“RuPaul's Drag Race ”queens kiss, cry, come out, and reveal secret '15th queen' in epic season 18 group interview (exclusive)
- - “RuPaul's Drag Race ”queens kiss, cry, come out, and reveal secret '15th queen' in epic season 18 group interview (exclusive)
Joey NolfiJanuary 3, 2026 at 6:01 AM
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The RuPaul's Drag Race season 18 premiere isn't even here yet, but the new cast of queens are already crying, kissing, coming out, and crashing out over bad runway looks, Untucked drama, and the evil antics of a secret "15th queen" (!) in Entertainment Weekly's exclusive group interview (above).
The spicy conversation — now available on EW's YouTube channel — reunites all 14 queens set to compete on Drag Race season 18, who face down their sisters after casting past votes to determine the villain of the season (the "sinister" Briar Blush), the shadiest queen of the year (Nini Coco, they're looking at you!), and the queen with the worst runways of season 18 (we're so sorry, Mandy Mango).
One of the biggest reveals from EW's earlier one-on-one interviews with the cast, however, came in the form of an on-set romance that allegedly developed between former The View guest and America's Got Talent contestant Athena Dion and southern pageant princess Vita VonTesse Starr. Things get heated on the set inside EW's New York City studio, where Vita and Athena settled the rumors and decided to make out in the middle of the conversation.
Entertainment Weekly (2)
Athena Dion and Vita VonTesse Starr kiss; Myki Meeks for EW's 'Drag Race' season 18 group interview
"Get a f---ing room, dude!" fellow contestant Jane Don't (from the same drag family as All Stars 10 queens Bosco and Irene the Alien) exclaimed, before Vita later proposed to Athena using a fake ring. (It's still TBD if Athena's granddaughter, Juicy Love Dion, will be the flower girl at the wedding.)
Amid breaking down runway looks set to grace the Main Stage across tonight's season premiere and beyond, the queens also collectively swear a secret 15th queen named "Crystal" competed with them on set — before she was (unlike Discord Addams, who previously put her early ouster rumors to bed) allegedly disqualified from the competition.
"F--- that bitch!" Kenya Pleaser says of the mysterious "Crystal," who "had to lip-sync to 'Mambo No. 5,'" according to Myki Meeks.
"You could see her give up. You could tell she didn't want to be there anymore," Jane adds, while Juicy jokes of the totally-not-made-up queen, "She got disqualified. We edited Crystal out."
On a more serious note, the queens also field questions submitted by past contestants like Nicole Paige Brooks, Jewels Sparkles, and Sapphira Cristál, who inquired about what truths the competition brought out among the cast.
While Mandy revealed that she's now able to fully lean into her nonbinary identity, Vita gave an emotional tribute to how the cast lifted her up at a dark time in her life before cameras rolled.
"One of the things Drag Race forced me to learn about myself or be aware about myself is my worth," Vita says, fighting back tears before Kenya breaks down crying over her sister's words.
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"In the middle of depression, because that's where I was, I kept asking, I kept praying, why? Why am I going on this show, on this platform, when I'm not all the way mentally where I'm supposed to be?" Vita says. "I think, after months, it finally came to me. I think the reason why is because I needed these girls. I never had or experienced sisterhood, true sisterhood, I mean, the joy that these girls give, the compassion, the love, it's truly something. I don't want to get to deep, but just know that I f---ing love y'all with everything in me. You are everything to me, and you are what I needed."
RuPaul's Drag Race season 18 airs Fridays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on MTV. Watch EW's exclusive group interview and individual interviews with the new cast of queens in the videos above.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
