Lana Ja'Rae's “RuPaul's Drag Race” Season 17 journey was truly filled with tremendous highs (her performance in the Villains Roast) and some lows (yes, we talked about Snatch Game).
Ja’Rae has departed the competition following a stunning lip sync against Sam Star, but this dynamic Big Apple baby has big dreams of high fashion runways in her future. We sat down to talk about her “Drag Race” experience, the skill she discovered that she wants to pursue, and what she has learned about drag and about herself through this experience.
How does it feel to have gone through the “RuPaul's Drag Race” Season 17 experience and had such a remarkable run?
It honestly has been a dream come true. I wouldn't change it for the world. It has been harder than I thought, a lot of lows in it, but the highs were so high; I wouldn't ever have thought of reaching the highs that I have. The people that I've touched, the story I've been able to share, the things that I've learned and the ways I've been able to grow, I wouldn't change the experience for the world.
If there is one word to describe your experience, I would definitely call you "scrappy." No matter the obstacle put in front of you, be it a critique, a lip sync, or your own inner saboteur, you came back every time stronger than ever, sometimes surprising both your competitors and yourself. You really excelled at some challenges, the roast in particular, that I don't think you thought you would do as well as you did at.
At ALL, I gagged myself! I did not think that I was capable of doing that and I think “Drag Race” is a place that shows you that you can do things that even you didn't think that you could. I feel like I've learned so much more about my drag and what I am capable of doing. I am more than just a look or a person that can perform, I am also funny, which was the biggest shock to me.
What do you think is one thing that you learned that you can do but now you want to do so much more of it?
Comedy, comedy for sure! When I was up there for the roast, standing on stage talking and seeing people smile is probably the most rewarding thing in the world because I just want people to smile and be happy. To see that I could tell a joke and that it would bring smiles to people's faces and laughter, that is the best feeling in the world.
Your drag mother Luxx Noir London is very poised and precise and while we did see so many similarities between the two of you initially, we also got to see the differences as well.
The thing is, I am like that outside of drag. I just love to have a good time and I am down to clown. In drag I really was focused on trying to be the "poised" that Luxx was and I realized that it just wasn't me. Being on “Drag Race” I had to knock that down and realize that I can blend the silliness and goofiness that I am outside of drag with who I am in drag and that is just the perfect mixture.
It's been said many times that “Drag Race” is like going to the military, they break you down to build you back up.
They do and that is the perfect way to describe my journey on “Drag Race” I feel. I was literally broken down to be rebuilt into the Lana that I am today and I am so thankful for it.
What are your high and low from your “Drag Race” journey?
My high is probably the roast for sure. My low is probably Snatch Game. That was just so hard, the challenge, the way I went through the challenge and having to lip sync against Crystal [Envy], someone that I love so much … I was like, "Nothing can be worse than this."
RuPaul saying the famed line: "Is the bus still running?" and as a result, totally throwing you off of your own game during Snatch Game really showed how it is crucial during the competition to have the ability to quickly pivot.
I should have kept my cards close to my chest because I was running around the Werk Room screaming that to everybody, like, "I am gonna say this, RuPaul's gonna love this!"
Bob the Drag Queen and Monét X Change spoke about your Snatch Game performance on the Sibling Rivalry podcast and mentioned that you should have immediately come out and gone down to the first seat in the front of the Snatch Game panel and refused to move, in a nod to Rosa Parks herself.
I know! I heard that, and I thought, "That would have been the moment!" Now I know though, and this does sound crazy to say: I feel like I was so careful on “Drag Race” because I didn't want to upset anybody or be disrespectful. There is no way that you can be really disrespectful on “Drag Race,” I was afraid to take chances because I didn't want to get yelled at, in trouble, or "sent to the principal's office." It was like, "Let me just be well-behaved and not out of the box or crazy;" because I was scared to. Now I know that they want to see that; they want to see you take chances, make mistakes and do things out of the ordinary.
For a queen coming into “Drag Race” from a prominent or high profile drag family, it can sometimes set expectations that may be hard for that queen to fulfill. Was that your experience?
It was so hard. Luxx is also so confident, and I am obsessed with her confidence I wish everybody would have the confidence that she has; it is so beautiful. I have never been able to carry myself in that way in life. I always used to view myself as someone who is the worst in the room. So I had to always push myself to grow and I never carried myself with that kind of confidence and I feel like they expected that from me because I am her daughter, but Luxx and I are two different people. They were very right though, that I should start carrying myself that way or at least carrying an ounce of her confidence. I should be confident in the things that I do, there is nothing wrong with that.
When she's not on stage and "on," Luxx can be very quiet and thoughtful, is that the way you are as well?
Yes! She's very quiet, we both are honestly. When I'm not in drag or around people, I tend to be to myself. Even my roommates get annoyed when I come back from traveling and I am just locked in my room recharging. Drag is a lot and it is very socially taxing. As someone who is a former extrovert turned introvert because of COVID, I need time to myself sometimes and I like being alone; drag is also the opposite of that.
Your final lip sync against Sam Star was absolutely scorching and so many fans had no idea who was truly going to be going home! Have you always been the type of performer who just leaves it all on the floor every time you step on the stage?
Oh, yes absolutely! I love performing and I am such a performer. I will never forget the first time that I saw a drag show, watching a drag queen perform, the way that changed my life and made me want to do drag. I feel like every time I step out on that stage there is always going to be someone watching drag for the first time and I could be that person that changes their life and makes them want to do drag. Every time I step out there, I step out there like it's my last time. Especially in today's society, you don't know if it is going to be the last time you step out on stage and perform. I want to make sure that I take advantage of every stage that I step onto.
There is something so beautiful in just leaving in all out on the stage because everyone deserves 100% in the performance regardless of whether it's your first show or your seventh show that night. I feel like in that moment, I knew that it would be my last moment on “Drag Race” so I was like, "Let me leave it all on the stage and don't let them second guess how grateful how thankful and grateful I am for the experience." I didn't want to take it for granted.
What's next for you post “RuPaul’s Drag Race?”
I want to really break into the fashion world. I don't feel like there has been a black drag queen that has devoured the fashion world yet and I really want to be that person. I think it would be a huge slap in the face to everyone that has been commenting on my body or me not being able to do certain things, I think it would be a huge way to get the last laugh. I've also been obsessed with fashion my entire life so I would love to do to that. I want to go any and everywhere, I want to see all of my supporters, all of the people that support me. It's crazy to think that I have touched so many people's lives and I don't know them, I just need to meet all of them, see them and thank them for changing my life!
What's the best piece of advice that you ever received?
RuPaul telling me to believe in myself. I never believed in myself before “Drag Race” and I often faked it until I made it. I was the person who seemed very confident, but I never thought that I could or should be doing the things that I had been doing. Even on “Drag Race” and being the only New York City girl. I still thought, "I don't deserve this opportunity over other people, it's not fair for me to be here and them not." RuPaul saying to me, "Girl, believe in yourself," was like my idol, my icon and my legend telling me to believe in myself – bitch believe in yourself! I deserve everything that is coming my way, I worked for everything coming my way, and I should be able to live in it without second guessing.
Follow Lana Ja'Rae on Instagram @lanajarae
