Warning: SPOILERS ahead for AJ and the Queen season 1.
AJ and the Queen season 1 is full of RuPaul’s Drag Race queen cameos. The Netflix Original TV series was created by, and stars, RuPaul Charles of Drag Race fame; given the strong cult following the show has developed, it should be of no surprise to anyone that RuPaul would bring in some of RuPaul’s Drag Race’s most successful queens.
AJ and the Queen follows the cross-country journey of two unlikely companions: AJ (Izzy G), a street-smart hooligan with a negligent drug-addicted mother, and Robert aka Ruby Red (RuPaul Charles), a drag queen who was left penniless by a grifter and is embarking on a tour across America. Each episode brings the duo to a new town, where they meet a number of colorful characters — many of whom are played by Drag Race stars.
In total, 22 queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race (and its spin-offs) appear in the Netflix Original TV series. The cameos themselves range from background appearances and the occasional line, to full guest star appearances that are central to the episode’s plot. Not every episode of AJ and the Queen features a cameo, while some episodes feature quite a few.
Episode 1 — New York City
The cameos in episode 1 “New York City” include: Alexis Mateo (season 3, All-Stars season 1), Bianca Del Rio (season 6 winner), Eureka O’Hara (seasons 9 and 10), Manila Luzon (season 3, All-Stars seasons 1 and 4), Mayhem Miller (season 10), Victoria “Porkchop” Parker (season 1), Valentina (season 9, All-Stars season 4), and Vanessa “Miss Vanjie” Mateo (seasons 10 and 11). All the cameos are queens at the club. Del Rio, O’Hara, and Porkchop get some memorable lines, and Alexis Mateo’s “BAM!” is a reference to her hilarious catchphrase in RuPaul’s Drag Race season 3.
Episode 2 — Pittsburg
Jinkx Monsoon (season 5 winner) plays Edie, the queen Robert jokes “used to be pretty,” and Katya (season 7, All-Stars season 2) plays Magda, the queen who jokes she’s “jealous” of Brianna for being a drug addict. The throw-away line is a metafictional wink to Katya in real-life: fans of RuPaul’s Drag Race may remember that Katya herself is a recovering addict. As well, Jinkx Monsoon’s character’s name is a reference to her legendary Snatch Game performance as Little Edie from Grey Gardens.
Episode 3 — Columbus
Jaymes Mansfield (season 9) is the drag queen prepping backstage in episode 3 before Ruby goes on. She gets the line “Hey! That kid just stole my spare boobs!” Mansfield struggled on her season of RuPaul’s Drag Race and was the first queen eliminated; not one to get discouraged, however, she reappeared on the show in seasons 10 and 11 in guest appearances.
Episode 4 — Louisville
Chad Michaels (season 4, All-Stars season 1 winner) appears in episode 4 as the guest star role of Brian. Brian is the Louisville club’s main Cher impersonator who mysteriously stopped coming to performances. In the episode, Robert tracks Brian down and learned that he too had been grifted by the same man who conned Robert. Michaels is a Cher impersonator in real life. which he was able to bring to his time on RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Mariah Balenciaga (season 3), Kennedy Davenport (season 7, All-Stars season 3) and Jade Jolie (season 5) are the club’s mean queens. Davenport was notoriously catty during her time on Drag Race, and the episode nods to her reputation for being a villain. Ongina (season 1) also appears in the episode: as the queen waiting for Louis to finish her gown.
Episode 7 — Jackson
Latrice Royale (season 4, All-Stars 1, All-Stars 4) and Monique Heart (season 10, All-Stars 4) both appear in guest starring roles. Royale plays Fabergé, an old friend of Robert’s and the owner of the club in Jackson. Heart, credited as Kevin “Monique Heart” Richardson, plays Miss Terry, part of Fabergé’s crew; her energy and enthusiasm about the club (as well as her questionable ideas) echoes her time on season 10 of the reality series, particularly how she performed in group challenges. Royale also gets a “wink” to her time during RuPaul’s Drag Race: the overly orange face-makeup her character is wearing in the flashblack is a reference to her makeup early on in the competition.
Episode 9 — Fort Worth
Episode 9 features a surprise RuPaul’s Drag Race cameo at the end of the episode. Joshua Allan Eads, aka Ginger Minj, appears in the episode out of drag as a guest star. His character Tommy is the party planner hired by Robert’s old friend “BBB,” a rich texan’s wife who throws regular socialite parties. Because Robert impressed the guests of BBB’s party when he appeared as Ruby Red, Tommy decides to adopt his own drag queen alter ego: Fanny Pack.
Episode 10 — Dallas
AJ and the Queen’s finale brought Ruby Red and AJ to the Miss Drag USA competition in Dallas. Although the episode is filled with various drag queens as extras, there are only three RuPaul’s Drag Race cameos in the episode: Trinity The Tuck (season 9, All-Stars season 4 winner), Jujubee (season 2, All-Stars season 1), and Pandora Boxx (season 2, All-Stars season 1). Pandora Boxx gets a “special guest appearance” on the Netflix Original series in this episode, appearing briefly to do a hilarious jaw-drop gag. Trinity the Tuck plays Danielle Dupri, Ruby Red’s main competition for the Miss Drag USA crown. The Drag Race star is a known “pageant queen,” making her perfect to play the role.
Jujubee, who plays Lee Saint Lee, gets a fun Drag Race reference too: her statement that her fans are all from AA and NA (implying she herself has a substance-abuse problem) nods to her infamous lip sync battle from season 2, when she performed an epic rendition of “Black Velvet” while intoxicated.
Not all of the 22 Drag Race cameos were memorable, but several were; what’s more, the guest appearances by queens like Latrice Royale and Ginger Minj proved that these queens can act in and out of drag. While there’s no official word yet if the Netflix Original series AJ and the Queen will get a second season, if it does, there are sure to be even more RuPaul’s Drag Race cameos in store.
More: What To Expect From AJ & The Queen Season 2
