Trixie Mattel, Kennedy Davenport, Bebe Zahara Benet and Shangela talk 'All Stars' 3

The RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 3 top four: Trixie Mattel, Kennedy Davenport, Bebe Zahara Benet and Shangela. The RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 3 top four: Trixie Mattel, Kennedy Davenport, Bebe Zahara Benet and Shangela. Photo: VH1 Photo: VH1 Image 1 of / 20 Caption Close Trixie Mattel, Kennedy Davenport, Bebe Zahara Benet and Shangela talk 'All Stars' 3 1 / 20 Back to Gallery

We have a winnah!

"RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars" crowned Trixie Mattel its third champ during a controversial finale that saw Dallas queen Kennedy Davenport taking the runner-up slot and frontrunner Shangela -- who hails from Paris, Tx. -- being shut out of the final lip sync.

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Whatever your opinion, the deed is done. And RuPaul is already moving on to Season 10 and a new batch of queens, premiering Thursday on VH1.

But first, the top four "All Stars" spilled on their season. Who should have made the final two? What names were on Bebe's lipsticks?

(Shangela interview posting later today!)

Photo: Christopher Polk, Getty Images For Queerty LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 27: Trixie Mattel attends the Queerty...

TRIXIE MATTEL

Hi, Trixie!

Hello, I'm a very famous person. I'm a very famous person who wins major awards. How are you?

Speaking of, where do you currently have your crown and scepter?

I never got it. I'm in Chicago. I don't have one. Last night I was at a bar, and they had a crown just in case I won. So they gave me a cute little tiara at Roscoe's Chicago. I also don't have my check yet, so I will be taking RuPaul to small claims.

What's going to be the first thing you splurge on once you have the money?

Oh, I'm white trash. I grew up so dirt poor. You don't spend money when you get it. You f****n' save it. I'm such trash that, like, of course, part of me's like, "Let's go down to Reno." I'm just gona save it all, 'cause I know that Trixie's probably not gonna last forever. Someday, if I decide to quit drag, or I don't wanna dress up anymore, I wanna be able to have something to show for it.

Your album also just topped the iTunes chart. You're in the middle of the perfect storm right now.

Oh, I know! Last night I got home to get out of drag after the viewing party and turned on the iTunes chart and it was No. 1 for awhile. I couldn't believe. My album from last year is back on the charts. It's nuts. "Drag Race" is a really cool gold star. It's a really cool thing to happen. But everybody was good last night.

I was really scared that I wouldn't win, and I was scared how I would feel if I didn't. If I was mad, I would be embarrassed for myself for feeling upset. Or if I did win, I was afraid I would be really embarrassing and cry. But then when I watched the top four perform "Kitty Girl," I was just like, "Oh my God. Everybody's so good. I wouldn't be ashamed to lose to any of them." That's the truth. It actually made me feel good watching it. There is no shame in losing this show. Even look at the eliminated queens. I would have been proud to lose to them, too.

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You seemed genuinely gagged when you made it to the final lip sync.

I'm an optimistic realist, which means I want good things to happen. But, you know, previously, I have not been a winner of "Drag Race." Twice. I'm always kind of like, "Hope for the best, but expect the worst." Kennedy and Bebe and Shangela are all so good, I was mentally preparing myself. "It could really not be you, and that's OK." I hadn't really calculated what if it is me. And also, it would mean a lot if the producers of the show picked my name to be in the top two. But it was peers that I really respect. Drag queens I'm a fan of picked my name. They didn't show it, but I couldn't even look at the eliminated queens because I was just bawling. I was so touched.

Did that twist of the eliminated queens choosing the final two make you nervous?

No. I sat down in front of a room full of queens who lost "Drag Race" twice. Nobody knows how they feel more than I do. I didn't say anything that I didn't genuinely feel. They didn't show it, but I said, "I haven't won "Drag Race" like Bebe. And I haven't made it to the top like Kennedy. And I haven't been on two seasons of "Drag Race" like Shangela. And even when RuPaul told me twice on Season 7 that I wasn't going to be America's next drag superstar, I went out and was, anyway. I'm not afraid of losing because losing doesn't make me a bad drag queen." I'm living proof that leaving here without a crown, that's a detail. That's not changing or making or breaking anything for you.

