“Still F*cking Got There”: Vybe Reflects On Her Drag Race Down Under Vs The World Journey

Vybe may have left Drag Race Down Under Vs The World without the crown, but our vivacious Sydney queen is walking away with plenty to be proud of.

After reaching the final four alongside Art Simone, Michael Marouli and M1ss Jade So, Vybe’s journey ended just before the final lip sync, with a heartfelt farewell thanking Michelle Visage for changing her life.

Michael Marouli ultimately took home the crown, but between the confessionals, the comedy and a beautiful friendship with Coco Jumbo, Vybe gave us plenty to celebrate along the way.

Speaking with The Star Observer about her return to the competition, she has very few regrets.

Well, perhaps one.

Vybe leaves Drag Race Down Under Vs The World with pride

For Vybe, making it to another finale meant achieving exactly what she had set out to do.

“I always set the goal of just showing everything that we brought, doing every challenge, doing every runway, and making it to the finale,” she says.

“There’s not a single thing that I would change about the entire experience, except maybe picking that god-awful pink fucking dress.”

While her return brought some difficult bottom placements, Vybe refuses to let the judges’ decisions define the entire experience.

“I am a contestant. I’m not a judge,” she says.

For her, the show is entertainment first and competition second, which means learning to roll with the punches.

“And if you’re not having fun, there’s no point being there in the first place. So have fun. Enjoy it. The world’s too serious anyway.”

That attitude helped her keep moving through the tougher weeks, even when she felt she could have placed differently.

“But again, that’s not my decision to make. It’s not for me to invest energy in. I stand by everything that I did and still will stand by everything I did.”

And as for anyone questioning her place in the finale?

“I’m well aware of the fact that I crawled my way to the finale, but still fucking got there, didn’t we?”

Bringing Sydney drag to the world

After winning us over during season four of Drag Race Down Under, Vybe returned with the same sharp wit that made her such a fantastic narrator the first time around.

Between her and Art Simone, there was hardly a shortage of commentary this season.

But Vybe says those moments come naturally.

“I’m a person who can just run the mouth and have no idea what the hell I’m saying and will be reminded of it at other times and in the future.”

Rather than trying to manufacture a television moment, she believes the best results come from giving yourself over to the experience.

And years behind a microphone certainly help.

“I cut my teeth hosting in Sydney. So quick wit and being able to have a shady comment or a sassy thought or an opinion about something is part and parcel of being a Sydney drag queen.”

“I’m very proud that we got to bring that tradition of just being a mouthy bastard to the main stage.”

A Snatch Game win and her “thunder buddy”

Among all the challenges, one achievement stands out.

“Snatch Game was a huge, huge personal mission and personal goal,” Vybe explains.

“And to take away a badge for that and also see my sister Coco do so damn well at it, that episode will always be such a heartwarming little memory to have.”

Coco previously told Star Observer that Vybe helped pull her out of a spiral before Snatch Game, making their shared success all the sweeter.

For Vybe, getting to compete alongside her best friend and housemate made the invitation back even more special.

“It was one thing to be asked to do the show, but a whole other thing to get to do the show with my thunder buddy.”

Their friendship also gave us Steve and Peter, the gloriously stupid running gag that deserved considerably more airtime.

So where did those two come from?

“I mean, we’re just idiots. We are 100% in on the gag,” Vybe explains.

“We just love attention. I don’t know what else to say.”

And apparently, we only saw a fraction of their antics.

“I swear we said it at least twice per episode. Like, it was always there.”

Saying goodbye to Coco Jumbo

Of course, the joy of competing together made Coco’s departure particularly painful.

Asked whether she had prepared for the possibility of being separated, Vybe has a very clear answer.

“Never crossed my mind. Not once.”

“I thought, you know, well, they’re not even going to do eliminations this season. How are you going to get rid of two best friends?”

When that goodbye eventually arrived, it became her hardest moment in the competition.

“It was a very emotional moment. I think that was my low point of the entire season.”

But she knew letting the sadness take over would only make things worse.

