RuPaul’s Drag Race winner says she has been ‘persistent’ in trying to host The Pit Stop

RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Angeria Paris VanMicheals has staked her claim as a future host of the show’s official aftershow The Pit Stop, revealing that she has been “pretty persistent” in trying to get the coveted gig.

Speaking to PinkNews, Drag Race season 14 finalist and All Stars 9 winner Angeria confirmed that she has contacted the MTV production team behind The Pit Stop about hosting the spin-off show in the future.

The Pit Stop, which began 10 years ago in 2016, is a YouTube series hosted each season by a different fan favourite Drag Race star. Each week, the host is joined by a fellow alumni of the reality series to discuss the events of that week’s episode. Bianca Del Rio, winner of Drag Race season six, is hosting the show for season 18; it’s her third time hosting overall.

Former hosts of The Pit Stop have included Trixie Mattel, Alaska and Monét X Change, all of whom are deemed fan favourites in the Drag Race universe.

Angeria, who is known among the show’s fans for watching every iteration of Drag Race in the world-spanning franchise, has long been anticipated to take on the role, given her encyclopedic drag knowledge. To date, that hasn’t happened.

“They have not reached out to me, but I have reached out to them,” Angeria said of contacting the team behind The Pit Stop. “I’m trying to get my foot in the door because that’s one of my goals. I’m thankful that a lot of the fan base thinks that I’d be a great choice for the job and I agree.

“I love [Drag Race] more than anything,” she continued. “This is my favourite show. I’ve been watching since season one and I know all about it. I’m the Rucyclopedia, as I call myself. I am the RuGirl that is a super fan as well, and who better to talk about it [than] someone who gets into the show the way that I do?”

Angeria, who is currently promoting the Oscar-shortlisted AIDS documentary Cashing Out – on which she is an executive producer – added that she would “jump at the chance” if she were offered the role in future.

“I’ve been pretty persistent in pursuing it and we gotta keep pursuing it. I believe that it will happen. I am manifesting that it will happen. It’s OK [that] it’s not happening right now, but that does not mean that it won’t.”

Considering her reputation as one of Drag Race’s most erudite contestants, Angeria Paris VanMicheals also revealed which queens are her picks for the crown, both on season 18, and on the upcoming third season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs The World.

“I am rooting for two people specifically and one of them is Vita VonTesse Starr. We’ve been friends for the past 10 years and we basically started drag together,” she shared of the season 18 competitor.

“Aside from her I think the other person that I’m just completely obsessed with at the moment is Nini Coco. I met her and worked with her once before this season too and they are both just killing it.”

Both Vita VonTesse Star and Nini Coco placed in the top two of season 18’s first challenge, which was a garment design task using unconventional materials.

“I don’t even think you’ve seen the extent of it,” Angeria added of Vita’s sewing abilities.

“Wait ’til you see what she can do with fabric and materials that she works with on a regular basis. Vita got popular in the south basically because she was recreating celebrity looks from like Cardi B [to] Beyoncé and Janelle Monáe and posting them on social media. All the looks would go viral. I’m telling you she is a beast with a sewing machine.”

As far as Drag Race UK vs The World goes, Angeria is rooting for her American sister Mariah Paris Balenciaga, plus Drag Race Sverige finalist Fontana.

“Home team and also my auntie. We are in the same drag family,” Angeria said of her relationship with Mariah.

“I really liked Fontana on her original season and I just think RuPaul is going to love her. We have seen RuPaul’s reaction to entertainers like Fontana who are just very born for drag, as she likes to say. I think that she’s going to have that same reaction when she meets Fontana.

“She’s so fun and energetic and brings the personality to TV,” she added. “So I think she’s going to be somebody that they need to keep their eye on.”

RuPaul’s Drag Race season 18 continues on Fridays on MTV in the US and Saturdays on WOW Presents Plus internationally.

RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs The World season three begins on 27 January on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer.

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