Last week Suzie Toot broke the RuPaul's Drag Race franchise record for the most consecutive weeks on the show without falling into the bottom. Through the first 13 episodes Suzie had only ever won or placed high or safe, surpassing the 12-episode record shared by Bianca Del Rio and Luxx Noir London.
This week, however, Suzie was sent home. In what will certainly go down in Drag Race history as one of the series' most gaggy eliminations, Suzie, who had sat comfortably as a frontrunner since winning the season's premiere, crashed and burned just one episode shy of the finale.
"Watching this episode back, I understand a lot of what was said," Suzie tells Parade exclusively after her elimination. "In the moment, I could not accept it."
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As shocking as it was to fans, Suzie's elimination was even more gut-wrenching for the queen herself. "Every day leading up to that episode was a dream," she remembers. "I was so happy to be there and happy to be doing well, and to never receive even an untoward critique was really blissful. Then, to be met with just, 'You did bad, and this didn't work out for you.' I mean, the next da,y I was just holed up in my hotel room, catastrophic, crying, upset, going through every emotion."
Suzie's elimination came after a RuPaul's Drag Race Live-themed challenge, which saw the final five queens participate in a photo shoot, an interview and a dance performance similar to the ones in RuPaul's Las Vegas show. While Suzie won both the talent show and RDR Live, challenges you'd think would be similar to this one, she struggled to push herself out of her bo,x and RuPaul opted to send her home after a lip sync against Sam Star.
Chatting with Parade, Suzie discussed the elimination, making over her mom last week and how her black-and-white clown look became one of the season's most controversial.
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Suzie TootSuzie, I am shocked that I am chatting with you today. Going back into last night's episode, when RuPaul announced the challenge, and you knew this was the last challenge of the season, what was going through your mind? Were you worried you could be eliminated, or did you feel confident?Because of the makeover episode, when I was the first person called safe and, in air quotes, going to the top four, in my brain, it was a set thing. I was sure that, no matter what happened next week, I will be just fine. So going in, I was just excited to do the challenge, and it was all stuff I felt like I had the capacity to do.
Then, during the challenge, did you get worried at any point as you moved through the photo shoot, interview and performance? The biggest thing is that I had just run out of clothes. I mean, Lexi had five different options for what she was gonna wear for her photo shoot that were all the most glamorous, gorgeous things I've ever seen in my life. I had stuck to the sailor idea, because I knew I had these two matching little sailor things to wear for the interview and the photo shoot. It also felt like "Broadway in Vegas," my brand. I could see it in a theatrical setting. In the Drag Race, you only have so much time. So if you find an idea, you've got to go with it.
When you get to the judging, and they were giving you your critiques, was that the moment when you start a piece together that you might be at the bottom?That was it. Because we had been met with so much kindness and excitement about being in the top five, we thought we were going to walk up and get our critiques that were all glowing and positive. And then they would just choose one or two people that wouldn't make it, and that would be the end, like they've done on other seasons. So once they started on me, all five of us were kind of gagged. We're kind of like, "Oh shit, this isn't what we thought this was gonna be." In Untucked, all of the girls met me with, "We did not think that was gonna happen. I'm so sorry."
One of the plot lines this season has been Lexi Love's obsession with you. Did you realize that that was happening during the season?I didn't. I remember hearing something about how she was nervous to be sat next to me on Snatch Game, and I thought that was kind of silly. I didn't realize the extent of it until the roast when she told Jewels, "You know how much Suzie being next to me really got to me, and now you're putting her next to me for the roast." She was so upset. That's when I was like, "Whoa, this goes deeper than just I don't want to be next to someone who's good." There was something beneath the surface there, which she came to realize during the makeover, which I thought was fantastic television.
Her having the realization on camera that the reason you intimidated her was because she viewed you as the version of her who grew up being supported was really touching. Have you guys chatted about that since?Totally. We've talked about it, and she reiterated all of the same things she said on TV. It was a big realization for her. Something she holds to this day is that she just saw me as a different version of her life, which in many ways is a huge compliment because I think she's so fantastic and such a star.
Also, last week, your mom was on the show with you. What was it watching that back with her now that it's airing?Oh my God, crazy, so crazy. She was texting me all through it, and something she wants the world to know is that she was very sick right before filming that episode. That was a lot of the reason she was so hoarse and tired. Obviously not something that was featured on the show; she's generally much bubblier and energetic. But in spite of that, I'm so proud of he. And I hope she is so proud of herself, because we ate it up.
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Suzie Toot and her mom on RuPaul's Drag RaceYour looks last week were some of the most controversial of the season. There were so many reactions online. Were you surprised by that? I mean, I've come to expect anything, because sometimes the reactions of the fans are so opposite what we thought they would be. I did not expect it to be so controversial. I know for me, right before the critiques, I was certain I was lip syncing. I was positive. I know that song, "1 Thing" by Amerie, better than anything else because I listened to it so much. When I received the critiques, they were hard to believe because I was certain that I did a bad job. I've come to love the outfit so much, though.
Well, Law Roach loved it!Exactly! I had to shut myself up. I'm like, "If Law Roach likes it, this must be something."
Maybe Zendaya will borrow it at some point.Exactly that. Zendaya, please, I would love to see it.
Looking back at the whole season, is there anything that you would do differently or change if you could go back?Oh man, I would do everything differently. I've grown so, so much in my drag. Every look, there's something I would adjust and do a little bit different. But in that same vein, there's nothing I would go back and change, because it was who I was then. Those were the decisions that I made at that point in my life, in my artistry. So there's nothing that I could change. There's nothing I want to.
How has your drag changed since then? There's a lot that the judges said that I've applied into my drag. When you're so visible, when there's so many people looking at your drag and making judgements, there's a lot that you learn that can be changed and tweaked a little bit. Especially as a makeup artist, I've grown a lot. I grew on the show. From my first episode to the last, my makeup is so wildly different. I think I'm just more focused on the character that's always been there. I've honed in, and my skills have made Suzie Toot, the character that's always lived in my mind, so much clearer.
Lastly, will you and Kori Toot be collaborating in the future?I never want to speak to that woman again. We are at odds, we are fighting, and I will never be caught dead on camera with Kori Toot.
This interview was edited for length and clarity.
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