The first Queen Kiwi eliminated from Drag Race Down Under, Anita Wigl’it, says there was “so much shade” in episode four, and the labor room was “very heated” at times.

Tension built between Scarlet Adams and Elektra Shock during their respective performances in the Performance Challenge last week, which came to a head in an intense costume challenge that ultimately saw Anita eliminated.

“In the drag community, the shadow is often a tool that we use for comedy purposes, but in this case it got really hot,” says Anita, the 31-year-old co-owner of drag bar Caluzzi (whom she leads with a comrade Drag race competitor Kita Mean).

“Maxi [Shields] and I was sitting next to each other sewing, feeling very uncomfortable but enjoying the tension, ”she says.

READ MORE:
* RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under: The Shocking Return of a Queen
* RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under goes live with shows in Auckland and Wellington
* RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under addresses contestant’s blackface scandal: ‘Apology was needed’
* Michelle Visage on Conversion Therapy and Why RuPaul’s Drag Race isn’t for the faint hearted

“I think at this point in the competition people were really starting to get stressed. A costume-making challenge is so difficult. The tensions were high and a few people broke their brains, but it made a great television.

Anita says that being able to finally talk about her time on the show “feels like a huge weight on my shoulders.”

“It’s so good to be able to go back to the world and not live a lie and pretend I won,” she says. “My time on the show was sort of the best experience of my life. I walked in… knowing it was going to be amazing, but it was just beyond all expectations.

Anita made a strong impression during her time on the blockbuster franchise’s first local series, winning the highly anticipated Snatch Game, the knockoff challenge that provided some of the most iconic and hilarious. Drag race moments from previous seasons. Playing Queen Elizabeth II, Anita sent Justices RuPaul, Michelle Visage and Rhys Nicholson into hysterics with her daring royal family jokes.

“My favorite moment on the show was definitely a snatch match,” she says.

“It was so exciting and difficult at the same time. I thought we would have a few minutes to answer each question, but we had about five seconds left. So it was so stressful, but winning the competition that everyone wants to win was just the best feeling in the world.

Anita also shared a few moments of vulnerability about the strained relationship she has with her father, who has been slow to come to terms with Anita’s identity.

“I’m an open book and I love to talk about anything and everything,” she says. “It was good for me to be able to talk about my experiences in the hope that people watching her, if they have had a similar experience, may find some kind of comfort or acceptance in it.”

– RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under on screens Saturdays on TVNZ 2 and TVNZ OnDemand