Chi Chi Reveals Why She Wanted To Leave 'Drag Race'

Episode 4 of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 3 saw something rather unique. The queen who went home actually wanted to be done with the competition. Why did Chi Chi want to leave RuPaul's Drag Race? In a phone interview, she tells Bustle what was going through her head.

Chi Chi says that being on the bottom of the group for four straight weeks took its toll on her. She adds that she would have been truly shocked if co-winners BenDeLaCreme and Shangela hadn’t sent her packing. “It was tough being in the bottom that many times. I’m a strong person but … being told that ‘you did good, you looked good, but it was not enough, you’re in the bottom this week.’ It’s hard to hear that every week, When you’re doing the best that you could do,” she says.

Hearing that she was the one going home, while an unpleasant experience for many queens, was the opposite for Chi Chi. “I was so relieved to be gone," she says with a laugh. "I just knew it was my time." She felt that her identity was something that was in flux, while the other queens knew exactly who they were, and that’s what led to her not doing as well as she’d hoped for, this season.

“All Stars was not the time to be trying to figure out who you are. You’re there to compete and be fierce and not second guess yourself,” she says. “I just found myself doing all of that so I’m still in the character development phase … I’m still discovering who Chi Chi is.”

Chi Chi says she's become a better queen in the time since she was eliminated. She took the opportunity for some self-reflection and growth. Now, to further create her drag persona, she’s doing something that she hadn’t done in the past, as much: Learning from others. “I [had] never really gone on social media, checking out other girls pages and looking to see what the new trends in drag [are], but now I’m paying more attention to that. I’m still stuck in that old Southern drag pageantry,” she admits. “I’m looking more at the Ajas and the Milks and just seeing how drag, it’s evolving and changing. I think to be successful, you have to evolve and change and go with the times. That’s the direction I’m going now.”

She now also plans to focus on her musical talents, which is something fans did not get to see much of during this season of All Stars. “I want to work on music … I’ve been singing since the age of seven,” she says. “I just want to work on my music and show that part of Chi Chi because I haven’t really let people in, I haven’t really shown that. So that’s the new direction I want to go.”

After she takes that time to work on her budding music career, Chi Chi says that she’d be willing to return to the show for another season. “I’m just a real person and I realized that maybe I need to do a little bit more work and do a little bit more research,” she says. “Then, come back for Season 11 or something and slay the girls … I’ll come back anytime they want me to come back.”

So, it isn’t Chi Chi that will win this season of Drag Race, then who? For Chi Chi, she’s got one queen in mind, a fellow Southern queen… Kennedy Davenport. That’s because Kennedy is unlike any other winning queen the show has had in the past. “I want Kennedy to win so she can educate and school the children on ‘this is how we do drag in the south, with me being the winner, you have no choice but to accept this,’” Chi Chi says. “There’s thousands of us, of Southern queens that think we’re the t*ts. But in other people’s eyes, people think our drag is dated. So, I’d love for Kennedy to win and shed more light on Southern drag. Letting people know that there’s more than just New York Fashion Week.”

While Chi Chi’s fans may be sad to see her go, she seems to have made good use of her time away from the show. And, even if she's gone, her fans are going to wan to keep tuning in because Chi Chi hints that big things are to come. “[I'm] still waiting, still waiting for my favorite moment of the competition,” she says. Keep tuning in to see what that moment may be.