This really took me by surprise. I won't lie, I don't keep up with India a whole lot, but she was one of my favorites from Drag Race season three. I love her style (dubbed "old school" by the new crop of queens) and she was one of the truly genuine feeling queens out of the whole bunch.
On her Facebook page, she has written a letter to her family, friends, and fans about her decision and her reasoning behind it. In the letter she describes how she has been so deeply involved in the world of drag for the past twelve years and has worn herself out. Also in the letter, she talks about her dislike of the new styles of drag and the attitudes they bring along with them. She calls out some of the major flaws with the Drag Race franchise, making for one controversial exit, but I wouldn't expect less.
I am an adamant believer that your position on the RPDR charts has next to no connection to your level of fierceness. Many queens have been sent home far before their time (The Princess, Lashauwn Beyond, Pandora Boxx, Sahara Davenport, Mimi Imfurst, and Venus D-Lite to name a few) and India was certainly one of them.
I have nothing but good wishes for India -- err -- Shane in the future. He makes one cute boy.
If you want to see her one last time in drag, she is fulfilling her already established performance dates. Be sure and go see her and give her all the positive energy and love you can. Her schedule is as follows:
April 4th Richmond,IN at the IU East College Show.
April 7th Cincinnati,OH at Adonis the Nightclub.
April 8th Dayton,OH at Club Masque for the OHIO AAG Pageant.
April 14th Denver,CO with Shannel from Season 1 of RPDR
April 20th and 21st Birmingham,AL for the Alabama AAG Pageant
May 12th Old Street Saloon in Monroe,OH
May 25th and 26th Talbott Street in Indianapolis,IN
Final Performance June 22nd, 23rd, and 24th at the National All American Goddess Pageant Dayton, OH
This is very sand for me to hear, I liked India a lot in her season as both a person and as a drag queen. I think that the show should stop judging fashion in a queen, or they can do it but not send home people or lay them in the bottom two because of that, they are not fucking fashionistas and judging someones look is not appropriate, especially in drag. If it is a sewing or fashion challenge go ahead, but any other type of challenge I find it absurd.
ReplyDeleteI read India's letter yesterday and I honestly think that she's a little bitter, I also saw her open arguing in Facebook with Carmen Carrera, which honestly didn't help her at all, she seemed very resented and a little envious of Carmen (which has nothing to envy about besides that killer body and face, IMO).
Anyway the best of lucks for Shane/India, I know she will comeback one day, maybe this will help her to think about it and understand that Drag is changing rapidly, it is not underground or reserved for the gay community anymore, now it is more open and diverse than ever and much of this is because of Drag Race, she also needs to understand that other styles of Drag have somehow more acceptance in people's aesthetic like Carmen or Raja...
Julian, julian_escobar87(at)hotmail