{"id":478890,"date":"2026-06-06T05:55:28","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T05:55:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/478890\/"},"modified":"2026-06-06T05:55:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T05:55:28","slug":"rupauls-drag-race-all-stars-11-proves-even-fan-favourites-arent-immune-to-backlash-in-its-second-bracket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/478890\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race All Stars 11\u2019 proves even fan favourites aren\u2019t immune to backlash in its second bracket"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s rare that, nearly two decades into its existence, RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race can truly shock me. I\u2019ve seen a frontrunner sacrifice herself<\/a> with a self-elimination. I\u2019ve seen nearly the entire cast of a season bomb Snatch Game<\/a>. I\u2019ve seen a former host compete in an international season and storm it, only to be sent home in a blindside<\/a>. I\u2019ve seen whatever the hell Down Under Season 1<\/a> was.<\/p>\n

So I don\u2019t mean it lightly when I say that RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race All Stars 11 has managed to genuinely surprise me in a way I could\u2019ve never expected: it has made some fans suspect the season is being rigged for Crystal Methyd.<\/p>\n

Yes, that Crystal Methyd, the fan favourite from the beloved Season 12. The queen who, until Anetra<\/a> came along, had the most popular #Team post<\/a> on Drag Race\u2019s Instagram ever. The quirky underdog who didn\u2019t win a challenge until Final 6 on her season. That Crystal is the one that some fans\u2014not all, but a vocal group\u2014 suspect is being pushed toward the crown, much like they feel Ginger Minj was<\/a> in All Stars 10.<\/p>\n

\u201cCrystal Methyd is the new Ginger Minj,\u201d <\/a>one YouTube video title reads, making that comparison explicit. \u201cCrystal Methyd is getting a winner edit,\u201d<\/a> says another, with the word \u201cpredictable\u201d in the thumbnail. This sentiment didn\u2019t even wait for multiple episodes to air\u2014accusations started flying after the very first episode of the bracket, when Crystal and her duet partner Aura Mayari won the duets challenge. The decision to judge in pairs when there was a queen in another group who was arguably among the best (more on her in a second), plus the extensive stage setup that Aura and Crystal got for their number, had some viewers looking askance at Crystal\u2019s win in particular.<\/p>\n

The fact that this is happening to Crystal of all people, whose appearance in this cast was the best-received by a mile<\/a>\u2014only Dawn managed even half Crystal\u2019s likes on her announcement post<\/a>\u2014speaks to a bigger problem with Drag Race in its current incarnation. It\u2019s not about anything Crystal has done; she\u2019s an elevated version of herself from Season 12, sure, but she\u2019s still distinctly Crystal.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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No, what this backlash speaks to is that even fan favourites aren\u2019t immune to backlash\u2014and that\u2019s because the contract of trust between Drag Race production and its fans has been almost completely broken.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The six queens of the pink bracket turned in one of the most enjoyable groups of episodes in the Tournament of All Stars so far Credit: Courtesy Paramount+<\/p>\n

In order to understand how we got here, we need to understand how fans\u2019 relationship with Drag Race production has deteriorated so significantly. So indulge me, if you will, in a tangent\u2014a trip through time back to 2016.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the thing: seasons have been angled in favour of certain queens for years. All Stars 2 is considered one of the best seasons of all time, and yet there was little doubt that Season 5 fave Alaska would be crowned by the end. In fact, this is true of most All Stars seasons. (I would argue only All Stars 3, All Stars 6 and All Stars 9 had surprising champions\u2014though the tie in All Stars 4 was, of course, not something we\u2019ve ever seen before or since.) And sure, there was a bit of annoyance that the true fan favourite that season, Katya, didn\u2019t get the win.<\/p>\n

But by and large, Alaska was seen as deserving of the title, and there was little dispute of any of her wins during the season. (Even though, looking back, that branding challenge win<\/a> was a little iffy.) Fans still liked Alaska, and the show had made an effective case that she was the right queen to win it all. The prevailing sentiment from the fandom about her win was not one of skepticism, but one of celebration at best and acceptance at worst.<\/p>\n

