Max talks 'RuPaul's Drag Race' elimination

Kennedy Davenport, Dallas, TX. April 25 at South Beach nightclub. Kennedy Davenport, Dallas, TX. April 25 at South Beach nightclub. Photo: Mathu Andersen Photo: Mathu Andersen Image 1 of / 107 Caption Close Max talks 'RuPaul's Drag Race' elimination 1 / 107 Back to Gallery

Max says she was "in shock the whole time" she was on the "RuPaul's Drag Race" runway after being pummeled with bad critiques.

Her impersonation of Season 4 winner Sharon Needles during the Snatch Game, a much-anticipated spoof of the classic "Match Game," landed her in the bottom two against three-timer Jaidynn Diore Fierce for a last-ditch lip-sync.

"I think I blacked out. I remember my mouth being very dry the whole time, especially when I was lip-syncing. It was an out of body experience," Max says. "But it's something that I slipped into that week, and shame on me. We move on."

RELATED: "RuPaul's Drag Race": Snatch Game

Max's calendar is already filling up, including a June 6 date at South Beach nightclub. But first, we ask the tough questions.

Were you confident about your Sharon Needles impersonation going into Snatch Game?

I went into it feeling as though I could do way better with it than I did. I can only blame nerves for the Snatch Game situation, and I came out definitely knowing that I was less funny than I had anticipated. It was weird. I glitched.

Did you consider other characters?

I didn't know about Judy Garland because I didn't know if I could do her justice, honestly, 100-percent, because she's someone that I love so much. There was (YouTube superstar) Miranda Sings but I couldn't do her because she wasn't a real character or something like that, a real, actual, celebrity entity that we could do on the show. I could still do Sharon because she's part of the family or something. It was disappointing.

Talk us through what seemed like very odd behavior during judging.

The head production assistant always told us whenever we were on that main stage, if we felt faint or anything, to let them know, to make a motion or a movement to summon them over there. It wasn't even during one of my critiques. I remember looking at Jaidynn, and she just smiled at me. I was like, 'Help.' I started taking the corset off a little bit because it was digging into my hip bone. I asked the guy to come over, and I got a glass of water, and we stopped for a moment. While I was sitting down on the stage, RuPaul asked me to sing a couple lines from 'Over the Rainbow,' and we laughed, and I sang something from 'A Star is Born' because she's sitting down on the front of the stage in that movie. I thought it was appropriate to do it that way, and then we giggled about it and we recuperated and we resumed filming and with the critiques. I didn't even think it was something that was going to be featured. There have been maintenance moments with other girls with their shoes or their corsets or this or that. I look like a cuckoo. And the way that they had Ru looking down at me all concerned while I was singing ... it's not exactly what happened.

You made a point of saying you would keep it classy and not engage in vulgar/sexual antics like the others.

Honestly, when I was there, I didn't feel like I put too much emphasis on being uncomfortable with what was happening around me. When you're with a group of girls like that, and you're isolated, they're like hyenas. It did get emphasized, and I'm proud of the fact that I didn't decide to talk about this and that, like Miss Fame or some of those other girls with their naughty mouths. But I'm also not that big of a prude. I do swear like a sailor. I wanted the show to be something like a portfolio where my grandparents or my parents could watch my time spent there.

RELATED: Trixie Matel talks "RuPaul's Drag Race" elimination

Who did you become fast friends with?

Actually, Violet (Chachki), because when I walked in the workroom, and they didn't show it, we talked a little bit extra and we were looking each other up and down for awhile. She's really beautiful and vintage-y. She's quite the picture of feminine beauty in that regard, and I love a lot of what she does. She's smart. She's got good references. Since then, we've had good conversations, too, about how we're going to collaborate in the future and what we did in the past and our influences. I know I can learn from her.

Who was the most challenging personality?

Probably Kennedy (Davenport), just because we are from such different places. This show is interesting because we all love drag but we're all completely different in the way that we do it. It's almost like apples to oranges in a lot of ways. Some people deal with situations and confrontations differently. Kennedy just called people out, and that initially made me uncomfortable. But being around here a lot more now, I know that she's just very straightforward to the point of it almost being hilarious.

What's the most important lesson from your time there?

It taught me how to be more ferocious. I think I need to bite at more necks. You can be a lady and you can still be feline and powerful and keep your class about you but still really knock 'em dead. And I think I've got some knocking 'em dead to do.

Do you regret switching up your signature gray hair per Michelle Visage's insistence?

I think the memory of the gray will stick around with people. I don't really regret that particular look but I wasn't anticipating it to be the final image. I could have seen it with some long, beautiful, gray hair. It would have been a lot more sultry. As soon as she said that, I was like, 'Oh, here we go.' Of course it's something that she's going to pick at if there's nothing else.