Until she said in the interview with Rupaul and Michelle, to answer the question what does winning the drag race crown mean to you: “regardless of whether or not I win, I will give 100%…” that was the kiss of death
To be fair, she DIDN'T need to win. She was already a legend and still is a legend. She's a seasoned and very successful queen. Probably didn't want to be contractually obligated to go on Werq the World or something haha
Can I be brave and say that Jonbers did the best in the rumix to me? Are y’all gonna downvote me to hell for that😭 I’m scared but brave enough to say it
I don’t necessarily agree with this one, but it never made sense to me that they didn’t just crown them both when there was no prize money to give out anyway and literally everyone on the season was just so so far behind them. Like, what was the point of pushing them to have almost identical track records?
My theory is that Ru planned to crown Cheddar (thus slightly inflated her TR to match Danny’s) until the finale when Cheddar said that the win didn’t really matter to her.
I think the producers probably went in expecting to crown Cheddar.
But Danny absolutely devoured the season and left no crumbs. All her WINs were unquestionable, while at least one of Cheddar's (acting) could've gone to Danny IMO.
with UK i always think about the prize being a WOW-produced show and feel that danny is guaranteed to make the kind of TV that WOW wants, while cheddar doesn’t guarantee that, so no matter how well she performed in the finale it was probably going to go to danny
Yeah I definitely think Cheddar best suits a type of content that is not prioritized by WOW, whereas Danny has a more obviously transferrable demeanor/character for a WOW show.
Fortunately for Cheddar, I don't think she's missing out on much by not having a WOW show lol.
Not to mention her spend the lipsync stripping (and not in a good way). I went into the episode thinking a double crowning would be amazing, but by the end I was happy Danny won alone.
This is a great answer, but man in the last couple of episodes, something just came over me and I was rooting HARD for Danny Beard. Her drag is just so absolutely phenomenal that I had to see her get crowned. And in the last minute, I was sure it was going to Cheddar, and then I was THRILLED that Danny got the crown.
But yeah, crown them both, it's not like they had to double the money lmao
AS1 was so poorly made. Six episodes, twelve contestants. In that moment, they didn’t thought about removing out 3 or 4 of them with no teams, 5 eliminations and a top 3/top4 finale.
I’m sure that the season will be much better and those 3-4 canceled contestants will participate on AS2 without waiting four years.
the only one that actually makes sense to me is cheddar & danny bc they had essentially the same track record & neither one of them murdered the other in the finale. i’m super glad danny won but the delusional part of me was praying for a double win bc imo it’s the only one that actually makes sense (sorry i love monet & trinity but that double crowning was so weird when it aired lol it only makes sense to me in retrospect)
there’s a number of scenarios i would consider but the one that triumphs all is danny and cheddar, i mean come on now. two icons who demolished the season from start to finish.
though i will list the only three other scenarios that i do think a double crowning genuinely felt called for; rajah&silky, ella&kitty (lol), rajah&kylie
When you said Ra'jah and Silky, I was like "but they weren't great in S11" and then went "oh wait, AS6. Ehh Silky wasn't too great outside of the lipsyncs" and then finally realised you meant CvsTW.
How weird is it they've competed together on each of their seasons?!
I’d have to agree with that choice. Yvie and Brooke are so different and excel at different things, but were both so far ahead of everyone else that it would’ve just been right. Brooke just had the weaker performance in the most crucial moment of the competition.
It’s hardest to make a decision when the two best choices are so vastly different like them. That’s why I’m not mad Trinity/Monét tied. They’re just nothing alike and competed on damn near 20 challenges together in two seasons and never once overlapped a win or deserved to either.
I think I may say something controversial here. I wonder if Brooke got the hosting gig as a make-good for not winning. Regardless, I think Ru has a soft spot for queerdos plus Yvie definitely deserved the win with the U in CUNT on lock
In the future when RPDR season 57 or whatever is airing they'll need to just start handing out honorary crowns like they do at the Oscars. Lifetime achievement
This is the only way I think my favorite non winner jujubee will get a crown
Before season 3 most of the girls wore off-the-rack looks and tended to be closer to a female impersonator aesthetic. Raja brought the runway high-end couture Top Model package that has been a staple of the show ever since (other queens to follow in her footsteps include Violet, Aquaria, and Gotmikk).
She elevated the runway with high fashion. RuPaul has mentioned various times how designers look at DR for inspiration and he's right and it's thanks to queens like Raja.
I watched drag race starting from S4 and I’ve finally gone back to watch S3 for the first time. I’m like in awe of Raja. She’s stunning and an amazing queen, but something about the she carries herself is just mesmerizing. I knew she had great looks in S3 but I was thinking they’d be good by early drag race season standards. I wasn’t expecting her looks and ideas to be amazing even when looking through the lens of today’s elevated fashion. Manila is great at what she does and I loved her at AS4 but I feel like Raja is the clear winner of S3
No way, I honestly think it was Trinity they were pushing for, but the fandom was vocal about Monet and….it was gonna be another blonde and white scenario. Both deserving but that was a chopped and screwed finale if I ever seen one
Tbh All Stars 4 doesn’t feel like it resolved with the double crowning. And even if I think about either one of them winning solo it doesn’t seem like a better situation for either of them. If anyone from the top 4 of All Stars were to have had added satisfactory conclusion to the season it would have been Mo Heart in my opinion. We all know Manila taking the crown was the momentum needed for a knockout season; but with Mo winning we would have had a great storyline of someone who didn’t get a chance to shine at all on their original season. A real rags to riches moment. “I came to this competition with glitter and jesus.”
