Acid Betty
Quick Facts
Biography
The eighth season of RuPaul's Drag Race began airing on March 7, 2016. Returning judges include RuPaul and Michelle Visage, along with Ross Mathews and Carson Kressley, who shared judging responsibilities on an alternating basis. Twelve drag queens competed for the title of "America's Next Drag Superstar". The prizes for the winner are a one-year supply of Anastasia Beverly Hills cosmetics and a cash prize of $100,000. The full list of contestants was revealed during the NewNowNext Awards on February 1, 2016. The song "U Wear It Well" from RuPaul's album Butch Queen was featured in promotion for the show. On March 31, 2016, it was announced LogoTV renewed the show for a ninth season. It was the last season to solely be played on Logo, as the show moved to VH1 for its ninth season, and RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars Season 2 was broadcast simultaneously on VH1.
The theme song played during the runway segment every episode was "The Realness", and the song played during the closing credits was "Die Tomorrow", both songs from the album Realness. The winner of this season was Bob the Drag Queen. Kim Chi and Naomi Smalls were the runners-up.
Cynthia Lee Fontaine returned to Season 9 as a surprise to compete with the other 13 drag queens. She placed 10th overall for the second time.
Contestants
(Ages and names stated are at time of contest)
Contestant | Name | Age | Hometown | Outcome |
---|---|---|---|---|
Bob the Drag Queen | Christopher Caldwell | 29 | New York, New York | Winner |
Kim Chi | Sang-Young Shin | 27 | Chicago, Illinois | Runner-Up |
Naomi Smalls | Davis Heppenstall | 21 | Redlands, California | Runner-Up |
Chi Chi DeVayne | Zavion Davenport | 29 | Shreveport, Louisiana | 4th Place |
Derrick Barry | Derrick Barry | 32 | Las Vegas, Nevada | 5th Place |
Thorgy Thor | Shane Galligan | 31 | Brooklyn, New York | 6th Place |
Robbie Turner | Jeremy Baird | 33 | Seattle, Washington | 7th Place |
Acid Betty | Jamin Ruhren | 37 | Brooklyn, New York | 8th Place |
Naysha Lopez | Fabian Rodriguez | 31 | Chicago, Illinois | 9th Place |
Cynthia Lee Fontaine | Carlos Diaz | 34 | Austin, Texas | 10th Place |
Dax ExclamationPoint | Dax Martin | 31 | Savannah, Georgia | 11th/12th Place |
Laila McQueen | Tyler Devlin | 22 | Gloucester, MA | 11th/12th Place |
Contestant progress
Contestant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bob the Drag Queen | WIN | WIN | WIN | WIN | WIN | SAFE | WIN | BTM2 | SAFE | Winner |
Kim Chi | WIN | LOW | SAFE | HIGH | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | Runner-Up |
Naomi Smalls | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | BTM2 | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | Runner-Up |
Chi Chi DeVayne | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | BTM2 | SAFE | SAFE | BTM2 | SAFE | ELIM | Guest |
Derrick Barry | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | BTM2 | WIN | ELIM | Guest | |
Thorgy Thor | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | ELIM | Guest | ||
Robbie Turner | SAFE | SAFE | BTM2 | WIN | SAFE | ELIM | Guest | |||
Acid Betty | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | ELIM | Guest | ||||
Naysha Lopez | ELIM | SAFE | ELIM | Guest | ||||||
Cynthia Lee Fontaine | SAFE | SAFE | ELIM | Miss C | ||||||
Dax ExclamationPoint | SAFE | ELIM | Guest | |||||||
Laila McQueen | BTM2 | ELIM | Guest |
Lip-syncs
Episode | Contestants | Song | Eliminated | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Laila McQueen | vs. | Naysha Lopez | "Applause" (Lady Gaga) | Naysha Lopez |
2 | Dax ExclamationPoint | vs. | Laila McQueen | "I Will Survive" (Gloria Gaynor) | Dax ExclamationPoint |
Laila McQueen | |||||
3 | Cynthia Lee Fontaine | vs. | Robbie Turner | "Mesmerized (Freemasons Radio Edit)" (Faith Evans) | Cynthia Lee Fontaine |
4 | Chi Chi DeVayne | vs. | Naysha Lopez | "Call Me" (Blondie) | Naysha Lopez |
5 | Acid Betty | vs. | Naomi Smalls | "Causing a Commotion" (Madonna) | Acid Betty |
6 | Derrick Barry | vs. | Robbie Turner | "I Love It" (Icona Pop ft. Charli XCX) | Robbie Turner |
