RuPaul’s Drag Race: 5 Best (And 5 Worst) Judges Of All Time

Hundreds of celebrities and experts have been featured on the RuPaul’s Drag Race judging panel after 11 regular seasons and four All-Stars seasons. After so many main, recurring, and guest judges, RuPaul knows a thing or two about what makes someone so good at giving constructive criticism or fabulous praise to a group of talented drag queens. However, Ru has also made mistakes along the way regarding who should join him on the judging panel.

All in all, the judges on Drag Race have consisted of actors, musicians, industry experts, comedians, or simply celebrities who could add a little flair to the episode. While certain judges seem like huge fans of the show who understand what the queens are doing on stage, others have showcased a more dismissive attitude toward the contestants. Read below to find out which were the best and worst RuPaul’s Drag Race judges of all time.

10 Best: Carson Kressley

Before Drag Race, fashion designer and stylist Carson Kressley was best known as the Fab Five’s fashion expert on the original run of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, which aired between 2003 and 2007. Carson Kressley joined the RuPaul’s Drag Race judging panel on the show’s seventh season. From the start, Carson was brought in as a main judge, a role that he had fulfilled ever since. Overall, Carson Kressley has judged the queens of five regular seasons and three All-Stars seasons.

Bringing to Drag Race his witty comebacks and a great sense of fashion construction, Carson Kressley made the perfect substitute for the role left by Santino Rice as the fashion expert judge. What’s more, Carson led his criticism with kindness and humor, something that had been missing on the show at that point.

9 Worst: Jeffery Moran

Understandably, RuPaul felt like he had to include Jeffrey Moran as a judge on Drag Race. After all, the franchise was sponsored by Absolut Vodka for many years, and Jeffrey was the brand’s PR person. Who would it be better to judge the queens on challenges that involved product placement?

With that said, Jeffrey Moran wasn’t quite the best judge on the show. Jeffrey, who is now the Vice President of Public Relations at Pernod Ricard—the brand that owns Absolute Vodka—appeared on RuPaul’s Drag Race as a judge three times in seasons 1, 3, and 4. During all of these times, Jeffrey’s criticism of the queens felt a little too harsh, even if he intended to represent the product he was selling in a good light.

8 Best: Todrick Hall

Many fans of RuPaul’s Drag Race get annoyed at Todrick Hall for being a little harsh with the queens during their rehearsals for musical numbers. However, be mindful that Todrick is the one-man operation putting together most of those songs, beats, and choreographies that have become a staple in the Drag Race franchise. What’s more, Todrick actually became friends with dozens of these queens, meaning that whatever tension we saw on the screen is not actually legitimate or enduring.

There is no denying that Todrick Hall has brought a lot to the Drag Race series, always trying to push the queens to do better and impress RuPaul. Since season 8, Todrick has appeared as a guest judge on every season of the franchise, including All-Stars. In fact, he was even considered a main judge on All-Stars 2.

7 Worst: Miles Heizer

Of course, RuPaul’s Drag Race wants to keep with the times, so it makes sense to invite one of the breakout stars of 13 Reasons Why and Love, Simon to the judging panel. However, it is safe to say that Miles Heizer was not born to be on reality television, even if to judge a group of fierce queens.

Miles Heizer was featured on season 10 of RuPaul’s Drag Race in which he was seen with virtually no facial expression, personality, or desire to be there. Instead, Miles spent his entire appearance on the episode giving bland, useless notes with the demeanor of someone who wished to be elsewhere.

6 Best: Merle Ginsberg

Before Michelle Visage was able to join the Drag Race judging panel on season 3, Merle Ginsberg served as RuPaul’s right-hand woman. Merle was undoubtedly qualified to be there, as she was an accomplished fashion writer published on Harper’s Bazaar, The New York Times Magazine, Rolling Stone, and Cosmopolitan.

