Nearly halfway through RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 4, the competition is really heating up. This week’s maxi challenge was “Jersey Justice,” a mock courtroom drama in which the queens star as New Jersey-styled litigants arguing hilarious cases in front of – who else – the honorable Jersey “judge” Michelle Visage. The contestants are divided into two teams of two and one team of three.
First, Manila Luzon and Naomi Smallz argued a botched hair-styling case, in which Manila thought she was getting her curls teased at a salon, but in fact it was a dog groomer. Cue the bitch and dog puns. Manila really brought her role to life, even barking her demands for retribution, all while her wig resembled a French poodle.
The second case, argued by the team of Latrice Royale, Monet X Change, and Monique Heart, was about discriminatory cake decorations. Monique was on point with her shrill voice, finger wags and huge bumped Jersey updo. Latrice and Monet, however, keep it cute on mute, allowing Monique to steal the show. The case ended with a straight-up cake fight.
The third and final trial was “I Got Snookered by Snooki,” a case of stolen identity. Trinity the Tuck plays a wealthy Jersey mob wife who hired Snooki to attend her children’s special event, when in fact it was a Snooki impersonator played by Valentina. Valentina really stepped up her comedy game for the first time, as a hot mess stripper with a birth certificate proving she was the original Snooki, born before the famous Shore star herself, Nicole Polizzi. The two get into a fistfight, snatch wigs and end up making out at the request of Visage – very Jersey.
In the work room, Latrice was in denial about her sub-par performance. She thought her team was hilarious. Though people love a good cake fight, that doesn’t forgive a missed opportunity for some laughs, especially from a seasoned queen like Latrice. More drama comes when Valentina reveals that she is in the competition to win and would have no qualms sending Trinity home, regardless of how the two handled the previous elimination drama, with Gia and Manila potentially eliminating the better competitor rather than the queen who fell short.
On the main stage, the category is “Swerves and Curves, Padding for the Gods.” The queens each interpreted the category about how to present drag padding in a runway look. At the top were Monique Heart, of Kansas City, with a curvy homage to her catch phrase “brown cow,” and Manila, extending her French poodle character with a Rococo Chanel realness. The bottom two choices reflected the maxi performances, as Latrice wore a gorgeous cinched gown, dripping in diamonds, and Monet broke the internet with her homage to Kim Kardashian on the cover of Paper magazine, complete with a champagne glass on her accentuated derriere.
Backstage got emotional, as Manila cried on Latrice’s shoulder. As All Star teammates from Season 1, Manila vowed to Latrice that she would give it her all in the lip sync to save her. Monique was torn about whether to send home a legend like Latrice, who has coasted through the competition, or Monet, who has fallen short only a few times.
Back on the main stage, RuPaul revealed the song as Elton John’s “The Bitch is Back,” sung by Tina Turner. Both queens were epic, but in the end, Monique’s hair tosses reminded us all that YES, her wig indeed DID stay on, landing her the $10,000 tip. With power comes great responsibility, and unfortunately, she sent home “the large and in charge, chunky, yet funky” Latrice Royale.
You can catch RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 4 viewing parties at Woody’s Classic Sports Pub at 7 p.m. on Fridays, hosted by Candice Marie and Luna Flare.