{"id":2472840,"date":"2026-06-23T23:14:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T23:14:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2472840"},"modified":"2026-06-23T23:14:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T23:14:10","slug":"rupauls-drag-race-alum-makes-shocking-return-to-compete-on-new-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/rupauls-drag-race-alum-makes-shocking-return-to-compete-on-new-season\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cRuPaul&#8217;s Drag Race\u201d alum makes shocking return to compete on new season"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<h3 class=\"mb-4 text-lg font-bold\">Key Points<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"mb-4\">\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em>Drag Race Down Under vs. the World<\/em> all-star edition has added three American alums to the cast.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Emmy-winning<em> Drag Race<\/em> icon Raven has joined the cast of the Australia- and New Zealand-set season hosted by Michelle Visage.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em>All Stars 10 <\/em>alum Nicole Paige Brooks and season 13 Miss Congeniality winner Lala Ri are also on the cast.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Did you ever doubt that <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/rupauls-drag-race\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race&quot;}\" class=\"link \"><em>RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race<\/em><\/a> would bring <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/ew-binge-podcast\/ew-binge-podcast-rupauls-drag-race-season-2\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Raven;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Raven&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Raven<\/a> back to compete on another season? Well guess what, Mimi? They did!<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Tuesday\u2019s all-star <em>Drag Race Down Under vs. the World<\/em> cast announcement included some shocking news for fans of the franchise, as Raven \u2014 Emmy-winning makeup artist for <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/person\/rupaul\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:RuPaul;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;RuPaul&quot;}\" class=\"link \">RuPaul<\/a> and season 2 alum \u2014 has returned to compete on her first season since <em>All Stars 1 <\/em>in 2012.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Raven joined <em>Drag Race Down Under vs. the World <\/em>as one of three contenders for the crown hailing from American versions of the show. She\u2019s accompanied by fellow season 2 queen (and returning <em>All Stars 10<\/em> competitor) <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/nicole-paige-brooks-11727216\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Nicole Paige Brooks;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Nicole Paige Brooks&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Nicole Paige Brooks<\/a>, as well as season 13 Miss Congeniality winner and <em>All Stars 8<\/em> Queen of the Fame Games title-holding contestant <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/person\/lala-ri\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Lala Ri;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Lala Ri&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Lala Ri<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-primary p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-primary\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" class=\"flex-none size-4 -scale-x-100 text-primary lg:size-6 [&amp;_path]:fill-current\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M3.1 3.1V11h1.8V6.314l5.392 5.393 1.415-1.414L6.313 4.9H11V3.1zm17.8 17.8V13h-1.8v4.686l-5.393-5.393-1.415 1.414 5.393 5.393H13v1.8z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-primary hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p><i>Raven&#8217;s &#8216;Drag Race Down Under vs. the World&#8217; promo look<br \/>Credit: WOW<\/i><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Raven, who first competed on <em>Drag Race<\/em> season 2, where she finished in second place, has since earned four total Emmy nominations for her work in makeup, ultimately winning in 2020.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Raven additionally <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/tv\/rupauls-drag-race-all-stars-7-secret-queen-revealed\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:&quot;returned&quot; as a surprise competitor on the all-winners All Stars 7;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;&amp;quot&quot;}\" class=\"link \">&#8220;returned&#8221; as a surprise competitor on the all-winners <em>All Stars 7<\/em><\/a> edition of the show, though it was later revealed to the cast that her placement among them was a joke, and she quickly exited the Werk Room.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Lala, who uses he\/him pronouns, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/rupauls-drag-race-lala-ri-quits-drag-exclusive-8745297\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:previously told EW that he quit drag;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;previously told EW that he quit drag&quot;}\" class=\"link \">previously told EW that he quit drag<\/a> because he was \u201cdoing drag for everybody else\u201d and wanted to get back in touch with his other artistic interests. He eventually rejoined the art form.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/rupauls-drag-race-all-stars-10-drama-kerri-colby-nicole-paige-brooks-tina-burner-11749932\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Speaking to EW following her elimination from All Stars 10;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Speaking to EW following her elimination from All Stars 10&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Speaking to EW following her elimination from <em>All Stars 10<\/em><\/a>, Nicole spoke on drama amid the cast after other contestants schemed their way through the bracket-based point system format of the season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cWhat drew me to the show is that the Werk Room shows an accurate dressing room. There\u2019s going to be a queen in there trying to get the show director job, who will lie and scheme,\u201d she said. \u201cShe\u2019ll stab you in the back the second you turn around. On <em>Drag Race<\/em>, we have cameras everywhere, so we see it played back when we get home. It\u2019s an accurate view of life. Your co-workers don\u2019t have your best intentions at heart; they want to be in charge.