After months of speculation, Aussie comedian Rhys Nicholson has officially been confirmed as a judge for RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under, joining RuPaul and Michelle Visage. YAS.
Rhys is an award-winning comic, and one of only three Aussies (with Hannah Gadsby and Jim Jefferies) with their own Netflix special, Rhys Nicholson Live At The Athenaeum, which dropped in December last year. That’s huge. Monumental.
He’s also well known to TV audiences, having starred in doco Gaycrashers with Joel Creasey, as a regular in Nazeem Hussain‘s sketch comedy Brown Is The New Black, and performed standup on late night talk show Conan.
“Apologies but you’ll have to be dealing with these nasal tones for a while,” Rhys wrote on Twitter this morning.
“I’m absolutely beside myself to finally say out loud I’m joining @RuPaul , @michellevisage and the whole bloody Drag Race family on #DragRaceDownUnder.”
It’s me, Rhys.
Apologies but you’ll have to be dealing with these nasal tones for a while.
I’m absolutely beside myself to finally say out loud I’m joining @RuPaul , @michellevisage and the whole bloody Drag Race family on #DragRaceDownUnder.
Only On @StanAustralia bby. 🥲🥲🥲 pic.twitter.com/2I41hLD0j0— Rhys Nicholson (@rhysnicholson) March 2, 2021
I’m having a lovely day thanks for asking. #dragracedownunder pic.twitter.com/Rs3WGPKXTK
— Rhys Nicholson (@rhysnicholson) March 2, 2021
Rhys, it is a pleasure to deal with your nasal tones. Never change.
Here’s what RuPaul had to say about Rhys joining the show: “Rhys Nicholson is the perfect addition to the Drag Race Down Under family. His quick wit, love of drag, and willingness to carry Michelle Visage’s heavy luggage have already made him indispensable. I know our audience is going to love him as much as we do.”
And Rhys gushed that he “can’t bloody believe” he’s joining Drag Race.
“The first words RuPaul ever said to me were ‘Welcome to the family’ and that’s exactly what it feels like,” he said. “A family. Ru and Michelle are my new mummies. I hope the editors took out the bits where I’m just staring at them wide eyed trying to comprehend sitting next to them.
“Being able to be a part of the show and help expose the world to our distinctive and particularly magnificent style of Down Under drag will forever be a highlight of my life and an honour. I hope I didn’t fuck. It. Up.”
Rhys has exactly the sense of self-deprecating, wry humour we wanna see on the judging panel, and an impeccable taste in tailored suits. Just sayin’.
Check out his comedy here:
LOOK AT THAT SUIT.
Big Brother‘s Ben Norris told Megan Pustetto on So Dramatic! way back in January that Rhys would be joining the Drag Race Down Under judging panel.
He mentioned “a lot of gay comedians auditioning for the role to be on the panel” and that people had theorised that Joel Creasey, Josh Thomas and Tom Ballard could be potential judges.
Describing Rhys’ distinctive pale complexion and red hair, Ben added: “I think he’ll look very good up against the neon colouring of RuPaul’s show palette.”
I can’t tell if this is a secret sledge but frankly this show needs a comedian this polished. He’s in the big leagues. Conan. He was on CO-NAN.
RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under will be streaming exclusively on Stan later this year. Tune into the Mardi Gras parade on Saturday to meet the Aussie and Kiwi Queens.
