Drag Race: UK vs The World star Janey Jacké was the sole representative for Drag Race Holland, making waves with her iconic looks and two maxi-challenge wins, but sadly it all came to an end this week as she was eliminated from the competition.
In an exclusive interview with Digital Spy, Janey Jacké opened up on the critiques she received, and whether she thought they were fair.
"I mean, the things that Ru says are just amazing. Things like: 'If you say yes in this industry, you're going to make it a long way' and 'Don't try to reinvent the wheel – the wheel has been working fine'. Stuff like that that really helps you to stay awake in this industry."
Related: Drag Race's Janey Jacké on her exit and this season's lipstick controversy
Opening up specifically on the look she created for the Ball, Janey Jacké didn't feel the judges really understood what she was trying to create, and also said time and resources weren't on her side.
"There were some comments made on the Ball. Obviously I made it to the top, which was great, and I won, but they were like: 'Oh, this Cleopatra look…' and I was like: 'It's not Cleopatra, girl'.
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"I wanted to do this prosthetic piece that had whiskers with rhinestones, but you only get a certain amount of time to do these things. You just can't work with these latex products and all that.
"So, you know, they were really confused with the looks being so different from each other, but they also asked me to make one and bring two. So what do you really expect to happen in that Ball?"
Related: Drag Race's Janey Jacké reacts to Mo Heart underestimating her on UK vs The World
However, she did say that she felt the majority of the critiques were fair and valuable lessons to take forwards.
"Other than that, I think all of the comments were really valid. With my polka dot look, they were like: 'Oh, the hair…'. You didn't see it in the episode, but Graham told me: 'Because the hair is longer, and your sleeves are long, it really drags it all down'.
"So when I did my photoshoots at home, I put it in a bun. They really give you tricks to edit and teach you to look at yourself in the edit better. It's just really great. There's very little that they said where I was like: 'Oh, I don't like you anymore'. Not really."
RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs The World airs on Tuesdays at 9pm on BBC Three, and streams on WOW Presents Plus in the US.
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Hannah Bird is a freelance sub-editor with over 10 years of experience in content creation and editorial across digital and print media.
Beginning as a Lifestyle and Travel Editor, Hannah's expertise has since spanned entertainment, health, wellness and science, developing a keen eye for copy editing. Bringing her research skills as an Earth Science academic, Hannah enjoys thoroughly delving into topics to explore new angles and offer fresh stories to readers, as well as priding herself on the content's accuracy.
After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival.
In 2019, David moved to London to join Digital Spy, where he could indulge his love of comics, horror and LGBTQ+ storytelling as Deputy TV Editor, and later, as Acting TV Editor.
David has spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created the Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates LGBTQ+ talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads.
Beyond that, David has interviewed all your faves, including Henry Cavill, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Colman, Patrick Stewart, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Dornan, Regina King, and more — not to mention countless Drag Race legends.
As a freelance entertainment journalist, David has bylines across a range of publications including Empire Online, Radio Times, INTO, Highsnobiety, Den of Geek, The Digital Fix and Sight & Sound.
