Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Season 17.Like a cartoon come to life, Lucky Starzzz stood out for her unique and artistic approach to the art of drag. Known for her incredible eye and uniquely original perspective, Lucky Starzzz was RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 17’s crafty queen. But when a design challenge called for her to use conventional materials outside of her wheelhouse, the week she opted for “typical” drag became the week she went home.
An early fan favorite for her larger-than-life costumes and affable personality, Lucky’s story was one to root for. Sharing the tragedies in her life with the world, Lucky was doing Drag Race for her family, to help them out of their recent hardship. While winning was top of mind, Lucky also spent some time growing close to another artistically unique queen, Arrietty. So, did their friendship blossom into an artistic romance? With the season’s big twist, the Badonka Dunk Tank, saving Hormona Lisa after losing the Lip Sync for Your Life week 2, Lucky Starzzz, unfortunately, wasn’t feeling lucky, as the odds were not in her favor to stay, becoming the season’s Porkchop queen. As she joked, “I’m going to re-brand as Unlucky Starzzz now.”
Lucky Starzzz Has To Stand Out Amidst a Busy Drag Scene

“I’ve always been a Venus fly trap in a room full of roses”

Image via MTV

COLLIDER: Home Depot ain’t got nothing on her. It’s Lucky Starzzz!
LUCKY STARZZZ: OK!
Condragulations on a fantastic run on Drag Race! How does it feel to officially be a Ru girl now?
LUCKY: I feel honestly honored. I feel great. It hits me in doses, all the time. I’m still trying to wrap my head around, “oh, wow, I really am a Ru girl now,” you know. But I’m absolutely proud and honored.
If you could describe your Drag Race 17 journey in three words. What would they be?
LUCKY: Colorful. Very colorful. Full circle. And expressive.
You were there for your family. How proud are they of you and your journey?
LUCKY: My family is very old school, like Latino, you know? They are all about whether or not I’m making money. So, as long as I’m making money, they’re good. But yeah, they’re really proud. They’re really proud.
You represented Miami, Florida this season. Now, compared to previous Miami queens we’ve seen on the show, you stand out for your unique and beautiful artistry. What is it like being your own entity in a scene that’s filled with bucking brunch queens?
LUCKY: I feel good because I get to stand out. I’ve always been in my own lane. I’ve always been a Venus fly trap in a room full of roses, I always say as a metaphor. I honestly see it as a superpower.
The season kicked off with a talent show where you gave us an iconic number. Talk to me about the creation of “Lucky’s Lemonade.”
LUCKY: For me, “Lucky’s Lemonade” is a short cartoon brought to life. So, imagine a crazy cartoon episode. A crazy kids’ TV show cartoon episode gone crazy. Does that make sense? It has a lot of innuendos. It has a lot of metaphors, if you really look at it. She’s basically a lemonade girl selling it at the corner at the lemonade stand. Does that make sense?
Absolutely.
LUCKY: It’s very “Peanut Butter” by RuPaul. You know, “Peanut Butter” by RuPaul is selling peanut butter at the corner, but at the other corner, you see Lucky’s lemonade, and she’s selling something else.
I love that. Now, you mentioned that you create your looks with unconventional materials. What is the most unique item that you’ve purchased and utilized for drag?
LUCKY: Actually, the most unique item is extending foam. When I started using that, it changed my life. I created so many pieces of it. I kind of sculpt my drag in a way. I create sculptures and projects and I wear them…I think expanding foam was like a big thing.
Lucky Shares Her Regrets About the Design Challenge

“I’m going to rebrand as Unlucky Starzzz now.”

