The Belles of The Ball: Ninth Queen Eliminated on CANADA’S DRAG RACE

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede Winter came early in a new episode of CANADA’S DRAG RACE tonight on Crave, as the remaining queens competed in an icy-hot “Snow Ball” maxi-challenge. The resident judges were joined by RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE legend Michelle Visage, whose presence raised the excitement, and the stakes. But one chilly queen could not find her way out of the blizzard, and was asked to sashay away.  

SPOILER ALERT: Details from the ninth episode of CANADA’S DRAG RACE follow.

Writer, producer, and comedian Sabrina Jalees was on hand for this week’s mini-challenge, directing the queens to perform unique (and occasionally on-tune!) versions of the national anthem. Rita Baga hit the highest notes and was declared the victor. The queens had to come up with three separate looks for the “Snow Ball,” under these categories: Executive Holiday Party Realness; Icy Walk of Shame; and Ice Queen Eleganza. The final outfit had to be made from scratch. Scarlett Bobo notched her first maxi-challenge win of the season, erasing several weeks of mounting frustration. JIMBO and Rita Baga had to lip-sync for their lives, to Tegan and Sara’s “Closer,” with JIMBO being sent home. That leaves only three queens vying for the title of Canada’s first Drag Superstar: Scarlett Bobo, Rita Baga, and Priyanka. With the first-season finale airing Thursday, Sept. 3 at 9 p.m. ET on Crave, JIMBO reflected upon her curvy experience on the show: Q: Some fans of the show have called you the most unique queen. How do you react when you hear that? JIMBO: “Thank you so, so much. It’s amazing to have the world respond that way and to tell me that. I don’t know if I have the biggest ego or self-esteem, so it takes like a lot of that kind of feedback to actually trickle into me. But I’m so grateful. The experience was an amazing opportunity to showcase my style of drag, and my take on drag. It’s great that Canada got the chance to compete on this scale, and for the rest of the world to see what Canada has to offer, that our drag is amazing, and there’s a lot of potential and cool artistry here.” Q: You got the biggest laugh of the season as you were leaving the stage for the final time, when you dropped to the floor and screamed, “WHY?” Did you pre-plan that? JIMBO: “Most of the things I did or said on the show were things that just came to me in the moment. When I’m performing, I don’t know what I’m going to do most of the time, and afterward I don’t always remember what I did. But the key element of clowning is shared surprise. When you surprise yourself at the same time as your audience, and you both laugh together, that has to be my favourite aspect of performance. That’s when the magic happens.” Q: We even got to see your evil clown right at the end, with a maniacal laugh, too! JIMBO: “Of all the people there, I consciously tried to have the most fun. I was always trying to get the other girls going, like, ‘We’re on a show, let’s freaking have some fun.’ A lot of people were very serious. If you’re not really a clown, you’re not used to taking those risks. But it’s also funny that I’m the spiciest one in those ‘untucks.’ As an audience member, I always dreamed that if I ever got the chance to be there, I was not going to sit there quietly. My competitive spirit took over, along with the fact that I was exhausted. I didn’t really mean to be that spicy. Watching it later, I’m like, ‘Oh … someone’s a bit bitter and tired.’ ” Q: Would you have done anything differently? JIMBO: “I wish I had hemmed my dress. I wish I didn’t wear those sparkly f—— boots. I wish I didn’t wear those nails. I wish I hadn’t made my crown that big, because it impeded the way I could move my head. I wish I had torn off all my clothes and just danced freely. I couldn’t dance in the dress, and I couldn’t dance in that headpiece, because it was going to fall off, and I did not want my hair falling off, period. I would rather not move, and not have my hair fall off, than be that girl whose hair falls off on the main stage. And if I could go back in time, you know, I helped Scarlett Bobo a lot with her costume. It is in my nature to do that. But maybe I could have been more strategic in that way. I have a feeling it was beyond all of that anyways. I gave it my best, and I’m proud of everything I did. And some people say I won the show, because I have an amazing fan base, I’ve added the most fans of anyone, and the entire internet says I was robbed. You can’t really put a price tag on your ability to connect, and to share joy and love in this world. There are different kinds of wins. Being beloved is a win.” Following each new episode of CANADA’S DRAG RACE, audiences are invited to unpack the events that just transpired with ETALK’s new digital series CAN WETALK ABOUT… presented by MADE | NOUS. Streaming live on Twitter, Thursdays at 10:30 p.m. ET on @EtalkCTV, ETALK Senior Correspondent and Canada’s Squirrel Friend, Traci Melchor, and iHeartRadio’s Meredith Shaw, debrief on the episode and chat with the night’s eliminated queen about her experience and all the gasp-worthy, her-storical moments. The series will also be available the following day as a podcast on iHeartRadio Canada and everywhere podcasts are found. Official brand partners for CANADA’S DRAG RACE include DoorDash Canada, Hilton, Neutrogena, and Roots. billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv