Entertainment

These Clues Point To Bebe Being The 10th Queen On 'RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars 3'

by Mary Kate McGrath
VH1

Oh, y'all wanted a twist? When the cast of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars 3 (producer: Michelle Visage) was announced, one queen was missing. There are many theories about who will join the show, but there are lots of clues that Bebe will be the 10th queen on RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars 3. If Bebe returns, it would be the first time a former winner is allowed to compete for the All Stars crown. It's unprecedented, but RuPaul loves to switch up the format of the show. Every season is different and, in All Stars 2, contestants found out that the judges would not eliminate the queens. Instead, the winner each week would make the decision. The new style raised the stakes and caused lots of drama, and the format will likely make a return this year. That doesn't mean that RuPaul won't have new tricks up her sleeve, and there is a lot of evidence that Bebe will be the missing competitor.

Bebe Zahara Benet is the most popular choice for 10th queen, and there are serious clues that it could be her. Bebe may have won the very first season of RuPaul's Drag Race, but she doesn't get the recognition other crowned queens enjoy. When Drag Race premiered, it didn't have the audience it has today. While RuPaul believed in it's potential to make drag mainstream, the series started with a smaller budget and found it's home on indie-channel LogoTV. The show only just made the jump to VH1 in 2017, and the fact that queens can have a career-making run on the show is a fairly new phenomenon. It would make sense for RuPaul to bring back the show's first winner, and give her the opportunity to prove herself once again.

If Bebe returns, it won't be the first time that a contestant from an earlier season was brought back unexpectedly. In Season 9, RuPaul decided to give Cynthia Lee Fontaine another chance at the crown. She wasn't introduced with the rest of the cast, and instead made a surprise entrance in the second episode. Shangela, who will also appear on All Stars 3, competed on two seasons of the show as well. In Season 3, she famously popped out of a box to surprise the other contestants. There have also been seasons where RuPaul brought back an eliminated queen sent home too early, like Naysha Lopez in Season 8 or Trixie Mattel in Season 7. Ru loves to give a wronged queen a second chance, and a winner like Bebe would definitely be a surprise for the rest of the cast.

The Bebe rumors began when a Reddit user commented on a thread that the first challenge was a talent show and Bebe was the 10th queen. The RuPaul's Drag Race Reddit board is a popular place for fans to share theories or give a (supposed) insider scoop on the show. It can be pretty accurate — the users managed to guess all 9 of the other All Stars 3 cast members before the official announcement. The user who suggested Bebe would be the 10th scheduled their announcement ahead of time, and then quietly disappeared from the forum. This could be someone planting a false trail, or a major clue that Bebe will appear.

The All Stars seasons have featured queens from the earlier seasons in the past. RuPaul's Drag Race didn't get put on the map until the fourth season, and there's good reason to give older queens the chance to reach a new, younger audience. All Stars 2 queen Tatianna first appeared on the show's second season, and her appearance was a chance to introduce herself to new audiences. Morgan McMichaels first appeared on Season 2, but besides her the season is notably lacking in contestants from the earlier seasons.

On Twitter, fans are convinced RuPaul will give Bebe another chance to shine:

RuPaul's Drag Race returns on Jan. 25, but it's unclear if we'll find out who the 10th queen is in the first episode. It could be a longer wait since Ru is known to put off the season's twist until the second episode, or even later in the season. If you need the T now, however, there are plenty of clues that point to Bebe being the 10th All Stars queen.