Hannah Conda Joins RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs The World Season 2
Image: Hannah Conda. Image: Bobby Gold Smith Foundation/Instagram
Australian drag performer and RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under Season 2 Finalist Hannah Conda will battle it out with international queens for the RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs The World Season 2 crown.
Over the weekend, the cast of the second season of RuPaul’s Drag Race vs The World, which sees UK Drag Race performers face off against contestants from other international Drag Race franchises, was announced.
The cast includes Down Under queen Hannah Conda, Jonbers (season 4), Choriza May (season 3), Tia Kofi (season 2) and Gothy Kendoll (season 1) from the UK, Scarlet Envy (season 11) and Mayhem Miller (season 10) from USA, Keta Minaj (Holland), La Grande Dame (France), Arantxa Castilla-La Mancha (Spain) and Marina Summers (Philippines).
Blue Hydrangea was crowned the winner of the first season of UK vs the World.
‘Hope I Do You Proud’
Hannah Conda’s fellow Down Under drag performers cheered the announcement.
“My sister is about to stormmmmm,” Kween Kong, Conda’s fellow finalist in Drag Race Down Under posted on Instagram. Drag Race Down Under Season 2 winner Spankie Jackzon said, while Drag Race contestant and TV personality Courtney Act posted: “Knock ‘em dead, Lil’ Hans”.
“Hope I do you proud,” Conda responded to a congratulatory message from fellow Sydney drag performer Coco Jumbo.
Originally from Perth, Conda made her way to Sydney in 2015. A year later she became the only queen to win both Rising Star and Entertainer of the Year at the Drag Industry Variety Awards (DIVAs).
Hannah Conda Apologises
Ahead of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under premiere, Conda was one of the drag performers called in 2021 out by First Nations queen Felicia Foxx over racist performances at Perth gay nightclub Court Hotel.
Conda issued an unreserved apology. “With the changing landscape of our community and world at large, it is important that I as a leader stand up and be accountable for my past. I acknowledge that cultures are not costumes and I am ashamed that I ever participated in shows that appropriated Asian cultures and wore hair styles such as braids, dreads and Afros without understanding the importance of these styles for members of the BIPOC community and I am forever sorry,” Conda posted on social media.
“I am sorry for adding to your hurt and trauma and I am sorry for perpetuating stereotypes of your cultures,” said Conda.
“I operated out of a place of ignorance and each day I strive to be a better ally,” she said, adding that ” my apology is not for members of the white community to validate but for the members of the BIPOC community only.”
“We are stronger together. Black Lives Matter. Black trans lives matter. The voices and experiences of the BIPOC community need to be amplified. Asian hate and stereotypes will not stand,” added Conda.
