A Drag Race Down Under Redemption, A Shock Elimination And The Late Maxi Shield

Drag Race Down Under Vs The World has farewelled another Aussie queen, with season one star Coco Jumbo sent packing after this week’s “rapping roast” challenge.

Tasked with roasting each other through rap, the queens delivered another unpredictable week of competition as Michael Marouli and LaLa Ri were declared the top two queens.

LaLa Ri ultimately took out the lip sync win, earning the power to eliminate one of the bottom queens.

A shock for Coco Jumbo

Coco landed in the bottom alongside Flor, who had previously won a main challenge back in episode two but had also faced elimination twice. Coco had not secured a win during the competition, but had only landed in the bottom once before.

Despite believing Flor’s track record would save her, Coco’s lipstick was revealed and her time in the competition came to an end.

Speaking with The Star Observer following her elimination, Coco revealed she never expected to be the queen going home.

“No, totally not,” she said.

“I thought she’d been in the bottom so many times. I think this was her third time being in the bottom” she said of her fellow Down Under queen Flor.

When LaLa revealed Coco’s lipstick, she was stunned.

“When LaLa picked my lipstick, I was like, ‘Bitch!’” she laughed.

During their time filming together, Coco and LaLa had formed a close bond, making the decision even more unexpected.

“During filming and everything, we got really close together,” Coco explained. “So for her to pick my lipstick really blindsided me.”

Coco Jumbo discovered Michael Marouli also chose her lipstick

Although LaLa won the lip sync and sent Coco home, Michael Marouli had also selected Coco’s lipstick.

However, Coco had to do some late night detective work to find that out.

“When we got back to the hotel room, I waited to hear the girls returning,” she revealed.

“I waited a little while and ran over to Vybe’s room and knocked on her door.”

After Vybe opened the door and embraced her eliminated housemate, Coco got straight to the point.

“I was like, ‘Whose lipstick did Michael Marouli pick?’ She was like, ‘She picked yours.’”

“I was like, ‘Fucking bitch!’” She laughed.

Coco believes the other queens may have seen an opportunity to break up the remaining Down Under alliance.

“I think they just wanted to separate us,” she said.

However, she acknowledged Flor’s challenge win may have given the international queens the reason they needed to save her.

“The only differentiating thing is Flor had a win and I didn’t,” Coco conceded.

Art Simone narrowly avoids the bottom

It was also a tense week for Coco’s season one sister Art Simone.

After winning or placing in the top two across the previous three episodes, Art suddenly found herself in the bottom three following the rapping roast.

However, she was ultimately declared safe, leaving Coco and Flor vulnerable to elimination.

Art and Coco share plenty of history in the Drag Race franchise.

During season one of Drag Race Down Under, Art was eliminated in episode two after losing a lip sync against Coco. Art was unexpectedly returned to the competition several episodes later, ultimately reaching the top four, while Coco finished in ninth place.

Despite their dramatic first season together, Coco was thrilled to compete alongside Art again.

“Through the years, I’ve grown to be such a big fan of Art,” she said.

“When I eliminated her in the second episode, and she cried and broke down, it clicked for me how much she wanted this and how hard she’d worked for this opportunity.”

“To finally be back in the room with her, I was like, ‘Get it, bitch.’ I was just so excited for her.”

“And yeah, she’s kicking it in the dick.”

Coco Jumbo finally gets her Drag Race redemption

Although Coco left without a challenge win, she achieved the goal she had set for herself: improving on her Drag Race Down Under legacy.

“I just wanted to do better than last time,” she said.

“I remember watching one of the All Stars seasons and, right at the end, RuPaul asked one of the girls, ‘Who was your biggest competitor in the competition?’”

“She said, ‘Myself.’ I get it now.”

Coco entered the competition hoping viewers would finally get to see more of the performer who had struggled through the difficult production conditions of season one.

“We had to film during COVID,” she recalled.

“We had to do three weeks of isolation in a hotel room, so I wasn’t myself at all during that season.”

“I always wanted another go because the first one was just so hard.”

This time, Coco climbed from ninth place to seventh.

“Not bad,” she laughed. “Not too shabby.”

Her proudest redemption moment came during Snatch Game, where she performed as Barry White.

However, the performance nearly fell apart before she even entered the room.

“I was spiralling hard because my outfit didn’t work, my hair didn’t work and the beard I brought wasn’t the one I thought it was,” she explained.

