WARNING: This article contains pretty massive spoilers for the second episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 2, so if you haven’t watched it yet and you feel like you might have even the slightest urge to do so, don’t read any further.
Seriously, we’ll wait right here while you make up your mind.
Right, since you’re still here, you’re probably still picking your jaw up off the floor after watching fan-favourite Adore Delano walk out of the competition, leaving the other queens to battle it out for the All Stars crown.
Adore seemed out-of-sorts right from week one, when she wound up in the bottom three, and faced some harsh critiques from the judges, especially Michelle Visage, who tore strips off her for the perceived sloppiness of her look.
At the beginning of this week’s episode, Adore still appeared shaken, and after consulting with RuPaul and Michelle, decided to leave, saying that her grungy, riot grrl aesthetic didn’t fit alongside the more polished queens of All Stars 2.
Overnight, once the big walk-out had gone to air, Adore – otherwise known as Danny Noriega – took to Periscope, and made a lengthy video for fans, explaining the circumstances surrounding the departure.
Noiega explained that last year, when the series was shot, he was in the midst of a “super-emotional breakdown” – his father had recently died, and an ex had broken up with him “with no explanation via text message.”
“I was just constantly working to fill the void of not dealing with family issues and what was really happening with my self and self-esteem,” he said. “I was going through a really dark depression.”
Though the show made it appear that Noriega was upset with Michelle Visage’s comments on the panel, in his video overnight, he explained that it was actually guest judge Raven-Symoné who pushed him over the edge. He said:
“Michelle is not to blame. Everyone is super jumping down Michelle’s throat and trying to attack her, but it wasn’t all Michelle. The reason why I was super-hypersensitive about the whole sitch was that I was getting it from everywhere. It wasn’t just Michelle. It actually started with Raven-Symoné. She said something super, super cruel, something I’m not sure she even remembers that she said to me, but it touched home and made me super sensitive and super mad … The thing that hurt my feelings was Raven. She said something super gross, and after that I checked out … I was brushing my teeth the next day [and thought] ‘this is not for me’.”
Though it’s not clear what Symoné said, or why it pushed Adore over the edge, there are posts on the Drag Race Reddit from at least a year ago speculating about bad blood between the two.
For what it’s worth, Adore seems to be over it now, saying:
“I’ve worked too hard to be talked to like a weird-ass amateur by Raven-Symoné … Some people will understand my decision [to walk off] and some people won’t, but I regret nothing … I probably should have said ‘no’ but what the fuck are you gonna do about it?”
Like Adore, we are looking forward to seeing what the hell happens from here on All Stars.
Source: Vulture.
Photo: Santiago Felipe / Gabe Ginsberg / Jamie McCarthy / Getty.
