‘Canada’s Drag Race’ Season 2: One Judge Isn’t Returning
RuPaul’s Drag Race spinoff Canada’s Drag Race is officially returning for a new season, but one of the judges from season 1 won’t be back.
The first season of ‘Canada’s Drag Race’ aired last year
Canada’s Drag Race debuted last yeear one of the latest international entries in the franchise. The show’s judges for the first season RuPaul’s Drag Race alumna Hytes (the first Canadian queen on RuPaul’s Drag Race), actor and model Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman, and model/runway coach Stacey McKenzie. Each week, a guest host was set for the show and they also served as a guest judge for the panel.
The queens for season one were Anastarzia Anaquway, BOA, Ilona Verley, Jimbo, Juice Boxx, Kiara, Kyne, Lemon, Priyanka, Rita Baga, Scarlett BoBo and Tynomi Banks. Priyanka was the winner, while BoBo and Baga were the runner-ups.
A lot of the critiques from the judges received backlash
Viewers of the show often criticized the judges for harsh and inconsistent critiques of the queens during the season. The most criticized moment was when Bowyer-Chapman and Hytes said something about Verley during one episode and they were accused of body-shaming the queen. Through the season, Bowyer-Chapman received the brunt of the backlash.
During thee particular episode in question Chapman told Verley, “I think that your mug is painted so gorgeously. However, when I see that booty and the little turnaround, a little full coverage foundation may have helped you out.” Hytes followed this up by saying, “She definitely should’ve put some makeup on that a*s.” She would later apologize in a video, saying in part, “We have no problem with the size or shape of Ilona’s bum, she has a beautiful, beautiful body and it was not meant in that way at all. You also can’t cover up cellulite with foundation, so yeah. I’m sorry for the misunderstanding and I understand that you probably couldn’t see that on your TV, but that’s where our critique was coming from.”
When the season was over, Hytes also opened up about the judging panel being the subject of controversy. “I think people forget that I had never been in this position that I was in before. Last time I was on Drag Race, I was a contestant, and all of a sudden, I’m the first queen ever to be made a judge,” she said in part. “It kind of taught me to have a thicker skin, because when I was on Drag Race, I kind of escaped a lot of negativity from the fandom…I thought for season one of a show, I thought we did a really good job and I’m really excited to hopefully to dive back in for season two.”
Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman will not judge season 2 of ‘Canada’s Drag Race’
With the show coming back for season 2, Hytes and McKenzie recently revealed in an Instagram live video for the show’s official page that Chapman would not be coming back due to filming his new show. Chapman is a series regular in Disney+’s Doogie Kameāloha, M.D.
“Unfortunately, our third will not be joining us this season,” said Hytes, according to Entertainment Weekly. “He’s filming his new show. He’s busy, he’s booked, and he’s getting paid, and, unfortunately, with scheduling, things just didn’t work out for him to come back this season.”
Bowyer-Chapman confirmed the news in an Instagram post, writing, “Went from being a TV Judge to a TV Doctor… my mamma is so proud.”