Having said that, what was the motivation to return a third time?

I feel like with my standup career and my music and my television show, I have never missed an opportunity to impress my audience. But I feel that on "Drag Race" -- I've had nightmares about "Drag Race" -- I really wanted to prove something to myself. "Drag Race" the first few times stripped me of my confidence. I went home feeling terrible about myself. I feel like I wanted to use all the experience I gained. I was like, "You know what? I think I can rewrite this for myself and square this away."

I couldn't believe it happened last night. I used to take the $9 Greyhound down to Chicago and do shows with Kim (Chi) and Shea (Coulee) and Pearl. I felt like f*****g sh** after losing "Drag Race." I had to learn through experience that losing "Drag Race" was a detail. That it was not end-all, be-all.

What was the turning point that put you on the path to the finale?

I feel like the perception is that I had a bad start. But I was safe, safe, top three and then I was only in the bottom once. I didn't expect me to be a frontrunner. But I knew that the audience would because of the things I've gotten to do outside of "Drag Race." And I let the expectations that the audience would have, and my own pressure to do better -- it was like walking through water. It just slowed my artistic wheels, slowed my reaction time.

Once Shangela psychologically cat-and-moused me, and shocked me, I was crying, I was thinking I was going home. Once I'd kind of experienced the worst and faced it, I was like, "I forgot something I knew going into this. Losing "Drag Race" doesn't make you a bad drag queen. So why am I so afraid of losing?" Does going home first make Morgan (McMichaels) a bad drag queen? No. Does winning "Drag Race" make me a better drag queen than anybody else? No. This sh** ain't serious. As long as I do something I'm proud of, if they don't feel the fantasy, they don't feel the fantasy. Why am I putting all this pressure on myself? It became so clear, and "Drag Race" got easy.

I figured out something it seems like people like Bob or Bianca or Jinkx figured out early on. Whatever your artistic voice is, that's what you need to listen to. You don't need to think about what people want or what you think judges want.

Bebe said she was especially proud of you and recounted a story (below) of talking to you at a meet and greet.

Oh my God. My 21st birthday. My 21st birthday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I went out in drag for the first time. My first time even at a gay bar was on my 21st birthday to see Bebe Zahara Benet touring in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She did her song "Cameroon." I was so enamored with the first famous drag queen I'd ever seen. I gave her a hug, and I said, "You're so beautiful. I just started drag" She said to me, "You are so beautiful. Stick with drag. It will take you anywhere."

It was so surreal to be sitting next to her in the mirror on "Drag Race." She lost, and there's no beating Bebe. Does that make sense? She's Bebe. You can see why she won "Drag Race." She enters a room, and that's a f*****g goddess.

Photo: Andrew H. Walker, Getty Images NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 23: Kennedy Davenport performs during the...

KENNEDY DAVENPORT

What was going through your mind when you realized you'd made the final two?

Just shock, really. Not that I don't feel that I wasn't deserving of it, but it was just a shock. It's just like winning a pageant. You don't know who they choose until they call it out.

It must be a nice surprise to know that you earned the most points from the eliminated queens lipstick vote.

Oh my goodness. That was the best feeling ever, to know that my sisters believed in me that much and wanted me to have the opportunity. I have nothing but respect for them.

What was your motivation to come back on the show?

The call alone was motivation, to even be reconsidered. This is another chance. (Also to show) that I had personality. I was grateful that the challenges were geared around my talents and they could really see different sides of me.

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What was your proudest moment on the show?

I have two. The final episode with the music video, that was a proud moment for me. I set the bar really high. I was proud of myself for creating the lyrics and actually being able to sing it. And the third episode I won, which was "The Bitchelor."

People always seem surprised that you're funny, but you showed us lots of that during Season 7. And you won Snatch Game as Little Richard.

Yeah, but you know, by the time Snatch Game came around, folk didn't like me. It was like, "Yeah, she was funny. But anyway." They still won't admit to this day that I wasn't funny. You just can't please all the punks.

