Jinkx Monsoon, "Card-Carrying Witch," Explains Her 'All Stars' Hecate Shout-Out
Everyone's favorite swamp witch is a winner, winner chicken dinner... again!
After an incredible season, Jinkx Monsoon took home the crown and $200,000 on the finale of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Season 7, the highly-anticipated first all-winners season.
Jinkx was a queen to watch from the moment her casting was announced. She prevailed against an alliance when she won her original season, could she do it again? Jinkx's frontrunner status was cemented after her instant legendary Judy Garland performance on Snatch Game, heralded as one of the best impersonations in the herstory of Drag Race.
Over the course of the season, eight glamazons competed for the title of Queen of All Queens, but in the end, it was Monét X Change and Jinkx who were the top two, with Ru crowning Jinkx the winner.
On the day the finale dropped on Paramount+, Jinkx spoke with Logo about what it was like when she found out she had won All Stars, what she plans on doing with the prize money, and why she gave a shout-out to Hecate, mother of witches, during her acceptance speech.
Hi, Jinkx! I'm so excited you won. How are you feeling today?
It's all very surreal. It's 6:20 AM in Australia where I am right now. Ah, and I was supposed to get up at five so that I could kind of pack my bags and be ready to hit the next city on tour. But guess who didn't get up at five? So now I'm like, I've just won Drag Race All Stars all-winners. And I'm doing interviews in my underwear, packing my bags. So that's the life of a drag queen.
What were you doing when you found out you won?
I was getting ready for last night's show in Melbourne. [BenDeLaCreme] Dela and I took a break from doing our makeup so that we could quickly watch the results. And then I had to just get back to doing my makeup and go put on a show. It was a very surreal experience, but the crowd last night in Melbourne was just amazing. It was very exciting to be with one of my best and dearest friends on such a significant night.
So did you watch the episode backstage while you got ready for the show?
No, we were in the hotel in the middle of doing our makeup, and I was admittedly late last night [for the show] because it was really hard to even do my makeup in the hours leading up to it. So I was just kind of staring vacantly into the mirror while I just applied layer after layer of grease paint.
So who is Hecate? You called her "the mother of witches," is she like the RuPaul of witches?
Hecate was the Greek goddess of magic and witchcraft. So she gets referenced a lot through witch culture of being a deity. All throughout the season, I was using the storyline of a modern-day witch to empower myself. My two biggest tools to success in my life are therapy and witchcraft.
When you gave the shout-out to Hecate, was that a spur-of-the-moment thing or did you have that planned?
Oh, totally spur of the moment. I was up there pouring my heart out, being really sappy and emotional. No regrets, but I just had this moment where I was like, "Wow, I've just really been super, super mushy and I feel like I need to end this with a joke." That was the first thing that came to mind. It's not really a joke, I'm a card-carrying witch, but also, what a random thing to say at the end of my scepter speech, you know?
No, I loved it. It was very on brand.
Yeah, that's been my M-O this season.
That moment in the finale when Monét was telling Ru how much he means to all of you and everyone was choking back tears, what was that like?
The whole season was so emotional and uplifting. We all went in with our own things to prove to ourselves and to prove to the audience of Drag Race. And I think we all accomplished amazing things. We all had these aha moments and we all had these moments of really conquering our demons or slaying our dragons, and Ru was just so gracious with us the whole time, and so candid with us. It really just felt like this truly exceptionally unique experience. If you want to know what this season was like filming, just watch that moment because that's how it felt the whole time. Just all of us coming together to do our very, very best work for the audience to enjoy. And then in doing that, it was just extremely profound and celebratory and uplifting and inspiring.
You can tell you all became a sisterhood. Is there a group chat going on? Are you all still talking?
Oh, if I told you that, I'd have to kill you. No, we've stayed in touch since day one. And just doing Drag Race bonds you with all the other girls around the world who have done Drag Race. But the ones you go through a season with, that's your platoon. And this group of girls is just truly exceptional.
There were even jokes about a girls' trip happening. Do you think a reunion is in the cards?
Oh yeah, absolutely. We've been planning it since the beginning. But the trouble with eight winners is finding the goddamn time.
Have you thought about what you're going to do with the prize money?
Yeah. There are some home repairs that I've been putting off and I'm still working on my next album. Albums are fun little money pits, but you do it for the love of the music, right? But I think most immediately, my husband and I got married during the pandemic, and we've been focusing on his immigration because he's from the U.K. and we haven't gotten our forever rings. We're still wearing our placeholder wedding rings. Because I'm not good at pre-planning unless it comes to drag. So we're going to buy ourselves our forever rings and we're going to go big on those.
What else can us Jinkx fans look forward to?
So you could go to the Jinkx and Dela website for everything related to our holiday special and our tour this year. I have a new EP coming out soon, which is the precursor to my new album. And I have a new sketch comedy show coming out with Wow Presents Plus. So there's lots of content along the way, but I'll be churning it out as it comes to me.
Well, Jinkx, condragratulations again, I am so happy that you won.
Oh, thank you. I'm happy I won too.