7 | Chi Chi DeVayne | vs. | Thorgy Thor | "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (Jennifer Holliday) | Thorgy Thor |
8 | Bob The Drag Queen | vs. | Derrick Barry | "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" (Sylvester) | Derrick Barry |
9 | All remaining contestants: Bob the Drag Queen, Chi Chi DeVayne, Kim Chi, Naomi Smalls | "The Realness" (RuPaul) | Chi Chi DeVayne |
Guest judges
(In chronological order)
- Nicole Richie (television personality)
- Ester Dean (singer/songwriter)
- Jamal Sims (choreographer)
- Lucian Piane (music producer)
- Faith Evans (singer)
- Tasha Smith (actress and comedian)
- Chris Stein (musician)
- Debbie Harry (singer)
- Chanel Iman (model)
- Gigi Hadid (model)
- Marc Jacobs (fashion designer)
- Todrick Hall (singer and internet personality)
- Thomas Roberts (journalist)
- Vivica A. Fox (actress)
- Amy Sedaris (comedian and actress)
- David Sedaris (writer)
Special guests
Guests who appeared in episodes, but did not judge on the main stage. (In order of appearance)
- Episode 1:
- BeBe Zahara Benet (winner of Season 1)
- Tyra Sanchez (winner of Season 2)
- Raja (winner of Season 3)
- Sharon Needles (winner of Season 4)
- Chad Michaels (runner-up of Season 4, and winner of All Stars Season 1)
- Jinkx Monsoon (winner of Season 5)
- Violet Chachki (winner of Season 7)
- Shannel (contestant on Season 1 and All Stars Season 1)
- Latrice Royale (contestant and Miss Congeniality of Season 4)
- Raven (runner-up of Season 2 and All Stars Season 1)
- Morgan McMichaels (contestant on season 2)
- Episode 2:
- AB Soto (musician)
- Episode 4:
- The Vivienne (winner of Drag Race's UK Drag Ambassador competition)
- Episode 5:
- Charo (musician and comedienne)
- Episode 6:
- Marc Snetiker (Entertainment Weekly journalist)
- Cast of Little Women L.A.
- Episode 7:
- Andrew Christian (fashion designer)
- Episode 9:
- Jayson Whitmore (director)
- Bianca Del Rio (winner of Season 6)
Episodes
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date |
---|---|---|---|
94 | 1 | "Keeping it 100!" | March 7, 2016 (2016-03-07) |
Season 8 premieres with the 100th episode and the 100th queen competing to become America's Drag Superstar.
| |||
95 | 2 | "Bitch Perfect" | March 14, 2016 (2016-03-14) |
The queens are challenged to perform in a collegiate, all-queen drag-appella sing-off.
| |||
96 | 3 | "RuCo's Empire" | March 21, 2016 (2016-03-21) |
The queens get their Cookie on in two Empire-inspired scenes.
| |||
97 | 4 | "New Wave Queens" | March 28, 2016 (2016-03-28) |
The queens have to sing live in ‘80s style New Wave girl bands.
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98 | 5 | "Supermodel Snatch Game" | April 4, 2016 (2016-04-04) |
The queens impersonate celebrities in a quick-witted TV game show, and dress in iconic Madonna looks for the runway.
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99 | 6 | "Wizards of Drag" | April 11, 2016 (2016-04-11) |
The queens give cast members of Little Women: LA drag makeovers in the style of The Wizard of Oz.
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100 | 7 | "Shady Politics" | April 18, 2016 (2016-04-18) |
The queens shoot shady presidential campaign ads, throwing their wigs in the ring to become the first drag president of the USA.
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101 | 8 | "RuPaul Book Ball" | April 25, 2016 (2016-04-25) |
The queens compete in a pageant of book inspired couture, and perform a musical tribute to Jerri Blank from Strangers With Candy.
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102 | 9 | "The Realness" | May 2, 2016 (2016-05-02) |
The queens compete in their final challenge - starring in the music video for RuPaul's hit "The Realness."
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103 | 10 | "Grand Finale" | May 16, 2016 (2016-05-16) |
Wigs fly as the queens discuss the drama of the season. Plus, both "America's Next Drag Superstar" and "Miss Congeniality" are crowned.
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