Drag Race is now a global franchise, airing multiple episodes every week. There are dozens of queens werking it out for not just their country's respective crown, but for our attention. Every queen is captivating — but only one of them is a true gem. Pop Heist's Drag Race Gem of the Week singles out one special queen from all of that week's competitors and presents her with a gem — metaphorically, although ... ? I dunno, how much does it cost to get a prop gem engraved ... ?
The Week: Jan. 12 to Jan. 18
The Episodes: Canada's Drag Race 5x09, "Grand Finale"; RuPaul's Drag Race 17x03, "Monopulence!"
The Gem: Joella
There has long been concern amongst the Drag Race die hards that the show has lost something essential to its DNA — that the show's rise in popularity has caused competitors to be more aware of the cameras and how a future very online audience will perceive them. They restrained their feelings then so that viewers won't run wild in their mentions today. Joella is proof that, while this may have been a problem in seasons past, it ain't a problem in Season 17.
To put it as bluntly as Joella: Joella is wild. Our Gem of the Week kicked off "Monopulence!" by reading Hormona Lisa and continuing to shade Lana Ja'Rae's talent show number. Then, in a quiet, side moment of supposed camaraderie with Acacia Forgot, Joella offered this gem: "I hope to god I'm in the bottom with her one week. If she can't beat you, bitch, what's she gonna do against me?" Acacia's delayed reaction to that unexpected read was perfection.
And in the challenge itself, Joella decided to make every mistake possible, including not knowing how to sew and then choosing to make a bodysuit. Girl, you've already been assigned Michelle Visage's least favorite color. Why are you going to go and make her least favorite garment???
But all of Joella's stuntery in the main episode pales in comparison to what she served in Untucked. Joella has almost single-handedly ensured that every episode of Untucked is a banger. If the sister series was itself a competition for creating chaos, confusion, and all around conflama, Joella would be on a winning streak.
In this week's episode Joella had a major — justified! —breakdown over being in the bottom, and was worried that her poor showing would ... ruin her reputation as the number one icon diva doll of all of Los Angeles. Wow. Like, the one time you are guaranteed sympathy from the entire cast and audience is when you are crying over potentially going home. But to turn that moment into a humblebrag??? Just ... Joella is a master at work.
But Joella was not done. Our girl turned another Untucked tradition on its head when she pulled her fellow bottom Lucky Starzzz aside for a moment of sisterly bonding over the battle to come. Except Joella calmly, even empathetically, looked Lucky dead in the eyes and said that she was absolutely not worried about the lip sync and preemptively apologized for sending Lucky home. Bitch.
The thing is, Joella wasn't wrong. Joella did send Lucky home, thus completely upending my own group text's entire elimination order. Not only did the queen that we all pegged as the Porkchop survive to slay another day, she's giving us TV moments that make her the queen to watch.
Welcome to the Hall of Gems, Joella. Long may you reign — and by "long" I mean until next Monday!
Follow Joella on Instagram at @thejoelladynasty.
