Interview: RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars – Tatianna
3 min read
The first episode of All Stars season 2 was definitely tense when it came to the critiques, but this week’s episode is where the drama really came to a head. With Adore Delano walking out of the competition in reaction to last week’s harsh critiques, we enter the second episode two queens shorter rather than one. Michelle and Adore talk it out before her exit, but the girls all still have a challenge to get ready for, making the farewell short lived.
And this week’s challenge is definitely a big one: Snatch Game! The remaining eight queens prepare their impersonations and put on what is easily one of the series’ best Snatch Game performances to date, with Alaska as a hilariously raunchy rendition of Mae West and Katya as an off-the-wall exaggeration of Björk. Detox, Tatianna and Roxxxy unfortunately fell to the bottom three for their performances as Nancy Grace, Ariana Grande and Drag Race’s own Alaska respectively.
Following a thrilling lip sync between Katya and Alaska, which the latter ultimately won, Tatianna unfortunately found herself eliminated from the competition despite her top two performance in the previous week. Even though she was in the competition for a short amount of time, she’s more than proven how fierce a performer she is, and we’re definitely ready for more. Following the elimination, we spoke to Tatianna about her All Stars experience.
Michael Smith: How did it feel to be called on for All Stars 2? Did you expect to be given this second chance at the crown?
Tatianna: It felt great! And yeah, I thought it was my time. I kind of expected the call.
MS: You were the only queen on All Stars 2 that appeared on the show before season 4, meaning you’ve come into a very different scenario in comparison to everyone else. How did that affect your view of the competition?
T: It’s the same show! Everyone keeps acting like I was on the show in 1999 or something. It’s still the same drag competition and it hasn’t changed dramatically since the time I was on the show six years ago.
MS: You started the season off on a high note with your spoken word performance in episode 1. What inspired you to do something so unexpected?
T: They asked what our talents are and mine are dancing and lip syncing. I couldn’t really do those, so I thought let’s try something different and it worked out.
MS: You’re one of the only queens that’s been on both ends of the new elimination process so far. How did it compare to the normal elimination process?
T: There’s not as much guess work when you’re up there. Now, with these new rules, you kind of know if you’re going to get sent home. Rather than reading the judge’s mind, you just have to read the other drag queens’ minds. Which isn’t hard to do [laughs].
MS: For your second time on the Snatch Game, you chose to do another pop star, Ariana Grande. What drew you to Ariana as a character? What were your plans for the impersonation?
T: I just love her music and her style. She has an interesting speaking voice that I thought I could make funny.
MS: Were there any jokes that we didn’t get to see from your Snatch Game performance?
T: Yeah, there were several… About four or five. Maybe they’ll release the deleted scenes.
MS: Who would you like to see win All Stars out of the remaining queens?
T: Katya. She’s just the total package.
MS: What’s next for Tatianna? What are your post-show plans?
T: I’ve just been traveling and performing since the show taped. I’m planning to head into the studio too, so look out for some new music for me and come see my shows!
Tune into RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars next Thursday at 8/7c on Logo and VH1 to see what Ru has in store!
