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

TikToker @richi_luvv; Sabrina Carpenter
@richi_luvv/TikTok; Sabrina Carpenter/YouTube

Kidz Bop Just Released A Cover Of A Super Suggestive Sabrina Carpenter Song—And Fans Are Not OK

Kidz Bop, the long-running music outfit that refashions pop songs for the ears of children, usually focuses on upbeat, bubble gum pop tunes, right?

It's like the kind of songs you'd hear at, say, the grocery store, retooled for the elementary school set.

Keep ReadingShow less
screenshot from Fox News broadcast
Fox News

Sean Hannity Roasted After Claiming His Friends In NYC Are 'Scared' After Mamdani's Win

When Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic primary for New York City mayor in June, Republicans and some old school Democrats were positively apoplectic.

An immigrant Muslim of Gujarati and Punjabi Indian parents who has lived in NYC since he was 7 years old, the 34-year-old New York State Assembly member was the stuff of nightmares for the MAGAsphere. Mamdani was a non-White, non-Christian, Uganda-born immigrant and progressive Democrat.

Keep ReadingShow less
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; Zohran Mamdani
Andres Kudacki/Getty Images; Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

AOC Has Democrats Applauding With Her Viral Reaction To Zohran Mamdani's Historic Win

New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had people nodding their heads after she opened up about why democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani's win in the New York City mayoral election on Tuesday is so important for the country at large as well as for the future of the Democratic Party.

Mamdani successfully took on the establishment to become the first South Asian, first Muslim, and first millennial mayor-elect, running a campaign that focused predominantly on the city's affordability crisis and that successfully batted away racist and Islamophobic backlash from right-wingers who claimed his policies would "destroy" the city.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Mike Johnson
Fox News

Mike Johnson Gets A Swift Reality Check After Trying To Downplay The Election Results

House Speaker Mike Johnson was called out after displaying his clear denial over Tuesday night's election wins for Democrats, claiming that "no one should read too much into" the results despite major upsets.

Democrats won races around the country, particularly in Virginia, where Abigail Spanberger became the first woman to the win the governorship in the state's history, and in New York City, where Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, successfully took on the establishment to become the first South Asian, first Muslim, and first millennial mayor-elect.

Keep ReadingShow less
A man in a suit walking down the sidewalk and pulling a bag
person in black suit jacket with r ed bag walking beside metal fence
Photo by Romain V on Unsplash

People Who Quit Their Jobs On Day One Reveal What Made Them Say 'Nope, Not Doing This'

Every now and then, simply because we need money, we might take a job that doesn't fulfill us in any way, but at least keeps our bank accounts happy.

Some jobs, however, are so soul-sucking that even with no other prospects immediately on the horizon, we can't, in good conscience, keep working them.

Keep ReadingShow less