For many fans, 'RuPaul's Drag Race' is a bit of a guilty pleasure. Not only is Ru himself fun to watch, but the contestants on the show are often just as interesting. What's not to love about drag queens, drama, and the potential for a bit of backstabbing?
Well, for one thing, there were some absolutely awful challenges, say fans. While the show is entertaining overall, and apparently even saved Cameron Diaz's life once, some of the challenges just miss the mark.
For one thing, fans on Reddit say, a few challenges have just been cringe-worthy. One notable example is the episode involving the 'Wizard of Oz' makeover from Season 8. Tons of fans agreed that the "interpretive dance" was very awkward and that although they watched, it was like a train wreck where they couldn't look away.
Another commonly-hated challenge involved scenes where the contestants were coached to interact with people in public. This was 'Queens Behaving Badly,' per IMDb, and featured the contestants coercing strangers to do weird pranks. Fans called it "so cringe worthy that I couldn't look away."
But the true worst-ever challenge was the cheerleading one. The majority of Redditor RuPaul fans agreed that the cheerleading challenge in season 9 was awful. For one thing, there was very little actual cheering, say fans.
One commenter noted that they only saw "like 20% of the routine" that many people were injured for. Essentially, the challenge gave the drag queens very little screen time and focused on drama that had very little to do with the actual execution of the challenge.
On another Reddit thread, fans lamented the safety issues, saying the episode was "one of the most physically dangerous" ever. Three of the queens were injured, from hurt ankles to cracked ribs to knee injuries. The commenter continued, "this is a drag show, not the circus," elaborating their point that cheerleaders are often petite people, while the drag show features "fully [expletive] grown men."
The 'Drag Race' critic finished off by calling 'She Done Already Done Brought It On' a "cheersaster" and dissing the producers for making the challenge about so much physicality rather than creativity. Chiller comments still centered on the fact that the episode didn't take into account the queens' true talents.
Plus, one fan noted, cheerleading is "not especially entertaining unless it's done by very athletic people who have spent many many hours learning it." Without training, choreography, and really, the right type of stunts for their body types, the queens all fell flat. Literally, in some cases.
The challenge isn't mean to be easy, of course, but it's also meant to be entertaining. And to most fans, it was not only cringe-inducing, but also a bit sad. Do better, Ru!
