Liza Minnelli to guest star in RuPaul’s Drag Race season 17 finale

Living legend Liza Minnelli is set to appear during the season finale of RuPaul’s Drag Race, season 17, and will be honoured with the show’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

It’s Liza! No, literally.

Though the musical theatre legend has been portrayed by multiple queens on various spinoffs of the Drag Race franchise, including three separate Snatch Game performances by Alexis Michelle, Scarlett BoBo and Hannah Conda, Liza Minnelli has never herself appeared on the show – until now.

Announced today, Liza will appear during season 17’s finale to accept the ‘Giving Us Lifetime Achievement Award’ from RuPaul herself.

The accolade recognises those with an indelible mark on drag, fashion, and the LGBTQ+ community – so who better than the Cabaret star to receive it?

It’s Liza with a Z! 💋

Mama @RuPaul will present the legendary Liza Minnelli with the Giving Us Lifetime Achievement Award at the #DragRace Season 17 finale ✨ pic.twitter.com/rIVJpnzGVR

— RuPaul's Drag Race (@RuPaulsDragRace) April 1, 2025

Previous recipients of the RuPaul’s Drag Race Lifetime Achievement Award include iconic designer Bob Mackie at the season 15 finale, and Cassandra Peterson, better known as Elvira, the following year.

Liza has already addressed a message to RuPaul thanking her for the experience – indicating that the finale (and possibly several crownings) have already been filmed.

“Sending sweet, gorgeous Mama [RuPaul] kisses from head to toe! Honey, I had so much fun with you and your entire tribe. Thank you for my Giving Us Lifetime Achievement Award on [RuPaul’s Drag Race] – and should you invite me to return, I wanna be a frickin’ judge, with a huge hammer! *BANG* *BANG*,” she wrote.

Four-time Tony Award winner Minnelli recently returned to theatre to produce All Stars winner Alaska’s off-Broadway musical Drag: The Musical.

Season 17 is fast reaching its climax, with the most recent episode featuring a Makeover Challenge in which RuPaul granted the first double shantay (save) of the season between Jewels Sparkles and frontrunner Onya Nurve.

Suzie Toot, Lexi Love and challenge winner Sam Star round out the fierce top five, with next episode promising to eliminate “at least one” of the quintet before the finale.

Last year’s finale featured a top three, each with their own bespoke performance before a final lip-sync battle between Sapphira Cristál and eventual winner Nymphia Wind – but the year prior took four of its competitors to the end, so it’s anyone’s guess as to how the rest of the season will unfold

New episodes of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 17 air on Fridays on MTV in the US and WOWPresents Plus internationally.

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