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RuPaul’s Drag Race UK season 4 star Sminty Drop has opened up on what has been widely described as one of the most iconic exits ever seen on the franchise.
The performer’s exit has even been compared to the viral moment Miss Vanjie left the competition in season 10 in the US – one of the highest compliments an eliminated queen could receive.
During last night’s episode on BBC Three, Sminty Drop wound up in the bottom opposite Baby following the improv acting challenge and hair-inspired runway, before losing out to her close friend in the lip sync for their lives.
As Sminty reached the end of the stage in tears to bid her farewell, she began twerking while continuing to sob, leaving the judges and her fellow queens in hysterics – and has now revealed to Metro.co.uk and other press what was going on in her head at the time.
Fans immediately took to Twitter to say they thought her exit was ‘hilarious’ and ‘perfect’, with one stating: ‘Sminty Drop has the most iconic elimination exit of the Drag Race franchise now. She was so unserious for that.’
Looking back on the moment and the adoring reaction from viewers, the 23-year-old from Lancashire said: ‘It’s honestly so crazy. I think it made such a sad moment so much better.’
Nothing could have prepared anyone for Sminty’s unforgettable exit (Picture: BBC)
Stressing how emotional she became watching herself on screen at her viewing party in Manchester, Sminty explained that when she reached the end of the stage, she was ‘in such a tizz that I literally couldn’t even form a sentence’.
‘I just felt my body sort of go into this weird position and I was like, well, now we’re twerking. Now we’re going and I can’t stop. Okay, and everyone’s laughing. Okay, we’ll go with it,’ she continued.
‘To have such a sad moment – but also kind of happy – be so well-received on social media, it’s just really put it up there as an amazing experience. I’m in good spirits about it, I really am.’
Fans compared Sminty’s exit to Miss Vanjie’s season 10 departure, which went down in Drag Race herstory in 2018 (Picture: RuPaul’s Drag Race/YouTube)
While Sminty might have been told the dreaded words to ‘sashay away’ by RuPaul, she was lucky to leave on the episode that featured the one and only Alison Hammond as a guest judge.
The queen, who received glowing feedback from the judges for her stellar runway looks, revealed that Alison wasn’t as critical of her performance in the improv challenge as the other judges.
‘I do remember her saying, “Well, to be honest, I watched it and I thought it was really good. I thought it was quite funny. But obviously I didn’t really know the character. I was just watching you. And it obviously wasn’t the character that it’s been described. But I thought you were quite funny,”’ Sminty recollected.
‘And I was like, obviously they couldn’t put that in because it would’ve made me look better,’ she quipped.
Alison was left cackling by Sminty’s twerking sign-off (Picture: BBC)
Sminty’s performance in the improv challenge landed her in the bottom two (Picture: BBC)
Sminty emphasised how delighted she was that her elimination happened to fall on Alison’s episode.
‘Knowing that I got sent home on that Alison Hammond episode… she was so highly anticipated to be on the season. So I already knew the ratings were gonna go through the roof to watch Alison Hammond,’ she said.
‘I was just like, I know what my exit line was. I was literally sat there like, this is good. This is good for me.’
One aspect of the series that Sminty wishes had been portrayed more in the final edit was her close friendship with Baby, as she outlined how ‘inseparable’ they were.
Baby had to go up against her close friend in the lip sync (Picture: BBC)
‘We formed such a close connection. We formed it on camera and off camera. I feel like people didn’t get to see that,’ she said.
‘I really wanted people to see my personality, see my looks, but also see the connections that I’d formed with other people as well because it was a really beautiful experience having those moments with each other,’ Sminty explained, adding that the show did keep in a heartfelt moment that she shared with Dakota Schiffer in the Werk Room.
Sminty’s close friendship with Baby made their lip sync that much more difficult.
Sminty sobbed as Baby consoled her after her lip sync loss (Picture: BBC)
This is how you leave a lasting impression (Picture: BBC)
‘When it was announced that we were in the lip sync, we couldn’t look at each other because we would just cry. At that time. I was just like, “Oh my god, this has happened because they want like a best-friend-off, but watching it through and seeing that none of our best friends-ness has made the cut, it was like, it wasn’t a best-friend-off, we were just rubbish,’ she said, laughing.
Sminty also revealed that she and Black Peppa ‘manifested’ that they were going to be on season four together, having known each other for a long time.
‘I’m just so glad that I’ve formed such a sisterhood,’ she said of the whole cast. ‘It was such a heartwarming experience because all I just remember is how much we laughed with each other. Like we really were each other’s ride or dies.
‘I think I just needed to see other people from across the UK and what their drag is and just to be inspired. I’m a creative person. I just love being inspired and I could not have been surrounded by a more inspiring cast of people.’
RuPaul’s Drag Race UK returns next Thursday at 9pm on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer.
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‘I just felt my body sort of go into this weird position,’ the queen recalled.