"Kennedy terrified me!"
Lawrence Chaney has officially traded in her shortbread for slot machines, swapping the gloomy skies of Glasgow for the glittering chaos of Las Vegas—and they’re not looking back. Nearly two years after sashaying onto the Strip, the winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Season 2 is on our screens once more in the second season of RuPaul’s Drag Race Live! Untucked! every Wednesday on www.wowpresentsplus.com.
Lawrence caught up with Taylor Trash to chat about the upcoming season, which UK queens she wants to see on the Vegas lineup, and whether she’d slap RuPaul again (and what for!).
“I was one of the first international queens to join the Vegas cast, and if you think about it, there’s over 600 queens in the Drag Race universe, and only around 35 queens have ever done this show. So it is an honour to be picked. I definitely had my insecurities—I was standing next to Asia O’Hara and all these queens who look immaculate, and I’m coming in with my bastard UK drag, chain-smoking and loud.”
And yet, Lawrence made her mark—both on stage and in the backstage chaos of Untucked. Fans of the first season will remember her sudden exit early on in the show. What was that all about? Was Lawrence inspired by fellow UK star Ginny Lemon?
She laughs. “I had a show at the Edinburgh Fringe so I had to go for that, and the production were very understanding. Obviously I’m on season two, so I made it. Being anything like Ginny is iconic.”
And talking of this this season, buckle up. “It’s a lot more dramatic,” Lawrence teases. “You get to see more of our personal lives. My boyfriend’s in it this time. So revealing your partner and being a bit soppy, for me, I had to get over the cringe of that.”
As well as lifting the lid on her personal life, joining Lawrence are queens like Nymphia Wind (fresh off her Drag Race Season 16 win), as well as Mirage, and the ever-iconic Kennedy Davenport. “Kennedy terrified me at first,” Lawrence admits. “She’s just so good at everything. But she’s also the kindest soul. She immediately made me feel welcome.”
With such a powerful cast, who would Lawrence love to bring from the UK to the Vegas stage?
“Tayce needs to be on Drag Race Live! in Vegas because the way she moves her body—I can’t understand it,” Lawrence says. “I’ve slowed down the footage and I still don’t get it. She’s effortless, she’s got the energy, and she’d thrive in Vegas. I also adore Tomara Thomas. She looks incredible, she performs so well—and the accent? Americans think I’m hard to understand? Wait ’til they hear her. They’ll need a spit guard in the front row. Full splash zone!”
As for standout moments, Lawrence promises meme-worthy madness. “Derrick Barry is unintentionally hilarious—she says something with total sincerity, and we’re all in stitches. And Kennedy just slays, every single time.”
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Taylor: At the 500th show, you got to slap RuPaul.
Lawrence: Yeah, and she slapped me back. I loved it.
Taylor: If you could slap RuPaul again, what would you slap her for?
Lawrence: I’d slap her and say “There needs to be an all winners two” cos I wanna go back on all winners. I would slap her if she said, “Nah, maybe we’ll think about it in a few seasons.” Watch me never get asked now because I said that.
Taylor: Looking back on all of the drag race seasons from the US, what was your favorite untucked moment from drag Race seasons 1 to 6?
Lawrence: Bianca Del Rio talking to Laganja after the drag queens of comedy where she goes, “It’s time for me and Laganja to clear the air. Couple of weeks ago when we were in this room, Laganja was talking to her family and she said I took away from her 20 years of what she was waiting to hear. And then I got to thinking after I left and after I was back at the hotel, that it was a crock of shit cos you’ve only been doing drag for 2 years.” Just the editing on that and the delivery from Bianca. I mean, it seemed scripted how easy it came out of her mouth, but my God, that was maybe the best, but Bianca has the best moments, the “Come into your room at night and cut your fucking wigs up”, the “Let me ask you one very fair question. What do you do successfully? Quickly.” Quickly. She killed that, killed that season, wow. But she has the best moments by far.
Taylor: If you had to choose your favorite untucked moment from seasons 10 to 16?
Lawrence: This is really niche. I don’t know if anyone’s gonna relate. My purple sister Raja O’Hara. Oh, you know, winner of Canada versus the world, she, this is when she talks, she goes. You know, winner of Canada versus the world, someone’s trying to talk over her and she goes and gives them a look that is so funny. Also from season 11, sickening, Silky Nutmeg Ganache with that dress reveal. “if I had to lip sync for my fucking life I was fucking ready.” And then it’s Vanjie dying with laughter, it was so funny. That was a great season. My God, the untucked for that was so good.
RuPaul’s Drag Race Live! Untucked Season 2 premieres April 16th on WOW Presents Plus.
For more juicy goss, you can listen to the full interview on Taylor’s podcast Sweet Tea.
