Editor's note: This story contains spoilers for the first five episodes of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 9.
After checking all the boxes in season 14 but falling short of snatching the crown, Angeria Paris VanMicheals didn't come back onto RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 9 to play… she came to slay!
From the very first episode — in which she won the Rumix challenge and the lip sync for your legacy — Angeria has been bringing her A-game to All Stars 9, and fans are LOVING it. The thing is: the other queens have noticed it, too. A prominent frontrunner? Check. A clear target for getting cut from winning more Beautiful Benefactress Badges? Check.
In episode 1, Angeria cut Roxxxy Andrews due to the All Stars 2 legend's clear threat level to the competition. Then, in episode 2, Gottmik cut Angeria, rightfully justifying that Angie was the frontrunner of the season.
"I wasn't upset, but I was definitely in a mood about it," Angeria tells Out. "But I definitely wasn't upset, because it was kind of inevitable. I did feel like the chances of me getting cut were like 99%. I was really hoping that I wasn't, but I already knew that I could."
She adds, "I definitely wasn't mad, which is why I was kind of playing with them like that. Before I walked into the werk room, I was like, 'I'm going to act like I'm going to walk in and I'm not going to say anything.' Even though I wasn't happy about getting cut off, I wasn't upset. And then playing that trick did make me feel better."
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Angeria and Jorgeous have been quite the duo on All Stars 9. While this makes sense — given that they competed together in season 14 — some fans didn't realize that these queens had been close during their initial Drag Race run.
"When we came through the door for our very first episode and it was only half of us [due to a split premiere], Jorgeous was instantly my closest friend out of that group," Angeria explains. "Before I even got to know Willow [Pill], Lady Camden, or anybody else. Me and Jorgeous just started talking to each other like we knew each other forever. Jorgeous is also the RuGirl that I've worked with the most. We've toured together twice on Werq the World and Night of the Living Drag."
Another strength of Angeria being highlighted on All Stars 9 is her lip syncing ability. In fact, the Atlanta, Georgia queen won the first lip sync of the competition against Jorgeous to the tune of "Million Dollar Bill (Freemasons Radio Mix)" by Whitney Houston.
"This was the most confident I've ever been for a lip sync on that stage," Angeria recalls. "I knew I was going to approach it how I would normally approach it. Like I said, I am a park-and-bark girl. Give me my good gown, honey, and I'm going to ballad you into a coma, b*tch. That's me all day, every day. That's what I was taught in Atlanta. Those are the girls I came up around."
"I've literally been doing that style of performance for 10 years, but I didn't get to showcase that on season 14," Angie adds. "So, to be able to showcase that on the premiere… I felt like, even if I didn't win, I would've still felt good about people at least seeing a much more comfortable style of me performing. The fact that I won just made it even better. Now y'all got to see what my expertise in performance is."
Last but certainly not least, Angeria tells Out why she chose to compete for the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC).
"Back on season 13, LaLa Ri competed for them in the lip sync battle at the reunion against Denali. When it came to choosing a charity, that [moment] did help me make my decision," she says. "I just feel that they represent who I am and what I believe in. They're fighting for the rights of people like me."
New episodes of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 9 are streaming every Friday on Paramount+.