“It was so unrehearsed and I was going out on a whim to try something.”

It was her friend and housemate Vybe who helped pull her back together.

“Vybe came up to me and said, ‘Snap the fuck out of it,’ and pretended to slap me.”

“Lo and behold, I did Snatch Game and ended up in the top three and got positive critiques.”

“Thank God she was there, because she really got me together.”

A bigger stage and another potential fall

Returning several seasons later also meant Coco finally got to experience the upgraded Drag Race Down Under set, which fans bemoaned for many years.

“It was huge in comparison,” she said.

“Even the whole werkroom and everything—it was an absolute upgrade, for sure.”

However, the new main stage came with one potential problem.

“The stage was so slippery,” Coco revealed.

“They had to keep putting little grippy things on the bottoms of my shoes so we wouldn’t slip around.”

It was a particularly relevant concern for Coco, who previously injured herself after falling from the stage at Universal nightclub in Sydney.

The fall left the star requiring hospital treatment and crutches, although she thankfully avoided broken bones or permanent injuries.

This time around, Coco managed to stay firmly on her feet.

The late Maxi Shield was originally set to compete

During the interview, Coco also confirmed that beloved season one queen Maxi Shield had originally been set to join the cast of Drag Race Down Under Vs The World.

“Maxi was actually supposed to be on the cast,” Coco revealed.

The casting would have reunited Maxi with Coco and Vybe, creating a formidable Sydney trio in the competition.

“Maxi, Vybe and myself on the same season together,” Coco said.

Sadly, Maxi never appeared on the season after falling ill prior to filming commencing.

The beloved Sydney drag icon passed away in February 2026 following complications from cancer treatment.

Maxi had revealed her cancer diagnosis in September 2025 after she was hospitalised while performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The performer subsequently underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy before her death at the age of 51.

Her passing prompted an enormous outpouring of grief from Australia’s LGBTQIA+ community, with friends, fans and fellow performers sharing tributes to a queen whose career spanned more than two decades.

Maxi was later farewelled with a memorial service and procession along Oxford Street, where hundreds gathered to celebrate her life and legacy.

Had she been able to compete, Coco believes the three Sydney queens would have made an unforgettable combination.

Coco Jumbo fell for the Raven twist

Coco also opened up about one of the season’s biggest twists, admitting she genuinely believed Raven had entered the competition as a contestant.

The Drag Race legend appeared alongside the returning queens during the opening episode, taking part in the first design challenge before the truth was revealed: she was not competing and would instead join the judging panel.

“I kind of did,” Coco said when asked if she believed Raven was really part of the cast.

“I had no reason not to think that she was in it. But when she was standing there after the first day during the design challenge, I was like, ‘What the fuck is happening? What world am I living in?’”

The sight of season four winner Lazy Susan sitting in judgment of the Drag Race icon only added to the surreal experience.

“It was wild,” Coco agreed. “It was wild.”

While the queens may have been fooled, Coco believes the stunt delivered exactly what the franchise needed.

“From a marketing angle, they needed to give the fans a reason to watch and get into Down Under again,” she said.

“I feel like they really pulled one over on us and I think it worked.”

Once Raven was officially unveiled as a judge, the reveal had the fandom talking, but Coco conceded the queens should perhaps have spotted the signs sooner.

“Shame on us for believing it,” she laughed.

Coco Jumbo reveals her dream Vs The World cast

With Maxi Shield sadly unable to join the competition, Coco revealed which other Down Under queens she would have loved to see enter the werkroom.

“Minnie Cooper,” she said, before also naming Hollywould Star.

“Hollywould for a little bit of drama,” she joked.

When asked which international stars she would most like to compete against, Coco had several Drag Race favourites ready to go.

“Oh my God, I would love Peppermint or Raja, of course,” she said.

Coco also nominated franchise icon Jujubee, who has already competed across numerous seasons and spin-offs.

“It’s gotta happen,” she laughed.

Is another return on the cards for Coco Jumbo?

Despite falling short of a challenge win and the crown, Coco is not ruling out yet another return to the franchise.

“No wins,” she joked. “It just means they have to call me back again.”

After improving on her original placement and securing the redemption she came for, Coco has her sights set even higher.

Perhaps UK Vs The World could be next?

“Exactly,” she said. “Aim for the stars.”