Learn more. Season 8 runner-up Kim Chi recently told Paper that she spent just $1500 on her season, and Naomi Smalls, a runner-up on both Season 8 and All-Stars 4,has said that her idea of investing in drag going into Season 8 was buying 10 lace-fronts from Amazon. Charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent still seem to be proving out over dollars. Not every dedicated viewer is a fan of the shiftand not every queen who appears on the show can keep up. RuPaul's Drag Race contestants, . Jinkx Monsoon made $100,000 for winning season five of RuPaul's Drag Race. Following a Drag Race run, many queens use their boosted incomeas well as any prize money they took hometo re-invest in their drag career. The RuPaul's Drag Race winner opens up about her spending, saving, and very glamourous splurging. To grab the brass ring you have to be a seriously fierce b*tch. As the shows profile has grown, so too, it seems, has the budget needed to feel competitive. I could sew, and I knew my silhouette, so I could make stuff work. Applying to the show means that the production company has the option to require me to appear in one season, but it also includes options for five more seasons, which producers can decide upon six months after the final episode airs. " RuPaul's Drag Race " Season 14 will crown America's next drag superstar on April 22 when the finale airs on VH1. 418 posts. (Alaska and Trixie Mattel were both wearing BobbiePinz wigs when they were crowned on their respective seasons of All Stars.) And Drag Race contestants received $400 per episode, . Several people I talked to for this article said that they dont love the proliferation of designer looks on the runway because, in many cases, queens are using money not to simply elevate their drag, but to become a different queen entirely. It can be all about who has the connections, who is spending the most money. (VH1 declined to answer questions for this article. The stakes are just higher., Fitzgerald, Marquez, and many others all agree that drag becoming mainstream is overwhelmingly a good thing. DeLa echoed this. This statement rings true as viewership of the show continues to rapidly expand along with the program's prize money for lucky contestants. Winning a maxi challenge now nets a $5,000 cash prize, but that only began in Season 12 in 2020; before that, it was gift certificates for wigs and jewelry, and, eventually, in Season 11, nice vacations. The rules acknowledge that they may not always be enforced, but it says thatfailure to enforce the rules on one occasion, or in connection with a particular Participant, shall not preculde enforcement on someone else or at another time. "I spent $2,000 on an alpaca wool suit that is so deeply impractical, and I wear it all the time." While its impossible to know exactly how much every queen spends to go on the show, Id estimatebased on conversations with several former contestants and the designers who often dress themcontestants are spending anywhere from $4,000 on the low end to upwards of $20,000 on the higher end. Network: Paramount+. The cast of RuPaul's Drag Race UK vs The World has been announced.. While lounging in the sun all day and flirting up a storm might be payment enough, it turns out you can make some mega bucks being an Islander! By commenting below, you confirm that youve read and agree to those rules. 4 Contestants Are Paid Per Episode. On "Big Brother," for example, Page Six reports competitors getting $1,000 per week of filming. A post shared by RuPaul's DragCon (@rupaulsdragcon). 59 votes, 46 comments. She came into the "werkroom" with a dress made of trash bags and a comforting, Southern charm. Week 9 - Pixie Polite Drag Race UK star Pixie Polite. Make Some Aesthetic Decisions And We'll Tell You Which "Drag Race UK" Contestant You Are. RuPaul's "Drag Race" is a classic reality competition show, allowing queens to compete in a variety of challenges and hopefully win the grand prize. So, the longer they stay in the competition, the more money they will have. Although the drag queen competition series is now in its 10th season, and though contractual obligations and rules have been mentioned even on the show, I have yet to see the contracts contents discussed in-deptheven though it was available publicly online. I put it on the line because this is so important.. 319 posts. Youre not there playing patty-cake. She adds, If youre not competitive, why the hell are you there? I had sold them because I needed the money to live, Joe said. While we dont know what Season 12s top three queens spent (none could be reached for comment for this article), winner Jaida Essence Hall recently said that she made all but two of her costumes herself. During Episode 5s critiques, judge Michelle Visage took issue with contestant Joe Blacks look from the weeks maxi challenge. The winners don't find out they took the crown until the show airs. For her part, RuPaul has talked about being destitute as a young person. Heart appeared on RuPaul's Drag Race Season 10, finishing in eighth place, and was a finalist on RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Season 4. Still, phrases like a great eye or can pull off anything are the sort of fashion-industry compliments that are often only applied to people who fit a certain mold: thin and tall, for starters, and likely also white and able-bodied. Contestants on the main show, RuPaul's Drag Race, usually make around $400 per