Drag Race star Ra’Jah O’Hara only spent $600 on her All Stars 6 looks
Ra’Jah O’Hara turned some serious looks in All Stars 6, taking her all the way to the final. (YouTube/RuPaul’s Drag Race)
Drag Race All Stars 6 runner-up Ra’Jah O’Hara recently revealed that she only spent $600 on her looks for the season, despite previous contestants reportedly spending up to $20,000.
Speaking to NewNowNext, O’Hara explained how she “made everything” herself and was forced to be creative with her looks this season.
“I had to be very resourceful first off because we were in the middle of a pandemic working with limited time and resources,” she explained. “But also because I didn’t actually have the connections.
“A lot of girls leave Drag Race and they are so beloved by the world that the world opens up and unveils themselves to these queens so that they have a lot more opportunities to be seen and recognized by designers.
“But me leaving season 11 as the villain, I didn’t have that opportunity. All I got to see was my inbox flooded with snake emojis and death threats.”
She explained that she made every outfit herself, with one exception: the blue tulle gown she wore in episode four, “The Frill of it All”, which was made by her sister Ariel O’Hara.
“I’m comfortable sewing as well,” she continued. “So I knew that I had to use what I had and all I had at the time was $600. Because I knew I wasn’t going to be able to take out a $20,000 loan like some people do.
“I feel like if I can’t make it with what I got, it ain’t for me. And luckily I was able to make everything that you saw.”
An investigation by a Vice journalist earlier this year found that former Drag Race contestants had spent “anywhere from $4,000 [£2,895] on the low end to upwards of $20,000 [£14,476] on the higher end”.
Season eight winner Bob the Drag Queen told Vice she spent “maybe $3,000” on Drag Race, plus an additional $3,000 on her two finale looks.
She added: “If I went back on Drag Race now, I’d probably be spending $20–40,000.”
On the US series, the winner receives a $100,000 cash prize plus various other non-cash prizes. Many of the mini and maxi-challenges also offer cash tips of $5,000 (or $10,000 on All Stars).
On All Stars 6, winner Kylie Sonique Love took home a total of $111,000, including her cash prize for winning and her challenge winnings.
Ra’Jah O’Hara took home $30,000 during the series, making it to the final but narrowly missing out on the crown.
There were seven queens this season that took home no cash prizes, including Pandora Boxx who came sixth, A’keria C. Davenport who came eighth, and Scarlet Envy who came ninth.
