SPECIAL THANKS TO AOIFE KILBANE FROM BBC

The first season of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under has been a hell of a ride. Particularly for contestant Art Simone, who sashayed into the long-awaited Australasian spin-off with the most revered reputation amongst her fellow queens (and most social media followers), only to be knocked out in the second week after a mediocre impersonation of Bindi Irwin on Snatch Game.

Following her defeat at the hands of Coco Jumbo, in which she became a viral sensation with her now-iconic exit interview, Art made an unexpected ruturn to the fold in episode four. Although stans of the fierce queen mourned her departure, Art’s comeback was met with controversy. Unlike past contestants such as Carmen Carrera, Trixie Mattel and Naysha Lopez, who all returned the same season, RuPaul failed to explain her reasoning to the cast and viewers at home.

Unsurprisingly, Art was inundated with abuse from so-called ‘fans’ of the series, with one claiming she paid her way back into the competition. Art tells GAY TIMES: “These people have the most creative imaginations like, ‘You paid to be back on!’ I was like, ‘Babe, I’ve got no fucking money whatsoever, I put all my money into my runways and I’m still in debt. No, I didn’t pay to be there.'”

Since returning to the competition, Art has been – and we’re gonna state facts and only facts – one of the most enter(t)ainting queens to watch thanks to her self-described “buffoon, dickhead, shit-talking” attitude; from promoting her soon-to-be bestselling Yeast Yank Extractor, paying homage to legendary Australian film Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and devouring food for her unforgettable talent show extravaganza (see lead image).

Art may not have conquered a challenge, unlike her fellow finalists, but she’s entering the final focused, galvanised and ready to take crown. Ahead of the season one finale, we spoke with Art Simone about her time on the first season of Drag Race Down Under, the truth behind her return and how previous alumni of the franchise rallied behind her and supported her in her time of need.

Have you put the bins out?
[Laughs] I have! And I’m out of the state now, so I put them out before I left so they’re still out, unfortunately, and my poor neighbours are gonna be worried there’s three bins sitting out there. But, at least the trash was taken out.

Do you ever take out the trash in drag?
Many many times! We only moved to where we lived now back in August, and I was so petrified of my neighbours like… You never know, when you move to a new place, what they’ll think. They came up to me at one of my shows like, ‘We live across the road from you, and we see you getting into your car, we love it!’ So now I walk out like, ‘Hellooo!’ It’s fabulous.

It’s a massive week for you with the finale of Drag Race Down Under looming. How are you feeling?
I am so excited. We’ve made it to the end and I’m so excited for people to see what we’ve put out.

When I spoke to you last, I had absolutely no idea that I’d be speaking to you again this soon. I assumed you’d do a Shangela and make a surprise appearance on season two…
We fast-tracked it! ‘Skip the box, we’re gonna put you in the bin and we’re gonna wheel you out.’ It’s crazy.

How soon after you uttered the immortal words, “That means nothing”, were you approached to return?
I was fully eliminated. We finished filming that day and I came back in the next day and had to pack up all my suitcases. We leave the werkroom the day after. Wait, this isn’t a video interview is it? My housemate is trying to come through the door and he’s crawling on the floor! I could hear him crawling on the floor like, ‘What in the fuck is going on?’

Oh, hello! This should be a video interview with that kind of content…
I know! We could’ve made quite a moment like that video where the kids break in to that man’s interview. Anyway, I was fully eliminated and I had to wait for everyone to pack up their stuff and do their thing. Then I woke up at 5am the next day, taken to set to do my exit interviews, the confessionals, and then I was fully eliminated. I was given back my phone, my computer, I was moved out of the hotel into an Airbnb and waited for my flight. It was that night. I got a call that said, ‘Ru would like you back. Do you want to come back?’ I was like, ‘YES!’ but I didn’t play it like that. I said, ‘Let me think about it… YES!’ So then I had 24 hours where I got moved back into the hotel and then the next morning, I got wheeled into a bin. It was only two days but it seemed like an eternity because it’s TV land and people don’t realise we film an episode every two days. It was a flash in the pan and then I was back there.

I see, like when you’re asked on a date and play it cool. ‘Yeah, I suppose. I did have to take the bins out that day but…’
‘Look, I’ve found someone to take the bins out… Oh alright, I’ll make some time for you.’