ABOVE: Shea Couleé. (Photo courtesy Shea Couleé’s Facebook)
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” season 9 contestant Shea Couleé has been officially inducted into the Drag Race Hall of Fame after taking the crown on the season finale of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 5.”
The finale of All Stars 5 aired July 24 on VH1 and proved to be an emotional moment for Couleé in watching it back and seeing herself win.
“I blacked out,” Couleé told Joey Nolfi of Entertainment Weekly. “I was like, okay, I’m going to have to watch this again because it got so hazy. The tears welled up. I could no longer see the screen. It just feels so full circle because I came across ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ when I was at a low point in my early 20s, and it brought me out of a place of sadness and inspired me to want to do drag. To be here almost 10 years later as the winner shows that representation and programs like this are so important because they help give hope and meaning to people who feel lost.”
All Stars 5 signified a moment of Rudemption for the Chicago queen after making the top 4 on her original season. Couleé took home two main challenge wins in the competition, including a memorable impersonation of reality television personality Flavor Flav on the Snatch Game, a critical challenge in the competition series.
Couleé’s momentum ultimately culminated in back-to-back high-energy performances on the finale episode: the first, an ensemble number choregraphed by singer Todrick Hall to the RuPaul single “Clap Back,” followed by a three-way lip-sync to “Make Me Feel” by Janelle Monae.
Couleé was also forced to confront the emotional devastation of losing the crown to Sasha Velour on season 9, channeling the anguish she felt into a stand-up comedy performance on the show. Looking back, Couleé believes the experience was necessary in bringing her to where she is now.
“It was time to work on my mental health and heal from those experiences,” Couleé said. “That was important for me to do prior to going back [to the show]. I wanted to know that I was in a much better place, and it was amazing to go back and feel that, though I’d dealt with these personal tragedies while also dealing with my dreams coming true and the crazy balance that happened back in 2017, it allowed me to go into this experience and be myself more than I was the first time. I believe that everything happens for a reason. I believe God’s timing is always right, and this is my time. I can fully step into my moment, ready for it.”
Couleé has described her drag as being “a love letter to Black women” and said that she wants to use her work as a drag artist to empower Black women.
“In my mind, when I look at Black women, I see God,” she said. “They’re so powerful, beautiful, glamorous, vulnerable, strong and wonderful. They’ve contributed to so much of American pop culture that it only makes sense that I humbly dedicate myself to building them up and giving them glory, because it’s what they deserve.”
Couleé is the third Black queen to receive a distinction from the “RuPaul’s Drag Race” franchise in 2020. Jaida Essence Hall was crowned the winner of season 12, while contestant Heidi N Closet won the title of Miss Congeniality on that same season.
JAIDA S12 WINNER
HEIDI MISS C
SHEA AS5 WINNER
WE WON!! pic.twitter.com/V94Xo3jM0F— ezidro (@ezidro3) July 25, 2020
YASS TWO BLACK QUEENS THIS YEAR! LETS GET IT 💕
— AsHyYy (@AshyGlow) July 25, 2020
Couleé recognizes the importance of this media representation for Black LGBTQ youth and reflected on how this type of representation would have reshaped her own journey growing up.
“It would’ve made me fearless,” she said. “It would’ve made me not doubt myself or my place in the world of drag, because coming up in a scene that employs the same racial biases we see in the world, it made me doubt myself and my work as an entertainer because of my color.”
Couleé wants this inclusivity to be reflected in the changes that are seen in the current social climate surrounding racial equality.
“There was a huge cultural shift with the murder of George Floyd that it became apparent that [what] white people need to do is listen to the experiences of Black people,” Couleé said. “I want the generations coming up to know they’re valuable and they can call out injustices without being punished.”
Couleé’s fans are pleased with the outcome of All Stars 5, including U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Congratulations, @SheaCoulee! I was so glad to have you cheering me on during my campaign—and I was grateful for the opportunity to return the favor last night!
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) July 25, 2020
One of the baddest to EVER walk the catwalk!!!…SLAY!!!!
— Porsha (@porsha_whitmore) July 25, 2020
an honest-to-god flawless queen. we are unworthy.
— Kyle Jones (@jonesydoodles) July 25, 2020
Couleé wants her to story to humanize the historic struggle of the Black community, as well as redefine the expectations for Black achievement in the United States.
“I want them to recognize my humanity,” Couleé said. “I’m the product of generations of hard-working individuals. My grandmother worked as a maid. Her parents picked cotton in Mississippi. They worked hard to ensure I would, as one of their descendants, live up to my potential and achieve the American Dream. I want to serve as an example that you can come from humble beginnings to become royalty.”