This is because, circa All Stars 2, the contract of trust between the show and its fans was still intact. A decade ago, Drag Race was just starting to break out of niche success. All Stars 2 was the first season to be simulcast on VH1, with Season 9 moving to the channel full-time the next year. Greater Emmy recognition started rolling in, with RuPaul winning his first \u201cOutstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program\u201d prize in September 2016. Fans who had been around for a while appreciated the increased attention to their favourite program, while new fans eagerly binged previous seasons. Vibes were good! The overwhelming feeling was gratitude for the show\u2019s existence, particularly as American fans mourned the first election of Donald Trump later that year. The show was a comfort, not something to be scrutinized.<\/p>\n

\"Salina<\/p>\n

Salina EsTitties came back for All Stars with a major glow-up, but she couldn\u2019t quite translate that into a spot in the semifinals Credit: Courtesy Paramount+<\/p>\n

But with more success comes more criticism, and we first saw the dam start to show cracks as All Stars 3 aired. RuPaul gave a disastrous interview<\/a> to The Guardian in which he expressed skepticism about trans queens competing on the show. Fans and queens alike openly revolted against the host\u2019s comments, and he wound up having to apologize on Twitter. (Infamously, he tweeted<\/a> artist Ellsworth Kelly\u2019s Train Landscape<\/a> painting with the apology, making folks think he mistakenly posted a \u201ctrains flag\u201d instead of a \u201ctrans flag.\u201d Maybe this was nine-years-early, stealth Stop! That! Train! promo?)<\/p>\n

The apology settled the waters somewhat, but the damage was done. Some fans were growing increasingly skeptical of the show\u2019s motives, and the treatment of The Vixen<\/a> in the subsequent Season 10 only furthered that feeling. It largely continued through the next couple seasons, with choices like the tie in All Stars 4 and the negative editing of queens like Ra\u2019Jah O\u2019Hara and Silky Nutmeg Ganache in Season 11 upsetting more and more viewers.<\/p>\n

Funnily enough, considering that Crystal is the queen in question here, her original season was the one that repaired that broken trust for a time. Much like Drag Race was a salve in the wake of Trump\u2019s election, Season 12 was a lifeline to people stuck indoors during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Another new influx of viewers joined the fandom, and feelings sweetened for a time. Sure, Shea Coule\u00e9\u2019s victory in All Stars 5 seemed preordained, and folks were sad for Jujubee, but who could really hate on Shea finally getting a crown? The fans were, by and large, so happy to have more Drag Race that questioning its motives was once again out of vogue.<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t take long for things to change again, though\u2014just two years later. All Stars 7, the first (and so far, only) all-winners edition of the series, brought about new levels of fan skepticism. \u201cThe three-star twist was only implemented to get Shea to the finale!\u201d \u201cJinkx Monsoon is being too heavily favoured!\u201d \u201cRaja is getting robbed at every turn!\u201d The finale<\/a>, a masterclass in hackneyed editing to achieve a desired result, was the last straw for many. With the queens themselves so aggrieved by the season that they filmed<\/a> (and later shelved<\/a>) an unauthorized reunion, fans felt emboldened to call out production more and more.<\/p>\n

There was no unifying event in the offing to rebuild trust between the show and its fans. Things have only devolved since then. When you\u2019ve got a living legend like Sasha Colby<\/a> stomping the competition, and fans are questioning if the show is rigged for her, you know the trust is gone. Ginger\u2019s glide path to victory last season was scoffed at not just by fans, but queens on and off the show. And I would say Jane Don\u2019t\u2019s absurd elimination in Season 18<\/a> was emblematic of just how far off the rails things have gone: the show isn\u2019t even bothering to try and disguise its production manipulations anymore, because they know the fans will be skeptical anyway.<\/p>\n

\"Silky<\/p>\n

Silky Nutmeg Ganache\u2019s last-minute deal-making puts her in the semifinals, with Salina EsTitties left in the cold Credit: Courtesy Paramount+<\/p>\n

That brings us back to All Stars 11 and this second bracket. Crystal did great in the first two episodes, and a few years ago that would\u2019ve been happily accepted by the fandom. But instead, some viewers are looking for any evidence of favouritism of her\u2014particularly in light of one queen\u2019s overperformance being ignored in the first two installments of the bracket. That queen is \u2026 Season 15\u2019s Salina EsTitties?<\/p>\n