You told me right after Season 7 that you "read every comment" online. Is that still true?

I still do. This season I can truly say that it was way more good than bad. And I had enough fans to take up for me, honey. With the bad, it was more ignorance, so I just didn't even pay it no attention. I just blocked them. But when somebody just doesn't have an understanding of who I am, I don't mind taking out that extra time to reach out to them and to change their mind.

Which eliminated queen deserved a spot in the top four finale?

I would have to say Aja, simply because she was there with us the longest. Her body of work up until that point was sickening. She wasn't the best on "The Bitchelor." But she was very helpful. I like working with girls that don't mind helping, don't mind being a team player and not being threatened by another girl. That's what makes the environment great.

Who would you have chosen to lip sync against in the final two?

Shangela. I really was surprised to not see her there. But again, you have to understand how it went down. It was in the hands of the eliminated queen, so it could have went any way. Nothing surprised me.

Photo: Bebezahara.com Bebe Zahara Benet.

BEBE ZAHARA BENET

I'm going to first ask you the question of questions – whose names were on the lipsticks?

(Big, Bebe laughter) I wanna know why you guys are so bothered about the names on the lipsticks. Let me ask you a question: Why? Is it just the human side of you guy that are so curious and want to know so bad? Why does it matter now, though? We already have a winner. I just wanna know. I'm asking you the question back.

I think part of it is curiosity. People are nosy. And I think when it comes to "Drag Race," fans just want to know everything.

Right. It's called entitled. Entitlement. I have to know. (More big, Bebe laughter.) Well, I've always said I'm a lady of my word. I said I was not going to reveal it. I think everybody just has to respect that, that's all.

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Are you shocked by the craziness that caused?

I was shocked about a couple of things. Anybody who has been following me right from the get-go, even prior to being on "Drag Race," has known that my platform has always been about spreading love and spreading light and celebrating identity. It's always been very positive because I feel like we need that. What I was shocked about me being on the show is some of the backlash that was very uncalled for, as a matter of fact, that was very disrespectful and rude and mean for no reason. I'm very unbothered by it, but I was shocked.

And to be honest with you, the whole lipstick situation was a strategy for me. Ben leaving the competition was already like, "What? Really?" I just felt like it was very important for the top five girls to refocus themselves and not add now to who was going to be sent home or who was not going to be sent home. You had to be in that room to see how tense that room was. I just felt like I was not going to add more to that intensity.

You must have also heard the rumors that you were a mole for RuPaul on the show.

That would have been amazing, right? That would have been amazing, honey. Oh, my God. I just don't even know where the rumor came from. And I think that, to be very honest with you, I feel like people did not want to believe that a winner was coming into the show and competing. When that rumor came out, that was a lot of the times I was safe. But then when I started challenges – oh, honey, that changed very drastically. I feel like that was when the vultures really came out from their cages, honey. People were like, "Oh, now she's trying to come get my girl. She's threatening my girl's position." That's when things started going really south for no reason. But it's what it is. (Big, Bebe laughter.)

What's the biggest change from Season 1 to "All Stars" 3?

Honey, they have more money. They have more money, honey. I walked onto the set, I said, "Oh, the budget." Yes, the budget was raised very high. It was really cool to come and see how things had changed just in terms of the atmosphere and the aesthetic of the show. Amazing stages. Amazing lights. I was very excited about the challenges. But coming in and seeing the set and seeing how it's so different was what was really exciting.

Was there anything different you could have done to make that final lip sync?

Absolutely not. I feel like I gave it my all. I gave it my best. If you just look at my track record, (it) was going to send me to the final two, period. How many challenges I won. How many times I was in the bottom. How many times I was safe. But now that I've watched the season, it wasn't only about that. Some of the girls wanted more relationships. But I would not have changed anything. I did not take this competition for granted because I was the winner. The only reason you would say you didn't think I was competing that much is because I tried my best to make it effortless. When you've been in the business for a long time ... you make it as effortless as possible. That's just what we do, honey. You don't gotta let the girls know you're sweating, honey. (Big, Bebe laughter.)

