I Had The Best And The Worst Time Of My Life On Drag Race Down Under: Bumpa Love
Image: Bumpa Love Instagram
The finale of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under Season Three is fast approaching.
In episode six, for the Maxi challenge, the queens were tasked with showing off their “individual charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent” at the Down Under annual drag brunch.
This was followed by the BBQ-themed runway category: Not in my backyard BBQ.
(This article has spoilers for Season Three of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under Episode Six)
Bumpa Love and Gabriella Labucci struggled the most with the challenge.
‘Are You Gonna Be My Girl’
The pair lip-synced to Jet’s ‘Are You Gonna Be My Girl’, and in the end, Bumpa Love was told to sashay away.
Speaking about the experience of making it into the competition, Bumpa, 51, talked with Star Observer about her incredible time on the show, the best bit of advice she’s ever been given, and the origin of her drag name.
Speaking about her time on the show, Bumpa said, “I had, probably, the best and the worst time of my life on the show. The experience on a whole, though, was amazing. I would not change a single thing apart from leaving the show when I did.”
‘Bumpa, You Look 25 Years Younger’
Bumpa said that the most memorable thing that happened to her on the show was a comment made to her by Rupaul, not once, but twice.
“Ru said twice in two separate episodes, ‘Bumpa, you look 25 years younger’. Twice! – She said my makeup was so beautiful and I looked 25 years younger, so I’m gonna take that shit.”
Talking about the origin of her drag name, Bumpa revealed that her first pair of drag shoes were made of rubber, and because of that, she used to “bump into people a lot”.
Made by a French company in Christchurch, New Zealand, the shoes were “round like a tyre and so they made me roll and I kept on bumping into people. So that’s that’s how Bumper came about.”
Bumpa continued, “The Love came when I realized that my voice was super important to young Maori youth, seeing someone like me, a man in a frock performing, and being very good at it, that that they saw a confident brown person doing something that was unusual.
“I started to realise that I could help a community and be a voice for them. So that’s why I tacked on Love because my whole career, I’ve had nothing but love from people.”
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Vau d’vile Drag Cabaret Restaurant
Bumpa owns and runs Vau d’vile Drag Cabaret Restaurant — a venue in Melbourne, where queens produce, choreograph, and mix their own shows.
“I think I might be the only drag queen in RuPaul history– I own it. It’s mine, and
“I create all the work here with my team, and we do all the costuming or a queen does the costuming, or one of the staff does the costuming– Isis Avis Loren. We do our own our hair, choreography, show production, music mixing.
Best Advice
When asked to share the best advice he has ever received, Bumpa paused for a moment and spoke about her brother.
“My brother, he’s a sportsman, and I used to get fed up because I was a bit short, even though I’m six foot.
“In sport, I would say to him, ‘Oh no, theyre bigger and better than me and theyre older’.
“He said ‘it doesn’t matter how old someone is, or how big they are, or how good they are. You can still win – and it’s kind of stuck with me.
Bumpa added, “So. it doesn’t matter what happens in life. As long as I give it a go, I can win, no matter what.”
Catch new episodes of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under every Friday on Stan.
