‘Drag Race’ EXCLUSIVE: Chi Chi DeVayne Says No ‘Kumbaya BS’ on ‘All Stars 3’

Adam Salandra
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TV

When Chi Chi DeVayne walked into the workroom at the start of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 8 wearing a dress made of trash bags, she showed the world just what a “cheap queen” can do. Through jaw-dropping choreography and one of the most iconic lip syncs in Drag Race history (see: “And I Am Telling You” against Thorgy Thor), she won a legion of fans who demanded that she appear on All Stars 3.

Never one to disappoint, the bayou queen is back to compete against some of the biggest names in the franchise. FANDOM sat down with Chi Chi to talk about the other contestants and her experience heading back into the workroom ahead of tonight’s season premiere.

FANDOM: Which former contestants did you expect to see when you entered the All Stars 3 workroom? And was there anyone you were surprised to see return? 

Chi Chi: I knew I was going to see Trixie and possibly Kennedy Davenport and both of them were there. So I was excited and scared as hell at the same time. I was surprised to see Aja because I was one of those doubty girls about Aja because she was just fresh off the boat. So for her to turn around and do an All Stars, it was kind of like, “Girl, why is she here?” But it was probably a little bit of jealousy cause she’s one of the newer, popular, pretty girls.

Is there anyone you wanted to see on All Stars 3 who didn’t make the cut? 

I wanted to see Trinity K. Bonet, simply because I’ve known and watched Trinity from afar for years in the pageant scene. I was always a background dancer and I used to love Trinity K. Bonet. And then I knew how bad she wanted to be on it just simply by following her social media. She really wanted to be on All Stars 3 bad so I really was heartbroken that Trinity wasn’t granted a chance to come back and show what she can do.

Once you saw all the queens you’d be going up against this season, who did you think was going to be the biggest competition for you personally? 

Well everybody else would probably say Kennedy because they want to see us go up against each other so bad. But the way I think, Trixie, she just scares the shit out of me because she’s already a superstar. The girl has her own TV show. She plays guitar. She’s just really, really, really talented. So yeah, that’s who basically had me quakin’ in my boots.

All Stars 3 cast

Obviously, a big part of your storyline in Season 8 was that you didn’t have a lot of money, but now you’ve toured the world and made a little more to work with. How would you say that’s changed your drag? 

My drag has changed substantially. Well, to me, in my eyes, you know, it has improved a lot. Like whereas before I wasn’t paying attention to smaller details. Just making sure that my look is complete and finished and polished. And I think that you do have to have a little bit of money to make things look more polished and hopefully, I went in and crushed them in the look department this time. Or at least just showed that I made some big improvements.

All Stars is an opportunity for a second chance to fix the things you wish you could have changed about your time on Season 8. What did you personally feel you had to prove heading into All Stars 3

Aside from the looks that I presented on the runway, I don’t think that I had anything to redeem myself for because I felt like the first time around I did very, very well. To make it to the fourth spot, I feel like I didn’t have anything to prove. Basically, the only other reason that I went back was because all the fans were screaming, “Chi Chi for All Stars 3,” and there was just no way I could let my fans down and turn down a second opportunity to be back on the show. I didn’t think that coming into this or leaving the show that I was going to be one of the more popular queens and that turned out to be totally not true.

You had one of the most iconic lip syncs of all time with “And I Am Telling You.” What was it like coming back into the workroom after that performance? Did you realize how well you did? 

When I’m on stage I kind of blackout. My mind just goes blank and I can hear the music and the beat but I really can’t see anything. It’s just all a big blur. But coming back into the workroom I knew it was gonna be something big because everybody was just, like, in awe. I was just like “What did I do?” I just did what I normally do, but coming in, everybody was telling me “Girl, you did so good. I had chills.” And the beads, when they broke — I was worried that that was gonna get me sent home because my costume malfunctioned.You don’t even realize that you’ve made TV history. I could feel everybody’s energy so I kind of knew it was gonna be big.

Season 8 was really known for the queens getting along really well, but can we expect any shade or good feuds brewing in All Stars 3

I can just tell ya, it ain’t gonna be no Season 8 Kumbaya bulls–t. Yea, there’s a lot more drama. It’s gonna definitely be a lot more drama because I definitely think there are lots of strong personalities this time around. And you can’t get that many girls in one room and not have a little bit of controversy.

Having had this experience already, what was the thing you were least looking forward to dealing with again when returning to the show? 

Definitely the off-screen [part]. Everybody knows we’re in prison when we film for the show. To have grown people just locked away like that, it ain’t natural I tell ya. I don’t see how people go to jail and spend years locked up. Being unable to do what you normally do on a day-to-day basis as a grown human, that’s the hardest part.

And what were you most looking forward to about returning to the competition? 

I was looking forward to just seeing my sisters. We see each other on the road here and there, but when we all get back together, when it’s a big group of us, you feel like you’re a part of this super secret great sorority and it feels like summer camp.

Speaking of that, since you’re all sisters, was there a fear of messing up any friendships now that you’re all pitted against each other again? 

No, there was not really fear because I think for the most part we all understand that, girl, it’s just TV. Turn up for TV. It’s just that sometimes, some of the girls, they turn up a little bit too much and that can kind of be a problem. But for the most part, no fear of ruining friendships or anything like that. At least not on my part.

RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 3 Chi Chi DeVayne

Find out how Chi Chi does when All Stars 3 premieres on Thursday, January 25 at 8 pm on VH1.

Adam Salandra
Adam Salandra is an Entertainment Editor for FANDOM. When he's not covering the latest in pop culture, you can find him playing with his French Bulldog pup or hovering over the table of food at any social gathering.