Mom Wasn’t Too Happy About Jesus Snatch Game, Says Drag Race Down Under’s Ashley Madison
Image: Ashley Madison Instagram
We are getting closer and closer to the finale of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under Season Three.
(This article has spoilers for Season Three of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under Episode Five)
Reading Is Fundamental
In episode five, the library was open, with everyone’s favourite fundamental mini-challenge: Reading.
However, the girls all struggled with the challenge, and Ben from the Pit Crew was named the winner.
The Maxi challenge was a singing and dancing challenge. The queens were separated into two competing girl groups and performed the original song, ‘BMX Bitches’, inspired by the 80s movie, BMX Bandits.
This was followed by the fuchsia-themed runway category: Fuchsia? I Don’t Even Know Her.
The team with Ashley Madison, Bumpa Love, and Flor struggled the most with the challenge, with Ashley and Bumpa going into elimination. The pair lip-synced to Katy Perry’s ‘Hot n Cold’, and in the end, Ashley Madison was told to sashay away.
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‘Rollercoaster Of Emotions’
Speaking about the experience of making it into the competition, Ashley, 25, talked with Star Observer about her showstopping Snatch Game performance, her favourite queen, and her first drag name.
“I absolutely adored it,” Ashley said, speaking about her time on the show.
“Obviously, it’s been a rollercoaster of emotions.”
She explained, “In the first episode, being in the bottom. Then winning Snatch Game, and then, obviously going home in this episode –It’s been a rollercoaster, but I really can legitimately say, I had so much fun.”
Favourite Queen
Ashley’s favourite queen on the show is Isis Avis Loren.
“I love me some Isis Avis Loren. I’ve looked up to Isis my entire drag career. She is the one to watch, and not even just for this season, beyond Drag Race – above and beyond.”
Jesus Christ, Glittery Beard And All
In episode four, Ashley won the Snatch Game challenge for her portrayal of Jesus Christ, glittery beard and all.
According to Ashley, the process of choosing Jesus started with a list of 30 potential characters.
“I whittled them down to 10 [characters] that I thought I could impersonate well, and then I narrowed it down to five that I thought I could win with, and then I narrowed it down to which one had the most content, and it came down to Jesus.”
“When I told my mom she wasn’t too happy about it, but then, she told me she watched some TikToks about Jesus, and suddenly, she was okay.”
Glinda from Wicked
The other characters that made the top five, included Kath Day-Knight from Kath & Kim, Alan Rickman as Severus Snape, and Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda from Wicked.
“[For Glinda] I thought that I could huff a helium balloon and then it could fly away, and my voice progressively got deeper and deeper.”
‘The Other Woman’
When it came to choosing a drag name, however, that is a different story.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever said this publicly,” Ashley shared. “My original, original drag name was Finesse. But then I realised I wasn’t good enough to call myself Finesse.”
Ashley didn’t have a name for a while, and then, in 2015, the user data of affair-dating service, Ashley Madison, was hacked.
“I’ve been the other woman quite a lot. And so…in 2015 when the hacks happened, and it all became very public. I was like, ‘ah, a cheating website. I’m the person that people go to cheat on their partner, so this fits perfectly.’”
She then clarified, “I don’t do that anymore. I’ll put that out there.”
Vau d’vile Drag Cabaret
When asked to name her favourite Queer space, Ashley named fellow contestant Bumpa Love’s venue Vau d’vile Drag Cabaret Restaurant in Melbourne.
“My number one space, that I really feel like home, is actually Bumpa Love’s venue Vau d’vile Drag Cabaret in Fitzroy. That is my home of homes.”
