(Warning: Spoilers ahead for the new episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars.)
There’s no shortage of things to adore about Jessica Wild. The RuPaul’s Drag Race alum has come a long way from her self-proclaimed “Forever 21 drag” on Season 2, returning for All Stars 8 bigger, brighter, and bolder—but with her infallible charisma and hilariously ditzy persona thankfully intact. Jessica attributed her success to her language barrier; the Puerto Rican queen had to be funny, without making herself and her culture into the punchline. “I found out that in English, or in Spanish, Jessica Wild is a superstar, baby!” she told producers in the All Stars 8 premiere confessional.
Jessica may have finished in sixth place back in Season 2, but to say she was a memorable contestant would be a gross understatement. Before Drag Race blew up into the cultural monolith that it is now, Jessica was the subject of low-quality, pixelated gifs that would float around Twitter and Tumblr. I know at least two people who got into the show after they saw a clip of Jessica—in a challenge where she had to promote a fake autobiography while marketing an Absolut cocktail—go off-book and fawn over her beverage: “I loooove that drink.”
It was one of Drag Race’s first memes, and its blend of unintentional comedy, sexy thirstiness, and off-the-cuff candidness made Jessica Wild a star. (And landed her an Absolut ad.) Now, three episodes into All Stars 8, she’s used her drag glow-up to secure a place as a definite frontrunner in the competition with a truly uproarious lip sync. In signature Jessica Wild style, she’s coming for the crown with her tongue planted firmly in her cheek—and her boobs front and center.
This week’s episode of All Stars was the Ball challenge, which is typically hit or miss when it comes to memorable looks. However, Jessica slayed all three of her themed outfits for the Grocery Store Ball, even throwing it back to her famous meme by incorporating acai berries to match her Absolut vodka flavor. The second she pulled out a bottle of acai-flavored booze and took a sip of it on the runway, Jessica had the Grocery Ball in the grocery bag.
She may have won a big challenge, but it was Jessica’s lip sync for her legacy that will once again cement her in Drag Race meme hall of fame—whether she ends up winning the crown or not. It was a performance so thoughtful, so keenly referential, and so, so very silly that it has already become one of my all-time favorites.
Jessica faced off against this week’s lip sync assassin, Ra’Jah O’Hara, with a whopping $30k on the line. Of course, Jessica had to make it memorable enough to win beyond a shadow of a doubt. But when she threw off the gorgeous red cape she stomped onto the main stage with, this lip sync instantly became so much more. Jessica and Rajah were set to battle it out to Kim Petras’ song “Coconuts,” which is filled with not-so-veiled references to chest cannons and sweater stretchers. (You know, boobs.) And Jessica tore off her jacket at the top of the number to reveal a full tribute to legendary trans pioneer, Cristina La Veneno, whose gazongas are known worldwide.
Both I and guest judge Jojo Siwa screamed at the same time upon seeing this reveal, perfectly timed to Petras’ opening line of, “My coconuts!” Jessica proceeded to take heavy stomps all over the stage, ensuring that her breastplate bongos had plenty of recoils to show the judges all of their bounce.
What’s more, it was an accurate and loving homage to La Veneno, recreating one of her most iconic looks. Something like this could easily come off as asinine, but on Jessica, it was a lovely testament to the power that La Veneno has had on the queer community, from one beloved Spanish-speaking queen to another. It incorporated the spirit of La Veneno, who commanded attention with her body, and kept that focus with her raucous, frank personality.
The judges could barely take how brilliantly absurd Jessica’s performance was. At one point, Michelle Visage buried her head in her hands with laughter. Somehow, the joke—that her shoulder boulders were on full, gleeful display—never got old, either. Jessica infused the performance with her characteristically infectious energy, eventually even forgetting the “lip sync” part of the lip sync by its end. “Look at these margari-ta-tas,” Jessica sang in unison with Petras. “Look at these margari-ta-tas!” As if anyone could take their eyes off of them anyway, despite the risk of being blinded by a stray nipple.
To no one’s surprise, Jessica Wild won that $30,000 and deserved every single penny of it. She gave us something that wasn’t only funny, but heartening as well. I hope and pray that her performance sends a swath of people who might not know about Cristina La Veneno running to brush up on their history. It’s a great chance to watch what I consider to be the best show of the decade so far, Max’s Veneno. If you haven’t yet seen it, now is the time. I promise you, you’ll laugh, sob, and come away from it feeling like a new person. Kind of like the way I feel every time I watch Jessica Wild say or do just about anything.
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