Marcia Marcia Marcia Breaks Down Her Epic Lip-Sync Against Anetra
When it comes to Marcia Marcia Marcia we are obsessed obsessed obsessed.
The New York stage darling might have made RuPaul's Drag Race herstory by breaking the record for consecutive “safe” placements on the competition series, but her recent lip-sync against Anetra is also one for the herstory books.
Over the course of the season, Marcia was lovingly read for her makeup by the other queens, but the theater performer proved herself week after week, pushing her drag skills in challenges like Snatch Game and the old lady girl group. She also served eleganza looks on the runway including her Tie Dye to Die For ensemble and her Crystal Ball couture.
But in the latest episode, the queens had to perform a comedy set, the challenge Marcia revealed she was looking forward to the least. While she kicked off the comedy show with some solid jokes, in the end, it wasn't enough and she landed in the bottom along with Anetra.
With the powerhouse pair lip-syncing for their lives, viewers knew they were in for an epic performance, and Marcia and Anetra delivered — giving one of the season's most gag-worthy lip-sync spectacles.
Logo spoke with Marcia about her time on Drag Race, including what tips and tricks she learned from her fellow competitors, her dream of working with Ryan Murphy, and how she didn't even know Anetra jumped over her during their lip-sync.
First off, we have to talk about that lip sync. I think it's my favorite lip sync of the season so far.
Oh, thank you.
It was so good. Were you nervous about going up against Anetra?
Yeah, I was nervous just because Anetra is such an incredible performer, but the flip side of the same coin, I'm a pretty great performer too, and I knew that the two of us together were going to do something really iconic, and I was so excited to see how it turned out. And just to get to do it with her, I love Anetra so much. And if anyone was going to send me home, I'm glad that it was Anetra.
When I saw that it was "Boss Bitch" by Doja Cat, I was worried because that didn't seem like a Marcia song.
No, and I could tell you that it is not!
When you were rehearsing for the lip sync, were you like, "Okay, I'll pull out this move, or pull out that move?" Or did you just go with it when you were on stage?
The only thing that I planned was the backbend. That was the only thing that I planned.
Did you know in the moment that Anetra jumped over you?
I had no idea. It wasn't until I was eliminated and walked off the stage, where someone on the crew was like, "She jumped over you." And I was like, "What?"
Yeah, I was wondering if you even noticed. Could you tell that the judges were living for the lip-sync?
Absolutely. And in that moment, especially when I was going up against Anetra, I was like, "Okay, this is going to be a hard one for me to survive, so we're just going to do our absolute best. We're going to give everything we've got." And seeing the judges respond so positively really affirmed that I had done that and that I had done everything that I possibly could have to stay. I lip-synced for my life. I can genuinely say that. But yes, I definitely noticed. And honestly, it fueled the rest of the lip sync, I would say.
Let's move on to the comedy challenge. Do you think you would have done better if Mistress and you had stayed a team? Or are you happy that you went first solo?
Multiple things can be true. I think if I had been with Mistress, there was a strong potential, I think we could have won the challenge if it was the two of us, because we have such a specific relationship that the judges were very aware of. In the mini challenge, when she came over and was putting makeup on my face, absolutely hilarious. I think we could have had a really hilarious set, but also at the same time, we had been working in groups for so much of this season. If you look back at the challenges, most of them are group challenges. And I had taken a lot of leadership roles in those groups, choreographing or writing, and the fact that I got to focus my creative energy on myself, and the fact I got to go first was great because I didn't have to sit there and get all anxious about it. So yeah, at the same time, I think both had the potential to be really good.
On Untucked, you were saying how this was the challenge you were looking forward to the least. On the flip side of that, what was your favorite challenge you did?
Oh my gosh. It's hard. Honestly, the ones that you get the best reception for are the ones that feel really good. Snatch Game felt really good, the talent show felt really good, and the acting challenge felt really good, but my personal favorite in every season is always the ball. I just think it's so fun to see what people create out of necessity. So I personally really loved the ball, but anything that I was positively celebrated for, made me feel really affirmed and really happy because I was one of the newer queens there, so to be received well was very, very affirming for me.
So you made Drag Race herstory as the queen with the most number of saves. How did that feel being safe week after week after week?
I will say when you are in the top and then you are safe, it doesn't really feel like a save because when you're critiqued by the judges, it does feel very different than just being sent back to the workroom. But honestly, it's funny to me, because on paper, it looked like I sort of floated through the season, but if you look more closely, I had a lot of really great high points that I'm very, very proud of. And overall, I was not in the bottom at all. So I think that's pretty impressive.
On Untucked, Ali Wong asked, "What would be your dream gig?" And we didn't get to hear yours. Did you have an answer?
Yeah, I said I would love to work with Ryan Murphy. I love American Horror Story, I love Scream Queens. I think his perspective is very fun and campy and queer and musical. So I think working with him would be so much fun.
Marcia in the Scream Queens reboot! I could see that.
Absolutely! It'd be so good.
Over the season the girls read you for your makeup, so were there any tips or tricks that you learned from the other queens that you took with you after you left Drag Race?
Oh my gosh, yeah. That's, I think, maybe one of the things that was lost because of the shorter episodes. I got makeup tips from literally the entire group. In the celebrity interview episode, I sat next to Sasha Colby when we got ready, and she taught me so much stuff about my complexion and about the way that she specifically underpins, and techniques that she's learned from makeup artists. I sat next to Luxx for the entire season, and she taught me how to tape my face. She was the one that, every single day, was holding my hand through this scary transition of having to change my face on television. But yeah, I would say almost every single girl on the cast at some point gave me a tip or a trick, or some advice. Which I really, really appreciate, because it's a competition, they didn't have to do that. But I think it shows how at the end of the day, we are all friends, and we're all looking out for each other.
On Untucked you got pretty emotional talking about just the whole Drag Race experience. What was it like walking off the main stage for the last time?
I got, of course, like you said, very emotional on Untucked, but after that, I was able to drop out of it and be like, "Okay, this is a very real reality that I'm leaving today, so I'm going to go out, and I'm going to have as much fun as I possibly can. If I go home today, my showing on the season has been so great, and as good as I possibly could have hoped it to be. So regardless of what happens, I am satisfied. And while I would like to stay until the very end, if going home today is a reality, I have to accept it, and let the experience wash over me, and be happy with what I had done."
So you're Marcia Marcia Marcia, but who's the Carol Brady of Season 15? Who's the perfect mother of the group?
Sasha Colby, of course! Can you imagine if I said somebody else?