Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Drag Race's Asia O'Hara Spills The Tea About Those Dead Butterflies In Tell-All Interview

Drag Race's Asia O'Hara Spills The Tea About Those Dead Butterflies In Tell-All Interview
(OsnapitzChandler/YouTube)

Spoiler alert! If you haven't watched the 10th season finale of RuPaul's Drag Race, you may want to chasse away.

You could say finalist Asia O'Hara gave it her all in terms of creativity. The 35-year-old has proven throughout the season that she is a force to be reckoned with on the runway with her eye-popping, provocative looks.

Sadly, her lip sync for life didn't take flight the way she had hoped. So what happened?





Being one of the older contestants and admittedly not the strongest dancer among her competitors, Asia knew she had to soar above the competition to stand out from the herd.

She told Entertainment weekly about her failed final performance in which her glam army of butterflies failed to take flight.

I wanted to create a moment that was unforgettable, a moment that people would think, "Oh my God, that's one of the greatest things I've ever seen." The competitor in me is always thinking about how I can eliminate doubts in anyone's mind that I'm the best person on the stage in the moment.





In a competition where you can never be too ambitious, Asia wanted to secure her place in the annals of Drag Race history for being a visionary, a risk-taker, a walking wow-factor. So she kept her gimmick a major secret until the reveal.

In my head, the butterfly release was going to work out perfectly. I didn't share my ideas with anyone — including my boyfriend — because I've learned that it's hard to explain to people what I see in my head, and also I wanted it to be a surprise to everyone and I wanted a genuine reaction. It just didn't work out.





What she envisioned in her head didn't fly well in execution. It was all about temperature.

I used what are called Painted Lady butterflies, and going west across the continental divide, they have to be kept cool — basically in hibernation or asleep — so they don't stress. They need to warm up to a certain temperature in order to fly away. I, of course, rehearsed it at home several times and it worked, but [the finale was] a different place and a different environment, and I don't think the contraptions were warm enough to wake the butterflies up. But, as they warmed up in the stage lights during the break, they started to fly away!



Fly my pretties.(OsnapitzChandler/YouTube)





EW asked what was going through her mind the moment she realized her winged friends weren't going to flutter away.

So, I opened the first one and the butterflies kind of looked at me like, is it that time? I thought there was going to be a warning! In that moment I knew, okay, it's not going to go the way I planned and that it was probably my last hurrah. But, I continued to open the other three, thinking the ones on my chest were maybe going to be warmer. It just was not the case, but you know, I wasn't going to just stand there and fold my arms and say I was done.




She explained she wasn't reckless in her preparation as she respects the life of "everything that draws breath and would never purposely hurt a butterfly or any animal." She did her research on how to properly handle the butterflies and rehearsed with handlers who specialize in the act.

As you know, however, that moment did not go as planned and I would like to publicly offer the entire world my deepest apology.



Are they dead?(OsnapitzChandler/YouTube)



In fans' eyes, she won.


So what was her takeaway from the experience? Not relying on temperamental beings to elevate a performance.

The pressure of needing to do well in that moment overshadows normal judgment… the second I saw the first one not take flight, it was like, I should have known not to gamble such a large opportunity on something as temperamental as a butterfly.




H/T - YouTube, Twitter, EW

More from Trending

Sharon Stone
David Begnaud/YouTube

Sharon Stone Recalls Husband's 'Furious' Reaction To Her Decision To Get Double Mastectomy In Heartbreaking Interview

The more successful we become, the more important it is for us to remember those who stood by us on our way up.

Not only was Sharon Stone ready to reflect on that, but she was also ready to dish on the people who let her go for the pettiest reasons.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Jennifer Welch
I've Had It Podcast

Liberal Podcast Host Calls For Boycott Of 'Every F—king Thing' On CBS News After Scott Pelley's Firing In Fiery Mic Drop Rant

Former Bravo star and I've Had It podcast co-host Jennifer Welch called for people to "boycott every f**king thing on CBS News" after 60 Minutes anchor Scott Pelley was fired after a heated clash with network executives.

Pelley's contract was terminated following a contentious public dispute with Nick Bilton, a former technology reporter recently brought in by Bari Weiss, who has also overseen a broader shake-up that included the departure of senior producers and correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega.

Keep ReadingShow less
JoJo Siwa shared a health update after suffering a concussion and eye infection following a golf cart accident.
@itsjojosiwa/Instagram

JoJo Siwa Reveals Concussion And 'Gnarly' Eye Infection After Getting 'Thrown Off' Golf Cart

After worrying fans with photos and videos showing a swollen, infected eye, JoJo Siwa has revealed the cause of her recent health scare: a golf cart accident that left her with a concussion and other injuries.

Siwa shared a glimpse of her condition following the accident:

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of Ted Lieu and Marco Rubio
@Acyn/X

Marco Rubio Hit With Instant Video Factcheck After Claiming To Congress That He's 'Never Seen' Trump 'Fall Asleep'

California Democratic Representative Ted Lieu caught Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a blatant lie and presented video evidence after Rubio testified to Congress that he'd "never seen" President Donald Trump "fall asleep" during a Cabinet meeting.

Trump has repeatedly had to cover for always falling asleep during meetings and events, and regularly rages against anyone who points out obvious signs of age-related decline. Last month, a White House account claimed he was simply "blinking" after Trump appeared to fall asleep during an event on maternal health in the Oval Office.

Keep ReadingShow less
Joel Webbon
@joelwebbon/X

Conservative Pastor Roasted Over Claim That Smoking Marijuana Instead Of Tobacco Makes Men 'Spiritually Gay'

Stop smoking weed or you'll turn gay. Real men smoke cigarettes! That's the message, more or less, that one wackjob pastor recently delivered to his followers.

Fundamentalist Christian Joel Webbon, who, like most fundamentalist Christians, is obsessed with gay people, says that the path back to "masculinity" is nicotine, whereas marijuana makes men "spiritually gay."

Keep ReadingShow less