Final Three Queens Size Up The Crown – For Themselves, and Each Other – Heading Into The CANADA’S DRAG RACE Finale

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede Only one episode of CANADA’S DRAG RACE stands between three ambitious queens and the crowning of Canada’s First Drag Superstar. Who will it be: Priyanka, Scarlett Bobo, or Rita Baga? In advance of the finale, which airs Thursday at 9 p.m. ET on Crave, the three remaining queens took part in a group interview. Each was asked to make the case why they should win, but also why their two rivals should win. Here are the fascinating and revealing responses: PRIYANKA WHY YOU SHOULD WIN: “This is a great question, because all three of us do deserve to win – so people should stop trying to pit us against each other! We all have different reasons for winning. I think I should win because I’m a testament that hard work pays off. I’m also a queer person of colour and I can be that representation for people around the world. And also, I am the best drag queen in the world! (Holds for applause) No one agrees?” WHY SCARLETT BOBO SHOULD WIN: “Scarlett Bobo should win because Scarlett and I are like actual sisters who really fight all the time and we bicker and we argue and if she could, she’d pull my hair out. But the one thing that I love about Scarlett Bobo that really would make her a good winner is that she makes everybody feel very happy, and she always has your back. You know, she talks a little too much, BUT … she has a heart of gold.” WHY RITA BAGA SHOULD WIN: “And then we have Miss Rita Baga, the legend, the icon, the pillar of drag, especially in Montréal. I think that it would be cool to see her be Canada’s First Drag Superstar because she kind of already is a drag superstar. We were all in the werkroom when she walked in, and we were like, ‘Oh God, she’s here, dammit.’ And then she just kept annihilating the competition the entire time. Then when she was in the bottom two, we were like, ‘Yes, finally!’ But she just kept sending girls home! So we all would make incredible drag superstars, but I’m the winner, sorry.” SCARLETT BOBO WHY YOU SHOULD WIN: “I should win CANADA’S DRAG RACE because I have the passion, I have the experience, I have the drive, and I have the love for the art which is drag. My one big thing is just supporting everybody in between, giving a platform to people that don’t necessarily have a big platform and who aren’t looked at in technical drag terms. I want to make sure that I’m constantly uplifting my community, and individuals in my community, just spreading love and f—— kindness. I think I could slay that reign real, real hard.” WHY PRIYANKA SHOULD WIN: “I’m going to cry when I say this, but I think Priyanka should win because Priyanka gave me back the drive that I thought I had lost a long time ago. When I met Priyanka it was really cool to see someone so new, so compassionate, so strong and powerful, loving the art of drag. I remember the first f—— show, I said to her, ‘You are going to be a superstar. You are going to be so amazing and you’re going to do really cool things.’ And she’s really nice, even though she doesn’t like it when people know that.” WHY RITA BAGA SHOULD WIN: “Rita should win because Rita has everything technical. Rita thinks about everything a hundred times before she does it. Even back when we started, she had already thought through this whole competition. So I just know that she would take her knowledge, and her expertise, and run so far with the crown, and really change the world. I think she is just a wonderful individual, and a really wonderful community member, and she would just kill it. And now I’m crying.”   RITA BAGA WHY YOU SHOULD WIN: “I’ll be very quick and say I should win because it’s what I deserve, thank you. I think I would be a great representative of what Canadian drag is in general. I’m well rounded, I know plenty of great things about being a great drag queen. I think it would be a great celebration if I win. I want to be clever and do great things with the power that comes with it. But I would be happy if any of my sisters win, that’s true.” WHY PRIYANKA SHOULD WIN: “The reason Priyanka should win is that she’s so magnetic. She makes you feel comfortable right away. Sometimes SHE’S too comfortable, but that’s another story. Who she is, what she thinks, what she represents, would be a great fit for the crown. Her head is actually too big for the crown, though.” WHY SCARLETT BOBO SHOULD WIN: “Scarlett Bobo also makes people feel very comfortable. I think out of the three of us, Bobo is the one with the most obvious signature when it comes to drag in general. You can recognize Bobo’s style, not only with what she’s wearing, but with what she thinks. And I think she’s very authentic, which is always a great quality.” billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv