Shannel, Laila McQueen & Mayhem Miller were not seen on the debut episode of Celebrity Drag Race even though they played a big part in the contestant’s transformation.
The Emmy-winning series spinoff show saw the return of Trixie Mattel, Bob The Drag Queen and Monet X Change to the werk room as they made over three hunky celebrities (Jordan Connor, Jermaine Fowler, Nico Tortorella, respectively).
After the episode aired, it emerged that the transformations were actually the handiwork Shannel, Laila and Mayhem. The Drag Race fan base, who are known for being notoriously outspoken on social media, flipped the f out when the three queens were only credited as “creative consultants” without ever appearing on screen.
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Shannel confirmed this news in a lengthy Instagram post shared on Sunday, April 26. “Show business is a funny business. I started my career as a makeup artist and a performer and have been blessed to have a wild ride so far. For whatever reason, my appearance on Celebrity Drag Race was cut. And although, I am unsure as to why, I was fortunate enough to work amongst amazing talented people and my Drag Race sisters as a makeup artist on the full season of Celebrity Drag Race. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed being apart of it. Much love. -Shannel.”
Delta Work, who won a Primetime Emmy for her hairstyling on the show in 2018, showed a ton of support for her in the comments section. “I remember when we both worked with Mathu (Anderson) on Drag U, the predecessor to this show. You put a sh*t-ton of those contestants in drag. Such a shame, this business. I love you Brynell. You deserve to be celebrated for lifting this craft. You have always lifted this craft as female impersonator, a celebrity illusionist and as an emcee. Your makeup artistry is the firm basis for your career in female impersonation and we have seen so much together in our over 20 years of friendship. The fan base deserved to see you back on the screen as one of the founding faces of this franchise, still going strong and as one whose talent was REQUESTED to work on this show. Mad respect for you always.”
World of Wonder interestingly enough posted a clip of Shannel’s appearance on their YouTube page on Monday, April 27. “So y’all saw the backlash to not adding her in the show and then you decided to add her. Hopefully you add Laila and Mayhem,” one wrote in the comments section.
So does this mean that the Drag Race editors are going to edit the next three episodes to include their “creative consultants” just like they’ve been (allegedly) doing with Sherry Pie‘s lack of appearances on season 12? Stay tuned!