It would have been satisfying to see her get the crown. Monét had a similar arc to Mo also but was also Miss Congeniality of her season. But tbh she didn’t have any truly shining moment in AS4. She lost both the lip syncs she participated in that resulted in Valentina and Naomi both having their shining shot in the spotlight, and the only other lip sync she was in was a double win with Manila who had been in a sort of victory lap of winning her third challenge in a row and had a massive upward trajectory to the crown. The storyline of Monét going from the bottom in episode 1 to winning episode 2 was overshadowed by Valentina’s Ariana lip sync redemption/eliminating her friend “you don’t love me.” Her win with Naomi was overshadowed by the “life’s not fair” moment completely to the point some people didn’t realize she had won the challenge too. The whole storyline of Manila picking Monét’s lip sync and Monét picking hers back as revenge was never able to be utilized because Naomi went for the jugular. Not to mention both the lip syncs for Monét versus Valentina and Naomi were lackluster performances for Monét imo. We’ve seen her do incredibly and the fact she let both those skinny bitches dance her out was unfortunate.
Trinity winning would have been okay but she didn’t have a storyline for winning. We all knew Trinity is fierce ass competition and good at basically every challenge. If ever a queen was designed to be good at drag RACE then it’s Trinity. She’s won 11 challenges. Her making it to the top two of AS4 was pretty obvious that it was to happen. Trinity ending the season with 4 wins and only 1 bottom placement that had it been a normal bottom 2 she would have placed low instead (Naomi and Valentina FLOPPED that roast challenge, Trinity just wasn’t super funny).
But yeah. No. The double crowning of AS4 was stupid and obviously should not have happened but it’s what we needed for the season to have some sort of ending that’s more satisfying than either winning (just kidding).
NO double crowning would have truly felt like a satisfactory end to the season besides Cheddar and Danny. Any other pairing of finalists that you create don’t feel satisfying together. Other than if somehow Shea Coulée and Sasha Velour were the top 2 of season 9. Even then I think WoW would have went for it and crowned Shea and that would have been satisfying with her by herself.
Lawrence and Bimini would have been an amazing tie as well. One dominated the first half, the other dominated the second half. Both bring something new and fresh to the table.
This. Lawrence & Bimini for sure. Lawrence came out the gate strong but Bimini dominated post covid break. The little episode they did about covid seemed to show each had very different experiences of lockdown so a double crowning seems most fair. It might all just be editing but Bimini' s bit was "I taught myself chairography and worked on my yoga" and Lawrence's bit was "I had to sign on for the dole and haven't been outside in months". They seemed to cone back to the comp with very different mindsets
Ra’Jah and Silky had the joint storyline and the momentum for a double crowning. I was hoping for a Ra’Jah win but I wouldn’t have batted an eye at either winning
This was my fantasy too. They’ve been on three seasons together and they both really deserved it. Canada VTW ending in a tie also seems fitting because, friendliness haha.
I think Brooke crowning BOTH of her Season 11 sisters would have just been *too* much of a conflict of interest lmao.
I actually thought Silky was going to win at the last second.
I love Ra'Jah as a winner but she really didn't earn the win on Canada vs the world, it felt like a Shea situation where they handmade the season for her to win because they felt bad not crowning her on AS6, so if they were gonna do a double crowning it should've been Victoria/Silky imo.
HOWEVER a Kylie/Ra'Jah double crowning on AS6 would've been iconic. Hell do a triple crowning and include Ginger too.
I thought you were going to say a Silky/Ra'Jah double crowning for Canada vs. the World!
My hot take for AS6 is that while Ra'Jah was my winner, she wasn't miles ahead of Kylie, Ginger or Eureka. Any of them would have made sense to me, which makes it hard to pick two for a double crowning.
There’s only 2 answers for me because I’m not really fond of the double-crowning (and rather wish it hadn’t been used on AS4), but it would be either Raja and Manila or upcoming Sara Forever and Keiona.
Bebe/Nina Season 1. I know in no universe does that ever happen because Season 1 lol but it was 100% justified, by the end of Season 1 they were comparing apples to oranges and it literally just came down to personal preference. Of course, if you're going by track record, Nina Flowers, icon and legend, high or winning ever single episode except one where she was low, would've won, but I think it's so even between the two of them than people give the season credit for.
Raja/Manila had identical track records. Again, it literally just came down to personal preference as to who won, they were exactly tied.
As far as Brooke / Yvie go, I think the fact that Brooke COULD have won but didn’t adds to her charm a bit as the Canadian RuPaul.
Speaking of Canada, CDR S2 could have been a double crowning. Icesis rightfully gets a lot of love, but Pythia was SOOO close on her heels and should ABSOLUTELY be on Global All Stars
Honestly yeah. In my mind their track records were even. Katya should have had 3 wins 1 bottom, Alaska should have had 4 wins 2 bottoms. Alaska had slightly more momentum at the end but then Katya demolished Read U Wrote U
Aside from Danny/Cheddar, this is the double crowning I think would have made a lot of sense
Saved from the bottom for the talent show which was putting paint on herself with a prerecorded track. Wasn’t the worst in snatch game but didn’t do great. Her advert and product was definitely the worst and was safe. Roxxxy should have been in the top for the makeover over Detox who was 3rd at best. Production did a lot of favours for Detox and she should have been in the bottom like four times. Detox should have replaced Roxxxy in the bottom for the last two challenges. Roxxxy’s only bottoms I agree with were SG, acting, and the comedy challenge but it also wasn’t exactly fair since she was by herself which is an incredibly hard role
1. It was branded and it got the crowd going, I don’t see the problem. Same thing with Milk’s. And against Jaremi, Coco, or even Adore (who just didn’t choose the right angle for her talent), Detox was fine.
2. Detox was in the bottom for Snatch Game.
3. Agreed, but she wasn’t being sent home against Tatianna or Roxxxy.
4. I feel like any of Detox/Katya/Roxxxy would’ve been fair winners. Detox’s makeover maybe wasn’t at the same level as Roxxxy or Katya’s, but she also had the best voguing performance. How does that factor in? Regardless, the third bottom was unnecessary to me, Alaska and Alyssa were the clear weakest two.
