RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 10 star Ginger Minj has shared that she was diagnosed with autism during the psychiatric evaluation for the season.
Warning: Sickening spoilers below for episode 7 of All Stars 10.
RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 10 is well underway, with both the Orange Bracket and Pink Bracket done and dusted, having sent Aja, Bosco and Irene the Alien, and Jorgeous, Lydia B. Kollins and Mistress Isabelle Brooks, through to the semifinals, respectively.
Now, it’s the Purple Bracket’s turn, with Acid Betty, Alyssa Hunter, Cynthia Lee Fontaine, Daya Betty and Denali fighting to join them – alongside fourth time returnee, Ginger Minj.
Ginger first competed on season 7 of RuPaul’s Drag Race, before returning for All Stars 2 and 6. This time though, she’s in the Werk Room with a new perspective, as she has revealed that she was diagnosed with autism during the psychiatric evaluation for the tournament-style season.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Ginger explained, “To be candid, I didn’t find out that I was truly autistic — of course I had my assumptions through my life — until we did the casting process for All Stars 10 and I went in for my psychiatric evaluation. The way I communicated, the therapist said, “Are you autistic? Are you on the spectrum?” I had my suspicions, but I said I’d never been tested”
After being tested, and receiving a diagnosis, Ginger explained the light shed on her from that moment, saying, “It put 40 years of my existence into perspective so quickly for me. I’ve learned so many different tools to be like, this isn’t something that should hold me back. It should be more of a superpower, a strength of mine.
“I leaned into it. Communication is so important to me, because I’m so concerned about being misconstrued or misunderstood, what are ways I can figure that out for [myself], and not have to rely on social cues from other people?
“Going into the season, it put not just the competition aspect, but the entire way that I compete and communicate with other people into a hyper-focused perspective for me.”
And a superpower it has been; Ginger and her challenge partner Daya Betty landed themselves in the top two for the first challenge of the Purple Bracket, with Ginger also winning the lipsync to “Defying Gravity” in front of Wicked‘s Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. The All Stars 10 win marks Ginger’s sixth Drag Race challenge win.
“It’s such a blessing to know, to have the answer and ability to learn. I’d heard the term masking for so long but didn’t realize that’s what I did daily. Now, I understand myself so much better.
“That’s what held me back on my other seasons of Drag Race. Coming across insincere, because I was so concerned about how other people would perceive me or misunderstand the words I said — particularly the fan response to season 7,” Ginger added.
“Now, understanding more of who I am, I felt this burden lifted off my shoulders…. No matter what happens, it’s so celebratory for me, because it’s the first time I’ve truly competed as myself.”
Ginger is not the only queen from the season to open up about a recent autism diagnosis; Pink Bracket queen Tina Burner did so in May.
“I sought further clarification and was diagnosed with autism or ASD [Autism Spectrum Disorder] and ADHD. I finally had answers to so many questions. If you know me you know I love a project. For the first time in my life, the project is me,” she shared at the time.
Earlier this year, fellow Drag Race star Hormona Lisa, who competed on season 17, also shared their autism diagnosis, saying it’s “part of who I am”.
RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 10 continues on Fridays on Paramount+ in the US and WOW Presents Plus internationally.
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