RECAP: RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 11, Episode 8 (Rappin’ Roast)
Welcome to dinner, because I’m eating my words. Last week, I opined that I didn’t think the “All Stars 11” Purple Bracket made a lot of sense. It seemed like a random assemblage of queens — almost the odds and ends rather than deliberate casting decisions. Episode 2 of the Purple Bracket proved me wrong. This actually is a competitive bracket with some great chemistry between the queens. This whole episode was a delight, and I’m loving this season overall.
Read on for my take on “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” Season 11, Episode 8. SPOILERS AHEAD!
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Now that we’re 2/3 of the way through the Purple Bracket, I’ll go over each contestant in alphabetical order, giving my opinions of their performance in the 2026 Rappin’ Roast, the Ladies Who Lunch runway, and their place in the bracket overall.
In case you haven’t watched it yet, here’s the “All Stars 11” Rappin’ Roast:
Hershii LiqCour-Jete
Time for seconds in the “Eric eats his words” buffet. Last week, I opined, “What exactly does Hershii do successfully?” America, it is this. Hershii was excellent in the Rappin’ Roast, delivering a great flow and some solid reads. The whole chocolate bit playing off Jasmine couldn’t have been planned, and it was a great way to kick off her verse. This was basically flawless on Hershii’s part, and I was so happy to see her shine.
I had no issue with her getting Top 2 in the challenge, although as we’ll discuss, another competitor could have easily squeezed out one of the other tops. I am glad that Hershii felt beautiful in her Ladies Who Lunch runway. I can understand why she did. To me, it was a community-theater costume more than it was sophisticated lady with money. I also question what prompt the queens got, because more than one of them went to late 1800s/early 1900s for this, and that is not at all what I think of when it comes to “ladies who lunch,” AKA women of leisure who spend their executive husbands’ money. I guess going historical is technically accurate, but it feels like a weird direction for more than one of them to take.
In terms of her progress in this bracket, Hershii is currently tied for second place, with 3 points (2 for Top 2 in this episode, 1 MVQ point gifted by Joey Jay). That’s pretty damned good for the Porkchop of S16. I think her strategy of pushing the early outs (her and Joey) was a smart one, and Hershii is playing a good game right now. Hershii is genuinely in the mix to advance to semifinals, which I never saw coming.
Jasmine Kennedie
Jasmine opened the episode giving us excellent drama, whipping up the other queens because she felt she beat Sam Star in the lipsync at the end of last episode. Jasmine and the other queens were wrong — Sam won that hands down, and I found it gross that the more established queens were fully gaslighting the new girl. That said, I so appreciate Jasmine’s commitment to stirring the pot, and in a fairly harmless way.
Jasmine was great in the Rappin’ Roast, and got in some of the zippiest zingers, including calling out Kennedy Davenport’s lazy eye. Vicious but in the most playful way. She also had great reactions to the other queens reading her, proving that Jasmine can always pull focus, even when she’s in the background. Jasmine is a star, full stop. And we haven’t even seen her in a challenge that is firmly in her wheelhouse.
On the runway, Jasmine also went historical, giving us a look straight out of HBO’s “The Gilded Age.” I LOVED the dress. So beautiful, so detailed, so luxurious. I understand people did not appreciate the wig or the jewelry, but all of it was completely on point for the time period Jasmine was mimicking. I also want to give Jasmine props for going very much outside her comfort zone here. Has Jasmine Kennedie ever worn this many clothes? I don’t even mean at once — has she collectively ever had that much cloth on her body? This was a big swing for her, and I loved it.
Jasmine is currently tied for third place, with 2 points (Top 2 in Episode 7). The next MVQ ceremony will be quite telling, as the Mouth Almighty may not have ingratiated herself to the other queens, especially since a few girls still have fewer points than her. Jasmine goes into E3 of Purple Bracket NEEDING to be Top 2, or she is in trouble.
Joey Jay
Without question the breakout star of the Purple Bracket, Joey Jay is the contender nobody saw coming. Not the other queens, not the viewers, not even RuPaul herself — she said so this episode. Joey had one of the best looks in the Rappin’ Roast, and she came out blazing as the first queen to go. I was stunned at how good her flow and her reads were. Seriously, where was any of this on Season 13? Joey is a great example of how sometimes, a queen has all the ingredients for success, they just need a little more time to cook. “All Stars 11” Joey Jay is out of the oven at just the right time.
