ShakesQueer

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

"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.

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]

References

1. Ehrman-Dupre, Joe (March 18, 2015). "RuPaul's Drag Race, Season 7, Episode 3: 'ShakesQueer'". IndieWire. Archived from the original on March 4, 2024. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
2. "'RuPaul's Drag Race' recap: 'ShakesQueer'". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on June 14, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
3. Libby, Katie. ""RuPaul's Drag Race" Season 7, Episode 3: ShakesQueer". CITY Magazine. Archived from the original on February 24, 2024. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
4. Brennan, Niall; Gudelunas, David (August 25, 2017). RuPaul's Drag Race and the Shifting Visibility of Drag Culture: The Boundaries of Reality TV. Springer. ISBN 978-3-319-50618-0. Archived from the original on March 4, 2024. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
5. Carpentier, Megan; Moylan, Brian (March 17, 2015). "RuPaul's Drag Race recap: season seven, episode three - Shakesqueer". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on March 22, 2020. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
6. Abbott, Moon (September 5, 2021). "RuPaul's Drag Race: 10 Times RuPaul Got Angry At Contestants". ScreenRant. Archived from the original on December 11, 2022. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
7. "10 Legendary Fails On 'RuPaul's Drag Race' That Actually Became Iconic". uk.movies.yahoo.com. July 19, 2023. Archived from the original on February 25, 2024. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
8. "Reading Drag Race: ShakesQueer". www.out.com. Archived from the original on February 25, 2024. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
9. "RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE recap: "ShakesQueer" - OutVoices". outvoices.us. Archived from the original on December 8, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
10. "Raven Dedicates Emmy for 'Drag Race' Work to Mathu Andersen". Out. ISSN 1062-7928. Archived from the original on February 6, 2024. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
11. "RuPaul's Drag Race: "ShakesQueer"". The A.V. Club. March 17, 2015. Archived from the original on August 2, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
12. "Emmy Award Nominations: Full List of 2015 Emmy Nominees". Variety. July 16, 2015. Archived from the original on July 17, 2015. Retrieved February 27, 2024.

External links

• ShakesQueer at IMDb
• ShakesQueer's Performance of 'MacBitch' – RuPaul's Drag Race Season 7 on YouTube