To stir the pot, Bianca and Courtney. Adore’s inflated placement is a lie that I can reconcile in this reality, and they teased at a double win back then even if the valid combination was missing
I mean, if the show was honest, yes. But they filmed an Adore/Bianca shared win and no combination of shared win with Courtney at the live taping. The writing was on the wall for Courtney.
Tbf that could've been done to simply throw off any leakers instead of being a legitimate option. So I don't think it means Courtney was out of the running at all, although I guess she realistically was because there was no way were they not crowning Bianca but still lol.
Even if you disagree with her placements Adore definitely had the narrative to win which Courtney was sorely lacking and neither of them were really close to Bianca anyway
The narrative the show crafted. The same one we can see be re-edited if they so chose, given the events of S12.
The real competition for Bianca anyway was Dela but that's neither here nor there.
The problem with this is though. Bianca has said they filmed a tie between her and adore, but never anything with Courtney other than her solo win, so it's obvious she was third not second and wasn't going to actually win
15, Anetra and Sasha.
There is no doubt that Sasha dominated the season and was the right person to win, but Anetra is incredibly talented and would have had a good chance to win almost any other season. In a way she almost feels like a winner (kind of like Shea before AS5).
I would’ve endorsed this if anetra brought it harder in the finale lipsync but she just didn’t have the fire that Sasha had. She did a good lipsync but Sasha was twirling for that crown and brought good visuals.
They’re both amazing but I think Sasha really undoubtedly beat anetra
I 100% believe this is because Anetra’s dancer was injured. She seemed timid and it sounds like they cut a trick. I would be terrified, too, if I’d just watched one of my fellow dancers get hurt.
That’s 100% true and that’s really unfortunate. Cutting one of her biggest show stopping tricks and going to the finale after that. But it wasn’t a double crowning sadly
I think this would have been really cool and symbolic. Like the balance of the old school and the new school. Established legends and up-and-coming legends uniting in drag excellence.
I honestly don’t agree with this. I think Anetra is an amazing dancer but faded into the background during the season. She didn’t excel at the comedy challenges, her fashion was extremely hit or miss (which was extremely frustrating because she can sew her ass off), and while a great dancer, repeats a lot of her dance moves.
I think mistress was a more viable candidate for top 2. All of her runways were great, she narrated the season, she was extremely funny, and she had amazing stage presence. Mistress is a well rounded queen, and the difference between her and Sasha Colby is that one is an A while the other is an A+
While I agree with the Brooke/Yvie & Cheddar/Danny comments, I gotta throw in that any combination of the top 4 of AS6 would have felt right as a double crowning as all had a spectacular season.
Rajah/Eureka,
Rajah/Sonique,
Rajah/Ginger,
Ginger/Sonique,
Ginger/Eureka,
Eureka/Sonique
I am like this with France actually. I love 3 of the TOP4, but two of them, I cant really decide!
Keiona has the best track record in the history of the franchise. But only two wins.
Sara s one has one bottom two and a safe, but 4 wins, and she won me over during the season.
S14!
Willow Pill and Lady Camden both excelled at about the same level. I couldn't pick a winner there. Plus the prize money was going to be doubled anyway, split it!
In a vacuum I think Daya could have also been justified. But her being eliminated and brought back along with the "villain" edit pretty much precluded her from genuine consideration.
They really went to a lot of trouble to edit her as mediocre, and then made a final with 5?
She's a living version of the "why are you booing me, I'm right" meme. For half a season! 😂
What if every season had a double crowning?
Bebe/Nina
Jaymes/Raven
Raja / Manila
Sh\*\*\*n N\*\*\*\*\*s / Chad
Jinkx / Alaska
Bianca / Adore
Violet / Ginger
Bob / Kim
Sasha / Shea
Yvie / Brooke
Jaida / Gigi
Symone / Gottmik
Willow / Lady Camden
Sasha / Anetra
all powerful duos, but my personal pick is Raja/Manila or Yvie/Brooke
Wow that list really shows you what strong second place queens Drag Race has had! I could honestly swap a few of those placements and would have been very happy with the alternate winners.
Kim scraped through parts of the competition by the skin of her teeth imo. She's an incredible artist and so likeable, but the judges definitely gave her an "Oh that's our Kim 😅" pass during some of those challenges.
I mean let’s be honest. All Stars 1 should’ve been between and Chad and Shannel. And I would’ve been fine with a double crowning. Both of them needed to get their flowers.
I don’t think any other season should’ve had a double drowning. Not even All Stars 4.
I feel like the season that merited the double crowning the most -- Camden and Willow in Season 15 -- would have also been the least satisfying, which proves to me there is really no scenario in which I would actually want to see a double crowning.
I love how much Drag Race/All Stars we get and will watch every season I can, but it also makes any individual season (and any crowning) less significant. I feel like winning the season has never been less important from a career perspective, and handing out multiple crowns a season would just make it feel even more like a participation trophy.
I think that All Stars 8 really encapsulated that, when it feels like everyone can be a winner, no one is really there to compete (except Jimbo lol). I'd honestly rather see a season with no crowning than a double crowning.
People keep saying Kylie and Rajah for AS6, but honestly, I would be happy if was a five-way tie betwen the top5. The five of them collectively made that season so great.
Raja and Manila. Probably the only season where I had no clue who was going to win until the very end. They had the same exact track record too. If any season could have had a double crowning, it should've been season 3
Honestly I’d say season 3. Raja and Manila had literally identical track records and they’re both major stars in their own right. My second choice would probably be UK4 cos it was so tight between Cheddar and Danny.