Unlike Crystal, Salina did not come into this season as a fan favourite. (Her announcement post<\/a> only outperformed Mystique Summers, Aura Mayari and Hershii LiqCour-Jet\u00e9, meaning she ranked 15th of 18 total queens. Ouch.) I enjoyed Salina in Season 15, but she was pretty clearly outclassed by the final four of that season, which included both Sasha and Anetra, plus Mistress Isabelle Brooks and Luxx Noir London. Her off-show rant<\/a> about Ross Mathews, while admittedly kinda funny, also left it in question as to whether she\u2019d ever be allowed on the show again. Queens have been blacklisted for less!<\/p>\n

So it\u2019s been a surprise and a delight to see Salina really show up and show out in this bracket. She was one of the best performers in the duets challenge, up there with Aura and Silky. (I\u2019d personally have put her in the top two over Crystal.) She had a great how-to video in the second episode of the bracket, but Silky was rewarded for what felt like an inferior version of a similar concept. Her runway looks have demonstrated significant growth since Season 15, and she\u2019s been a much more natural, enjoyable presence in confessionals. In other words, she has experienced the archetypal \u201cAll Stars glow-up,\u201d but without any wins to show for it.<\/p>\n

That is, until the final episode of the bracket! After the episode began with Salina tearing up over her lack of wins, I had a good feeling about her chances. While I wouldn\u2019t naturally think of Salina as the strongest contender in a makeover, the proof was in the pudding: she recreated her beat nearly perfectly on her partner, a gay daddy, and their outfits were crazy stylish. The final episode was particularly satisfying because not only did Salina win, but fellow underdog Vivacious did as well. Overall, five of the six queens in this bracket won challenges, which makes things much more competitive\u2014especially considering how tight the math is<\/a> this season.<\/p>\n

\"Crystal<\/p>\n

Crystal Methyd advances to the semifinals\u2014but it\u2019s a much closer call than you would\u2019ve expected at the start of her bracket Credit: Courtesy Paramount+<\/p>\n

However, despite her newfound competitive prowess, Salina\u2019s wheeling-and-dealing strategy when it came to the Most Valuable Queen (MVQ) points bit her in the ass. Her alliance with Aura failed to materialize in any points for her in the first two episodes, and her \u201cTres Leches\u201d alliance with Crystal and April Carri\u00f3n never quite solidified. Even though she got a pinky promise from Aura for her final MVQ point, Silky\u2019s last-minute deal with Aura swayed Salina\u2019s Season 15 sister. Silky and Crystal both scrounged up enough support to get six total MVQ points\u2014with even April giving hers to Crystal instead of Salina\u2014leaving Salina with five and just barely missing the merge. It\u2019s a bummer to see Salina not make it; I think her work this season made her worthy. Maybe she can be the wildcard pick\u2014though she\u2019s already got stiff competition there with Morgan McMichaels likely in the mix.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, I think this final points shakeup is what the show needed to take some heat off of Crystal. Her not winning all three challenges\u2014and in fact, getting mostly negative critiques this time\u2014keeps her from feeling like a Ginger-esque inevitability for the crown. Meanwhile, Silky\u2019s strategic play will likely attract more critiques from the fans; it\u2019s unfortunate for Silky, but I don\u2019t think she\u2019s getting much of a winner\u2019s edit anyway. If the show really is trying to push Crystal to a win as some fans suspect, this all makes it a lot less contentious.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think it solves the problem at its core, though. Even if this calms down the speculation about Crystal favouritism, the trust between the show and its fans is still broken. Conversation around the show, especially All Stars, is becoming more and more sparse. While it\u2019s hard to imagine a titanic franchise like Drag Race ever fully going away, I do think it needs to get the fanbase back on board to build a sustainable future.<\/p>\n

My advice to Drag Race: stop moving with such a heavy hand sometimes, because it only will convince your audience you\u2019re doing it always. Every instance of clear production manipulation only makes fans more skeptical of production\u2019s overall approach. Crystal\u2019s should be a cautionary tale: it doesn\u2019t matter if the queen receiving perceived favourable treatment is beloved by fans. The skepticism overrules the positive feelings for the queen.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The truth is that Drag Race is reality TV, and producing is a necessary tool to make the best possible show. Much as some fans might think otherwise, you can\u2019t just put up cameras and let the queens do their thing to make a successful program. There\u2019s so much more involved in that. But right now, the scale seems tipped too far in the other direction for the fandom to tolerate. And it will take time for that contract of trust between production and fans to be mended again. It doesn\u2019t seem like All Stars 11 will be the season to start that healing; here\u2019s to Season 19 to, hopefully, get things moving in the right direction again.<\/p>\n