America’s Next Drag Superstar: Darlene Mitchell, Myki Meeks, and Nini Coco Battle for the Title
- Season 18 of RuPaul’s Drag Race has come to an end, and Myki Meeks has snatched the crown.
- Heading into Friday night’s finale, Darlene Mitchell, Myki Meeks and Nini Coco were named the top three of the competition.
- Darlene was named second runner-up, and before she exited the stage to make way for the lip sync, she jokingly turned back to RuPaul and asked, “You sure?”
RuPaul has crowned America’s Next Drag Superstar! Season 18 of RuPaul’s Drag Race has come to an end, and Myki Meeks has snatched the crown.
Heading into Friday night’s finale, Darlene Mitchell, Myki Meeks and Nini Coco were named the top three of the competition. Each drag artist dished out a performance to their own original song in the cumulative episode, though it was Myki and Nini who RuPaul named the top two queens of season 18.
Darlene was named second runner-up, and before she exited the stage to make way for the lip sync, she jokingly turned back to RuPaul and asked, “You sure?”
But before RuPaul’s Drag Race named its winner, Jane Don’t was presented with the coveted title of Miss Congeniality, voted on by the cast. While she did not win season 18, Jane Don’t was a frontrunner throughout the season, with her elimination in episode 13 coming as a surprise.
Miley Cyrus was on hand to receive the Giving Us Lifetime Achievement Award, and the top two queens performed in a Lip Sync for the Crown to her song “Every Girl You’ve Ever Loved.”
The Hollywood Reporter
Myki Meeks and Nini Coco in the final lip sync of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 18.
Myki Meeks went home with the drag superstar title, a makeup collaboration with Anastasia Cosmetics and a $200,000 cash prize. Mitchell ended up in third place following the final challenge — in which the competitors dazzled the judges and audience with an original song, dubbed their “Personal Anthem.”
The winner was decided with a high-stakes lip sync to “Every Girl You’ve Ever Loved” by Miley Cyrus. Runner-up Nini Coco went home with a cash tip of $25,000, while Mitchell went home with $10,000 for landing in third place.
Reigning Miss Congeniality Crystal Envy returned to give out this season’s award to Jane Don’t, who went home with the title and a $10,000 cash prize. All of the season’s queens also received $2,000 for participating, an award presented by Native deodorant.
The Season 18 finale also awarded Cyrus with the Giving Us Lifetime achievement award for her work across music, television and in her advocacy for LGBTQ+ youth. The “Hannah Montana” alum made an appearance to accept the award and celebrate the series.
“This makes a Grammy look cheap,” Cyrus joked, adding that she keeps going in the business “to stand beside my idols and icons like Mother Ru … but to also use my platform to serve this incredible community.”
And it won’t be too long before more “Drag Race” hits the airwaves, as Paramount+ announced the return of “RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars” for Season 11 on May 8. “RuPaul’s Drag Race” airs Fridays on MTV.