What did “nothing you say matters unless that camera is rolling” really mean?
Rose DommuBy now we’ve all heard Pearl’s infamous story about being told by RuPaul that “‘nothing you say matters unless that camera is rolling’” while filming season seven of RuPaul’s Drag Race. At the time, the queen said that the exchange was “so heartbreaking because I idolized her. I worshipped her. I felt like it was just so disrespectful.”
But during BBC’s screening of the season finale of RuPaul’s Drag Race U.K., Michelle Visage claimed that Ru was simply adhering to the production’s rule that competitors stay silent when they aren’t being filmed. Visage was at the event with the U.K. finalists, who were asked what surprised them most about filming the series.
“It's the fact you're not allowed to talk to each other,” one answered, according to Attitude— we are withholding names in order to avoid spoilers.. “If the cameras aren't rolling, you don't speak. You don't speak in the van; you don't speak in the workroom; you don't speak anywhere.”
That’s when Visage interjected that this was “where that quote from Pearl came from, with Ru — that whole drama with Ru saying 'If the cameras aren't rolling it doesn't count'. Because they want the magic.”
Another finalist explained that “Ru is there to do a job; we were there to do a job. The one thing I will say which was the biggest surprise is [that] everything is done in one take. If you fuck up your Snatch Game, there's no ‘Oh can I do that again,’ it's 'We're rolling — if you fuck up sorry, there's nothing you can do about it.”
Still, Pearl’s admission that RuPaul’s reaction to her “broke her spirit” remains heartbreaking — making good TV is one thing, but being a compassionate mentor is another.
RELATED | Pearl Reveals RuPaul Made Her Feel 'Broken' On RPDR
Michelle Visage Explains That Pearl/RuPaul Drama
0Michelle Visage Explains That Pearl/RuPaul Drama
0