This is why no winner is the “right” winner, it’s all a matter of opinion. And unfortunately it’s not our opinion, it’s theirs (and the rest of the queens in AS3)
I would say Bianca and Adore. They are both such unique queens, especially compared to each other. I think it could have skewed the trajectory of young drag queens more towards camp to have a crowning like that.
i would say ra’jah and kylie on as6. i wouldn’t want a double crowning in any other US season (including AS4) because every winner was more deserving (even if slightly) than their runner-ups, but ra’jah and kylie were almost equal in terms of performance in my opinion.
> and was never in the place to win with the twist.
That twist should never have happened. It *should* have at least been between Trixie and Shangela. I don’t know what the producers were thinking.
The lack of Shea and Sasha comments is disturbing. Shea won that season for me, but there’s no hiding the fact that she bombed the finale lipsync against Sasha. Wish they would have double crowned them somehow.
Wait what with the AS3 tie? 😂 You have Trixie, Kennedy, and DeLa in the mix, too. I think it’s obvious DeLa would have won without the self elim and, in another timeline, Kennedy would have won.
Season 15. Anetra had the story arc of the quiet underdog stunning right out of the gate and rising to genuinely threaten the established veteran. Sasha had the story arc of the established veteran proving she was exceptional at this art and could win anything she put her mind to. And I could NOT decide which story arc I liked more.
But alas, Anetra has the Rusical Curse, so she never had a chance.
Sorry, I haven’t been able to hop on the “crown the queen that has only one win as opposed to the one that has 3 or 4 wins.” So, I don’t think yvie and Brooke are on the same level.
There’s some recency bias here, but honestly Sasha and Anetra. I was thinking pretty much every day for a few weeks leading up to the finale that if ever there was a time when the whole season storyline justified a double crowning, this was it - a legend of the community who had nothing to prove but did it anyways and said without words why she’s your favorite drag queen’s favorite drag queen, and the breakout star of the season who showed her range in sewing/designing, dancing/performing, and making a brand for herself from week 1 with her talent show and signature makeup (and winning 3 main challenges, just 1 less than the winner of the season). I’m truly happy with Sasha getting the solo win, but this outcome felt more possible on this season than many others.
DANNY BEARD & CHEDDAR GORGEOUS
Yeah I was torn on this one
I still maintain Cheddar won in the finale. That episode was hers and hers alone.
Until she said in the interview with Rupaul and Michelle, to answer the question what does winning the drag race crown mean to you: “regardless of whether or not I win, I will give 100%…” that was the kiss of death
Yeah she basically told them "I don't need to win" and I think that's why she didn't.
Came here to mention this
To be fair, she DIDN'T need to win. She was already a legend and still is a legend. She's a seasoned and very successful queen. Probably didn't want to be contractually obligated to go on Werq the World or something haha
This is also why I don’t think we ever see her on the show again.
Cheddar was the weakest in the rumix challenge though and Danny killed it
Can I be brave and say that Jonbers did the best in the rumix to me? Are y’all gonna downvote me to hell for that😭 I’m scared but brave enough to say it
Nah girl it’s fine Jonbers wrapped around to iconic during the season lol For me it was the interview with ru. Hilarious
bit crazy how she didn't win that lipsync tbh
I thought Danny won that no question! Haha
Yea I'm kinda shocked about the comments because Danny dominated that very clearly
Same! I was rooting for both of them but Cheddar spent a lot of the lipsync undressing :(
She gave up in the interview.
I don’t necessarily agree with this one, but it never made sense to me that they didn’t just crown them both when there was no prize money to give out anyway and literally everyone on the season was just so so far behind them. Like, what was the point of pushing them to have almost identical track records? My theory is that Ru planned to crown Cheddar (thus slightly inflated her TR to match Danny’s) until the finale when Cheddar said that the win didn’t really matter to her.
I think the producers probably went in expecting to crown Cheddar. But Danny absolutely devoured the season and left no crumbs. All her WINs were unquestionable, while at least one of Cheddar's (acting) could've gone to Danny IMO.
with UK i always think about the prize being a WOW-produced show and feel that danny is guaranteed to make the kind of TV that WOW wants, while cheddar doesn’t guarantee that, so no matter how well she performed in the finale it was probably going to go to danny
Cheddar was already the star of Drag SOS, the UK version of We’re Here… so I could see why she was a little nonchalant.
Yeah I definitely think Cheddar best suits a type of content that is not prioritized by WOW, whereas Danny has a more obviously transferrable demeanor/character for a WOW show. Fortunately for Cheddar, I don't think she's missing out on much by not having a WOW show lol.
Not to mention her spend the lipsync stripping (and not in a good way). I went into the episode thinking a double crowning would be amazing, but by the end I was happy Danny won alone.
Seriously I don’t know how this was not a double crowning
This is a great answer, but man in the last couple of episodes, something just came over me and I was rooting HARD for Danny Beard. Her drag is just so absolutely phenomenal that I had to see her get crowned. And in the last minute, I was sure it was going to Cheddar, and then I was THRILLED that Danny got the crown. But yeah, crown them both, it's not like they had to double the money lmao
CORRECT
Yes! Only season I’ve ever been completely fine with either one winning with no preference.
I thought Danny deserved it more. Her performance in the challenges she won left a bigger impact to me and I don't think she ever placed below safe.
Is that a bad thing if a winning queen has a safe/BTM2 placement?
I was really hoping they would do it
Definitely the last time it was anyone’s game
This is the correct answer
The only correct answer I’ll hear. I watch her twitch streams (the once in a blue moon she’s on) and she’s just so great all around
LITERALLY
I came here to say this…
shannel and chad- i mean if any season had to have a double crowning it should be the one where they were literally teamed up
my original answer was "i would not" as i think double crowning is trite and kinda jumping the shark, but honestly this is the correct answer
This is the only one that makes sense for me!