“At the end of the day, we’re still in this together, whether we’re both in the room or not. We’ll always have each other’s back and always help each other get to that next achievement.”

Besides, Coco would hardly have appreciated Vybe giving up on her account.

“So if I gave it all up just because she wasn’t physically in the room with me, she would punch me in the throat.”

“I have a very delicate throat and I don’t appreciate being punched in it.”

Crisis averted, darling.

Vybe has a message for the keyboard warriors

While Vybe brought plenty of joy to the screen, she has some choice words for the viewers determined to ruin the experience for everyone else.

“The fans will be the reason that Drag Race stops filming. It’s a reason that no one will have any fun,” she says.

“It’s the reason that everything will go to shit and World War Three will finally arrive in full. It’s the Drag Race fandom’s fault. Not the good ones, just the shit ones.”

Her advice to those fans?

“Log off, go outside, touch some grass, wipe your ass and shut the fuck up.”

Vybe says the negativity directed at her did not reach the same extremes experienced by Art and Jade, but avoiding the comments altogether has never really been her style.

“We always get told, don’t read the comments, don’t look at the reviews, don’t do this, don’t do that.”

“I am a nosy person. I want to know.”

And if you are going to leave something nasty, don’t be surprised when she answers.

“It is so funny that if someone says something sassy or shady to you as a contestant on a show where we cross-dress in a warehouse for three weeks, A, bitch, it’s not that serious. B, I will respond to your comment.”

“And 98% of the time, they back away faster than you’ve ever seen.”

According to Vybe, the confidence behind those comments tends to disappear once the person being targeted responds.

“They apologise on the spot. They delete the comment and they recede back into their little sad holes and pathetic lives because their attempt to bring me down did not work.”

“And that’s the thing. Stand by your words. If you’re going to be a bastard, be a fucking bastard, but don’t come running when I’m a bastard right back because that’s my prerogative.”

“I’m just meeting you where you asked me to meet you.”

Asked whether anyone has been brave enough to deliver that same criticism to her face, Vybe extends an invitation.

“Try it. I invite it. I encourage it. I’m here at Universal in Sydney every single Friday night.”

“And if you have something to say to me personally, I’ll invite you right on stage and give you the microphone. Go ahead. Go ham. Say what you want.”

For Vybe, the distance afforded by a keyboard makes it far too easy for people to forget there is a person receiving their words.

“They’re all keyboard warriors. It’s all from the safety and sanctity of where they’re commenting, knowing that it’ll never get back to them.”

“And we’re in a reality now where that will be the reason that we lose the things that we love.”

“So no one is saying that you can’t be a fan of one queen in a group of ten, but just listen to what your parents said.”

“If you’ve got nothing nice to say, shut the fuck up.”

However, the love from supportive fans has been just as significant, reminding Vybe why she accepted the opportunity in the first place.

“I know that if I let myself, I can slip into that self-doubt thing really quickly,” she says.

Messages of encouragement, viewers enjoying her performances and people approaching her to say they are proud have helped keep those doubts in check.

“It is really something that reminds you why you say yes to this experience in the first place.”

And ultimately, she wants viewers to remember what drag is there to do.

“Drag exists to make people happy and to make them forget about their painful, irritating, stressful, annoying lives.”

“Drag doesn’t exist to be serious and depressing and negative. That is not the point.”

Would Vybe return to Drag Race again?

With two finales behind her, would Vybe answer another call from the franchise?

“I’m already packed.”

And her enthusiasm extends well beyond the werkroom.

“Anything that you want me to do, let me know.”

For now, she and Coco are putting their energy into their weekly podcast, with plans to revisit their time on Drag Race Down Under Vs The World.

“We’ve just given ourselves the ability to just have gay conversations about whatever the hell we want.”

Fans can expect a deep dive into the season, with Vybe promising plenty of behind-the-scenes goss.

As for what comes after that, she is keeping herself open to the possibilities.

“It’s starting a new book. It’s starting a new moment. It’s starting something else that you don’t know where this can take you.”

“Say yes. What’s the worst that can happen?”