Yahoo News Drag Race assassin Darienne Lake reviews best and worst lip-syncs since her 'Point of No Return' performance
Darienne Lake is a RuPaul's Drag Race lip-sync assassin, but, by her own estimation, she may be a literal killer.
"I think that's so exciting about All Stars 8.... we really have so many lip-sync assassins," the season 6 alum exclusively tells EW of the returning cast of queens. "I mean, Magnolia [Crawford] hasn't been seen since I lip-synced against her. I guess, technically, I'm the only actual assassin."
Be that as it may, Mother has had to witness a slew of lip-syncs in recent years — some that stack up to her iconic "Point of No Return" performance against BenDeLaCreme, and others that do not.
EW; Paramount+ Darienne Lake for EW and lip-syncing on season 6
"Since my season, especially the 'meh' [season 8] lip-sync with Dax Exclamationpoint against Laila McQueen doing 'I Will Survive,' one of the most glorious gay songs, oh, it made my heart hurt," Darienne says when asked to highlight some of the best and worst lip-syncs over the years. "It might've been that or my diet rich in bacon grease."
Darienne also feels that newer queens are more into "dancing and stuff, but they're dead in the face" — likely, as she jokes, due to "Botox and filler."
"You should still be able to move your face and have expression. You danced well, but, dead. Nothing for me!" she says before moving on to praise Monét X Change's lip-syncs on season 10 and All Stars 4. "Monét X Change, the false split and everything — especially because she was like, 'I'm going to do it.' Those little moments really get me so excited about drag and performing."
Darienne helped set the standard for contemporary lip-syncing on the show with the aforementioned rendition of Exposé's 1985 hit on season 6's seventh episode, which resulted in a non-elimination. Darienne's performance included an instantly legendary move, where she feigned collecting tips from an imaginary audience, which sent RuPaul and guest judge Leah Remini into a laughing fit.
EW Darienne Lake for EW
"It was all off the top of my head. I'm like, what am I going to do during the dance break? I'm not going to take my clothes off or do a death-drop, dip, whatever, splat, I think it was also because it was the second time that I was lip-syncing for my life, so I was just like, oh, thank you, this is what I normally do during my number, I take money," she says of the maneuver that "really made Ru cackle" in the moment. "Exposé, who sang the song, they made a little video for me that you can find on YouTube, of them being like, 'Darienne, we love you, we love that move, we're stealing it for our concerts.' It was really great to be recognized.... I let them have it, because no matter how many times they do it, people in the audience will be like, 'That's a Darienne Lake move!'"
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 8 premieres May 12 on Paramount+. Watch Darienne's full interview above.
Subscribe to EW's Quick Drag podcast for recaps of RuPaul's Drag Race, including reactions with the cast, special guests, and more.
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