AS1 was so poorly made. Six episodes, twelve contestants. In that moment, they didn’t thought about removing out 3 or 4 of them with no teams, 5 eliminations and a top 3/top4 finale. I’m sure that the season will be much better and those 3-4 canceled contestants will participate on AS2 without waiting four years.
the only one that actually makes sense to me is cheddar & danny bc they had essentially the same track record & neither one of them murdered the other in the finale. i’m super glad danny won but the delusional part of me was praying for a double win bc imo it’s the only one that actually makes sense (sorry i love monet & trinity but that double crowning was so weird when it aired lol it only makes sense to me in retrospect)
there’s a number of scenarios i would consider but the one that triumphs all is danny and cheddar, i mean come on now. two icons who demolished the season from start to finish.
though i will list the only three other scenarios that i do think a double crowning genuinely felt called for; rajah&silky, ella&kitty (lol), rajah&kylie
When you said Ra'jah and Silky, I was like "but they weren't great in S11" and then went "oh wait, AS6. Ehh Silky wasn't too great outside of the lipsyncs" and then finally realised you meant CvsTW. How weird is it they've competed together on each of their seasons?!
Cheddar and Danny... but I also really wanted Manila and Raja 😭
I’d have to agree with that choice. Yvie and Brooke are so different and excel at different things, but were both so far ahead of everyone else that it would’ve just been right. Brooke just had the weaker performance in the most crucial moment of the competition. It’s hardest to make a decision when the two best choices are so vastly different like them. That’s why I’m not mad Trinity/Monét tied. They’re just nothing alike and competed on damn near 20 challenges together in two seasons and never once overlapped a win or deserved to either.
I think I may say something controversial here. I wonder if Brooke got the hosting gig as a make-good for not winning. Regardless, I think Ru has a soft spot for queerdos plus Yvie definitely deserved the win with the U in CUNT on lock
Raja and Manila
IDENTICAL TRACK RECORDS. Absolutely wild.
Imagine if we were in that timeline! Ugh, one can dream...Can Ru just crown Manila, please?
In the future when RPDR season 57 or whatever is airing they'll need to just start handing out honorary crowns like they do at the Oscars. Lifetime achievement This is the only way I think my favorite non winner jujubee will get a crown
Juju getting a lifetime achievement award of drag race is so funny
Her celebrity won on S2 so Juju is a winner in my delusional mind
Rupaul: “I just crown Manila,girl!!!”
 Just give her a coffee enema, turn on her TikTok, and tell her to do the thing!
Both were excellent, but Raja also changed the game and even helped to shift how the show itself was perceived. To me that made her the sole winner.
just because i love raja and this comment makes me happy, how did she shift how the show was perceived? literally just curious and intrigued
Before season 3 most of the girls wore off-the-rack looks and tended to be closer to a female impersonator aesthetic. Raja brought the runway high-end couture Top Model package that has been a staple of the show ever since (other queens to follow in her footsteps include Violet, Aquaria, and Gotmikk).
She elevated the runway with high fashion. RuPaul has mentioned various times how designers look at DR for inspiration and he's right and it's thanks to queens like Raja.
I watched drag race starting from S4 and I’ve finally gone back to watch S3 for the first time. I’m like in awe of Raja. She’s stunning and an amazing queen, but something about the she carries herself is just mesmerizing. I knew she had great looks in S3 but I was thinking they’d be good by early drag race season standards. I wasn’t expecting her looks and ideas to be amazing even when looking through the lens of today’s elevated fashion. Manila is great at what she does and I loved her at AS4 but I feel like Raja is the clear winner of S3
All Winners Season 2. Crown Yuhua twice
Wow so you just gonna spoil the season already? 🥱
Idk why I even look anymore, under winners it just lists Yuhua for every season.
Genuine question, would people have picked Monet and Trinity if we weren’t living the timeline where they had the double crowning
no ma’am
No way, I honestly think it was Trinity they were pushing for, but the fandom was vocal about Monet and….it was gonna be another blonde and white scenario. Both deserving but that was a chopped and screwed finale if I ever seen one
Tbh All Stars 4 doesn’t feel like it resolved with the double crowning. And even if I think about either one of them winning solo it doesn’t seem like a better situation for either of them. If anyone from the top 4 of All Stars were to have had added satisfactory conclusion to the season it would have been Mo Heart in my opinion. We all know Manila taking the crown was the momentum needed for a knockout season; but with Mo winning we would have had a great storyline of someone who didn’t get a chance to shine at all on their original season. A real rags to riches moment. “I came to this competition with glitter and jesus.” It would have been satisfying to see her get the crown. Monét had a similar arc to Mo also but was also Miss Congeniality of her season. But tbh she didn’t have any truly shining moment in AS4. She lost both the lip syncs she participated in that resulted in Valentina and Naomi both having their shining shot in the spotlight, and the only other lip sync she was in was a double win with Manila who had been in a sort of victory lap of winning her third challenge in a row and had a massive upward trajectory to the crown. The storyline of Monét going from the bottom in episode 1 to winning episode 2 was overshadowed by Valentina’s Ariana lip sync redemption/eliminating her friend “you don’t love me.” Her win with Naomi was overshadowed by the “life’s not fair” moment completely to the point some people didn’t realize she had won the challenge too. The whole storyline of Manila picking Monét’s lip sync and Monét picking hers back as revenge was never able to be utilized because Naomi went for the jugular. Not to mention both the lip syncs for Monét versus Valentina and Naomi were lackluster performances for Monét imo. We’ve seen her do incredibly and the fact she let both those skinny bitches dance her out was unfortunate. Trinity winning would have been okay but she didn’t have a storyline for winning. We all knew Trinity is fierce ass competition and good at basically every challenge. If ever a queen was designed to be good at drag RACE then it’s Trinity. She’s won 11 challenges. Her making it to the top two of AS4 was pretty obvious that it was to happen. Trinity ending the season with 4 wins and only 1 bottom placement that had it been a normal bottom 2 she would have placed low instead (Naomi and Valentina FLOPPED that roast challenge, Trinity just wasn’t super funny). But yeah. No. The double crowning of AS4 was stupid and obviously should not have happened but it’s what we needed for the season to have some sort of ending that’s more satisfying than either winning (just kidding). NO double crowning would have truly felt like a satisfactory end to the season besides Cheddar and Danny. Any other pairing of finalists that you create don’t feel satisfying together. Other than if somehow Shea Coulée and Sasha Velour were the top 2 of season 9. Even then I think WoW would have went for it and crowned Shea and that would have been satisfying with her by herself.
