ShakesQueer

"ShakesQueer" is the third episode of the seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race.^[1] It originally aired on March 16, 2015. Kat Dennings are Mel B are guest judges. The episode earned Mathu Andersen a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Makeup for a Variety, Nonfiction or Reality Program.

"ShakesQueer"
RuPaul's Drag Race episode
Episode no.	Season 7 Episode 3
Guest appearances
Kat Dennings Mel B
Episode chronology
List of episodes

Episode

Kat Dennings (left) and Mel B (right) served as guest judges.

For the episode's mini-challenge, the contestants "sissy that walker" perform in a Soul Train-inspired dance line, wearing Golden Girls-inspired attire. Kennedy Davenport and Max are deemed the winners,^[2] and therefore became team captains for the main challenge. Max selects Ginger Minj, Jaidynn Diore Fierce, Miss Fame, Mrs. Kasha Davis, and Trixie Mattel. Kennedy Davenport selects Jasmine Masters, Kandy Ho, Katya, Pearl, and Violet Chachki.^[3] In the work room, RuPaul confronts Pearl in front of the others, accusing her of "sleepwalking" and needing to "wake up".^[4]

Jasmine Masters (pictured in 2017) is eliminated from the competition.

For the main challenge, two teams must act in Shakespeare-inspired plays: MacBitch and Romy and Juliet. The Guardian described Romy and Juliet as a "lesbian-themed anti-teen suicide parable".^[5] RuPaul gets upset at the contestants,^[6] and says Kennedy Davenport's team is "the biggest trainwreck [she had] seen in seven seasons".^[7] On the runway, the category is "bearded and beautiful". Kat Dennings are Mel B are guest judges.^[8] Katya's look was inspired by Abraham Lincoln.^[9] Max is declared the winner of the main challenge.

Jasmine Masters and Kennedy Davenport place in the bottom two, and face off in a lip-sync to "I Was Gonna Cancel" by Kylie Minogue. Jasmine Masters is eliminated from the competition.^[2]

Production

The episode originally aired on March 16, 2015.

Mathu Andersen and RuPaul collaborated for many years, until the show's ninth season; Andersen initially did RuPaul's hair and make-up, and later directed challenges and became a creative producer of Drag Race.^[10] He was a guest judge on season two's "Here Comes the Bride" (2010), and he was a special guest on the fourth season's "The Final Three" (2012), the fifth season's "The Final Three, Hunty" (2013), the sixth season's "Sissy That Walk" (2014), and the seventh season's premiere episode "Born Naked". He directed the sketches for the season's final challenge in the twelfth episode "And the Rest Is Drag".

Reception

Allison Shoemaker of The A.V. Club gave the episode a rating of 'B'.^[11] Moon Abbott included the main challenge in Screen Rant's 2021 overview of ten times RuPaul "got angry" at the contestants on the show.^[6] Bernardo Sim of Pride.com included the performance of MacBitch in a 2023 list of ten "legendary fails" on the show "that actually became iconic".^[7] The episode earned Andersen a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Makeup for a Variety, Nonfiction or Reality Program.^[12]