episode, while All Stars contestants can make up to $20,000 per episode. (In the US, that time is Mondays at 5:45 p.m. It's not necessarily unusual for participants in a competition show to be paid meager wagers. I had maybe $1,500 total. At the end of each episode, theres a runway competition, where they wear a look tailored to the week's themesay, leather and lace or jetset eleganza., BenDeLaCreme, of Season 6 and All Stars 3, attends an All Stars event. And so the price reflects that. And, as the show is currently auditioning for it's 14th cycle, it can be inferred that the price tag for contestants will continue to rise. As revealed in episode 122 of the So Dramatic! As we all know, the winners split 50k between them, and the majority of the cast will go on to secure a wealth of sponsorship . The shows impact on the drag industry has been significant too. Social and financial marginalization forced drag artists to be creative. Contestants on the Drag Race get paid by episode. And now it's 13 years later, it's won all of these Emmys, it's HD, it's got superstar guest stars. Dont waste my time. I literally came from poverty to where I am now. RuPaul's Drag Race UK series 4 contestant Dakota Schiffer. It took him 14 years to get a pay rise. After stunning us with that international all stars season, 2022 gives us another long-awaited first . Bob and Sasha certainly didnt; Aquaria and Yvie spent morein line with the shows higher profile and increased focus on the runways in later seasonsbut per their accounts, not as much as one might expect. If an eliminated queen is only shown in a flashback or in the previously on RuPauls Drag Race segment, that does not count as an appearance, so theyre not paid for that episode. Clearly, winning over the hearts of judges and fans is even higher stakes than we thought. Each one of them scooped 25k. I dont want to see any fucking H&M., The harsh criticism of a downmarket dress didnt look great coming from a world-famous drag queen who owns a 60,000-acre ranch in Wyoming. Monet X Change was in a Pepsi Superbowl commercial alongside Cardi B. The couple took the subway to Manhattans Garment District every day to buy fabric, and then came home and sewed all night. The contract also notes that any appearances after the first season come with a 5% raise. Fans can soak up drag glory in September in New York or in Los Angeles in May, CNBC reports.In New York at the Javitz Convention Center, DragCon sold out its first year in 2017, Fenton Bailey, executive producer of RuPauls Drag Race and co-creator of DragCon told CNBC. Indisputably one of the most recognisable drag queens in the country, The Vivienne shot to fame in 2019 when she won the inaugural series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK, and last year held her own against some of the US franchise's most popular champions for an All Stars series that had fans . Now, she seems to truly believe, in the way only a very wealthy person who was once very poor can, that you dont need money to succeed. 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Rebecca Hendin / Logo / BuzzFeed. Since Season 6, "Drag Race" has been cast by Goloka Bolte and Ethan Petersen. I dont think people realize how much money literally she continues, using her baby-blue talons to adjust the waistband of her tail, which is covered in iridescent pink and turquoise paillettes, and which she said moments earlier was too expensive to want to take off. Drag queen contestants are paid a salary per episode, plus a sweet cash prize for the winner. To wit: Alyssa Edwards starred in a reality show about her Dallas dance studio. The Masked Singer UK season . With that said, as the show continues to see success, the looks become more and more over-the-top and the money spent continues to increase for competitive reasons. OBSESSED with the fact that there's no cash prize for Drag Race UK, just the WOWPresents series that most US queens get just for showing up Lex (@lexfirth) October 3, 2019 For 12 runway looks, thats $5,400. Every time you travel somewhere, you're spending money; every time you plan a new show, anytime you go to a DragCon or somethingeverywhere you go, everything you do, you are spending money., Yvie Oddly wearing an outfit to DragCon that led to fan backlash. Brooke Lynn Heights, 2019's US runner-up, shares ALL the behind-the-scenes info you need to know. In signing the contract, the participants also give away rights to anything they do on the show, including "characters, songs, and anything they say about themselves.". Its also what makes it impossible to wear stuff off the rack., Bob the Drag Queen at DragCon UK. Throughout the time of filming, the competitors are also kept very closed off from the outside world. I remember when we were talking about it in the Werk Room, we were like, Damn, if they don't do this look on the runway soon, before girls start going home, we're about to be so pissed and so broke.. Heidi N. Closet makes her entrance on RuPaul's Drag Race Season 12. (Above: never-before-seen footage of Sasha Velour trying on her faux fur runway outfit in her Brooklyn bathroom before going on the show. Producers own the rights and proceeds for anything the queens do on the show, which includes characters, songs, and anything they say about themselves (elements of my life story). Photo by Bennett Raglin / Getty Images. On May 1, 2009, the casting website for the series opened, allowing prospective