'We fade into the background': Asia O'Hara on how queens of colour are treated (2024)

Asia O’Hara made it to the final of RuPaul’s Drag Race thanks to her drag experience, grace, humour (hello Butherface) and exceptional looks – that Tweety dress will go down in herstory.

But her looks post Drag Race are perhaps even more attention-grabbing and thought-provoking.

In her final four appearances in the run-up to the grand finale, Asia has been covering her face with mesh and fabric for her group pictures with fellow finalists Aquaria, Eureka and Kameron Michaels – and the decision to do so was far more than a gimmick.

Speaking to Metro.co.uk, the 35-year-old explained: ‘I think there comes a point in the competition where some non-majority queens or non-perfect queens start to fade and disappear into the background. My dress and my attire was just a visual representation of exactly how I was being perceived.

‘Someone posted a picture of us at the Trailblazer Awards and said “oh my god, I didn’t even see Asia, I didn’t realise she was in the picture” and someone commented on that “the thing is, you guys often don’t see Asia in the picture, you only see the other three, so this is no different from how you usually see her”.’

Race played a big part in season 10 of Drag Race, with The Vixen bringing the treatment of queens of colour in the competition to the forefront when she accused Aquaria of creating an angry black woman vs poor white girl narrative.

And since the show has aired, other queens of colour including Monet X Change have pointed out that minority queens from the season are the least followed.

Asia said: ‘I know that situation is news to some people, but it’s a very common and regular situation with me and with a lot of people. Looking back at that, it’s a conversation I’ve had a multitude of times, it’s not really new to me.

‘The thing about the queens of colour not being the most followed and the most popular on social media – our society is obsessed with this idea of perfection, and at this point in time, aesthetically, we are just not viewed as perfection. Most 12-year-old girls who watch this show don’t want to grow up and look like Asia O’Hara or The Vixen – they want to look like Miz Cracker or Aquaria. That’s just society’s idea of perfection.

‘You also have to learn not to take that personally, because a lot of people don’t mean any harm when they scroll past your profile and don’t hit follow, and instead follow someone else because they want to see a person they want to look like every day.’

Asia made it to the final alongside three white queens – Eureka, Aquaria and Kameron Michaels – but was the first to be eliminated after a disastrous lip sync.

The Texas queen had planned to release butterflies from containers strapped to her chest and wrists during her lip sync against Kameron. However, the type of butterfly used need to warm up before they can fly, so when Asia tried to release them, the insects fell to the ground – leading many people to believe there were literal death drops happening.

Asia has issued an apology for using the butterflies, but doesn’t regret her concept.

‘I don’t regret much in life. I think everything happens for a reason, and I don’t think there are ever any accidents or coincidences. The most powerful think that Ru said was “this is not your time”. It wasn’t my time, and it wasn’t because my performance didn’t go as planned, it was because it just wasn’t my time.’

It may not have been her time on the main stage, but Asia – real name Antwan Mason Lee – has plenty to look forward to after Drag Race.

‘I definitely will be travelling and sharing my art with the world. But also, I’m looking forward to creating big things from scratch, something I haven’t been able to do since getting the call that I was going to be on Drag Race. So I’m looking forward to creating new looks, new fashion, new music, new ideas, and just spreading that throughout the world.’

RuPaul’s Drag Race season 10 is available to stream on Netflix.

MORE : RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Aquaria on proving the haters wrong and being educated by The Vixen

MORE : How to talk to your kids about racism