One more contestant from ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ feels sorry for participating in the show

A Season 15 contestant on RuPaul’s Drag Race is the latest to express “regret” over appearing on the popular reality competition series.

A contestant on the show has recently come forward with negative experiences, adding to a growing list of drag queens, many of whom are Black or from marginalized racial groups, who have shared similar sentiments about their time on the popular reality program heading into its 17th season.

In late November, Malaysia Babydoll Foxx, a beloved fan favorite from RuPaul’s Drag Race, took to X (formerly Twitter) to address comments suggesting her recent public criticism of a former contestant was simply a ploy to remain relevant. In response, she admitted to having moments of regret about her decision to participate in the show.

Reflecting on her time on the show, Foxx candidly expressed, “If I could be completely honest, sometimes I’ve regretted doing the show because [of] how people shame me about everything I’ve done on it.”

“I’m constantly reminded of my failures, and never the triumphs of coming from where I’m from, [or those I inspired] who have never seen themselves [on Drag Race],” she continued.

Foxx came in 8th place in the season and never won any challenges. Still, she was voted by her fellow Drag Race contestants as Miss Congeniality in the Grand Finale.

Foxx, who won the title of Miss Congeniality on Season 15 of RuPaul’s Drag Race, first expressed that she no longer associates with someone she defines as a “miserable ignorant b-tch.”

This led some to believe that the target of Foxx’s ire was Mistress Isabelle Brooks, another Season 15 personality whose initials sync up to the phrase Foxx used.

“To those of you thinking my [posts] are to stay relevant because a new season of Drag Race is coming. Please stop,” she wrote, as reported by PinkNews.

“I have been at my lowest and the last thing I need is attention from people who have literally tormented me,” she continued. “I’ve expressed [this] off the apps, too.”

Claiming she willingly chose “peace” over “fame and relevance” following her Drag Race turn, Foxx then opened up on how she’s often reminded of how poorly she did on the show.

Foxx joins an ever-growing list of past RuPaul’s Drag Race contestants who either express woe after participating in the franchise or choose to leave the art of drag behind permanently.

The most recent is LaLa Ri, another fan-favorite who competed in Season 13 and the 8th cycle of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars. Though they have publicly expressed no regret about the series, they did speak of a depressive period over their “identity” that made them reconsider their place as an entertainer.

“I never intended to have a full-fledged drag career,” LaLa shared in a recent interview, adding:

“Drag was just a different outlet for me to perform [in]. It blew up, I got on RuPaul’s Drag Race, and it took off from there. Even doing All Stars, I wanted to be there because the opportunity and platform [are] amazing, but I didn’t want to [do] drag. I was going through a depression stage at that time I wanted to be on TV entertaining, and I loved the moments I was out of drag, but the moments in drag, I was over it, completely.”

Former queens Vivienne Pinay and Honey Mahogany, who competed in Season 5 and left the competition in the series’ first-ever “double sashay” (elimination), have also departed the drag scene. Mahogany is now a political activist in San Francisco, while Pinay has appeared to drop off the map altogether.

Another Season 15 competitor, Princess Poppy, shocked fans when – following a two-month social media break while her season was airing – announced that, she, too, would be leaving the drag scene.

“I want to fall off the face of the planet. I don’t want to be famous. I want to fade into obscurity,” she told a publication back in January.

A controversial yet popular viral video from a Drag Race staple sheds some light on how the series has transformed the art of drag and made it difficult for some to prosper in their careers.

Jasmine Masters, who appeared during Season 7 and again on All Stars 4, claimed in a 2016 YouTube rant that the show often caters to queens who focus more on the illusion of beauty than the overall talent it takes to build a career.

“RuPaul’s Drag Race has f-cked up drag. Bottom line – cut and dry,” Masters believes, going on to claim:

“Now b-tches are wearing panties and bras on stage and thinking they’re f-cking sickening, and [the] crowd thinks they’re sickening because they’ve been on the show.”

“I’m not knocking how people want to express themselves in drag, but that’s not the drag I know,” she continued.

According to a recent promo teaser, Season 17 of RuPaul’s Drag Race will begin airing in January 2025 on MTV.

Past seasons can currently be streamed on Paramount +.