Cynthia Lee Fontaine gets revealing after 'Drag Race' elimination

RuPaul's Drag Race Season 8 contender Cynthia Lee Fontaine calls Austin home and is a regular performer at Oilcan Harry's. RuPaul's Drag Race Season 8 contender Cynthia Lee Fontaine calls Austin home and is a regular performer at Oilcan Harry's. Photo: William Boyd Photo: William Boyd Image 1 of / 21 Caption Close Cynthia Lee Fontaine gets revealing after 'Drag Race' elimination 1 / 21 Back to Gallery

Cynthia Lee Fontaine brought an all-too-brief sense of goofy joy to "RuPaul's Drag Race." The Austin-based performer, ackowledged by her competitors as the nicest of the bunch, sashayed away just three weeks into Season 8.

But don't cry for her cucu.

"How could I be sad if I met RuPaul? How could I be sad to get the opportunity to meet 11 great competitors? They are my sisters right now," she says. "I was on TV. I'm so excited and happy. Everything happens with a purpose."

Fontaine, who was like a bilingual Tammie Brown, is from Puerto Rico but has lived in Texas for almost a decade. She promises more goofy charm on her YouTube series "Memoirs of My Cucu."

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Her quirky charm came through during a post-elimination chat.

How long has Texas been home?

I've lived here in Texas for about eight years. I used to live in Killeen, Texas on Fort Hood, the military base city. At the end of 2008, I started performing in Austin. I've been here for about four years. I got my mom and my stepfather and my little brother, they live here in Texas. Part of my family is in the military. I have, like, two aunts here and seven cousins. In Puerto Rico, I was working in social service for HIV awareness. I'm now (doing that) in Austin. It's just a dream come true.

What are your thoughts looking back on the elimination episode?

You know what? Maybe the only perception I have in the moment, it was like, I was taking a risk with my runway look. The skating community here in America is part of pop culture. In the 1960's and the 1970's, it was the most popular sport to watch. If you saw the athletes, they created costumes. I came with a softer look, tried to represent the sexy females from Texas and do a little bit of 'Xanadu.' But the judges said, 'You look a little bit like a super-slutty Hooters waitress.' I was a little bit scared to watch myself on the show since the critics were like, 'Ooh, Cynthia, ay.' But when I saw myself on the episode last night, I was like, 'Oh my God, I look beautiful.' The acting challenge, I feel very confident, even if one of the judges didn't understand my line: 'They need a strong, gay woman running this company!' It was pretty easy to understand, but it's OK. Subtitles available for everybody!

How many times did you try out for the show?

I'm the only one on the season that auditioned twice. All of them auditioned three or four times -- which they hate me for that. They said, 'Ugh, perra, you audition just only twice?' My first audition was two years ago for Season 6. If you saw that first audition tape, it was like watching a commercial at 3 a.m. in the morning selling vacuums. I mean boring. Boring. I did my audition tape for Season 8, and even myself, I can watch that video plenty of times. I was like, 'How funny I am.' I love it.

What's something you didn't get to show the judges?

Maybe, probably a little bit more acting. And a little bit more singing. I love to sing. I've been singing since I was 15 years old. I do opera, and I do some falsettos. (Breaks into opera.) Things like that.

How did you get into drag?

It was an accident. I'm gonna explain to you real quick. In 2006, I had a friend who used to run a show. He was an emcee in Puerto Rico. I used to be a backup dancer for him for pageants. He was a pageant queen, too. He told me, 'I saw you walking in high heels, and you walk better than a drag queen with 25 years experience. I need a favor from you. Tonight, I'm gonna have a show. I don't wanna do that show because tomorrow is the finals for my pageant. I wanna be relaxed. I wanna be calm. So I want you to do that show.' I never did drag! Who's gonna do my makeup or my hair? I did that show, and on the first number, I get $42! I talked to myself, I look in the mirror, and I said, 'Carlos Diaz is not your name anymore. It's Cynthia. This is business. Let's do this.' Thank God for that car accident. Because for me, that was like a drag car accident. I crash so good that this is my 10th anniversary doing drag.

Who did you make friends with on 'Drag Race?'

One of my closest friends right now -- Laila! Not Layla. Laila McQueen. And Bob the Drag Queen. And Acid Betty.

Acid Betty? That's surprising.

Yes! Acid Betty. If you see some of my pictures now, I have a different shape. Not because I'm eating fast food all the time. It's because during the show, I was experiencing some symptoms. As soon as I stopped filming, I came to Austin, Texas, and I got blood work. I got diagnosed with liver cancer, Stage 1. Maybe that was part of my GPS signal lost (on the show). I got just only one chemo treatment. The first person that flew to see me was Acid Betty, and she was like, 'Bitch, I came here to take care of you. I love you. I'm gonna call you every five minutes. You are safe with me because we are sisters.' She is just an extraordinary person. She complains about everything. 'I'm breathing. I hate breathing! I have to do my hair! I have to eat breakfast! Why do I have to eat breakfast?' But she is the most honest and transparent I have met in my entire life. She's like my mother.

How's your health now?

I'm doing good. I'm cancer free. I'm visiting my doctor every month. He says, 'Cynthia, you're doing fantastic. You're weight increased.'

I was like, 'Doctor, that is not funny. That is not good in the drag community.'

He's like, 'It's OK -- look your cucu! It looks more better. It's more juicy. You're good.'

The bigger, the better. I'm from Texas!

"RuPaul's Drag Race" airs at 8 p.m. Mondays on Logo.