We all got emotional with Ru. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the times the “Drag Race” host was visibly emotional over “Drag Race” contestants.
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00:00And Johnny, you're an inspiration.
00:02Thank you.
00:03Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:04And today we're counting down our picks for the times
00:07the Drag Race host was visibly emotional over Drag Race contestants.
00:11I wore this look in 1986.
00:15Number 10.
00:16Plastique's family.
00:18If there's one thing that brings the mama out of Mama Roo,
00:21it's a young person struggling with not being accepted by their family.
00:24It wasn't okay in my family to say whatever I want to say
00:28or do whatever I want to do because whoever I am was not okay.
00:33As the youngest drag queen on season 11,
00:35Plastique Tiara was probably one of the more vulnerable cast members
00:38who was still figuring out who she was.
00:41Don't you owe it to them to be yourself?
00:46I do, but in the past when I tried to do that, it didn't end up so well.
00:52During a workroom segment with Roo,
00:54Plastique became emotional when talking about her family.
00:57Do they know you're here?
00:58No.
00:59Roo normally offers advice from a comfortable distance,
01:02but this time her maternal instincts kicked in.
01:05This is an opportunity for you to show them in a way,
01:10on your own terms, beautiful and creative.
01:18She did something she rarely does on the show.
01:21She actually embraced Plastique in a solid therapeutic hug.
01:24I'm your new mommy.
01:26Even before team RooJuby faced off in a lip-sync
01:29that would end their time together in the first All-Stars season,
01:31Roo was hesitant.
01:33Ladies, this is your last chance to impress me
01:36and to save yourselves from elimination.
01:39It seemed that much like us, and Raven and Jujubee,
01:42she would have preferred these two not be in competition with each other.
01:45Throughout their gut-wrenching lip-sync to Robyn's Dancing on My Own,
01:48Roo seems troubled by the whole thing.
01:51The two are truly putting everything into this performance,
01:54tears and all.
02:03At the end, the host is so upset she doesn't even clap for them.
02:07Whether or not it was a planned Final Four,
02:09RuPaul's very intense reaction to having to send one of them home
02:12is really effective.
02:14Shantay, you both stay.
02:17For Martha Wash's Carry On,
02:19a song near and dear to her heart,
02:21it was all the more important.
02:23I want each of you girls to know
02:27that even through adversity or death,
02:32love and energy lives forever.
02:35Crediting the song with helping Roo
02:37with her emotional breakdown
02:38is a great way to show how much Roo loves her.
02:42Love and energy lives forever.
02:45Crediting the song with helping her cope with her mother's death,
02:48RuPaul allowed the bottom two queens
02:49to let this token of personal experience
02:51and spiritual wisdom inform their performances.
03:00Sahara Davenport's ballet training and effervescence
03:03paired perfectly with the song.
03:06Years later,
03:07Roo talked about how important that lip-sync was to her,
03:10and how she had to hold back tears the whole time.
03:22All Stars 5 saw the return of Season 2 queen Jujubee
03:25after years away from the competition.
03:27How have you created family in your adult life?
03:31I've had to let go of a lot of the people in my past
03:33because it wasn't healthy for me.
03:35During a particularly heartfelt workroom talk with Roo,
03:38she described the circumstances that led to her seeking out sobriety
03:41after developing alcohol and substance use disorder.
03:44I'm not completely found, but I'm not as lost as I used to be.
03:50That story resonated with RuPaul,
03:52who shares a similar story of finding community and family in sobriety.
03:56I wouldn't be here today without those friends.
03:59I wouldn't be here.
04:00Roo's advice to hold that community close
04:03is especially heartfelt because she's been there.
04:06It was an unexpectedly touching moment between the two,
04:08one that quickly had us all choked up.
04:11I'm gonna let you get to it.
04:12Thank you, Mama.
04:13Thank you so much. I'll see you out there.
04:18This Season 13 finalist made history
04:20by being the first openly trans man to compete on Drag Race.
04:24You are creative. That is what excites me.
04:27That's what turns me on. And I am so proud of you.
04:31Gottmik stood apart for this,
04:32but also because of the boundless creativity and confidence
04:35she brought to the competition.
04:36However, Roo became unexpectedly affected during her final main stage critiques.
04:41She brought up how Mik always had nothing but kind things
04:43to say about her parents, who were incredibly supportive.
04:46I think about kids around the world who don't feel that they fit in here,
04:50or they fit in there, or what box they're supposed to fit in.
04:54You've given them a roadmap.
04:56We know how often Roo hears stories about parents who don't accept their children,
05:00so learning that Gottmik had the opposite experience was really moving for her.
05:04I just want to, after this competition, take the same energy you put into me
05:08and put it into the community and the world.
05:13That's what it's all about.
