‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ queen Ginger Minj reveals autism diagnosis after ‘All Stars 10’ psych exam

RuPaul’s Drag Race icon Ginger Minj is back on All Stars 10 for her fourth round of competition — but she’s not the same old member of the Bitter Old Lady Brigade™ fans are used to.

Ginger reveals to Entertainment Weekly that her latest season was preceded by a lengthy health journey that began with a near-death experience in the hospital, and ended with an enlightening autism diagnosis that changed her perspective not only on the All Stars 10 competition, but also life itself.

Read on for Ginger’s emotional interview with EW, in which she reflects on fan reaction to her fourth go-round in the Werk Room, making Drag Race guest judges Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo cry with her lip-sync against Daya Betty to Wicked ‘s “Defying Gravity,” and navigating life — and the pursuit of a crown and $200,000 on All Stars 10 — in this new phase of her personal journey.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What are your thoughts on how bracket 2 played the game?

GINGER MINJ: I think it’s good TV; I don’t think it’s good competition. I come from the pageant world where people are shady and underhanded. You want to be the best of the best, and to be that, you have to beat the best of the best. I feel [other queens] are worrying about everybody else instead of worrying about themselves.

Some fans online said you shouldn’t have come back. Did that make you second guess returning?

Absolutely not. As soon as the promo dropped for all four of my seasons, people asked why I’m there. But there are twice as many people going, I’m so glad that she’s here. That’s why I’m there. Yes, I’m there for $200,000 and a crown, but I’m also there for the people who appreciate me and to show the people that don’t appreciate me why I keep coming back.

Congrats on the challenge win! That’s proof enough of why you’re back.

People see that I’m not the Ginger they’ve gotten three times before. I’m on a massive health journey — I won’t even say weight loss, because it’s all-encompassing. It’s exciting that people get to see that in real time through the season, me taking my life back and health under control. It’s exciting for me to sit back and watch it as well because being in the thick of it while it was all happening was a little overwhelming at times. I get to see the fruits of my labor.

If you’re comfortable, I’d love to hear more about the journey.

Within six months before All Stars 10, I was at my heaviest. I was prediabetic, my blood pressure was out of control, my sugar levels were off the charts. I had zero energy, and I got sick to the point that they pumped me full of different medications — including massive amounts of prednisone. It made me completely spiral, to the point where I genuinely thought I was going to die. I decided to come back because it was a catalyst to get my life together. It gave me the kick in the ass I needed to get it under control…. I’ve lost 160 pounds. I’m no longer prediabetic. My blood pressure is under control. I’m off those medications. My mental health has never been better. I have so much energy, love, and happiness that I’m ready to share with the world.

Thanks for opening up, it’s important for people to hear.

I’m as open as possible because I want others to see that if you’re not where you want to be, there’s an accessible way to find that and figure it out for yourself. Celebrities in general, there’s such a stigma attached to all these [medications] that are weight loss tools. They don’t want to admit they’re on them. That’s so silly. If I’d known people who struggled like myself had found success with something, I’d love to hear about it. It’s the first thing in all my 40 years that’s worked for me, so I’ll shout it from the mountaintops. If you think this might be right for you, talk to a doctor and try it.

Let’s talk about this episode. You had a moment with Cynthia and Ariana in the Werk Room that made you cry. Why did that hit you so hard?

Ariana and I were both on season 7. I had a connection with her, having met her so long ago. I’ve watched her grow in her career, so it was fun to show the flipside of that, and for her to see how far I’ve come. When I was at my lowest, before I got the call for All Stars 10, I was in that hospital bed, genuinely thinking that those were going to be my last moments on Earth. And then the Wicked trailer dropped. As a lifelong Oz and musical theater fan, it was the first time I forgot about feeling sick, and the first time I felt any kind of joy or hope. It gave me something to look forward to. To be able to thank the people that pulled me out of the depths of despair was a moment I couldn’t let pass by, but also be the autistic, ADHD person that I am, I had so many racing thoughts in that moment, you overthink everything. I knew if I stopped and thought about it, I wouldn’t get it out. It was a volcanic eruption of emotion that was pent up for so long, and it came out in the form of relief, joy, and thankfulness.

Have you revealed publicly that you’re autistic?

To be candid, I didn’t find out that I was truly autistic — of course I had my assumptions through my life — until we did the casting process for All Stars 10 and I went in for my psychiatric evaluation. The way I communicated, the therapist said, “Are you autistic? Are you on the spectrum?” I had my suspicions, but I said I’d never been tested. He said he’d like me to be tested. So, I did. I got tested, and I am. It put 40 years of my existence into perspective so quickly for me. I’ve learned so many different tools to be like, this isn’t something that should hold me back. It should be more of a superpower, a strength of mine. I leaned into it. Communication is so important to me, because I’m so concerned about being misconstrued or misunderstood, what are ways I can figure that out for [myself], and not have to rely on social cues from other people? Going into the season, it put not just the competition aspect, but the entire way that I compete and communicate with other people into a hyper-focused perspective for me.

It’s such a blessing to know, to have the answer and ability to learn. I’d heard the term masking for so long but didn’t realize that’s what I did daily. Now, I understand myself so much better. That’s what held me back on my other seasons of Drag Race. Coming across insincere, because I was so concerned about how other people would perceive me or misunderstand the words I said — particularly the fan response to season 7. Now, understanding more of who I am, I felt this burden lifted off my shoulders…. No matter what happens, it’s so celebratory for me, because it’s the first time I’ve truly competed as myself.

It’s apparent you found a groove. Particularly making Ariana cry during the lip-sync. Could you tell in the moment how emotional she was?

I completely blacked out. I knew it was a moment for me to prove that I can do a lip-sync that doesn’t rely on being funny, campy, and pulling faces. I felt like that was symbolic of my approach the competition this time. It’s coming from less of a silly place and more of a, hey, this is truly me in this moment. It wasn’t until we were back in the Werk Room that someone told us we made Cynthia and Ariana cry.

The episode ended with you and Daya discussing being there for one another. Is this an alliance?

I’m not really an alliance kind of girl, because it’s never worked for me in the past. Watching the first two brackets, it’s fun to say you’re in one and maybe that helps you sleep better at night, but at the end of the day, everybody is there for themselves, a crown, and $200,000. They’ll probably throw everybody under the bus that they need to. I’m a woman of my word; if I say I’ll have your back, I’ll do what I can to take care of you.

How bad does the points drama get?

We have the kumbaya camaraderie of bracket 1 and the shady points drama of bracket 2. There’s drama that stems from a natural place, and people are going to be gagged, gooped, and gathered.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly‘s free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 10 airs Fridays on Paramount+.