It’s a dark day in American history: After almost 40 years in business, party supply store Party City is going out of business and closing all of its stores in the United States.
The news is devastating for Party City’s workforce, with all of the company’s corporate employees being told that today, December 20, would be their last day of work. But when the news hit social media, a certain subset of the internet was put in a mind of a different day in American history: the day Phi Phi O’Hara and Sharon Needles had an iconic catfight on RuPaul’s Drag Race.
The year was 2012. The episode was “Queens Behind Bars,” the acting challenge where Latrice Royale told us all to get those nuts away from her face. It was an endlessly quotable encounter: when Sharon called Phi Phi a “tired ass showgirl,” Phi Phi fired back with the scene’s most famous line: “At least I am a showgirl, b*tch! Go back to Party City where you belong!”
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Of course, as of today, Sharon apparently would have no home to go home to. But Phi Phi herself — now going by Jaremi Carey, having her old drag name — reacted to the Party City news with a gif of herself waving goodbye.
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Meanwhile, other Drag Race fans wondered what it might mean for Sharon’s career. Despite winning Season 4, she’s long been a pariah among Drag Race fans for alleged racist and predatory behavior. In response to Party City’s closing, one Drag Race fan asked, “DOES THAT MEAN SH*RON IS FINALLY GONNA QUIT DRAG?!??!!?” Only time will tell.
Carey chimed in on Sharon’s reputation too, after a fan commented on the “spooky one” fading into obscurity. “you were ALWAYS right,” they wrote, which Carey answered with another gif of herself — one of the privileges of having been on reality TV.
It’s been 12 years since the iconic scene first aired, and it’s well worth a rewatch. Check it out below.
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