[Shaun]

45th Place: Chi Chi DeVayne (Season 8, All Stars 3) - finished 4th and 8th place respectively

Season eight panned out in such a dissatisfying way that it made the trajectory of Miss DeVayne all the more confusing: she started off as a major underdog, but by the time the likes of Betty, Robbie and Thorgy had been culled in surprise results, the very idea of Chi Chi not making the final three became all the more unpalatable. Season 8 highlights for Chi Chi include: literally neck-popping and lipsyncing perfectly in an upside-down handstand-split in the Bitch Perfect challenge which earned her the win, a pretty great Eartha Kitt impersonation on Snatch Game, a strong 'Shortbread' in the Empire acting challenge, and an excellent Paper Ball performance with that crazy jagged ballerina look in the GIF above.

Unfortunately for Chi Chi, the season was so heavily orientated towards design challenges to try and hide Kim Chi and Naomi Smalls' lack of charisma, so she also put in a pretty abysmal Dorothy look in the Oz Makeover challenge. She landed in the bottom two twice and I'm not sure she deserved to both times: in the first, she threw her team under the bus in the RECTANGLE GIRLS OF THE WORLD performance and had the most basic runway of the three of them, so no excuses there, but did she really do worse than Kim Chi in the political campaign? No. No she didn't. Still: both results gave us jaw-dropping lipsyncs and for that alone, she should've been top 3 over Naomi.

Youtube video

Genuinely the only solo-performance in a lipsync that comes close to Dida Ritz's. Magical.

The weird season eight edit should've been a hint that her All Stars one would be just as puzzling, really: there was definitely a strong sense that Chi Chi was "not all there" and aching to go home by the end of her run, but I'm still pretty pissed that she was given such a rough time of it by the judges. She deserved to be in the bottom for the Talent Show, sure, and there was no defending her Snatch Game as Maya Angelou, but that performance as Patti LaBelle in the VH1 Divas challenge should've landed her in the top, not the bottom. Absolutely confounding.

As of right now, Chi Chi is still battling scleroderma and whilst I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on that disease, from what I've heard of her interviews with Hey Qween and other places, it's a pretty devastating one and forced her into severe changes with her drag (no more cartwheels and jump-splits). It's a pretty heartbreaking thing to witness one of the most talented and physical performers of Drag Race herstory go through, and the fandom's willful ignorance of anything a black queen does unless it's a death-drop on TV, means I fear for her drag future... but hopefully her charm, circle of friends, and impressive peers can help her into other styles of drag. Because if we're talking "look queens", then well... it doesn't get more gag than this.

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Memorable quote(s): "Girl... face crack."
"Hey everybody, I'm Bob the Drag Queen. JOKES JOKES JOKES JOKES. "
Lucian: "I don't really have anything negative to say about y-"
"THANK YOU. "
Best Runway(s): That Allstars "wigs on wigs" runway was jaw-dropping.
Best Moment(s): Thinking that her prize for winning the Bitch Perfect Challenge, a getaway in "New England", meant she got to go on holiday abroad

Remaining queens
Acid Betty - Adore Delano - Alaska - Alexis Mateo - Alyssa Edwards - Asia O'Hara - Bebe Zahara Benet - Bendelacreme - Bianca Del Rio - Bob the Drag Queen - Chad Michaels - Coco Montrese - Courtney Act
Darienne Lake - Detox - Eureka - Ginger Minj - Jinkx Monsoon - Jujubee - Katya - Kennedy Davenport - Latrice Royale - Manila Luzon - Mariah - Monet X Change - Monique Heart - Nina Bo'nina Brown
Nina Flowers - Phi Phi O'Hara - Raja - Raven - Roxxxy Andrews - Shangela - Sharon Needles - Shea Coulee - Stacy Layne Matthews - Tammie Brown - Tatianna - Thorgy Thor - Trinity the Tuck - Trixie Mattel - Willam - Yara Sofia