “what is he wearing?” while filming Drag Race, the queens try to get the conversation back on track. Morphine says, “Ru in person is just like, wow. So, like, stun. It’s like looking into the sun, almost.”
“She’s so fierce,” Dawn adds. “And honestly, people always ask me like, ‘How is Ru?’ Funniest b*tch I’ve ever met. So sickening.” Mayan, Plane, and Morphine all make motions in agreement, and the live-stream continues to move on from there.
Truth be told, it’s not exactly a secret that Mama Ru (and the other judges) get comfortable while sitting down behind the judging panel. There’s no real necessity for Ru to keep wearing an uncomfortable look while recording between 10 and 16 episodes for each season of Drag Race when, for the most part, only the top half of her body will show during the main stage segment of the show.
In showbiz, the practice known as “cheat for the camera” pertains to cheating something “into” a shot or “out of” a shot, depending on the matter at hand. This can relate to adjusting your behavior to benefit the point of view of the audience or getting away with something that will not be seen within the frame captured by the camera.
Jokes about this practice have even been made during an actual episode of Drag Race. Namely, season 13 star Utica Queen included a joke during the comedy/roast challenge asking Mama Ru to stand up from her seat at the judging panel — referencing the fact that Ru would be seen wearing more comfortable clothes had she chosen to stand up from her seat. Still, getting this update from Mayan Lopez during a live-stream with the season 16 queens is still pretty funny.
RuPaul’s Drag Race season 16 airs every Friday on MTV.