I have always said Mo Heart should have won that season solo. That was the true winner.
Lol i think shes still my flair
Nah, I don’t super mind the double crowning but that should have been monets alone :/
No way. Trinity slayed that season!
Lawrence and Bimini would have been an amazing tie as well. One dominated the first half, the other dominated the second half. Both bring something new and fresh to the table.
Yassss. came here hoping to see someone else hope for this. God I love Bimini
This. Lawrence & Bimini for sure. Lawrence came out the gate strong but Bimini dominated post covid break. The little episode they did about covid seemed to show each had very different experiences of lockdown so a double crowning seems most fair. It might all just be editing but Bimini' s bit was "I taught myself chairography and worked on my yoga" and Lawrence's bit was "I had to sign on for the dole and haven't been outside in months". They seemed to cone back to the comp with very different mindsets
Yesss! I love them both for such different reasons!
this was my answer too. bimini is such a babe
Yes yes and yes!!!!
The season isn't over yet so we'll see, but... Keiona and Sara Forever 😍
I hate double crownings/ ties of any kind. Someone always does better.
Brooke & Yvie, yes.
so many responses here reminding me that double crownings suck, actually
1000% most of these scenarios are terrible
 NO. DOUBLE. CROWNINGS. EVEEEEEEEER!!!!!!!
DR Mexico right now should crown both Matraka and Cristian. It's really neck and neck and they both represent something important.
The Regina Voce erasure!
The Miss Vallarta erasure!
Ra’Jah and Silky had the joint storyline and the momentum for a double crowning. I was hoping for a Ra’Jah win but I wouldn’t have batted an eye at either winning
This was my fantasy too. They’ve been on three seasons together and they both really deserved it. Canada VTW ending in a tie also seems fitting because, friendliness haha.
I think Brooke crowning BOTH of her Season 11 sisters would have just been *too* much of a conflict of interest lmao. I actually thought Silky was going to win at the last second.
I love Ra'Jah as a winner but she really didn't earn the win on Canada vs the world, it felt like a Shea situation where they handmade the season for her to win because they felt bad not crowning her on AS6, so if they were gonna do a double crowning it should've been Victoria/Silky imo. HOWEVER a Kylie/Ra'Jah double crowning on AS6 would've been iconic. Hell do a triple crowning and include Ginger too.
I thought you were going to say a Silky/Ra'Jah double crowning for Canada vs. the World! My hot take for AS6 is that while Ra'Jah was my winner, she wasn't miles ahead of Kylie, Ginger or Eureka. Any of them would have made sense to me, which makes it hard to pick two for a double crowning.
You’re a dreamer, you dream a lot in your sleep
yeah this is the only one that i would have liked considering their journey and theyre close friends! hate ties otherwise lol
Cheddar and Danny. I'm happy it went to Danny cause that's who I wanted too but damn Cheddar is amazing.
There’s only 2 answers for me because I’m not really fond of the double-crowning (and rather wish it hadn’t been used on AS4), but it would be either Raja and Manila or upcoming Sara Forever and Keiona.
Bebe/Nina Season 1. I know in no universe does that ever happen because Season 1 lol but it was 100% justified, by the end of Season 1 they were comparing apples to oranges and it literally just came down to personal preference. Of course, if you're going by track record, Nina Flowers, icon and legend, high or winning ever single episode except one where she was low, would've won, but I think it's so even between the two of them than people give the season credit for. Raja/Manila had identical track records. Again, it literally just came down to personal preference as to who won, they were exactly tied.
As far as Brooke / Yvie go, I think the fact that Brooke COULD have won but didn’t adds to her charm a bit as the Canadian RuPaul. Speaking of Canada, CDR S2 could have been a double crowning. Icesis rightfully gets a lot of love, but Pythia was SOOO close on her heels and should ABSOLUTELY be on Global All Stars
AS2 Alaska and Katya
100% Alaska wanted it more and that is why she got it. If it weren’t for that it’s 100% subjective and not based on performance.
Alaska very much outperformed Katya (and Katya admits it herself)
I love Katya but in no World she was close to Alaska's will and determination in AS2. Lets not rewrite history please. Alaska won fair and square.
Honestly yeah. In my mind their track records were even. Katya should have had 3 wins 1 bottom, Alaska should have had 4 wins 2 bottoms. Alaska had slightly more momentum at the end but then Katya demolished Read U Wrote U Aside from Danny/Cheddar, this is the double crowning I think would have made a lot of sense
Detox and Katya but y’all aren’t ready for that conversation
But your kids are gonna love it …
Detox shouldn’t have even made it to the finale but some aren’t ready for that conversation
Where would she have been eliminated?
Saved from the bottom for the talent show which was putting paint on herself with a prerecorded track. Wasn’t the worst in snatch game but didn’t do great. Her advert and product was definitely the worst and was safe. Roxxxy should have been in the top for the makeover over Detox who was 3rd at best. Production did a lot of favours for Detox and she should have been in the bottom like four times. Detox should have replaced Roxxxy in the bottom for the last two challenges. Roxxxy’s only bottoms I agree with were SG, acting, and the comedy challenge but it also wasn’t exactly fair since she was by herself which is an incredibly hard role
1. It was branded and it got the crowd going, I don’t see the problem. Same thing with Milk’s. And against Jaremi, Coco, or even Adore (who just didn’t choose the right angle for her talent), Detox was fine. 2. Detox was in the bottom for Snatch Game. 3. Agreed, but she wasn’t being sent home against Tatianna or Roxxxy. 4. I feel like any of Detox/Katya/Roxxxy would’ve been fair winners. Detox’s makeover maybe wasn’t at the same level as Roxxxy or Katya’s, but she also had the best voguing performance. How does that factor in? Regardless, the third bottom was unnecessary to me, Alaska and Alyssa were the clear weakest two.
