Acacia Forgot has been eliminated from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 17 and the queens are definitely in their feelings.
Sam Starr was celebrating her win (making Starr a two-time winner, along with Onya Nurve and Suzie Toot) and Kori King was upset that she had once again landed in the bottom. The queens didn’t have to long to sit in their feelings, though, because RuPaul arrives and delivers one of the most eagerly anticipated challenges of each season: it’s time for the reading challenge.
Several of the reads that the queens delivered were both rapid fire and razor sharp. Nurve delivered with a now-trademark hilarious delivery, Lexi Love delivered a scalding hot read to King involving a brick and Marsha P. Johnson, and Toot was predictably hilarious with each read that she delivered. In the end, Toot ended up taking the win for the Season 17 reading challenge.
The queens were beyond thrilled when they were told that they’d be honoring the legendary fashion icon Betsey Johnson with a design challenge, including three of Johnson’s signature collections serving as their inspiration. The queens would be set up in teams of three, and each team would be assigned to one of Johnson’s signature collections. Toot chose Punk Grunge Flappers (joined by Jewels Sparkles and Lydia B. Kollins), the Prenup Category went to Love, Starr and Arrietty, and Johnson’s Prom ended up with Lana Ja’Rae, King and Nurve. The choosing of teams had some foreshadowing drama as well, with Jewels giving a pick to Lana over her friend in the competition, Arrietty.
The queens dove into their design ideas, with Jewels and Arrietty instantly having ideas that they were able to put to sketchpad. Other queens like Love immediately struggled, with her wanting to truly show her best on this week’s runway. Johnson herself arrived in the Werk Room, where Ru revealed one amazing bit of trivia; Johnson was the first designer to include transgender models in her runway shows. Ru and Johnson met with each team, and some of the girls ended up changing their presentations post-consultation. Initially, King was going to deliver a long gown, but ended up going with a signature short one, while Love gave Jewels a crucial assist on her fabric.
We headed to the Main Stage and RuPaul was joined by Michelle Visage, Carson Kressley and Johnson herself. The runway was packed with ‘80s tinged glamour from queens like Starr and Ja’Rae, while Arrietty delivered a stunning silhouette that has become almost a signature. Bubblegum pink was heavily featured in both Nurve and King’s garments, while Love and Jewels Sparkles delivered true fashion “moments” on this week's runway, straddling the line between staying true to their own aesthetic but delivering signature Johnson inspired looks at the same time.
The judges critiques were delivered; Toot, Lana and Starr were safe, Jewels, Arrietty and Love landed in the top, and Lydia, King and Nurve ended up in the bottom. This challenge marked Sparkles’ first challenge win of the season, with both King and Kollins ending up having to battle it out to a Lip Sync For Your Life to Lita Ford’s ‘80s anthem “Kiss Me Deadly.” The queens battled it out throughout the song, which culminated in an on-stage make-out session between the queens that both the fans, their fellow queens, and the judges all absolutely loved. In the end, King sashayed away, doing so in her trademark humor filled way.
Follow RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 17 on Instagram @rupaulsdragrace.
