Disco Bloodbath: The End

I may have mispoken earlier when I said that Bebe Zahara Benet should win RuPaul's Drag Race. I was really just trying to say that she was a fierce competitor and stood a great chance at taking the whole competition. I didn't really think she was going to take it.

But as I tend to speak things into existence, last night, Bebe took the crown as the next great drag superstar, with Nina Flowers as runner-up. This upset me for a number of reasons. I think there was a certain amount of politicking (Bebe hailing from an AIDS ridden country in Africa, etc.) and perhaps a little bit of sexism (for lack of a better word) towards Nina's more androgynous, sometimes even masculine, interpretation of drag. Deep down, I really felt Nina was going to win. She deserved it, if only by a slight margin.

While both are fierce, and amazing performers, and brilliant always-on-point illusionists, Bebe maintained this (yawn) delusion that she had to do everything with "dig-ni-tee" and "ree-spekt," which is all well and good until you remember you're a 6 foot 3" man in a leopard body suit and a ginormous wig. Home girl got all Lucille Ball "waaah" when they dumped water on her, made her kick box, and even when she had to compete in a "vogue off." Christ woman, this isn't the search for the next drag amabassador to the UN.

Nina Flowers, however, worked every challenge they gave her. Dunk a bucket of water on the bitch, make her fight one-on-one with a Krav Maga expert, it don't matter, loca! Bend her, break her, anyway you need her, Nina handled everything with charisma and humor (which I guess I find more admirable than dignity and respect). At the end of the day, she would have been a much more fun MC for the Absolut "Real Fruit" Tour this summer (the main prize in the competition).

Ironically, I think RuPaul failed, as Tyra does (every. single. time.), but in the exact opposite way. While Tyra claims to be searching for high-fashion, she always chooses someone with (debatable) "personality" and approachability (read: the pretty girl from high school, never known for much else). RuPaul wanted an entertainer, approachable and personable, and instead chose a high-fashion Cameroooooon Barbie.

Below are two performances from the ladies in question. Both are flawless and entertaining, but ask yourself which one is more engaging and crowd-working at the end of the day.