Who, aside from you, would be in your ideal top two queens?

Oh my gosh. I'm going to pass on that question. I think that this moment is all about Trixie, who won, and I'm very proud of her. Trixie has a part of me that I'm so proud because of the relationship that I had with her many, many years ago. She met me on a meet and greet. She wore this trash bag. This was little Trixie, honey, coming to me and meeting me. I was like, 'You are going to be a star. You are going to be something very big." We had a very intimate conversation. At that moment, I don't think it resonated with her, but fast forward up to now, she tells people it was because of me and what I told her that made her really go on and really pursue a career. To be able to see her now winning, and having such a platform, I'm very proud. This is a moment to celebrate her.

Photo: Shangela.com Shangela is the only queen to be featured on three Drag Race seasons.

SHANGELA

Forget Dela's self-elimination. You not making the top two was this season's face crack. How did you feel?

I'm currently reading the book "What Happened" by Hillary Rodham Clinton. In the moment, I was very disappointed. I was slightly shocked. I wasn't too shocked because when I heard what the twist was going to be from RuPaul, I was like, "Well, honey, this is supposed to be a jury of my peers. I'm going to jail. I don't think it's gonna happen." When I closed my eyes on that stage, I said, "Please, God, let them base it on our track record. Please let no one hold a personal vendetta." I had to do what I had to do during the show. Those were the rules. But a part of me knew, "Girl, it ain't happening, sister."

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Do you think a lot of the queens were holding personal grudges?

I can't gauge on that. All I can go on is the facts. When we had to deliberate in front of them, no one was interested in hearing about how we'd done in the competition since they'd been gone. And remember some of these girls hadn't even been there since day two, OK? Nobody asked about me twerking as a buxom beauty and winning two-and-a-half lip syncs. No one cared what we'd done on the runway. It was, "Why do you think you should be the winner? What have you done outside this room to make you the winner?" It just felt very dark-sided, in a way, being in that room.

What were you planning to pull out for the "Wrecking Ball" lip sync?

OK, listen. I'm so glad you asked that. No one has asked me that yet. I was ready. Do you hear me? Here's the deal. This was the finale. And "Wrecking Ball" is not necessarily a big, high kicks and flips kind of song. But you can make a moment, and that's what I wanted to do every time I was on that runway. And I think I did: the Beyoncé baby bump floral, I came down the runway in a plastic ball, I had a costume that inflated like Lady Gaga.

I had that gold coat on. But under that, I had stapled these blown-up, white balloons that I had filled with confetti and glitter, right? They were on my titties and in my nether region, OK? I had a dart in my hand. During the song -- "I came in like a wrecking ..." -- I was gonna bust the balloons, and all the glitter and confetti would fly out. Then I had a piñata taped to the back of my coat, filled with candy, with a sledgehammer up my sleeve. And I was gonna beat it on the line, "I never meant to start a war." I was ready, bitch! That's what hurt me more than anything. F*** the money. I wanted to do my lip sync. It was going to be memorable, unforgettable, so watching that lip sync from the back, I was just like, "Oh, girl. Send me to the house."

You've had one of the most successful post-"Drag Race" careers. Why come back?

The biggest thing was my fans. I wanted to represent for everyone who had been done for Shangie since day one. Baby Shangie, when I first came in the workroom in Season 2 with a big dream, a lot of entertainment ability but zero makeup on. Like I told the girls in the deliberation, when I left "RuPaul's Drag Race, seasons 2 and 3, I went to drag school. I just started working really hard, learning, watching, growing, evolving into who I am today. Like I told them, "Even if y'all don't crown me tonight as the valedictorian, I'm still walking across the stage and getting my diploma." And not because somebody handed it to me. And not because somebody liked me or didn't. It's because I've earned it.

Who would you love to see on a future "All Stars" season?

Who I didn't see in the room that I thought I was gonna see when I came in -- Kim Chi, No. 1. I love Kim. I think she's very talented. She's smart with makeup. She's creative. I would love to see Shea Coulee come back. I would love to see Laganja Estranja. I would love to see Stacy Layne Matthews, honey. Come on, henny.