Mama, this is garbage!
From Kansas City, Missouri, Q has been one of the most consistent frontrunners on RuPaul’s Drag Race season 16. After landing in the top 2 for the Variety Show (episode 1), Q went on to win two design challenges (episodes 6 and 9).
Certain Drag Race fans taken issue with Q, however, ever since she fell in the bottom 2 with Amanda Tori Meating (episode 5) and won the lip sync for your life. In recent weeks, Q started responding to hate messages she was getting, but the “hate train” only intensified after she won this latest maxi challenge in episode 9.
Over the weekend, Q deactivated her X/Twitter account (@URliving4q) without a lot of notice, but very likely due to all the hate messages she had been dealing with for weeks and how much they intensified with this new maxi challenge win. As of this writing, when trying to visit Q’s X page, we now see a message that reads, “This account doesn’t exist.”
X (URliving4q)
Some fans and Drag Race alumni have come to Q’s defense. For instance, X user (@_jenonade) wrote the following post:
“I am actually so mad at y’all for making Q deactivate. When she turned around I was GAGGED. The detailing was so exquisite, the lining, the black ribbon kinda train. Q herself said that she was surprised herself and she’s so proud… and y’all after seeing her joy went ‘yeah... no.’”
Nymphia Wind, another huge contender on Drag Race season 16, shared that original X post and wrote:
“Clock the teaa enough is enough. I’m proud of what Q did with the amount of time given. LIKKEEE??? [head exploding emoji]. A deserving win in my opinion [heart emoji.]”
Another fan-favorite queen who came to Q’s defense was Jan. The Drag Race season 12 and All Stars season 6 contestant wrote:
“Wait wait wait wait wait… yall didn’t think she should have won…? So much so she had to deactivate her ACCOUNT!? WHO THEN?!? Haters are actually such pathetic jealous bricks. Y’all can’t pick up a pencil to write your name let alone make a garment like that. Gross.”
Do we think that the recent back and forth between Q and fans was going well? No. But the intensifying “hate” directed at Q has been pretty bizarre to watch. She hasn’t done anything wildly controversial on the show, and she is essentially being blamed for doing well in the competition and winning another maxi challenge — a decision made by the judges, not Q herself.
It is probably for the best that Q has taken a break from being on X for the time being, but it’s also upsetting that things have escalated to this degree.
RuPaul’s Drag Race season 16 airs every Friday on MTV.
