Lala Ri had no shortage of iconic moments throughout his two seasons on RuPaul’s Drag Race, from creating arguably the worst look of all time for Season 13’s Bag Ball, to snagging a win as hilarious security guard Shari Coleman on All Stars 8.
But in a new interview, Lala revealed that he’s hanging up his wigs for good. Lala Ri the drag queen is no more — but the Lala Ri Experience will live on, just in a different form.
“I feel like drag places us in a box as artists and entertainers, and sometimes in drag you’re limited to what you can do artistically,” Lala told Entertainment Weekly. “I’d like to be considered a queer artist more than just a drag queen. I still plan to entertain, still do music, still do all the things I did when I was in drag — just without the drag.”
Why is Lala leaving drag behind? As it turns out, he never “intended to have a full-fledged drag career,” and instead feels he “was pushed into doing drag.”
Culture, unfiltered
Our newsletter will bring you the pulse of queer culture, from the tastemakers to the groundbreakers.
“I never wanted to do drag for myself. I was already in the entertainment industry as a dancer and choreographer. I was doing music before drag. Drag was just a different outlet for me to perform,” Lala explained. “It blew up, I got on RuPaul’s Drag Race, and it took off from there. It was like, I guess I’ve got to stick with this for a while.”
Related
“I don’t believe children should be medically transitioning,” the Drag Race contestant wrote in a controversial viral post.
“I’m gonna be really brutal: Trixie Mattel has some of the worst teeth I’ve ever seen in my f*cking life,” Star said in a viral livestream.
“Now that I’ve accomplished everything I wanted to drag wise, if there’s no passion there, and if there’s no love for it, why continue to do something I don’t want to do for myself?” Lala said. “I feel like I was doing drag for everybody else; I wasn’t doing drag for me.”
Lala Ri — and yes, he’s still going by Lala Ri — will now turn his focus to music, acting, and fashion, he said. Fans are supportive of the change in Lala’s career, but they can’t help but mourn the drag queen they’ve come to know and love.
As part of an in memoriam for Lala, fans are also posting their favorite moments of hers on the show, from her winning talent show performance to her iconic verse in the Joan Crawford rusical.
No matter what the future holds for Lala, we’ll always be seated for the Lala Ri experience.
Sign up for the INTO newsletter and get your twice-weekly dose of stories that shape the queer experience, culture, and lifestyle.
