Gao's Thoughts: Why The World Hates Laganja Estranja (But You Shouldn't) [#TheReturn Day Two]

With the new start comes a new recurring column! This one is called "Gao's Thoughts" where I, GaoSalad, will take subjects from time to time, many of which I have the opposing opinion from the majority of the world, and elaborate on my views. The site was on hiatus during the most recent season of RuPaul's Drag Race, which for the purposes of this article may be a good thing. Now that the formalities are out of the way, let's take a look at why the world seems to really hate season six contestant Laganja Estranja, but they really shouldn't.

Let's get right into it by pointing out that people have said that Ms. Estranja was annoying. I know this is mostly an opinion type of situation. "But GaoSalad," you cry "I don't know why she's so annoying. She just is." But alas! I know. The majority of the viewers from this season carried over watching from last year and the year before. Here is where I found the root of this issue. We find out early on that Laganja's drag mother is Alyssa Edwards. Has it clicked yet? Laganja picked up on a lot of Alyssa's mannerisms.

The "Okaaaay"s and the "Yes mama"s and the "gurrrrl"s and the "believe"s are all things we'd seen last year from Alyssa, who might I add is one of the most loved queens of her season outside the top three. But why was Alyssa so beloved and Laganja so hated? Well either she was trying too hard to bring that House of Edwards charm, or it was all in the editing. What a lot of people don't know is that the show is heavily edited down and often slanted in a way to create a story arc. From what I saw, they edited the show to highlight a lot of the more outrageous things Lagnaja did so that when she had her big meltdown (we'll get to that later), it seemed justified.

So maybe she was trying a bit too hard for the cameras. She wanted people to like her, and I hate to say it, but when you consciously know a camera is in front of you, you're going to act different. Let's chalk it up to nervousness.

The big thing I heard that irked me a bit, even though at the time I wasn't her biggest fan, was that she wasn't "polished" enough to be the winner. A little research would tell you that she had only been doing drag for about two years when she auditioned -- I guess it's in the Edwards blood to be bold at a young age ala Shangela -- and she looked rather stunning in most of the runway walks. Sure she flopped on some of the challenges, but for the most part she looked great on the runway. That's what the show doesn't highlight. They are pitting queens who have decades of experience in some cases against girls who still have training wheels. While it's not something that should handicap them, as a viewer to pick apart someone who is truly still learning the craft and developing their own style, it can be rough.

Sure being new isn't really an excuse, but for what we got, I think she fared well in the fashion and runway aspects much better than others who far surpassed her in the competition.

Before we get to the big breakdown, I would like to bring up one small thing that might change your view on the season's biggest controversies. Adore claimed that Laganja was putting on a voice and didn't actually talk like that. As stated before, those of us who had been watching the show for years had already encountered a few members of the House of Edwards. I think on some level she knew this and felt she needed to bring that charm her fellow house members were known for. Also as stated above, I think she went a bit overboard with it all.

Think about it for just a second. Adore and Langaja had been friends for years. Maybe, just maybe, Adore hadn't encountered her friend around Mama Edwards. We all unconsciously act different around different people. You can rattle on all day about how you "keep it real" and area always yourself, but often times many people adjust to their surroundings and pick up on mannerisms of the people around them. I am not really a flamboyant person, but get me around drag queens and you'll see the Estranja in me come out for the entire world to see. It's not that I'm being "fake". I'm just showcasing a side of me that doesn't see the light of day around my friends who don't associate themselves with drag culture.

As I scanned through reviews of the season, the one thing that people kept talking about over and
over was Laganja Estranja and the big meltdown on Untucked. I had mixed feelings about this for a long while. One one side, I think "yeah she is a hot mess. Why would she let the cameras capture a moment like that?" and the other side of me thinks "I've totally be there." Not exactly right there, but I've been in a situation where I felt like the room is against me, and I'm up against the wall. She said she felt like Adore came for her that day, but couldn't remember the exact thing that happened. Well guess what, I'd be willing to guess her emotions got the best of her and it was pretty hard to focus. Think back to a time when you were so mentally stressed out, and imagine someone coming to you asking for the exact date and time that they said your mother was fat. It's tough for the brain to function in that kind of setting. The next day she came up to Adore and told her what had happened to make her feel that way, and they got over it. You should too.

The moral of this story, I guess, is that RuPaul's Drag Race is a TV show. Even if it is in the genre of "reality TV", they are still going to spice things up in the editing room, making story arcs (*cough* Alyssaversuscoco *cough*), villains (*cough* Theheathersandphiphio'hara *cough*) and drama from left field (*cough* Everythingoutofdariennelake'smouth *cough* Damn this cold!). It makes for interesting TV. Unfortunately, the cost of making interesting TV sometimes results in unnecessary hatred towards someone. It's one thing to dislike someone in the competition or show, but it's another thing entirely to transpose those feelings into reality.

Remember folks, it's just a TV show. No need to take it so seriously. It is drag after all!

[We have reached out to Laganja for her take on the situation. We are hoping to update in the near future with some quotes from her on the matters.]