With season 16 of RuPaul’s Drag Race officially in the rearview mirror, it’s time for fans of the franchise to look forward … to even more new episodes of the hit series.
On Tuesday (April 23), Paramount+ announced the official cast and release date for RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars season nine. In the new season, eight queens from past seasons will return to the competition to compete for a cash prize of $200,000 — but this time, all eight queens will be competing on behalf of a charity of their choice.
The eight queens set to be featured on the show, and the charities they’ll be working with, are: Angeria Paris VanMichaels (season 14), competing for the National Black Justice Collective; Gottmik (season 13), competing for Trans Lifeline; Jorgeous (season 14), competing for the National Alliance of Mental Illness; Nina West (season 11), competing for The Trevor Project; Plastique Tiara (season 11), competing for The Asian American Foundation (TAAF); Roxxxy Andrews (season five, All Stars 2), competing for Miracle of Love; Shannel (season one, All Stars 1), competing for Anxiety and Depression Association of America; and Vanessa Vanjie Mateo (seasons 10 and 11), competing for the ASPCA.
This year’s $200,000 cash prize will be provided by The Palette Fund, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing grants and funding to the organizations supporting under-represented communities, including LGBTQ+ people. All Stars 9 will mark the first time in the history of the Drag Race franchise in which queens will compete for charities.
The news comes on the heels of the finale of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 16, which aired Friday (April 19). After a series of solo numbers and one final lip sync to Kylie Minogue’s “Padam Padam,” Nymphia Wind took home the grand prize, becoming the first Taiwanese-Amercian queen to win in the history of the franchise.
RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 9 premieres with two new episodes Friday, May 17, on Paramount+. Get to know this season’s competitors in the official Meet the Queens video below:
