It usually takes six or seven episodes for a season of Drag Race to enter "Oh, oh no, I like all of them, please, keep them all" phase — if it enters it at all. Canada's Drag Race Season 5 is a massive exception to this rule, because lovable — dare I say iconic — queens have been going home every single episode. This group of girls is really packed with talent, personality, and heart — and the latest cut queen brought all of that to every single second she was on screen.
A week or two later than Tara Nova would've liked, this cast finally hit the much-dreaded sewing challenge. This challenge had the added wrinkle of a "fast fashion" theme, which honestly felt like a trap because fast fashion is criticized for being basic, derivative, and poorly made — three things that will get a queen sent home. Fortunately for the dolls, this episode allowed then to show off two looks — one that they brought and one that they made. So even if a queen made a bad look, at least they could show something they're proud of! Something that they did not make!
And as a viewer, I'm glad that Sanjina Dabish Queen got to show off the "slow motion" look that she brought to the runway, because it was everything that her fast fashion look was not. But a stunning gown and a fierce track record of lip syncing wasn't enough to save Sanjina from sashaying away. That fast fashion look ended up being so many metaphorical pearls on the runway.
Ahead, we caught up with Sanjina Dabish Queen about her run on Drag Race and being part of one of the best lip syncs of 2024.
Brett White: You've so far been one of the main narrators of Season 5. Watching the season back, have you been like, "Oh, there is a lot of me in this"?
Sanjina Dabish Queen: Oh, my god — it gets overwhelming. I'm like, "Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Oh my god, Sanjina! Oh my god. You said that!" It's funny, though, because that's what I'm known for. When people want to sit and talk to me, I'm the girl that likes to talk and conversate and I'm a good time. And I think that when you watch a reality TV show, you want to have a good time.
In week one you had the body dysmorphia conversation. Were you surprised that things got that serious that quickly?
Let me tell you something: body dysmorphia, she's a nasty little bitch. She will pull up when she wants to pull up. First episode she pulled up and she's like, "Hey girl." And I was like, "Not today." And she's like, "No, girl, we're going through it today." And I was going through a lot. Things were not fitting me. My body was just not looking right and then my mind was telling me that you look like a man. What put the cherry on top was standing next to someone like Makayla Couture and Jaylene Tyme because they're so far in their transitioning. I came out as trans a long time ago, but the journey of transitioning kind of started there and was very brand new. So it was a lot.
It almost felt like, "Sanjina — this is your life!" Because your drag mom is there, and then also you have a legend like Jaylene Tyme there. That had to be a lot to process.
It was just funny because me and Virgo have a relationship where it's like we really are mother and daughter. Our vibe, the way we are, the way we laugh, the way we kiki, the way we like fight, the way we do things. Like, it's very mother and daughter, and sometimes the role is reversed. It's weird because I'm mothering her. Like, don't forget, Virgo is younger than me. I am 32. Virgo is like 20-something, but Virgo is older in drag age. To have my mother there was, it was an alliance. I think Alliance is a dark word. It was more so like I had my family there and let me tell you something: us melanin people, when it comes to our family, we have their back. If we hate them, whatever it is, like we will rock for them. I just knew that if anything happened, I would have Virgo in my corner 100% and the same thing with her. She knows that she would have me in her corner as well. You
When I spoke with Tiffany Ann Co., she talked about how y'all basically got your first challenge when you arrived at the hotel. You had to start working on a verse for "Go Off Queen."
We had time to relax and chill and vibe into the whole scenery and just like, what's going to happen. And when the song was dumped on me — I'm not going to lie. I was so excited, because — let me tell you something: I smoke weed. I'm a ganja girl, and weed just brings out such another artistic side of me. Colors, music becomes part of my body. I was on a roll, rapping. I wrote that rap in one night, and then I just kept it with me. I was like, "Oh my god." I made no changes to it. Everything I wrote was me and even the words I spoke in my language was describing me, saying bad bitch, saying I'm crazy. I loved it. It was a bop.
