Trixie Mattel Has Some WORDS For Her 'Drag Race' Haters

Trixie Mattel became the winner of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 3 in a way that was a shock to many: A jury of the eliminated queens picked the Top 2 of the season. Shangela and BeBe — considered frontrunners — weren't even allowed to compete in the final lip-sync. So, there were many fans who were frustrated about the result, and they're taking it out on Trixie. However, in an interview with Bustle, Drag Race’s Trixie Mattel has a message for the haters: “It’s important to clap for everybody.”

While not all of the queens were jazzed about it, that jury twist worked in Trixie's favor. And, the affirmation of other queens she respects so much only added to her win. “I was gagged," she says of the Top 2 nomination. "I couldn’t even look at the jury of queens without crying because I just couldn’t believe that they chose me,” she says. “Being chosen by my peers maybe means as much to me as actually winning. That was the most thankful and the most appreciated I’d ever felt was those girls picking me.”

Similarly to many fans, though, she was also stunned by how everything went down. “We were all so close. I had as many times on the bottom as Shangela, I had as many times in the top as BeBe. Kennedy was the best lip-syncer out of all of us, and it was a lip-sync challenge,” she says. “Everyone was so good ... I was like ‘I’m not ashamed of losing to those people.’”

Of course, she didn't lose, but the last-minute twist wasn’t so well-received by all of the viewers. Many took to social media questioning the decision. However, Trixie was ready. “I’ve known this was coming for a year. So I’ve known who was going to be in the top and how people might feel about people who didn’t make the top,” she says. “Drag is all about having opinions ... Even Adam Lambert doesn’t think I’m funny. I’m used to not everybody feeling the fantasy and that doesn’t really bother me.”

"I didn’t come into anyone’s house at night and steal a crown like, you know, Mission Impossible style."

Trixie does have a message for those who may have been bigger fans of BeBe, Shangela, or Kennedy though. She says to keep in mind that while the rule change may have happened, RuPaul determined that she earned the crown. “I didn’t come into anyone’s house at night and steal a crown like, you know, Mission Impossible style. Drag Race is a fierce competition, but it’s also partially a game show,” she says. “There’s a certain roulette feel to some parts of it, you never know what’s going to happen, day to day.”

Speaking of gambling, now that Trixie’s won $100,000, don’t expect any spending sprees. After all, she may be this season’s winning queen, but she doesn’t have a history of betting big. “I hate to be boring and frugal, but I’m trash from the rural midwest. When you get this much money, you just save it,” she says. “I work in entertainment which is very unstable, and I’m a realist. I'm like, ‘This is going in the bank’ so that someday when I don’t wanna’ do drag anymore, I have at least, something cool to show for it.”

While she doesn’t plan on quitting drag for a while, fans shouldn't get their hopes up to see her competing on Drag Race again. In her opinion, she’s getting out while she’s ahead. “No one in this whole world can ever convince me to come back ever again. Never, nope. Never,” she says. “Also, I’m not a gambler. If you win five dollars at the casino, you leave with your five dollars b*tch.”

Now, after winning the competition, she doesn’t see much point to coming back and taking part again. She has proven to her fans and herself what she needed to prove. “I think that was clear that a competitive environment was not, like, my perfect pot to grow in,” she says. “I’m not looking to prove anything else. I went on All Stars to prove something to myself … Music and touring and everything is more for my audience, but winning All Stars is more for me.”

So, this may be the last fans see of Trixie Mattel competing on Drag Race, but it is clear that her legacy will live on. Through her music, wit, and humor, she has proven that she is a true queen — and now Ru has confirmed it.