Drag Race fan favourite ‘would have’ done All Stars 9 – but wasn’t asked

A RuPaul’s Drag Race fan-favourite queen says she wasn’t asked back for All Stars 9, despite the fact she was keen to take part.

All Stars 9, which premiered on 17 May, features a small cast who’ll be playing for charity, including the likes of Shannel and Nina West, but season eight star Kim Chi isn’t among them. 

In an interview with People, Kim, who launched her beauty brand, KimChi Chic, in 2022, opened up about not getting an invite for the latest series, despite previously being asked about a return.

“What’s really funny is that they’ve asked me back to be on every season of All Stars, and this season is the only [time] they didn’t ask me”, she revealed.

“I think I would have done it,” the queen added.

Despite not being asked to feature, Kim said she is backing her “IRL [in-real-life friends]”, Plastique Tiara and Roxxxy Andrews to win the series, which premiered last week.

The Drag Race star also praised fellow competitors, Sasha Colby and Nymphia Wind for being the first Hawaiian and first East Asian queens respectively to be crowned, boosting the celebration of their cultures globally.  

“It’s amazing. It had become a joke in the Drag Race community for the longest time that Asian queens got eliminated early on,” Kim said.

“To see people not from the Asian community celebrate them and their culture, we’re looking at a different decade now.”

Following her recent success, season 16 winner Nymphia went on to perform in front of Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen, shortly before the pro-LGBTQ+ politician left office.

Nymphia performed Lady Gaga’s “Marry the Night”, and Taiwanese singer Huang Fei’s “Chase, Chase, Chase,” according to Reuters.

“This is probably the first presidential office in the world to host a drag show,” Nymphia noted following the event.

RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 9 airs on Fridays on Paramount+ in the US and WOW Presents Plus in the UK and internationally.