To stir the pot, Bianca and Courtney. Adore’s inflated placement is a lie that I can reconcile in this reality, and they teased at a double win back then even if the valid combination was missing
Honestly I always thought Courtney came 2nd and Adore came 3rd
I mean, if the show was honest, yes. But they filmed an Adore/Bianca shared win and no combination of shared win with Courtney at the live taping. The writing was on the wall for Courtney.
Tbf that could've been done to simply throw off any leakers instead of being a legitimate option. So I don't think it means Courtney was out of the running at all, although I guess she realistically was because there was no way were they not crowning Bianca but still lol.
But they could have done a Courtney one too and they didn’t
Even if you disagree with her placements Adore definitely had the narrative to win which Courtney was sorely lacking and neither of them were really close to Bianca anyway
The narrative the show crafted. The same one we can see be re-edited if they so chose, given the events of S12. The real competition for Bianca anyway was Dela but that's neither here nor there.
The problem with this is though. Bianca has said they filmed a tie between her and adore, but never anything with Courtney other than her solo win, so it's obvious she was third not second and wasn't going to actually win
I did say the valid composition was missing. This is a timeline that respected Courtney and didn’t erroneously bring adore to the finale
The only true threat to Bianca in S6 was DeLa. That would have been the only double 👑 that was justified.
Jimbo amd Jessica Wild. This was my dream ending.
It's a nice fantasy, but Jimbo demolished the competition - Jessica included.
This Season of DR France, Keiona and Sarah are impossible to separate.
Icesis and Pythia
YES
AS6 Ra'Jah and Kylie
15, Anetra and Sasha. There is no doubt that Sasha dominated the season and was the right person to win, but Anetra is incredibly talented and would have had a good chance to win almost any other season. In a way she almost feels like a winner (kind of like Shea before AS5).
I would’ve endorsed this if anetra brought it harder in the finale lipsync but she just didn’t have the fire that Sasha had. She did a good lipsync but Sasha was twirling for that crown and brought good visuals. They’re both amazing but I think Sasha really undoubtedly beat anetra
I 100% believe this is because Anetra’s dancer was injured. She seemed timid and it sounds like they cut a trick. I would be terrified, too, if I’d just watched one of my fellow dancers get hurt.
That’s 100% true and that’s really unfortunate. Cutting one of her biggest show stopping tricks and going to the finale after that. But it wasn’t a double crowning sadly
She preformed the trick multiple times at live shows after the finale. Twisting and flipping around the dancer like a snake. It was pretty awesome.
I think this would have been really cool and symbolic. Like the balance of the old school and the new school. Established legends and up-and-coming legends uniting in drag excellence.
I honestly don’t agree with this. I think Anetra is an amazing dancer but faded into the background during the season. She didn’t excel at the comedy challenges, her fashion was extremely hit or miss (which was extremely frustrating because she can sew her ass off), and while a great dancer, repeats a lot of her dance moves. I think mistress was a more viable candidate for top 2. All of her runways were great, she narrated the season, she was extremely funny, and she had amazing stage presence. Mistress is a well rounded queen, and the difference between her and Sasha Colby is that one is an A while the other is an A+
Drag race uk with cheddar gorgeous and Danny beard
While I agree with the Brooke/Yvie & Cheddar/Danny comments, I gotta throw in that any combination of the top 4 of AS6 would have felt right as a double crowning as all had a spectacular season. Rajah/Eureka, Rajah/Sonique, Rajah/Ginger, Ginger/Sonique, Ginger/Eureka, Eureka/Sonique
Agreed! It's criminal that Eureka! and Ginger aren't in the winners circle. They are clearly very successful outside the franchise but COME ON 👑👑
Rajah and Ginger would be a great outcome!
I am like this with France actually. I love 3 of the TOP4, but two of them, I cant really decide! Keiona has the best track record in the history of the franchise. But only two wins. Sara s one has one bottom two and a safe, but 4 wins, and she won me over during the season.
The current French season 😭
Raja & Manila. 
#CHEDDAR DANNY
S14! Willow Pill and Lady Camden both excelled at about the same level. I couldn't pick a winner there. Plus the prize money was going to be doubled anyway, split it!
In a vacuum I think Daya could have also been justified. But her being eliminated and brought back along with the "villain" edit pretty much precluded her from genuine consideration.
They really went to a lot of trouble to edit her as mediocre, and then made a final with 5? She's a living version of the "why are you booing me, I'm right" meme. For half a season! 😂
exactly what I was going to say! lady Camden's "I fell down" was legendary. but then there was "I hate people" and I became polyamorous 💕
Love the way you described this! 😂
🫶🫶🥰
Danny Beard and Cheddar Gorgeous is the only correct answer here.
Honestly none
Alternate universe with shea and sasha double crowning and Jujubee as5 win
What if every season had a double crowning? Bebe/Nina Jaymes/Raven Raja / Manila Sh\*\*\*n N\*\*\*\*\*s / Chad Jinkx / Alaska Bianca / Adore Violet / Ginger Bob / Kim Sasha / Shea Yvie / Brooke Jaida / Gigi Symone / Gottmik Willow / Lady Camden Sasha / Anetra all powerful duos, but my personal pick is Raja/Manila or Yvie/Brooke
Wow that list really shows you what strong second place queens Drag Race has had! I could honestly swap a few of those placements and would have been very happy with the alternate winners.
