Drag Race UK vs the World eliminated queen ‘bothered’ by other queens ‘lying’
The second eliminated queen from season two of Drag Race UK vs The World has revealed why they weren’t happy with some of their fellow castmates.
Warning: spoilers for episode two of Drag Race UK vs The World season two follow.
In episode two of Drag Race UK vs The World, “The Happy Ending Ball”, the ten remaining international queens were tasked with serving three distinct looks, including one made entirely from items found in the werk room.
While Drag Race France icon La Grande Dame placed in the top two for the second week in a row, this time alongside Drag Race Holland star Keta Minaj, it was Drag Race España star Arantxa Castilla-La Mancha who failed to impress.
Her Mean Girls-inspired outfit landed her in the bottom alongside her good friend and fellow Spanish queen, Drag Race UK contestant Choriza May.
Ultimately, La Grande Dame won the top two lip-sync, and decided to send Arantxa Castilla-La Mancha packing.
Speaking exclusively to PinkNews following her elimination, Arantxa explained why she was “bothered” by the four UK queens in the cast, and opened up about returning to the contest as an out and proud trans woman.
At the beginning of episode two, UK queens Tia Kofi, Choriza May, Jonbers Blonde and Gothy Kendoll continued conspiring to have an alliance between them – suggesting that if one of them lands in the bottom during a challenge while another is in the top, the UK queens would automatically save each other.
The alliance was quickly exposed by Hannah Conda, who spotted the group plotting, while later, when Michelle Visage asked whether the UK queens would be teaming up, Jonbers and Choriza said they would be – much to the shock of the rest of the werk room.
Despite their clear allegiance, the four UK queens continued to deny that they were working together to ensure none of them would be sent home. For Arantxa, the denials were frustrating to hear.
“I don’t know why the UK queens kept trying to lie to us and say there was no alliance. We all knew about it,” she told PinkNews.
“It’s called UK vs The World – of course the UK queens are going to do an alliance. But what bothered me was the fact that they were lying about it. Don’t lie! Don’t hide it! We all know about it. I’m not going to be mad.”
While Arantxa didn’t last too long during the current season, she’s proud to have return to the competition as her true self, as a trans woman.
“It is very emotional to talk about my transition and my process on Drag Race because Drag Race was the first place that I realised that I needed to transition,” she shared.
“When I was on the first season of Drag Race España [in 2021] there was one day back stage where I didn’t understand why I felt so bad about myself. I kept crying, I kept having anxiety. I kept looking in the mirror wanting to throw up.”
One day, while filming, Arantxa admitted that she “broke down” and came out as trans to her Drag Race España sister Killer Queen.
“Being back on Drag Race this time, at this level, with these cast mates and just being fully open about being a woman – it made me so happy.”
RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs The World continues on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer every Friday at 9pm GMT.
