Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and “The View” moderator Whoopi Goldberg are among the guest judges on Season 12 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” VH1 announced Thursday.
Ocasio-Cortez is a self-described superfan of the drag queen competition, appearing on the Season 11 reunion special with a message of support for fan-favorite contestant Nina West. AOC also attended the show of Season 9 winner Sasha Velour and agreed to a “glam session” with contestant Shuga Cain. In a promo for Season 12, AOC declares, “I pledge allegiance to the drag!”
Goldberg was a guest speaker at DragCon — the annual drag queen convention — in New York last year. She is a vocal supporter of LGBTQ rights, kicking off World Pride Day in June with several notable “Drag Race” alumni.
Nicki Minaj will appear in the season opener, continuing the tradition of pop star premiere judges that began with Lady Gaga in Season 9 and Christina Aguilera in Season 10. Other guest judges this season are Chaka Khan, Robyn, Leslie Jones, Normani, Jeff Goldblum, Daisy Ridley, Thandie Newton, Olivia Munn, Rachel Bloom, Daniel Franzese, Jonathan Bennett and Winnie Harlow.
Normani and Harlow know what it’s like to compete on reality TV, rising to fame on “The X Factor” and “America’s Next Top Model,” respectively.
They join regular judges RuPaul, Michelle Visage and Ross Mathews in deciding who will stay, lip-sync for their life or “sashay away.”
The 13 contestants vying for the ultimate title of “America’s Next Drag Superstar” and a grand prize of $100,000 include: Aiden Zhane (Acworth, GA), Brita (New York, NY), Crystal Methyd (Springfield, MO), Dahlia Sin (Los Angeles, CA), Gigi Goode (Los Angeles, CA), Heidi N Closet (Ramseur, NC), Jackie Cox (New York, NY), Jaida Essence Hall (Milwaukee, WI), Jan (New York, NY), Nicky Doll (New York, NY), Rock M. Sakura (San Francisco, CA), Sherry Pie (New York, NY), and Widow Von’Du (Kansas City, MO).
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” and “RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked” are produced by World of Wonder Productions with Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato, Tom Campbell, Steven Corfe, Mandy Salangsang and RuPaul Charles serving as Executive Producers. Tim Palazzola serves as Executive Producer for VH1 and Jen Passovoy serves as Producer.
Season 12 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” premieres Friday, February 28th at 8:00 PM ET/PT on VH1. Check out the new trailer above and AOC’s promo below:
?️??? @AOC joins the Ruvolution! ???️?#DragRace premieres 2/28 at 8/7c on @VH1! pic.twitter.com/lH8TDTtWSy
— RuPaul's Drag Race (@RuPaulsDragRace) February 13, 2020