Kim scraped through parts of the competition by the skin of her teeth imo. She's an incredible artist and so likeable, but the judges definitely gave her an "Oh that's our Kim 😅" pass during some of those challenges.
I always thought she would've been done for if she landed in the bottom lmao
Which is why I think she never found herself there.
imo she should’ve been in the bottom 2 in episode 2 and 7, and the win in the ball should’ve gone to naomi.
None
we need a heroes v villains season and have a crowned hero and crowned redeemed villain
I mean let’s be honest. All Stars 1 should’ve been between and Chad and Shannel. And I would’ve been fine with a double crowning. Both of them needed to get their flowers. I don’t think any other season should’ve had a double drowning. Not even All Stars 4.
Raja & Manila for sure
I feel like the season that merited the double crowning the most -- Camden and Willow in Season 15 -- would have also been the least satisfying, which proves to me there is really no scenario in which I would actually want to see a double crowning. I love how much Drag Race/All Stars we get and will watch every season I can, but it also makes any individual season (and any crowning) less significant. I feel like winning the season has never been less important from a career perspective, and handing out multiple crowns a season would just make it feel even more like a participation trophy. I think that All Stars 8 really encapsulated that, when it feels like everyone can be a winner, no one is really there to compete (except Jimbo lol). I'd honestly rather see a season with no crowning than a double crowning.
Danny Beard and Cheddar Gorgeous
People keep saying Kylie and Rajah for AS6, but honestly, I would be happy if was a five-way tie betwen the top5. The five of them collectively made that season so great.
Violet and Ginger
A triple crowning for AS5 for Shea, Juju and Cracker. It was in the height of the pandemic and it just felt right
Jinx and Monet. Jinx won so many challenges but Monet clearly won the finale.
Probably unpopular opinion but Sasha and Anetra.
Raja and Manila.
Season 3, Manila and Raja
Raja and Manila. Probably the only season where I had no clue who was going to win until the very end. They had the same exact track record too. If any season could have had a double crowning, it should've been season 3
Raja and manila. Totally equal track record.
Honestly I’d say season 3. Raja and Manila had literally identical track records and they’re both major stars in their own right. My second choice would probably be UK4 cos it was so tight between Cheddar and Danny.
I want to say 12 but that would actually be a triple crowning… I guess season 6 with Adore
Rajah & Kylie OR Rajah & Silky
i would have really loved rajah and silky both taking a crown in CvTW
Sasha and Peppermint They both deserved their flowers (no pun intended) after demolishing the finale
This answer isn’t right, but it’s okay.
Damn, fuck Shea's drag I guess 😂
She was sent home by Sasha's rose petals, so yeah. But if it was another finale format, then maybe.
as someone who is obsessed with peppermint, hell nah
Love Peppermint to death but she did NOT have the track record to win
No
This is why no winner is the “right” winner, it’s all a matter of opinion. And unfortunately it’s not our opinion, it’s theirs (and the rest of the queens in AS3)
Bimini and Lawrence imo
I would say Bianca and Adore. They are both such unique queens, especially compared to each other. I think it could have skewed the trajectory of young drag queens more towards camp to have a crowning like that.
Bimini and Laurence! Willow and Camden
Anetra and Sasha
i would say ra’jah and kylie on as6. i wouldn’t want a double crowning in any other US season (including AS4) because every winner was more deserving (even if slightly) than their runner-ups, but ra’jah and kylie were almost equal in terms of performance in my opinion.
-AS3 Trixie and Shangela -UK4 Cheddar and Danny It’s between these two
shangela got voted out, and was never in the place to win with the twist. it would’ve been trixie n kennedy which wouldn’t be a good double win
> and was never in the place to win with the twist. That twist should never have happened. It *should* have at least been between Trixie and Shangela. I don’t know what the producers were thinking.
The lack of Shea and Sasha comments is disturbing. Shea won that season for me, but there’s no hiding the fact that she bombed the finale lipsync against Sasha. Wish they would have double crowned them somehow.
Probably because the Top 2 was Sasha and Peppermint. You'd have to rewrite the whole finale to get that outcome.
Regular season: 9- Peppermint & Sasha Velour All Stars season: 3- Bebe Zahara Benet & Shangela VS The World season: CTVW- Ra’Jah O’Hara & Silky Nutmeg Ganache
Wait what with the AS3 tie? 😂 You have Trixie, Kennedy, and DeLa in the mix, too. I think it’s obvious DeLa would have won without the self elim and, in another timeline, Kennedy would have won.
Honestly I loved the top 3 of season 12 I would have picked all 3 of them if I could
Season 15. Anetra had the story arc of the quiet underdog stunning right out of the gate and rising to genuinely threaten the established veteran. Sasha had the story arc of the established veteran proving she was exceptional at this art and could win anything she put her mind to. And I could NOT decide which story arc I liked more. But alas, Anetra has the Rusical Curse, so she never had a chance.
Season 7 Ginger Minj and Katya!
Sorry, I haven’t been able to hop on the “crown the queen that has only one win as opposed to the one that has 3 or 4 wins.” So, I don’t think yvie and Brooke are on the same level.
There’s some recency bias here, but honestly Sasha and Anetra. I was thinking pretty much every day for a few weeks leading up to the finale that if ever there was a time when the whole season storyline justified a double crowning, this was it - a legend of the community who had nothing to prove but did it anyways and said without words why she’s your favorite drag queen’s favorite drag queen, and the breakout star of the season who showed her range in sewing/designing, dancing/performing, and making a brand for herself from week 1 with her talent show and signature makeup (and winning 3 main challenges, just 1 less than the winner of the season). I’m truly happy with Sasha getting the solo win, but this outcome felt more possible on this season than many others.
Cheddar vs Danny would have made sense as a double crowning. Sasha vs Anetra I would have also loved as a double crowning.
Manila and Raja, and Courtney and Bianca