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"Nicole Paige Brooks joins 'Drag Race Down Under vs. the World' cast of queensCredit: WOW\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"720\" height=\"960\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/077TB1xUbHNHGY8vzFaf6w--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTEyODA7Y2Y9d2VicA--\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/entertainment_weekly_785\/90bdb42a19fc45cf08b681bcd807ad12\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-primary p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-primary\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" class=\"flex-none size-4 -scale-x-100 text-primary lg:size-6 [&amp;_path]:fill-current\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M3.1 3.1V11h1.8V6.314l5.392 5.393 1.415-1.414L6.313 4.9H11V3.1zm17.8 17.8V13h-1.8v4.686l-5.393-5.393-1.415 1.414 5.393 5.393H13v1.8z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-primary hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p><i>Nicole Paige Brooks joins &#8216;Drag Race Down Under vs. the World&#8217; cast of queens<br \/>Credit: WOW<\/i><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The trio of <em>RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race<\/em> alums joins the cast of 11 queens from around the globe, who will compete for the title of Queen of the Mother Tucking World.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Other returning contestants from international <em>Drag Race<\/em> seasons who are headed to <em>Drag Race Down Under vs. the World<\/em> include<em> Down Under <\/em>stars Art Simone (season 1), Coco Jumbo (season 1), Nikita Iman (season 4), and Vybe (season 4); <em>Drag Race Espa\u00f1a<\/em> season 2 queen Flor; <em>Drag Race Philippines<\/em> season 2 competitor M1ss Jade So, and Michael Marouli from <em>RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race UK<\/em> season 5.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"Lala Ri for 'Drag Race Down Under vs. the World' castCredit: WOW\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"720\" height=\"960\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/ekbOu9yGDDBDMB0Foe8yWQ--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTEyODA7Y2Y9d2VicA--\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/entertainment_weekly_785\/b4b9b4e95da7460b8712f515f9bde02c\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-primary p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-primary\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" class=\"flex-none size-4 -scale-x-100 text-primary lg:size-6 [&amp;_path]:fill-current\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M3.1 3.1V11h1.8V6.314l5.392 5.393 1.415-1.414L6.313 4.9H11V3.1zm17.8 17.8V13h-1.8v4.686l-5.393-5.393-1.415 1.414 5.393 5.393H13v1.8z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-primary hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p><i>Lala Ri for &#8216;Drag Race Down Under vs. the World&#8217; cast<br \/>Credit: WOW<\/i><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Also returning to judge the all-star <em>Down Under<\/em> edition are Michelle Visage, Rhys Nicholson, and Lazy Susan, winner of <em>Drag Race Down Under <\/em>season 4.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em>Drag Race Down Under vs. the World<\/em> is the third of the <em>Vs. the World <\/em>iterations, with others preceding it in the United Kingdom and Canada.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><strong><em>Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our <\/em><\/strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/ew-dispatch-newsletter-11812417\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:EW Dispatch newsletter;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;EW Dispatch newsletter&quot;}\" class=\"link \"><strong><em>EW Dispatch newsletter<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Past winners of the <em>Vs. the World <\/em>seasons include Blu Hydrangea, Tia Kofi, Gawdland, Ra\u2019Jah O\u2019Hara, and Lemon.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em>Drag Race Down Under vs. the World<\/em> season 2 premieres July 24 on the WOW Presents Plus streaming app. See the full cast\u2019s promo shoot above.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Read the original article on <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/drag-race-down-under-vs-the-world-raven-joins-cast-12005346\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Entertainment Weekly;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Entertainment Weekly&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Entertainment Weekly<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Points Drag Race Down Under vs. the World all-star edition has added three American alums to the cast. Emmy-winning Drag Race icon Raven has joined the cast of the Australia- and New Zealand-set season hosted by Michelle Visage. All Stars 10 alum Nicole Paige Brooks and season 13 Miss Congeniality winner Lala Ri are [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2472841,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[396065,352451,486608,352450,486607,25456],"class_list":["post-2472840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-all-stars","tag-drag-race","tag-lala-ri","tag-michelle-visage","tag-nicole-paige-brooks","tag-rupauls-drag-race"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/RuPauls-Drag-Race-alum-makes-shocking-return-to-compete-on.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2472840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2472840"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2472840\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2472842,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2472840\/revisions\/2472842"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2472841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2472840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2472840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2472840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}