It was such a great way to kick off the season — and then next week, you're filming a PSA for an alien.
Oh no, that was funny. "We are a family."
I loved Tara's little critter, though!
I really thought Tara was going to be the top for that, because she did hold it for us. She was a good scene captain. She was good and I loved her as the alien. I thought she ate that role! She was cute. She did what an alien did. She did played the purple — I would say blonde version of it, but she was very an alien. Tiffany's group had a mannequin head, and there wasn't even an alien in [the] "manners" [group]!
Then came the Slayoffs. You and Perla went against each other to Priyanka's "Bad Bitches Don't Cry." That was one of the best lip syncs of the year.
Thank you for saying that. I'll say this much: Yeah, it's actually one of the best lip syncs in herstory.
I received so much backlash and so much hate for that. Our team went in with obviously a strategy, right? I I wanted to go against Makayla, because Makayla is one bitch that can match my energy. I perform with Virgo. Virgo can perform the house down, but I just know how Virgo performs. I'm talking about my energy, because my energy is a lot on stage, and it covers the whole fucking yard, you know what I mean? I really was like, "Please, Makayla, pick 'Bad Bitches Don't Cry,' because now these are two POC girls who are just gonna eat the song up."
Then when I found out it was Perla. I was like, "Perla? Okay." I work with Perla. I've seen how Perla performs. Perla is puss, Perla is polished, Perla does the hair flips. Perla moves with how the song flows. So I was like, "She can eat this." But then when Perla was matching my energy, that's when the fight began! My energy told me, "Oh, girl, she's trying. She's coming." It was a really good lip sync.
I know a lot of people say I was following her. I was not following her. I was following that damn camera! Shea [Couleé] said, "Follow that camera." I followed it. The stage becomes my bitch. So does the camera. And people forget this is a lip sync for your life. I was the last person to bring a point home for my team. I'm gonna fight hard. I don't give a shit. I don't care what I have to do. I'm gonna fight for my team. The funny part was, as I was performing, every time I looked, Perla was behind me! And I was like, "Girl, are you following me?" And then it came to a point that was like, "Hey Sanjina, break off," so I went to the back to have that moment. I was not trying to follow her. And that's another thing that really annoys me. Girl: If I was gonna follow her, I'd be behind her. Why would I follow her when she's watching the back of my head?
How did your tiny glasses stay on your face?
It was really tight on my face. I'm not lying to you. It's so funny because, like, Miss Fiercalicious also messaged Virgo going, like, "Uh, does she glue that or ... ?" So Virgo was asking me. I was like, "No girl. I did not." It just stayed on. And that's why I say that I'm very magical when I perform, because the universe will really hold me down. That's why I touch the floor for blessings. Anytime you see when I touch the floor and touch my forehead, it's a cultural thing that we do. When it comes to Bollywood performers, or just like cultural dancing in Hindu culture, Indian culture, we ask Mother Earth to bless us, to keep us there, because we're stepping on her, we're dancing on her. So it's to keep us grounded, to keep us level. And that's what I did because I was surprised to see my jewelry on, because usually my jewelry does fall off.
And in your final episode, you really got to serve a breathtaking look in the slow mo category. And they gave you your flowers.
I thought I ate it. I don't know a lot of people that watch Bollywood movies. There's always moments in Bollywood movies when everything becomes slow mo, dramatic. Usually when the guy sees a girl, all of a sudden — he's drinking water, the water becomes slow everything becomes slow. So I was giving you the effect of a Bollywood goddess, if she came into your dreams. It's like a dream girl. You know, a lot of the men, they like to fantasize about us girlies, so I was giving you the real fantasy of how a Bollywood goddess could look. And I really did move slow. And if you watch my lip sync, I didn't go off that hard. I couldn't because my outfit, but there was a control. So I know how to control my motherfucking energy, people!
Follow Sanjina Dabish Queen on Instagram at @sanjinadbq. New episodes of Canada's Drag Race Season 5 premiere on Thursdays on WOW Presents Plus.
