‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Season 2 Rejected Alaska’s ‘Bat-S*** Crazy’ Audition Tape: ‘I Still Consider It to Be My Finest Audition Tape’
RuPaul’s Drag Race is one of the biggest reality television competition shows around. The show started on Logo TV in 2009, where drag art and drama could be viewed around the world. Alaska is now one of the most successful drag queens to star on RuPaul’s Drag Race. She recently opened up about her season 2 audition tape that the producers rejected.
Alaska auditioned for ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ multiple times
RuPaul’s Drag Race instantly captured Alaska’s attention and she wanted to star on the show. However, that task would prove rather difficult. She bombed a casting audition that could have allowed her to join the season 1 cast along with Tammie Brown and Ongina, who she already knew rather well before the show aired.
Alaska would end up auditioning for the show several times, only for producers to reject her each time. She was passionate about drag and the RuPaul’s Drag Race platform, but she could never quite get through the audition process and onto the show.
Alaska reflected on her rejected season 2 ‘bat-s***’ crazy’ audition tape
Alaska opened up about the RuPaul’s Drag Race casting process in her memoir titled My Name’s Yours, What’s Alaska? Her season 1 rejection offended her, so she filmed an audition tape herself for season 2. Alaska walked readers through every step of what she submitted for a spot on RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 2.
“Through some miracle of method acting, I assumed the character of a desperate, busted, compulsive liar, alcoholic Drag queen who would stoop to any level for her fifteen minutes of fame,” Alaska wrote. “There were a series of items the tape was supposed to cover, like ‘What three words best describe (your Drag character)?'”
Alaska responded, “Drug-addicted whore. Bat-s*** crazy. Hot-mess city. Just a real c***. That’s four words.”
“For my ‘closet tour,’ I didn’t show a single item of clothing,” Alaska wrote. “I mostly just plugged ‘Tr*nnies Are Fierce.’ And for my origin story, I stated, ‘I was born in the wagon of a traveling show.'”
RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant Alaska continued: “I put the tape on my fledgling YouTube channel and called it ‘Alaska Thunderf*** Wants to Be on TV.’ It was meant to be a middle finger to the casting directors who had overlooked[…]”
“I was never even called in for an interview, so it either worked too well or didn’t work at all,” Alaska wrote. “The whole thing was maybe a little too meta—and messy. I still consider it to be my finest audition tape.”
‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars’ Season 2 winner
Alaska would ultimately be cast on RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 5, which is only one season after her now ex-boyfriend Sharon Needles won season 4. She was afraid to live in the shadow of Sharon, although she ultimately made it to the finale. Jinkx Monsoon took the crown, which was difficult for Alaska.
However, RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 2 brought the drag queen back to compete. She proved herself a real powerhouse across various challenges. Alaska ultimately snatched the crown and continues to serve as one of the show’s most popular queens to ever star on the reality competition show.