Joey also had, in my opinion, the most successful Ladies Who Lunch look. THAT is a woman with too much money, too much time, and too little taste on their hands. The mix of the blue and the beige was totally wacky but it worked. I just loved it.
Joey ends this episode tied in last place, with just 1 point (MVQ gifted to her by Hershii). That’s not at all indicative of how she’s doing here. Joey has delivered in every face this bracket. I’m curious to see how the next MVQ ceremony goes, as she won’t be getting one from Hershii (who was Top 2), but hopefully the other Bottom 4 queens will acknowledge that she deserves at least another point or two.
Kennedy Davenport
Kennedy is in an interesting position in this bracket. She is the sole pre-S10 contestant in the Purple Bracket, and the sole returning All Star. She knows that she has a disadvantage when getting MVQ points from the other girls, as they may not want someone who has already been here before to advance. It’s similar to Silky in Bracket 2, except Silky is still something of a modern queen, with more active relationships with these more recent girls. Kennedy’s original season aired more than a decade ago. She also did herself no favors in that MVQ ceremony this episode, where she explicitly pissed of the next most-senior queen, Shuga Cain. So Kennedy really needs to win challenges if she hopes to make the semis.
And that’s just what she did this episode. Kennedy gave us a more old-school approach to the Rappin’ Roast, and while her reads weren’t the most memorable, she delivered them with that signature Kennedy attitude that’s a brilliant blur of salty and silly. I did not care for her Ladies Who Lunch look at all. No woman with actual money would ever wear that to to a sophisticated event. To the disco? To a Donna Summer-themed retirement party in the steno pool? Maybe. Not to rich-bitch lunch.
That said, she absolutely devoured the “Ladies Who Lunch” lipsync from Steven Sondheim’s Company. Kennedy understood the context of that song in a way that I’m not sure Hershii did. This is a late-in-life woman (in this case, the late, great Elaine Stritch) raging at how fucked up society is, and how it uses and abuses brilliant young women. Kennedy gave us an instantly iconic lipsync, a mixture of comedy and pathos that we rarely get in one number on this show.
Kennedy ended the episode in the lead of the bracket, with 4 points (3 from winning this episode, 1 MVQ from Shuga Cain). But that could all be meaningless if she strikes out in Episode 9.
Sam Star
I thought Sam did well in the Rappin’ Roast, and I thought the reads at her expense — she wore her drag mother’s clothes in Season 17 — were cheap, repetitive, and boring. And really, there are so many other things you can mock about Sam! (I kid, lovingly.) She had plenty of swag (for a Southern white girl) and delivered her reads well, even if I didn’t find many of them super memorable.
Sam’s Ladies Who Lunch runway was entirely too busy. I get that it’s drag, but it’s also supposed to be fashion. Taking away the rhinestones from the suit, simplifying the collars, and taking away the hat altogether — THIS is why nobody wears a hat anymore, Elaine Stritch — would have made that look much stronger. The dog was a stupid but fun touch that I think was largely successful.
Sam ends Episode 8 tied for second with Hershii, with 3 points (all earned in Episode 7). Because she has so many points already, I think she’ll be hard pressed to convince the other Bottom 4 queens to give her any MVQs. She also has virtually no pre-show connections with the other girls. So this…this will get interesting.
Shuga Cain
Shuga is probably the least-competitive queen in this bracket, but I don’t think that reflects poorly on her. Shuga is doing exactly what she did on Season 11 — she’s solid at pretty much everything, but rarely the best at any single drag skill. That’s great for escaping the Bottom 2, but not good when your success in the bracket rounds largely depends on getting into the Top 2. She is a Jill of All Trades, in addition to being the (daddy) trade of the season.
That said, Shuga gave us the weakest Rappin’ Roast. She didn’t really hit hard on anyone, and I think that was a missed opportunity on her part. I liked her Ladies Who Lunch runway enough, and I could see a “Real Housewife” wearing something like that, so I think it fit the prompt better than most. But is it a “wow” runway? It is not.
Shuga ends Episode 2 tied for last place, with just 1 point (MVQ gifted, begrudgingly, by Kennedy). I think she could get a few MVQ points next episode, given that at this point she has the longest shot to advance in the brackets. But at this point, Shuga needs to not only be Top 2 in the next challenge, but also to win to have any real shot at moving into the Semifinals.
What do YOU think of the Purple Bracket of “All Stars” 11? Which queens are you rooting for? Drop your comments below!
