8 Drag Queens Who We'll Never See Return to 'RuPaul's Drag Race'

There's a devastating moment at the end of each episode of "RuPaul's Drag Race" – a queen gets eliminated. It's always a shame to see queen's sashay away, especially knowing how much they have to spend these days to bring quality looks to every runway.

Thankfully, since "Drag Race" is such an enormous phenomenon, it feels inevitable that one day, that eliminated queen will return, whether it's in the same season, another regular season, or, more typically, an "All Stars" season. There are, however, a select group of queens who will never, ever return to television and be on "Drag Race" due to off-screen controversies not shown on the long-running competition show. Let's dive into some of these queens and explore why they'll never be back on "RuPaul's Drag Race."

Tyra Sanchez, Season 2 winner

Things did not go as expected after Tyra Sanchez (now James) stormed the competition and deservedly took the crown in Season 2. After an incredible performance, she was constantly bullied and harassed by fans, ultimately leading to her retiring from drag. Before that happened, there was a DragCon scandal, where the former winner threatened to (yes, really) blow up the convention center.

Things have been tough for James, but he was such a formidable talent that when an all-winners season was announced, fans wondered if Tyra would make a grand return. While it may seem impossible given his relationship with World of Wonder, James did recently announce that Tyra is returning exclusively via OnlyFans, so perhaps there is the slightest sliver of hope that they'll be back for a future All-Winners season!

Carmen Carrera, Season 3

Carmen Carrera was the ultimate body queen of Season 3, more often than not found in barely any clothing, storming the runway week after week in season three. Carmen also gave us maybe the most scintillating lipsync ever, alongside Raja to Paula Abdul's "Caught Up".

Since being on the show, Carmen came out as transgender and has repeatedly taken issue with RuPaul, in particular criticizing the use of "Shemail" on the show, and a particularly controversial mini-challenge from Season 6 that has long been scrubbed from existence. With all her public takedowns of RuPaul, it's clear we won't be seeing Carmen Carerra back on Drag Race anytime soon. 

Delta Work, Season 3

When she appeared on Season 3, Delta Work brought polish, grace, and lots of drama to "RuPaul's Drag Race". While she didn't return as a contestant, in Season 9 she became RuPaul's hairstylist, a role that won her a well-deserved Emmy for hairstyling. Amazingly, Delta was unceremoniously dropped from the show, as detailed in a lengthy, illuminating interview with Willam and Alaska on their "Race Chaser" podcast.

It's a shame we'll likely never see Delta Work back on "Drag Race," but have no fear! Delta's legendary rants have found a perfect home in her podcast "Very That" with fellow drag queen Raja, and her world-class talk show "Very Delta" on YouTube.

Willam, Season 4

Willam is no stranger to notoriety – in Season 4, she was the first queen to ever be disqualified for breaking the rules of "Drag Race." Before that, she stirred up controversy week after week, winning two challenges along the way: Simply put, Willam was phenomenal television.

Fans are desperate for Willam to make a grand return to an "All Stars" season, but Willam has been extremely outspoken about not only RuPaul herself but the entire production team at World of Wonder. Thankfully Willam has been killing it lately, appearing in major films like "A Star is Born."

Honey Mahogany, Season 5

Not every queen in this story is sullied by negative interactions with RuPaul. In the case of Honey Mahogany, who was the queen of kaftans in Season 5 before getting eliminated in a double sashay, she's gone on to bigger and better things since her time on the show.

Honey doesn't perform much in drag these days, instead, since coming out as a transgender woman, she's dove head first into political activism. She's done outstanding things, became the first trans person to serve on the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee, and became chair in 2021. This year, she's running for District 6 Supervisor of San Francisco!

Courtney Act, Season 6

One of the most glaring "All Stars" omissions has been Courtney Act. The Australian legend made the top three in Season 6, winning two challenges and never winding up in the bottom two. Courtney brought incredible looks (her angel wings live forever rent-free in our minds) and monumental beauty to the show, and fans eagerly await her return.

It's not going happen. Like Carmen, Courtney has been an outspoken advocate for transgender people, regularly speaking out about issues on the show. She's notoriously blocked by Ru on Twitter, which is probably why she's not appeared on "RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under" – and let's be real, Courtney should be hosting!

Pearl, Season 7

Pearl wasn't just a pretty face on Season 7 – she delivered one of the best Snatch Game performances ever and won multiple challenges on her way to the finale. There was lots of controversy surrounding Pearl's original run, which included a showdown between her and Ru in the werkroom, which gave us the legendary line "Is there something on my face?"

In an interview years after her season, Pearl detailed the first time she met RuPaul just before the season started filming. Pearl gushed about how excited she was, and allegedly, RuPaul responded "Nothing you say matters unless the cameras are rolling." After that explosive bomb drop, you can be sure Pearl will never be on "Drag Race" again.

Robbie Turner, Season 8

On Season 8, Robbie Turner brought old Hollywood glamour to the main stage of "RuPaul's Drag Race," and won the music challenge along the way. She brought a unique perspective to the show, bringing a nice change of pace to a great, underrated season.

Robbie's career since appearing in Season 8, unfortunately, has been practically non-existent. In what's quite possibly the strangest story ever, Robbie Turner posted a story on social media about how she was in an Uber, the car got in an accident, and the Uber driver didn't survive the crash. Incredulously, there is no record whatsoever of that event ever happening, and Robbie hasn't made a single public appearance since sharing her (fake) story.