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This week, a queen literally fell down on RuPaul’s Drag Race.
During the runway judging for the fourth episode of season 18, which aired on Friday, January 23, on MTV, Briar Blush collapsed and passed out in the arms of fellow contestant Juicy Love Dion.
The 24-year-old’s fall came shortly after Judge Law Roach gave her a scathing critique.
“You look like a WWE wrestler,” the famed celebrity stylist said of her costume, which Briar ventured to create from scratch. “I just wanted to jump off the ropes and dropkick someone.”
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Roach, 47, wasn’t far behind. Inspired by the pink cowboy Atelier Versace suit worn by Lil Nas
“I really don’t care how well she sewed it up, it was ugly!” Roach later said. “It was sticky, the color was off, and I didn’t like it.”
But Roach’s feedback wasn’t all bad. He made sure to give the Boston-based entertainer a huge compliment. “Let me tell you what I liked. That face, girl? The beat is divine,” Roach said. “The clothes…not so much.”
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Still, the negative comments seem to have had an effect on the hard-faced Bleier. Before RuPaul could name the winner of the red carpet mashup challenge that pitted Briar against her “best friend” Juicy, Briar slumped over and fell to the floor.
When RuPaul and fellow judge Michelle Visage called medics to the set, Juicy immediately jumped in to comfort Briar.
“I’m trying to wake her up by rubbing her breasts,” Juicy explained in a confessional. “I don’t know what happened. I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m scared.”
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Briar noticed immediately. “Did it fall?” she asked, trying to get Juicy to breathe. “Oh my god! Wow, I didn’t even realize I fell!”
“I’m so confused,” she later told Untucked. “I remember watching Raw, and the next thing I knew, Juicy was up there telling me to breathe. I don’t know what happened, but to be honest, I’m kind of embarrassed. It’s so scary that something like this could happen on the biggest opportunity of my life.”
Medics quickly came to Briar’s aid, checked her pulse, performed a quick evaluation, and then took her to a medical tent to check her vitals and get her checked out by a doctor.
“I’m sorry,” Ms. Bryer said as she walked off the stage.
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Online viewers noted how horrifying the incident was, but not all Brier attendees were convinced it was real.
“It’s a show. It’s a show,” the 37-year-old Vita Fontesse star said in a confessional, calling Bleier’s fall “convenient timing.” “As soon as Law Roach says something about her looking like a WWE wrestler, (she passes out).”
Rival Athena Dion also had doubts. “It’s intense there. You’re so stressed out and now you’re going to be judged by all the judges? It’s a perfect recipe where every ingredient falls apart 100%,” Dion, 37, said. “But…no one knows what the truth is.”
Mikey Meeks was by Briar’s side. “There’s no way she was going to pretend to be unconscious,” Meeks, 29, said. “That’s not like her and she wouldn’t do that.”
Backstage, everyone agreed that the incident was likely caused by the stress Briar was under following a particularly difficult week that began with a heated argument involving Dion and Mia Starr.
“I empathize with Briar,” Dion said. “I believe she was terribly humbled. She had learned a lot of life lessons all day and all week. Maybe in that moment it all came to a head and she flipped out. Some of the girls think it may have been planned, but it was a pretty uncomfortable moment for everyone on stage.”
Eventually, the show went on after RuPaul received word that Briar was “feeling better.” Juicy was deemed the winner of the fashion showdown, while Briar received a medical certificate and returned to the stage, but finished in the bottom two.
“I knew something like this could happen because I came back from a blackout,” she said before lip-syncing. “But I’m going to fight. I want to stay. So I’m going to give it everything I have left.”
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Sadly, what she had wasn’t enough to beat Kenya Pleaser and Briar was asked to “just leave.”
“We were missing some really gorgeous outfits, Ru,” Bleier said as she returned to the runway to pack her bags. “All I’m saying is, it’s a big mistake.”
“Overall I thought my outfit was pretty cute, but this week was pretty stressful for me. There were a lot of moments where I lost confidence, so going out wasn’t my proudest moment,” Brier said. “But I’ll bounce back. And if you support me, I’m sure you’ll get even more.”
“RuPaul’s Drag Race and Untucked” airs Fridays (8 p.m. ET) on MTV.
