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In the end, it took Raja cult-leader-level persuasion to get a Legendary Legend Star from RuPaul.
The season-three winner had turned in top-tier performances for weeks onDrag Race All Stars 7, to little reward.
That made her win this week, for a commencement speech as a cult leader, even sweeter.
(I sometimes think of myself as a religious leader, she said in a confessional.
A very small religion, but its a religion nonetheless.)
Not that the queen is bothered by any of it.
Vulture caught up with Raja to talk cult documentaries, her fashion-queen reputation, and giving away a star.
Congratulations on finally getting your star!
I know it was a very big moment, and it seemed kind of emotional onstage.
Fashion, fashion, fashion!
But nobody ever gets to see the side of me that enjoys writing, that enjoys words.
I love inspiring people, I love public speaking, I love telling stories.
So it was refreshing and exciting because it was something that I knew was very much me.
Where do you keep your star now, is it on display?They took those back!
They took those right back.
Im sure theyll be sending it to us in the mail soon.
This challenge, I laughed out loud at you more than anyone else.
I was surprised that Carson and Nikki at first seemed a little skeptical of the concept.
Were you second-guessing this at any point?Not at all.
I knew what I was going to wear.
So I can imagine it might seem a little confusing at first.
And you definitely did.
Are you into those cult documentaries and TV shows?Absolutely!
I have been obsessed with cults for, you know, my entire life.
If theres a documentary on a religious cult, I am fascinated, I am glued to it.
So I definitely took a lot of the inspiration and concepts from those, for sure.
Snatch Game was a challenge where I had figured you were in the top two.
The two characters you chose were so different, but were both so you.
Theres a documentary calledAdvanced Stylethat I really love.
Those types of women I definitely love and wanted to emulate.
But mostly with Snatch Game, it was kind of an education moment.
And it was aspirational for me, I loved Madame as a kid.
Like, I dont watch anything else but documentaries.
I am fascinated by her, I love the big personality.
I knew that I was able to showcase some of my makeup skills in all of that.
And thats really what it was.
So they didnt really get to show the beginning-to-end process of how it became so huge and sculptural.
It had evolved into something totally different to what you see now.
I was thinking about designers like Schiaparelli.
I listened to the materials, and thats what it became.
And it was hard because I had to prove myself, because that is my area of expertise.
Add lots of volume.
Its a dose of my own medicine.
Ive been doing it for over eight years, and it was my turn.
As far as Im concerned, Im shoot-ing myself every day.
I personally thanked Gottmik in a text the other day.
And it really doesnt matter if Im tooted or booted.
So now you have this star to give away.
Monet was campaigning while you were working on the challenge.
I wasnt as savvy to the game as the other girls were.
They all seemed to know what was going on with the game more than I was.
So I was not really as in the game and strategizing in the same way that they were.