05:15Number 5. Trinity overcomes her inner saboteur.
05:18Girl, you did us proud tonight.
05:21Trinity K. Bonet was one of Season 6's fiercest queens,
05:24but she was constantly an underdog.
05:26So Trinity, I'm gonna try to say this without getting emotional.
05:31I'm so proud of you.
05:32Her persistent disbelief in her own gifts was frustrating for RuPaul,
05:36the judges, and even her fellow competitors, not to mention us at home.
05:40But as she came into her own,
05:42she gave her best performance in the stand-up comedy challenge.
05:45I just feel like I can be myself and just let my hair down with all of you people.
05:49Roo tried not to get emotional as she gave her props for defeating that inner saboteur.
05:54I'm so proud to see it. I'm so proud to see it.
05:56It was clear that watching Trinity finally cast off all that self-doubt
06:00was exactly the kind of moment Roo wanted for her.
06:03Thank you for believing in me because I know you saw something in me and I appreciate it.
06:08Thank you.
06:09Number 4. Lux's tribute.
06:11The theme was not Night of a Thousand RuPaul's,
06:14but that didn't stop Season 15's Lux Noir London from paying tribute to the mother herself.
06:18It's just like this shiny kind of Liberace Mad Max type of feel.
06:23Taking inspiration from the Rip Her to Shreds runway theme,
06:26Lux recreated a look from Roo's early career in a punk rock band called Wee Wee Pole.
06:31Roo couldn't even talk to Lux without her voice faltering.
06:34Let me just talk about this look. I'm gonna try to talk about it without crying, okay?
06:39There was once a time when a goddess like her was terrorizing the streets,
06:43looking for a place in the world.
06:45Now, queens come to drag race in search of exactly the same thing.
06:49Lux's reminder of young Roo became a beautiful full circle moment.
06:53I was this freak running around New York City,
06:56and if you would ask me if I'd be sitting in this seat,
07:00hosting a television show back then, you know what my answer would have been?
07:04Yes.
07:05Yes!
07:06Number 3. Addressing the winners.
07:08You know, it's hard to do this without getting emotional.
07:11Few drag race casts have reflected what is possible for a drag artist like the All Winners cast.
07:16I've watched you grow, and I've watched the struggles that you've gone through,
07:21and you've done it so gracefully.
07:23All Stars Season 7 saw RuPaul welcoming back her most legendary children for a shot to win
07:28a second crown.
07:29We are here!
07:30Seeing what all of them had achieved, RuPaul was overcome with pride.
07:35You did it! You did it! You're here looking gorgeous and living your life the way you
07:41want to live your life.
07:42She assured them that their legacy was not just confined to a season of drag race,
07:46and that they weren't just reality TV champions.
07:49No, they're models of what can happen when dreams come true,
07:52and what happens when people live authentic lives.
07:56I'm so proud of each of you. Thank you.
07:58Number 2. Chosen Family.
08:01Landing in the bottom for her epic failure at the RuPaul roast,
08:04Season 5 finalist Roxy Andrews was suddenly sobbing on the main stage.
08:08So many emotions.
08:12What's going on?
08:14Nothing. Go ahead.
08:16No, tell me about it.
08:18She fell apart over a horrible childhood experience,
08:21and the moment became one of the most heartbreaking ever seen on the show.
08:24My mother left my sister and myself at a bus stop when I was three.
08:29Everyone in that room felt so deeply for her.
08:32Ru took the opportunity to express some heartfelt words.
08:35Gay people, we get to choose our family.
08:37Including her belief that being queer often means getting to choose one's family.
08:42I am your family. We are a family here.
08:45She was so moved she let both Roxy and her fellow bottom two queen,
08:49Alyssa Edwards, stay in the competition.
08:51Chante, you both stay.
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09:11Number 1. Angina's HIV Disclosure.
09:14Since its very first season,
09:16RuPaul's Drag Race has been a celebration of queer art and queer life.
09:20Angina was a perfect representation of that.
09:23Angina, you are the winner of this challenge.
09:28She was season one's ray of sunshine.
09:30She exuded joy and energy that was infectious.
09:33That's why her breakdown on the runway hit so hard.
09:39After winning the Mac Viva Glam Challenge,
09:41Angina disclosed her HIV-positive status to the world,
09:45reinforcing her winning commercial's message.
09:47I didn't want to say it on national TV because my parents doesn't know.
09:51The host was visibly moved by her honesty and strength.
09:54It was our first real look at how much she sees her contestants as a family.
09:59You're a survivor, and baby you are still in the race.
10:04Thank you.
10:05Which of these RuPaul moments had you looking for a tissue?
10:07Let us know in the comments.
10:09I'm still not sure if I'm dreaming or not, honestly.
10:13Do you agree with our picks?
10:15Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo.
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