contestants to create user profiles and upload videos of themselves to be voted on by viewers; the applicant collecting the most votes being invited to become a contestant of the second season. Show: RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. A custom wig starts at $325. Royale made her first Drag Race appearance on season 4, where she was crowned Miss Congeniality. After a rough calculation, Mic estimated that she spends somewhere around '$45,000 alone on wigs'. The mechanisms of Drag Race make it almost impossible to not spend a fortune. You are here: Home. With . Cast members are paid $400 per episode for their first season, and their pay increases 5 percent for future seasons: $420 per episode for their second season, $441 for their third, and so on. Being a contestant on RuPauls Drag Race can ultimately help a glamorous queen generate a ton of career-long biscuits. Contestants agree to participate in sponsor integrations, which includes naming, identifying, wearing, using, describing, demonstrating or interacting with sponsors products or services. I took a loan out against my asshole to get here, Cracker says, and Kameron snort-laughs. Theres a visible shock on my face at being called ratchet., This points to the additional hurdles that Black contestants have to overcome. DragCon is the cherry on top of the drag sundae. Former contestants announced that they spent anything between 2,900 and 30,000 to create jaw-dropping looks, so contestants have risked a lot for the . The queens are not paid for promotional appearances, but if they have to go more than 50 miles from their home, they get an airline ticket, hotel, and $75 per day. While the show can give participants a popularity boost, some wonder if it's enough to fully fund a rise to stardom. The outlet also notes that participants in "The Bachelor" franchise don't get paid at all. It also includes fittings, and back-and-forth. (He said that last-minute edits and additions are fairly common during the process. I was like, If I go and get eliminated first, at least I can say I was on it, get a couple gigs, get an increased booking fee, and keep working. Because the show tapes more than six months in advance of its broadcast, that option could expire well over a year after filming ends. With . . 7PM. Are the bigger budgets making the show better or worse? RuPaul's Drag Race has become one of the most popular reali. Gigi Goode and Jaida Essence Hall walk the Drag Race runway in looks they made during a design challenge. MAFS contestants are paid just $150 per day to participate in the show, several former participants spilled to So Dramatic!. And regardless of what a Black queen wears or how she presents herself, she might not be viewed as elevated or expensive., I was called ratchet on the show, famously by Michelle and Derrick, Bobwho, to be clear, does not do ratchet (or banjee) dragsaid. Sasha Velour said she spent $4,000 for her looks, half of which she had in savings, and half of which her father loaned her. I asked Milk when I saw him and I've asked The Princess before because she didn't get to officially tour with Drag Race. Season 11 . HBOs excellent series Were Here centered around Eureka, Bob, and Shangela. According to a contract obtained by Reality Blurred, cast members are paid $400 per episode that they appear in. Back in the olden days of Drag Race -when very first, nine fresh faced queens walked into the scarcely decorated World of Wonder set in February 2009 - the scale of the show was completely different. I spent more on this competition than I did on college, Cracker replies solemnly, and a moment of silence falls over both queens. How contestants prepare to go on Drag Race, How much money contestants are actually spending on a season of Drag Race, What happens to queens careers after Drag Race, Money isnt a panacea on RuPauls Drag Race. The weight of her financial setbacks became a key detour of her confidence as she looked around at all the thousand dollar gowns of her competitors. The grand prize for the third season amounted to $75,000 and then eventually plateaued at handsomely generous $100,000 the season following. The Vivienne has taken her drag from the club to primetime TV thanks to her appearance on Dancing On Ice. Sasha Velour on the Drag Race runway in a $60 look. No matter what they are wearing, theres always a chance that they will be perceived as ratchetnot just by the judges, but also by wildly racist viewers. When Drag Race first started, they were literally coming in off the street to do this TV show, Fitzgerald said. If you break it down to how many hours they're filming every day it's absolutely nothing!" According to The Daily Star, 2019's Islanders will receive 250 per week to appear on the show. While most of the queens who spoke to VICE had budgets that were on the lower end, a little back-of-the-napkin math shows that a lot of queens are likely spending way more. 3. They get $900 per episode this season, not including the finale. That was a lot more expensive, she said. Similarly, RuPaul herself openly chastised competitor, Joe Black on the second season of the show's UK spin-off. According to Cheat Sheet, after they sign a contract with Reality Blurred, the contestants will receive $400 per episode. Ru has always had a soft spot for those girls., Still, it isnt necessarily fun to be the broke but charming queen who is regularly in the bottom because of her runways.