Now, when it came to the design challenge, we had regular materials. What was your reaction when you realized it was a bit out of your comfort zone?
LUCKY: When I saw those regular materials, I was like, “Oh, girl, oh girl. We in trouble.” Actually, when they first gave me the prompt of Monopoly, I was like, “Oh my god, I’m going to turn into a money tree. I’m gonna make a tree look, and I’m gonna have little dollar bills all over the leaves.” Yo, when I saw that fabric and those pretty little sequins, I’m like, “…Yeah.”
What a drastic transformation on the runway. And now, Drag Race does have a history of watching queens go home when they try something different. Do you have any regret presenting a different drag aesthetic out of your normal realm?
LUCKY: I have regrets, of course, but the thing is, the prompt didn’t call for any weird, crazy look. So I just don’t know. I really don’t. Besides making the outfit better… I don’t know. It was so different from what I do.
You broke down on the Main Stage. Where did those emotions come from?
LUCKY: They came from me thinking about my family. Thinking about how much I felt like a failure. Thinking about how embarrassed I was. Thinking about how ugly I felt that day. Thinking about how I flopped the challenge. It was just so much weighing on me all at once, and I kind of just, I also just felt embarrassed, you know. I was having an emotional breakdown, basically.
And then you get to Untucked where you found so much love and support from your sisters. What was that like?
LUCKY: Honestly, I felt so loved. I felt so supported. Oh my god, this is gonna be so crazy to watch again. I honestly felt so loved, I felt so supported. I felt like, wow. Honestly, in the lip sync, I was ready to fight, not only for those back home but for my sisters as well. They shared their energy with me, and I wanted to present that energy in a beautiful way.
This season got twisted. The return of Rate-A-Queen. The Badonka Dunk Tank. First, what was your reaction when you saw that the dossier had the complete ratings?
LUCKY: I was like, “Yes, I am ready for the world to see that I was in the top!” I felt so proud of my talent show. So it was nice to finally kind of get a little bit of the validation. Like, oh, I was third, you know. So even though I felt like I should have been one of the top two, but it’s fine. You know what? They should have done a top three. Hello!
There you go! Listen, I had you in my top two. I would have put you in the top.
LUCKY: Imagine the top three lip sync. That would have shook things up.
Absolutely. Now, after Hormona earned the first safety from the Bandonka Dunk Tank, the odds were very much not in favor for the next queen to pull a lever. What was going through your mind when you realized you were in the bottom?
LUCKY: I kind of was already feeling very down. But there was a little, little slight bit of hope that there was going to be some other twist that they’re going to reveal. Or maybe RuPaul himself is going to tell me to stay or something. Or maybe, who knows, maybe I do pull the right lever.
You were feeling lucky!
LUCKY: I was getting lucky. But as you see, I’m going to rebrand as Unlucky Starzzz now.

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Lucky Starzzz Spills the Tea on Her ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Season 17 Sisters

“We definitely did have a connection or do have a connection.”

Image via MTV

Let’s play a round of Tea Time. I’m going to give you a name of one of your Drag Race 17 sisters, and you’re going to give me the first word or phrase that comes to mind. Are you ready?
LUCKY: Yes.
Alright. Let’s start with Suzie Toot.
LUCKY: Tap dancing.
Lydia B Kollins.
LUCKY: Forehead brows.
Kori King.
LUCKY: Dunkin’ Donuts.
Lana Ja’Rae.
LUCKY: Skinny.
Onya Nurve.
LUCKY: Sweet.
Jewels Sparkles.
LUCKY: Ditzy. Ditzy, like, very like, yeah, ditzy, right.
Crystal Envy.
LUCKY: Beautiful.
Sam Star.
LUCKY: Country.
Lexi Love.
LUCKY: A trip.
Acacia Forgot.
LUCKY: Pink. Blush.
Hormona Lisa.
LUCKY: Oh, you know what? Okay. Acacia, blush. Hormona Lisa, pink.
Joella.
LUCKY: My assassinator.
Arrietty.
LUCKY: Paint. Let’s paint.
And Lucky Starzzz.
LUCKY: Eliminated.
Hey, listen! Now, before we go, we saw some flirting in the work room. How are things moving with Arrietty?
LUCKY: Wait, by the way, do you see flirting in the upcoming one?
A little bit, a little bit.
LUCKY: Okay, honestly, she’s my closest friend from the cast. But we really are just friends. I like to keep a little bit to the mystery, because, you know. But no, we’re really cool. I do think that there, there has been moments where I could tell, okay, it wasn’t just on screen. We definitely did have a connection or do have a connection. We just haven’t really communicated like that lately, just because we’re so busy. But she’s always been so sweet, and I always considered her my best friend for the cast.
I love that. Now, my final question, very quickly, what is the next dream for Lucky?
LUCKY: ALL STARS! Oh, sorry, let me stop. I mean, I’m not opposed. My next dream is I want to be everywhere. I want to make money. That’s my main goal right now. I want to have my own place, finally. I want to just live life. I want to like, not have to struggle. I’m tired of that. I want to go from survival mode to actually thriving mode. That’s my goal.
I’m here for that. Well, I wish you all the luck in the world, and I hope to meet you at DragCon LA!
LUCKY: Yes, you will. You will, you will.
RuPaul’s Drag Race airs Fridays at 8:00 pm on MTV. RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked airs immediately after. Previous seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race are available to stream on Paramount+ in the U.S.
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RuPaul searches for America’s next drag superstar.

Release Date

February 2, 2009

Cast

RuPaul

Seasons

15

Awards Nominations

Primetime Emmy Awards, Critics Choice Awards

Awards Won

Critics’ Choice Real TV Awards: Best Competition Series

Producer

Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato, Tom Campbell, RuPaul, Steven Corfe, Mandy Salangsang, Chris McKim

Production Company

World of Wonder

Number of Episodes

200

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