Although this week's RuPaul's Drag Race season 8 premiere welcomed its 100th queen for its 100th episode, it bid farewell to the first queen of the season. Up for elimination for her "Drag On a Dime" look, Naysha Lopez lost the lip sync challenge to Laila McQueen.
After this week's episode, we caught up with the Chicago pageant queen to ask about life after RuPaul's Drag Race. Find out what she's been up to and who she thinks will win:
Out: How did you become the queen that you are today?
Naysha Lopez: Lot's of hard work. I'm a pageant girl so I have great work ethic, and I have strength. Strength's not even the word. There's just a certain thing instilled in me drag-wise that makes me the hardworking person I am. I'm very disciplined and I like to work really hard. And I love my art.
What was it like seeing yourself on TV?
You know that thing, like an out-of-body experience? It is the most horrible thing ever. I had so much anxiety watching. I hate my voice right now. I kept telling my friends, "Why did you homos not tell me that's what I sound like?" It's crazy. It really is crazy to watch yourself on television.
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If you had a second chance, what would you do differently?
I'm not the kind of person to have regrets or want to change my actions or do anything differently because I'm a very positive person and I learn from everything that I do. All I can do is just take this situation and learn from it, and I have. That's all I can do. So I wouldn't change anything....Maybe I'd take a sewing class or two. [laughs]
What have you been up to since you were eliminated?
I've just been me. I've been working and performing and spending time with family and living day-to-day life. I'm sorry that's not more exciting or that I can't tell you I've been a whore or something. [laughs] I'm just being me. I've been having a good time and working and enjoying my friends and family as much as I possibly can.
Who do you think should win?
I'm all about someone who is well rounded and consistent. I'm a pageant girl. With pageants, you've got to be consistent. So I was just talking about queens that need the show because without it, they will not have a career. Then there are those girls that will entertain and will work without the show because they didn't really need it. Like for example, Kim Chi, which is like watching paint dry when she performs. Then there's someone like Bob the Drag Queen who is so well rounded and an amazing entertainer. That's someone who I could watch every day, regardless of whether she was on RuPaul's Drag Race or not. So if there's one queen, I would choose Bob the Drag Queen.
RuPaul's Drag Race comes on Mondays 9/8c on Logo. Get to know Naysha more below:
