Alexis Michelle reflects on awkward Tamar Braxton moment from Drag Race season 9
Put ‘Well, Tamar, have you ever watched the show?’ on my gravestone. (YouTube/RuPaul’s Drag Race)
RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 8 queen Alexis Michelle has spilled some backstage tea about one of the most memorable moments from her original stint on the show in season nine.
Alexis excelled throughout the competition with frankly terrifyingly accurate impersonations of Liza Minnelli during the fan favourite Snatch Game, and as Kris Jenner in the Kardashian Rusical challenge.
While the judges and her fellow cast mates felt that she was frequently let down by her lacklustre runway offerings, it was her performance in one particular challenge that bombed the most spectacularly.
During episode eight’s The Michelle Visage Roast challenge, the queens were tasked with hilariously tearing down RuPaul’s wing woman. Sadly for Alexis, however, the majority of her jabs fell flat.
In addition, the fact that she headed to the stage painted green from head to toe, left guest judge Tamar Braxton a little confused.
“My question the whole entire time is ‘why is she green?’,” Braxton questioned, before Alexis unleashed one of the show’s most infamous comebacks: “Well, Tamar, have you ever watched the show?”
Cut to a visibly taken aback Braxton sister.
Most Drag Race fans knew the reason why Alexis was green was because Michelle, who the contestants were meant to ribbing, despises the colour.
The awkward moment still resurfaces in Drag Race social media circles from time to time, and ahead of her ruturn on All Stars 8, Alexis has recalled why she said what she said, and how Tamar really responded.
“Clearly it was such a knee-jerk reaction from me. I did not think that all the way through,” Alexis told Entertainment Weekly when reflecting on the uncomfortable moment.
“But it was just like, I knew at that point I was going to have to lip sync for my life. One thing I can say about my experience in showbiz is you know when you bomb. I was like: ‘Girl, you bombed.’
“I think I was just in defence, fight or flight mode. When she said that, I was like: ‘Come on, girl! Of all the things that went wrong today, at least give me credit for showing up to Michelle’s function in spirit!'”
While fans only got to see Tamar seemingly fuming at Alexis’s remark, the queen has now revealed that her response was in reality, a little different.
“I’ll tell you a little something, a little behind the scenes,” Alexis shared. “When cameras went down, she looked over to me and was like, ‘I’m so sorry!’
“I was like: ‘Namaste.’ I live for her. We had a sweet moment.”
Despite the mishap, Alexis Michelle still managed to wrangle a place in the season nine top five, and fans have long since called for her to make a Drag Race comeback.
She’ll be joining the likes of fellow alumni Heidi N Closet, Jimbo, Kandy Muse, and Jaymes Mansfield in the all new All Stars 8 season, which premieres Friday 12 May on Paramount+ in the US and on WOW Presents Plus in the UK and internationally.
