Last Words With RuPaul's All Stars' Jujubee

On the eve of the RuPaul's All Stars season finale, fan favorite Jujubee gets us revved up.

BY Daniel Reynolds

November 26 2012 6:00 PM ET

How did you react when they changed the rules, and instituted the partners system?

We didn’t know it was coming at all. But I knew that, if I had anything to do with the choosing, I would choose Raven. But what I was worried about was that they would be the ones choosing, that RuPaul and the judges would be like, ‘OK, we’re going to pair you guys up.’ That was the biggest concern for me.

So it was destiny that you and Raven were linked together. What was it like working with a close friend?

It was really fun. We are very close, but we live on either side of the U.S., so we never get to see each other, unless we’re working together like that, or in a nightclub setting. Being on set with him and working with him and shooting ideas — it was really, really fun. It felt just like hanging out… I look at every single drag job as a challenge. RuPaul has trained my mind to think like that. Anything can come up, and anything can happen. Always be prepared… It was really frickin’ fun.

More than the other teams, you seem like you were having a blast. You really seem like partners.

The way I look at it is, if you’re partnered up with somebody — they’re relying on you, and you’re relying on them. You guys need to work twice as hard because you have two people to carry. We’re like brothers. But he’s older.

What was it like to lip-sync against him?

It was pretty intense. I’m over lip-syncing. I feel that in Drag Race history, I’m the one that lip-syncs the most. And it doesn’t like good on paper.

That’s its own Hall of Fame, right?

[laughs] Gosh, I get a C- for that I guess. But I know how Raven performs, and I know how I perform. We try and tell a story. I knew he wasn’t going to try and do backflips or jumps or whatever, because that’s not the kind of drag queen he is. We really want to convey the story.

So you were confident he wouldn’t pick you up and throw you off the stage?

Yes. It didn’t feel like we were competing against each other. It felt like we were performing with each other. And I thought that was the beauty in that lip-sync, and I think that was why Ru couldn’t decide.

How did you react when RuPaul announced you both would stay?

I was so excited. It was a big relief — for the both of us.

For the mini challenge this week, you guys competed on the basketball court and won. Congratulations! Do you have much experience shooting hoops, or any other sports?

I like to watch. I like watching hockey. But I’d rather be there then watch it on television. It’s so much more intense. I like the idea of basketball, but that’s a lot of cardio that I’m not interested in, as you can tell. My FUPA was there. But that’s OK. We had to be the ones in tube tops [laughs].