[Shaun]

76th Place: Cynthia Lee Fontaine (Season 8, Season 9) - finished 10th in both

We're starting to tackle the "two-appearances" kinda queens now and the one that I feel most guilty about placing this low is poor Cynthia.

Season 8's Miss Congeniality was everything that is loveable about a drag-race queen: quirky, endlessly optimistic and cheerful, extremely supportive and helpful of the other queens, and the odd little catchphrase that AT THAT TIME wasn't at all annoying.

Unfortunately, this show can turn one-off catchphrases into a never-ending twilight zone of repetition and hell. Some queens manage to conceal their trademarks and play them casually and effectively (Alaska, Alyssa, Shangela). Others rely upon them and land in the bottom two but with some dignity (Trixie's Ru impression, Roxxxy's Tasha Salad). But then there are the Moniques and the Monets and the...*gulps* Cucus.

Whilst I generally have absolutely no time for Lee Dawson's shallow and mean take on the fan-editing process, turning Cynthia's buzzword into a shrill, speaker-breaking orgasm was pretty much the nail on the head for all of the fandom's frustration with Cynthia in season nine. But that's just a word, and it still doesn't dent Cynthia's great personality, so why is she this low? Well, her Roller Girl look is - without doubt - the guaranteed, set in stone, number 1 WORST runway of all time. One bad look would be forgiveable but Cynthia, sadly, brought many, and I think she's the only queen who has a 100% "BOOT" record on Fashion Photo RuView (ignoring queens who went home 1st/2nd, ofc). Not all were deserved (I actually liked her fur runway) but when you consider she tore that off to reveal a black bra and red panties for her lipsync you're left fighting an unwinnable fight.

Performance-wise, Cynthia kinda floundered in both seasons and whilst she had some highlights (Princess Cuculina was adorable, and she brought comedy to the Newsroom that Charlie Hides so RELENTLESSLY crushed), she also bombed many: her take on the Sugar Ball was indeed just Detox's look (that sent Detox home, no less) in pink, her Kardashian lipsync was a disaster (but I will argue she should never have been given the lead Alexis Michelle you vile beast), and although I think she did better than Robbie, Derrick and Kim Chi, her RuCo's Empire performance was...baffling and then she matched it with Unmentionably Evil Runway #1. There was also the one, fleeting moment where I thought "Cynthia that was horrible you bitch " and that was when she told Nina Bo'nina Brown she was doing "community service" for choosing Jaymes Mansfield for her team Mean.

I will always have love for Cynthia Lee Fontaine, though. She's an incredibly sweet and caring person, and to see someone like that struggle with cancer so visibly on the show was heartbreaking - not to mention her experience with the Pulse Orlando shooting. Also, she provided one of the absolute BEST moments in Season Eight:

Youtube video

Absolute goddess.

Memorable quote(s): "WAaAaAaIT.... second time in HISTORY of RuPaul... TWO ELIMINATED "
"You know, it can be like...the butthole ... but let me spill you a story real quick: when I was a shild, mom doesn't want us to say bad words at home. So... one day I was three years old, trying to go to the bathroom, cos I need to, from MY CULO to do caca... she slapped me with a chancleta... so I said cucu mama caca peepee. OK "
Best Runway(s): Has to be her fur runway, I guess. The others were all pretty bad </3
Best Moment(s): Sending a heel flying and absolutely DESTROYING a stagelight in the Bitch Perfect performance, whilst Acid Betty tries to get her not to step on glass