Editor’s note: this story contains spoilers for episode 13 of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 16.
It’s official: Plane Jane and Sapphira Cristál have made herstory on RuPaul’s Drag Race season 16 episode 13, becoming the first two queens to win four maxi challenges in the same flagship season of the series.
Only five queens managed to win four maxi challenges over the course of 15 regular seasons of Drag Race: Sharon Needles (season 4), Shea Couleé (season 9), Gigi Goode (season 12), Symone (season 13), and Sasha Colby (season 15). Now that both Plane and Sapphira have joined this elite group of contestants, season 16 becomes the first regular season of Drag Race to include two queens with a track record of four maxi challenge wins.
This record, of course, excludes All Stars and international seasons. Given that only a handful of queens won four challenges in the entire U.S. flagship series, it’s a history-making milestone that two contestants have built up that track record in season 16.
(left) Sapphira Cristál in episode 12; (right) Plane Jane in episode 13
MTV
If you need a quick reminder, let’s run through the track records established by Sapphira and Plane on Drag Race season 16 thus far.
Sapphira won episode 1 (Talent Show), episode 10 (“Power” Rumix challenge), episode 11 (comedy/presentation challenge), and episode 12 (“Bathroom Hunties” design challenge). Last week, we highlighted that Sapphira became the first-ever queen to win three consecutive maxi challenges in a flagship Drag Race season — already making herstory on the show.
Plane won episode 2 (Talent Show) episode 8 (Snatch Game), episode 12 (“Bathroom Hunties” design challenge), and episode 13 (makeover challenge). Given that no other regular season of the show has ever featured two queens with four maxi challenge wins, Plane and Sapphira have just broken an all-time Drag Race record together.
Season 16 is coming to an end, and we can’t WAIT to see how this turns out!
RuPaul’s Drag Race season 16 airs every Friday on MTV.
