Minty Fresh is no stranger to making history in the Drag Race franchise. After becoming the first-ever challenge winner on Drag Race Philippines and securing two wins in her original season, the queen returned to TV in RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs. the World — becoming the third Philippines contestant judged directly by RuPaul, after Marina Summers and Eva Le Queen.
But stepping into the werkroom for a season judged by Mama Ru herself came with pressure.
“I was so nervous,” she told Blavity’s Shadow and Act in a recent interview. “The thought of being judged by Ru is very overwhelming to me. And yeah, it was kind of terrifying. But like you said, I am just the third Filipino queen to be in front of Ru from the Drag Race Philippines. And I feel so amazing and proud to be judged by Ru.”
Pressure, that Jade lip syncs, and Snatch Game
From the moment she walked in, she knew there would be high expectations — not only because of her season’s performance, but because of what it meant to represent her country again.
“Being on UK vs. the World is a lot of pressure,” she said. “Not just because of what you said — I did great in my season — [but also] following the steps of Marina and Eva, being judged by Ru, being able to represent the whole Philippine drag community. So there’s a lot of pressure, but I feel like I need pressure to push myself to do good.”
Still, one challenge gave her pause.
“Snatch Game is my least favorite challenge, and I always dread Snatch Game,” she admitted. “Doing it in full English and in a different humor compared to my country — it’s like 10 times harder. So I just don’t like Snatch Game. Just don’t like doing it. It’s not my strength.”
Minty landed in the bottom three during the episode, and with Gawdland having just saved her the previous week, the stakes were even higher. But rather than feel slighted by the decision not to save her again, she leaned into the opportunity.
“I feel like there’s a big chance for [Gawdland] to save me, but there’s also a big chance for her not to save me,” she said. “But I’m okay with it either way, because I just want to perform this song and I really wanted to lip sync. It’s okay for Gawdland to save the other girls, but I’m okay to lip sync with this song because it’s my favorite from the track list. And even Gawdland told me that she feels like the song is really for me. And performing it in front of Jade is one of my proudest moments.”
Fontana, who was ultimately saved, became a viral moment herself — falling to the floor after being declared safe. Minty, meanwhile, was in her own head during the moment and didn’t even realize what had happened.
She said, “I really can’t remember that [laughs]. I also got shocked when I watched the episode. I can only remember her dancing when going back. But I really can’t remember that, and I was in my head at that time. But that lip sync, I think, is really one of the highlights of me being in the season.”
Even after an early exit, Minty walked away with high praise from RuPaul herself — who called her a “superstar,” praised her runway looks, and said she looked like “a billion dollars.”
“When RuPaul said those words, it really felt like a dream, actually,” she said. “So even though I got eliminated early, I can still say that I’m one of the few who got compliments from RuPaul. I should be proud of that, right?”
A future return and why she went on ‘UK vs The World’ as opposed to ‘Slaysian Royale’
With more international spin-offs popping up — from Slaysian Royale to Global All Stars — fans (and Minty herself) are eager to see where she might land next.
“I feel like any season would really be a huge opportunity for me,” she said. “But it’s just that when UK vs. the World called me, I just felt like I really just needed to say yes. You cannot turn down a huge opportunity like that. So I just feel like UK vs. the World called me first — that’s why I said yes. And you can’t say no.”
Still, the door isn’t closed on another return, especially if a Drag Race Philippines All Stars ends up happening. “Please make it happen,” she said. “Please.”