The first season of RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under began airing on 1 May and concluded on 19 June 2021.
Ten Australian and New Zealand-based drag queens competed for the title of the "Down Under's first Drag Superstar", a one-year supply of Revolution Beauty Cosmetics, and a cash prize of $30,000. The winner of the first season of RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under was Kita Mean, with Art Simone, Karen from Finance and Scarlet Adams as runners-up.
Production Initially announced as a solely Australian version in 2019, production was moved to New Zealand due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. Filmed in Auckland, the series features drag queens from both Australia and New Zealand competing to be "Down Under's first Drag Superstar".
Australian comedian Rhys Nicholson was confirmed to join RuPaul and Michelle Visage as a judge. They officially announced the ten contestants at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras on 6 March 2021.
The three New Zealand-based queens were on House of Drag, with Anita Wigl'it and Kita Mean as judges and Elektra Shock as the runner-up on season 2.
Contestants
Ages, names, and cities stated are at time of filming.
+ Contestant Age Hometown Outcome Kita Mean 34 Auckland, New Zealand Art Simone 28 Melbourne, Australia Karen from Finance 32 Melbourne, Australia Scarlet Adams 27 Perth, Australia Elektra Shock 28 Auckland, New Zealand 5th place Maxi Shield 46 Ballina, Australia 6th place Etcetera Etcetera 22 Canberra, Australia 7th place Anita Wigl'it 31 Auckland, New Zealand 8th place Coco Jumbo 29 Coffs Harbour, Australia 9th place Jojo Zaho 30 Newcastle, Australia
Contestant progress
Lip syncs Legend:
Episode Contestants Song Eliminated 1 Elektra Shock vs. Jojo Zaho "Tragedy"(Bee Gees) Jojo Zaho 2 Art Simone vs. Coco Jumbo "I'm That Bitch"(RuPaul) Art Simone 3 Coco Jumbo vs. Elektra Shock "Shake Your Groove Thing"(Peaches & Herb) Coco Jumbo 4 Anita Wigl'it vs. Karen from Finance "I Begin to Wonder"(Dannii Minogue) Anita Wigl'it 5 Etcetera Etcetera vs. Maxi Shield "Absolutely Everybody"(Vanessa Amorosi) Etcetera Etcetera 6 Maxi Shield vs. Scarlet Adams "Better the Devil You Know"(Kylie Minogue) Maxi Shield 7 Elektra Shock vs. Kita Mean "Untouched"(The Veronicas) Elektra Shock Episode Contestants Song Winner 8 Art Simone vs. Karen from Finance vs. Kita Mean vs. Scarlet Adams "Physical"(Olivia Newton-John) Kita Mean
Guest judges Listed in chronological order:
Elz Carrad, New Zealand actor Rena Owen, New Zealand actress in theatre, television and film
Special guests Guests who appeared in episodes, but did not judge on the main stage.
Episode 1 Taika Waititi, New Zealand film and television director
Episode 2 Kylie Minogue, Australian singer and actress Dannii Minogue, Australian singer and actress
Episode 3 Troye Sivan, Australian singer-songwriter Leland, American singer
Episode 5 Suzanne Paul, infomercial hostess and television presenter
Episode 6 Aunty Donna, Australian absurdist comedy group from Melbourne
Episode 7 Raven, American drag queen and runner-up on both the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race and the first season of All Stars The Veronicas, Australian pop duo from Brisbane
Episode 8 Dame Olivia Newton-John, British-Australian singer, songwriter, actress, entrepreneur and activist Chloe Lattanzi, American singer and actress, daughter to Dame Olivia Newton-John Lance Savali, New Zealand dancer/choreographer from Wellington
Episodes
Controversies Following the cast reveal, video footage and images surfaced of Scarlet Adams "wearing a shirt with the Aboriginal flag, with dark tanned skin and two teeth blacked out". Guardian Australia reported that the image was taken in 2012 during Australia Day celebrations. Other images feature Adams in blackface as an African American woman and playing Asian stereotypes by wearing a sari as part of a Bollywood character. Adams apologised via social media in 2020 before being revealed as a cast member and later released a new apology in March 2021. In the series fifth episode, RuPaul addressed the controversy during the judges' critiques. Adams said, “I can’t deny that that happened. As a dumb, ignorant teenager, I made some mistakes that I’m really not proud of, and every day, I regret those decisions, I regret the fact that I used my platform as a performer to ridicule people who have faced systemic racism for hundreds of years and I’m so ashamed of the person I once was. I’m really sorry to you and to everyone that I have hurt.”
Another contestant, Karen from Finance, was also reported to be involved in racial insensitivity after photos emerged showing a tattoo of a golliwog. Karen from Finance addressed the controversy on their social media by saying "I made the uninformed, ignorant and regrettable decision to have one of these dolls tattooed. In the years that followed ... I realised how irresponsible and stupid I had been so I disposed of the dolls to landfill and had my tattoo covered."
Art Simone's return to the competition in Episode 4 also led to accusations of racism, with the show's lack of explanation for Simone's return leading to some viewers to question why a white contestant was allowed to return, but not the two recently eliminated contestants of colour.
Etcetera Etcetera's performance as Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton in the Snatch Game (episode 2) draw widespread condemnation, as her impersonation heavily mocked the death of Chamberlain's baby daughter, accompanied with a bloodstained dingo puppet, which was criticised as being cruel, offensive and insensitive considering how Chamberlain-Creighton was wrongfully convicted for her daughter's death.RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under star Etcetera Etcetera under fire for portrayal of Lindy Chamberlain - Perth Now, Krystal Sanders, May 9, 2015RuPaul’s Drag Race: Fans Denounce Etcetera Etcetera's Snatch Game Choice - Screenrant, Maggie Mead, May 12, 2021
Certain jokes made by Anita Wigl'it about Prince Andrew during her Snatch Game appearance as Elizabeth II in Episode Two were censored by the BBC for the UK screenings of the episode. Wigl'it was later accused of plagiarism by Australian comedian Anthony Lehmann, who claimed that Wigl'it stole a joke that he had originally cracked in August 2020. Wigl'it later issued an apology on her Instagram, saying “Oh no! I do apologise!! When I was doing research for the Queen character I knew that there was something funny about the letter writing[...]Friends suggested the text. Turns out they had heard it somewhere before!”
Awards and nominations Year Award ceremony Category Nominee Results Ref.2022New Zealand Television AwardsTelevision Personality of the YearAnita Wigl'it
References
External links (Australia) (New Zealand)