'RuPaul's Drag Race': Bombshells from 'And Don't F&%k It Up,' the Oral Herstory of 10 Trailblazing Years

'And Don't F&%k It Up: An Oral History of RuPaul's Drag Race (The First Ten Years)' is now on sale, offering a peek behind the curtain at the show's revolutionary's first decade of production

The library is officially open!

RuPaul's Drag Race, which recently crowned its season 15 winner Sasha Colby, has been a mainstay in pop culture since sashaying onto TV screens in 2009. The drag competition show has gone mainstream since moving from Logo TV, an LGBTQ+ entertainment cable channel, to VH1 and then MTV in recent years, winning Emmys along the way and making contestants like Jinkx Monsoon and Trixie Mattel household names.

A new book, And Don't F&%k It Up: An Oral History of RuPaul's Drag Race (The First Ten Years), offers a peek behind the curtain at the show's revolutionary's first decade of production, encompassing the first 14 fabulous seasons via interviews with many of its stars and hosts, including RuPaul and Michelle Visage.

Below are some of the biggest revelations from author Maria Elena Fernandez and World of Wonder's book, which is available for purchase now.

Grand Central Publishing

Related: 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Star Sasha Colby on Her Historic Win and How Hawaii Influences Her Style (Exclusive)

Ongina made herstory on season 1 as the first ever queen to share that she had been living with HIV. When Ongina was declared the winner of a challenge where she wrote a commercial for MAC's Viva Glam public charity campaign for AIDS/HIV, she courageously revealed her own diagnosis.

"Nobody knew on set, with the exception of two main producers because I had to write in my application what medications I was taking," Ongina says in the book. "I told them I didn't want anyone to know. But this was a chance for me to show I live my life being HIV-positive."

The revelation surprised and touched her fellow contestants, including Rebecca Glasscock, who says in the book, "We had no idea she was HIV-positive. It was a shock to everybody onstage. It was a shock to Ru. In fact, it was a shock to her. Ongina wasn't planning on dropping that bomb. It felt like she had a spiritual awakening."

Fashion writer and former host Merle Ginsberg says, "I'm sure it seemed when people were watching that we knew it was coming. No one knew. We did not know. I started crying. It was really moving."

Raven made her debut on the show's popular second season and quickly became of favorite of RuPaul, who was amazed by her makeup skills. Although she didn't win her season, Raven won something arguably better — an Emmy!

After working as RuPaul's makeup artist for several years, Raven became the first contestant to win an Emmy in 2020 when she won for Outstanding Contemporary Makeup for a Variety or Nonfiction Reality Program.

As she reveals in the book, she was first approached to do RuPaul's makeup while "going through a drive-thru with my boyfriend."

"One of the producers called me and asked me what I was doing tomorrow," she recalls. "I was leaving for Louisville, Kentucky, on a three-city tour. And they said, well, we need to know if you can come in tomorrow to do Ru's makeup... So many things were going through my head. We hung up and then he called back, and I could hear Ru in the background. They were basically begging me to come. I said, okay. I got off the phone and I just remember crying and I looked at my boyfriend and I said, 'They just called me to be Ru's makeup artist.'"

As one of the season 2 queens who could actually sing, fan-favorite Jujubee was expected to dominate in a challenge where the contestants were asked to perform live vocals to a rock-and-roll cover of a RuPaul song.

As fans remember, Jujubee didn't deliver — and in the book it's revealed her substance abuse was to blame. Jujubee, who's now sober, remembers the filming of the episode: "We asked for a little bit of liquid confidence because singing in front of a group of judges on stage, like that was terrifying for all of us. When I drink, one's too many and a thousand's never enough. And that's how I react to any kind of drugs or alcohol or even sometimes relationships. I was trying to curb the drinking but I told myself, Juju, you're probably going to go first so just get all these drinks in you now."

"I actually blacked out when I was performing," she continues. "I don't remember that performance. All I remember is that I went out there and I was like, ooh, ooh, don't throw up, don't throw up."

After embarrassing herself in front of the judges, her fellow queens leapt to help her. "I was lying on the floor and Raven was doing my makeup for me," she recalls. "Tatianna was applying blush and they were giving me water and they were feeding me."

The show's on-set drinking policy changed as a result, starting in season 3: "They only get one drink," says producer Randy Barbato.

One of the most shocking moments in the series' history came in season 4 when Willam became the first queen to be disqualified for breaking the rules.

"We had heard her computer was missing and we're like, wait a minute, what is she doing with a computer," her fellow contestant Latrice Royals recalls in the book. "So the stories were unfolding. We heard her husband came."

Before going onto the main stage, contestant Dida Ritz says Willam revealed to her that she had told the producers "everything that she did." As for how the queens reacted to her elimination, Latrice Royal says, "We were all gagged."

Jinkx Monsoon endeared herself to fans with her tendency to fall asleep during her confessionals on season 5 due to her narcolepsy. But as she reveals in the book, "There were moments when it was authentic and there were moments when it was played up. And, to me, the moments are obvious. When I'm falling asleep trying to write my jokes for the roast, that was real. When I'm in the middle of a sentence and then, all of a sudden, it cuts to me and I'm asleep, that was played up."

As fans remember, when it came time for Valentina to lip synch for her life in season 9, it didn't go well for the Latina queen. While competing against Nina Bo'Nina Brown, Valentina was reluctant to take off a mask covering her mouth as she did not know the lyrics to the song.

"I remember the music starting, and about thirty seconds in, I felt like everyone started looking side to side at each other," remembers her fellow contestant Shea Coulée. "Is she gonna leave that on? Or is she gonna take that off? And then I could see Michelle turning to Ru and I felt like I could see people in the crew looking at each other."

Producer Randy Barbato describes what went down as a "what the f--- moment."

"The producer in me was happy for it to play out a little but we're going to have to stop this and Ru is going to know how," he says. "It was bittersweet because we love Valentina. I thought it was a stunt. But there were indications backstage that maybe she wasn't prepared."

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And Don't F&%k It Up: An Oral History of RuPaul's Drag Race (The First Ten Years) is available for purchase now.

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