Rajo Laurel gets trashed after 'trash' 'Drag Race Philippines' comment
MANILA, Philippines — The seventh episode of "Drag Race Philippines" was an emotional and memorable one for viewers, amplified by the slew of comments dished out by fashion designer and alternating judge Rajo Laurel.
The runway theme for the episode had two parts, "Shopulence, She Buys Everything!" and "Divi-Divas." For the former, contestants had to dress up as extravagant shoppers, while in the latter, they were asked to create outfits out of materials bought from Divisoria.
The "Shopulence, She Buys Everything!" segment ranged from a Heart Evangelista impersonation to a Filipino-Chinese-inspired runway, while the "Divi-Divas" had outfits that consisted of rags, fans, eco-bags, and more flea market buys.
Laurel's comments for contestant Eva Le Queen, however, became a hot topic online when he said, "I'm being fierce because I know you can do better, and I'm being hard because I have seen what you can do, and this is trash."
Other words Laurel used were "mortal sin," "atrocity," and "ugly," which Eva Le Queen accepted with composure.
Twitter users compared Laurel to the judges of sister show "Canada's Drag Race," while comparisons closer to home resembled a "terror" college professor during lectures and thesis defenses.
and you guys thought canada’s judges were harsh?? #dragraceph #dragrace #dragracephilippines pic.twitter.com/ITXmYLTOQ4
— ray ? (@mascarayde) September 21, 2022
"It's understandable to stir drama for a tv show. But Rajo Laurel tonight was way, way trashier than that dress. Mean, disrespectful and hateful," said one user while another said, "I am entirely DISGUSTED by the way Rajo Laurel treated Eva. Hearing that was so gut-wrenching and no one ever deserves to be treated that way."
Contestants from other editions of "Drag Race" threw their own comments with Jasmine Kennedie saying, "[Eva's] outfit is a lot better than anything that came out of sewing challenges this year," while Kandy Muse dared to throw a shoe at Laurel for his comments.
Eva Le Queen ended up in the Bottom 2 but was saved after coming up victorious in the "Lip Sync For Your Life" challenge against Viñas DeLuxe, who had twisted her foot earlier in the episode.
The saved drag queen released a statement on her social media accounts hours after the seventh episode dropped, thanking fans for their support and that she and Laurel had made ammends.
"To Sir Rajo, thank you for reaching out and patching things up. In better days, let's have that nice dinner and drinks!" Eva Le Queen wrote.
In the same statement, Eva Le Queen praised her fellow drag queen Viñas DeLuxe as "the best lipsyncer in the country" with undeniable talent.
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