{"id":148695,"date":"2026-03-01T00:05:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T00:05:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/148695\/"},"modified":"2026-03-01T00:05:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T00:05:15","slug":"drag-race-queen-athena-dion-devastated-by-juicy-love-dion-lip-sync","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/148695\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Drag Race’ queen Athena Dion devastated by Juicy Love Dion lip-sync"},"content":{"rendered":"

Not since Jujubee<\/a> and Raven’s deeply moving, tear-filled All Stars 1 lip-sync<\/a> has RuPaul’s Drag Race<\/a> mounted such a motherquake of emotions during a Main Stage face-off.\n<\/p>\n

After the judges placed them in the bottom two, Friday night’s installment saw international Miami-Greece drag superstar Athena Dion<\/a> duke it out against her granddaugther, dancing diva Juicy Love Dion<\/a>, in a lip-sync gauntlet to “Call Me When You Break Up” by Selena Gomez, Gracie Abrams, and guest judge Benny Blanco.\n<\/p>\n

The moment ended with Athena taking a knee, letting her beloved drag grandchild sit on her lap as they both burst into tears while Athena mouthed the song’s symbolic lyrics, “You know I’m always here so don’t ever be a stranger.”\n<\/p>\n

Athena Dion and Juicy Love Dion lip-sync in emotional ‘Drag Race’ season 18 elimination.<\/p>\n

MTV<\/p>\n

The moment left the entire cast in tears, with Athena ultimately sashaying away from the competition \u2014 but her impact lingering in the hearts of fans (and Juicy) forever.\n<\/p>\n

Now, after the painful on-set moment, Athena reacts to the devastating lip-sync in her Entertainment Weekly exit interview. She also reacts to Pit Stop host Bianca Del Rio<\/a> shading her on episodes of the recap show, her drag daughter Plane Jane<\/a>‘s (alleged) jokes about the star quality of season 18<\/a>, and why she wanted to “fall on the sword” for Juicy in the heat of her Drag Race elimination.<\/p>\n

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You wore many eyes in the Werk Room. In hindsight, who were your ops?\n<\/p>\n

You have to know all eyes will be on you. I tried diverting energy back to them, and kept my eyes on the prize to ward off jealousy, negativity, or wishes of downfall.\n<\/p>\n

You can just say Briar Blush<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

She didn\u2019t last long enough, so\u2026 [Laughs]\n<\/p>\n

Last week, Snatch Game drew pointed reactions from fans, many of whom said that original characters like yours, Greta, should be banned. Where do you stand on that?\n<\/p>\n

I love these professional Snatch Game impersonators chiming in to tell me what I should\u2019ve done. I didn\u2019t know everybody was so proficient in Snatch Game. Unless you\u2019re there, shut the f— up. Actually? Don\u2019t. Because I love the interaction and engagement. I\u2019m glad it stirred reaction. I went on Drag Race to be memorable, and I achieved that. When RuPaul looks you dead in the eye and tells you he doesn\u2019t like the character and to do something Greek, you better pull out the souvlaki and tzatziki.\n<\/p>\n

Your drag relative, Plane Jane, said in a recent interview that she didn\u2019t see star quality on season 18, and that she was underwhelmed by the cast. You replied, telling her she was \u201cdisowned.\u201d She said she was just joking. Do you believe she was joking?\n<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think anybody should ever take anything Plane Jane says as serious. I don\u2019t think she ever knows what she\u2019s talking about. If there\u2019s anybody who made a career off shock value, it\u2019s Plane Jane. She keeps people talking. That\u2019s a Dion family trait I have to commend her for. There are obviously stars on the show because, hello, I\u2019m a star, and I\u2019m on the show. And literal Starrs: Vita<\/a> and Mia<\/a>. The funny thing about Plane is she was dragged, that quote got her in so much hot water. She said it off the cuff, but I don\u2019t think the season 18 girlies were too happy to see that.\n<\/p>\n

Bianca Del Rio also had a lot to say on Pit Stop. She came for you early. Is there history with you two? It almost seems flirtatious!\n<\/p>\n

Every time she talks about me, I get really hot. It turns me on. Somebody that has this much feeling about me? Throw me down in the bedroom and call me Sally. It\u2019s sexy to me. We\u2019ve worked together twice before. I\u2019m trying to remember, did I take her mirror by accident? Did I borrow something and not give it back? I wonder what sparked this. We were getting along just fine! I\u2019ve been the object of her affection all season. I watch Pit Stop, but I hold my finger on the screen to fast-forward until she talks about me. She caused me to watch Pit Stop more. Otherwise, I don\u2019t think I\u2019d watch.\n<\/p>\n

Have you heard from her?\n<\/p>\n

I tag her all the time. I ask if she wants to take me out. I want to know what she likes to do on the weekends. I\u2019m looking to build on this relationship, because there\u2019s obviously something there. There\u2019s chemistry. I spark something within her. I want to explore that further. If she\u2019s willing to give it a go, babe, I\u2019m here for you! I\u2019m totally open!\n<\/p>\n

A formal date request?\n<\/p>\n

Yeah. I think she needs to put all that energy in the right place, and I have the spot right here, ready for her.\n<\/p>\n

Back to the lip-sync against Juicy, were you surprised that it ended up being you two in the bottom, or did you expect that, as fans predicted?\n<\/p>\n

We got the call [to do Drag Race] within minutes of each other. I got it first, so I had five minutes to relish in it, then the harsh reality of Juicy getting the call. I was excited, but I immediately felt this weight of, we\u2019re going against each other in the biggest competition in the world. We always had this looming idea of whether or not we\u2019re lip-syncing against each other, both of us aren\u2019t going to win.\n<\/p>\n

Somehow, the drag gods put us into that final lip-sync. There\u2019s no one else in the cast that I would\u2019ve let or preferred to send me home. If I had to choose, I know everybody would say anybody but Juicy; I\u2019d say Juicy or no one. I wouldn\u2019t want to go home by any of those girls. I\u2019d want Juicy to be the one to send me home.\n<\/p>\n

Athena Dion eliminated from ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ season 18.<\/p>\n

MTV<\/p>\n

When you sat down and let Juicy sit on your lap, was that you accepting that you were eliminated? Did you let Juicy win?\n<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u201d isn\u2019t the word I\u2019d use. I didn\u2019t want to go home. I\u2019ve always been a lap for her, a shoulder for her, a steppingstone for her. We\u2019re at two different parts of our career. I walked into that show as a drag superstar. Juicy came in as a green queen searching for who she is\u2026. This was an opportunity to fall on the sword and let her climb up farther, because I felt like I could do it [for her]. This isn\u2019t me saying that I let her win, it was a maternal instinct, soulmate reaction.\n<\/p>\n

To clarify, when you say \u201cfall on the sword,\u201d you were wrapped up in the emotion, and felt compelled and wanted to fall on the sword for Juicy?\n<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think there\u2019s ever a moment where I\u2019d want to defeat Juicy. I don\u2019t think she wanted to, either. That\u2019s why we ended in an embrace. It\u2019s so symbolic. It\u2019s like, nobody\u2019s winning here, because we\u2019re losing the other one. Going into the competition, I had two opportunities to win. I didn\u2019t look at it as me or her. One of us wins, the other one wins. It was more like, \u201cGo finish this \u2014 for us.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.\n<\/p>\n

Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our\u00a0EW Dispatch newsletter<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n