While it certainly made sense given their history, that Michelle Visage should be on RuPaul’s side, Merle was a thoughtful, kind, and helpful judge who believed in the franchise from day one. All in all, Merle Ginsberg brought in an air of mainstream sophistication and real expertise to the competition.

5 Worst: Billy B

Billy B is an incredibly successful makeup artist from New York City who joined RuPaul’s Drag Race as a main judge on season 3. At the time, it made sense for a makeup expert to join the show, as this is such a significant part of what drag queens do.

Unfortunately, Billy B did not come off on the show as someone who actually cared to be there, particularly as a main judge. His general demeanor toward the queens was often unenthusiastic, and his expertise in makeup did not always add up to much on the judging panel. It comes as no surprise that Billy B left after season 4, having quite a short run as a main judge on Drag Race.

4 Best: Ross Matthews

From Jay Leno to Chelsea Handler, everybody loves Ross Matthews, and it was no different when it came to RuPaul and his Drag Race fans. After appearing as a guest judge on season 4 and All-Stars 1, Ross would return as a main judge on season 7 alongside Carson Kressley. More often than not, Ross and Carson rotate their appearances on RuPaul’s right side on the judging panel.

The best thing about Ross Matthews as a RuPaul’s Drag Race judge is that he absolutely loves this show and these queens but doesn’t allow his fandom get in the way of important constructive criticism that is delivered with kindness and truth. As a comedian, Ross is also able to keep up with RuPaul and Michelle Visage’s quick wit and puns, which makes him the perfect addition to this judging panel.

3 Worst: Santino Rice

Fans should be thankful for Santino Rice to have believed on RuPaul’s Drag Race since its very first season, sticking by RuPaul’s side for years to come. All in all, Santino judged six regular seasons and the first All-Stars, and even came back as a guest judge for season 7.

With all of that said, Santino Rice was a very ineffective judge to be on Drag Race, because he constantly came from a place of demanding “couture” and “high fashion” from drag queens that were actually campy, irreverent, non-conforming, and purposely exaggerated. Although he got better as the seasons went along, it still felt like Santino Rice was judging Drag Race with a Project Runway lens—the reality show that made him famous.

2 Best: Michelle Visage

While it is true that Michelle Visage has come under scrutiny for being particularly harsh on certain queens, it is important to analyze the context that she is in. RuPaul, as the host of Drag Race and “mother” to all of these queens, often tries to hold back on any harsh criticism. Moreover, celebrity guests are typically shy about expressing their negative views on contestants that they have just met.

All of this means that it’s Michelle Visage’s place to point things out on the judging panel, creating necessary narratives for the reality show that they are producing and challenging queens who seem to be struggling in the series. Michelle is very aware that she is ‘the bad guy,’ and has no problem leaning in on the role.

As someone who has been on RuPaul’s side during virtually every major moment in this career—VH1 talk show, radio show, Drag Race, a morning talk show—Michelle Visage deserves the respect and admiration of his fans. What’s more, she is the only judge in the franchise who is willing to tour with these queens around the world and represent the Drag Race brand on the road.

1 Worst: Aubrey O’Day

Singer, model, and actress Aubrey O’Day is not shy to controversy and being outspoken. However, her abrasiveness did not mesh well with the RuPaul’s Drag Race franchise. As a judge, Aubrey was extremely harsh to most contestants, saying things that were either incredibly random or simply rude.

Aubrey O’Day appeared on the eighth episode of Drag Race season 5, “Scent of a Drag Queen,” where she directed the queens to film a commercial for a new fragrance and then sat on the judging panel alongside Joan Van Ark. Besides her infatuation for Alaska, Aubrey was quite negative toward most of the other queens, giving them mean looks and saying things that did not make a lot of sense to begin with.

About The Author

Bernardo Sim
(1773 Articles Published)

Bernardo Sim writes about TV shows, queer culture, & Brazilian media. Born and raised in the Amazon, he now lives in South Florida. he/him

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