Heading into the 11th episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 11, series legend and assumed front-runner Kennedy Davenport had just been eliminated from the competition by her own niece. That’s right — both Kennedy and A’keria C. Davenport fell to the bottom two after failing to impress their fellow semifinalist sisters in the Rate-a-Queen MVQ twist. A’keria bested Kennedy in the lip sync and set auntie packing, leaving only seven queens still in the hunt for that elusive All Stars crown.
For their second semifinals challenge, A’keria, Crystal Methyd, Dawn, Jasmine Kennedie, Joey Jay, Sam Star, and Silky Nutmeg Ganache competed in the seasonal talent showcase by putting their star power on the line. Actor Cooper Koch served as guest judge alongside series stars RuPaul Charles, Michelle Visage, and Ts Madison.
Read on for our recap of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 11, Episode 11, titled “Tournament of All Stars Talent Rumble,” which began streaming Friday, July 10 at 12 a.m. PT on Paramount+.
“If I gotta be a fake ass bitch in your story, I guess I got to be it.” — Silky Nutmeg Ganache
There were mixed emotions in the Werk Room following Kennedy’s elimination, in part shock because the girls expected her to be one of the top two at the end of the season, and in part elation that their biggest threat was no longer in the competition. A’keria knew that the other girls had made strategic placements in the Rate-a-Queen in order to capitalize on Kennedy’s poor challenge performance, but it all truly came out when they were exposed to the Rate-a-Queen Receipts book. Joey had to explain the unexplainable decision to put Kennedy at the top of her ratings, saying that she wanted to keep Kennedy out of the bottom in the off chance that she’d have to face her in the lip sync. A’keria was shocked that she was ultimately ranked under Kennedy in sixth place, thanks to number five placements from most of the queens and a six from her former friend Silky.
The next morning, A’keria made an attempt to call it water under the bridge with the girls, but refused to let Silky’s shadiness slip through with the rest. She called her out for being a “fake-ass bitch” putting her in sixth place, only for Silky to be entirely unbothered by the accusation. Water under the bridge or not, the queens still got wet when they hit the backstage for a foam party mini-challenge where they had to lip sync while being sprayed with foam from hoses by members of the Pit Crew. Selected as the winner for her wet and wild performance was Sam.
“Girls, congratulations. You understand how zippers and snaps work. That doesn’t mean you’re showing a talent.” — Jasmine Kennedie
For the maxi-challenge and their opportunity to secure a spot in the “Grand Finale,” the all stars were asked to prepare a performance in the “Tournament of All Stars Talent Rumble.” Having planned in advance, Jasmine was set for an athletic cheer performance, A’keria wanted to bring silliness to a burlesque number with puppets, Crystal devised an interpretative dance about global warming, Joey leaned on her skills in ballroom dancing, Sam wrote a song about kissing ass, Dawn also planned burlesque but with an elf twist, and Silky brought HBCU-style majorette dance to the stage.
To further prepare, the queens got rehearsal time with the series dancers and one or two of the other queens for feedback. Crystal confusingly guided the dancers through her vision of snowy-weather interpretative dance and Joey helped Silky convince the guys that they “all have to give bottom” when stomping in her majorette line. Dawn was in the position of choreographer for the first time, complicated by the fact that Sam was watching and offering catty comments that only further intimidated her. Later on the morning of the rumble, A’keria was still working on the puppets that she intended to incorporate into her show while Dawn vocalized to the girls that she was worried about living up to the promising standards of everyone else.
“I can’t tell if I’m obsessed with it or if I hate it, but I gotta say it was a hoot.” — Dawn
Following their “Talent Rumble” performances and runway presentations in the “It’s Giving Crowned Queen” category, Ru and the judges named Crystal as the top all star of the week once again. The win sent Crystal straight through to the finale and saved her from the stress of having to rate her sisters in Rate-a-Queen to determine the bottom two. In that endeavor, Jasmine got first placements from Dawn and Sam with Silky and Joey also getting one. Game playing, splitting hairs and pageant judgments came into the rest of the decisions that resulted in A’keria and Sam sinking to the bottom two. To save themselves from elimination, A’keria and Sam went head-to-head in the lip sync to “Run the World (Girls)” by Beyoncé. Once again, A’keria was able to protect her spot in the competition, sending Sam home and earning her spot in next week’s “Grand Finale Smackdown for the Crown” with Crystal, Dawn, Jasmine, Joey, and Silky.
