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Crystal Methyd spent two weeks trying to learn auctioneering in the lead-up to RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 11. The eventual winner of the season knew there would be a talent show episode and thought perhaps 90 seconds of ridiculously fast "auction chanting" (that's what it's officially called) could win her the competition.
"I wanted to actually learn some kind of unhinged talent to present," Crystal Methyd tells Gold Derby following her crowning. "I used to go to flea markets and estate sales with my parents, so it was something I liked. I was watching YouTube videos for two weeks, and I could not get it. I can't talk that fast."
Even without mediating a bidding war between RuPaul and Michelle Visage, Crystal Methyd still bested her competitors in the semifinal talent show with her snowman burlesque number.
"That was a performance I had from years ago," she says about the snowman talent, "I was like, ‘OK, let me pull her out, re-zhuzh it, and make it happen in a minute.'"
While Crystal Methyd's talent show victory on the way to winning the crown thrilled fans, it left her competitor, Jasmine Kennedie, in tears on the main stage and questioning if Crystal deserved the win.
Crystal let the comment roll off her back. "I was like, ‘Oh, Jasmine, you're so funny,'" she says. "I love Jasmine so much, and I knew she wanted that win. She wasn't mad at me. I was just glad it happened on camera on stage. I think that's iconic."
Gold Derby caught up with the newest inductee into the Drag Race Hall of Fame this week, where she chatted about her incredible runway looks, a potential all-winners season, and her thoughts on Salina EsTitties competing on Big Brother.
Read the full interview with Crystal Methyd below:
Gold Derby: Congratulations, Crystal! It's been quite a few years since you competed on your original season, but obviously taking that extra time paid off. What made you decide this was the right season to come back?
Crystal Methyd: It took me a little bit because I wanted time to grow and travel around. My original season was during the pandemic, so I didn't really get to do everything that initial year. Then I was seeing my friends go. I didn't want to compete against my friends. I wanted to let them have their moment, but after Daya [Betty] had done All Stars 10, I was like, "OK, let's do it. Everyone I know has done it. It's time."
Bracket 2 ended in the craziest fashion. In Episode 6, after the lip sync, when you get to give out MVQ points, what's going through your head?
I had no thoughts in my head. I was under the impression I needed one point, and I was getting it from Silky [Nutmeg Ganache], so I wasn't stressed or pressed at all. When Silky didn't give me her point, I definitely was gagged. I think I held it together pretty well on the stage, but I'm so grateful for my sister April [Carrion]. Without her, I wouldn't have made the merge. Maybe I would have been the wild card.
Then we would have been robbed of Joey Jay's return.
Oh my gosh! That would have changed the whole thing.
Were you upset with Silky in the moment for tricking you?
No, because I still made it at the end of the day. There was a moment backstage where we're all upset, but it's weird because the bracket ends, and then it's like, "It's over. Bye." So everyone was shell-shocked, but, oh, well, we're done. In my mind, I was a little upset at Silky, but at the same time, I was like, "What do I have to be upset about? Other girls are more upset than me." It was just a funny, funny day.
What was going through your head back there, knowing you're moving on, while Silky's on the ground, Aura Mayari is crying, and Salina is having a meltdown?
I don't even know. I was just hugging Vivacious and April. I loved my bracket so much, and I wish we could have all advanced together.
Salina is now on Big Brother competing using her boy name, Jason. Have you been watching?
I've never seen Big Brother. Didn't know what it was about, but I've been learning with Salina on there, and she was such a fan of the show. She is doing it. She's giving the people a show.
Are you watching the episodes?
I've been seeing her run around. I've been seeing all the clips.
Would you go on any other reality TV shows like Big Brother or The Traitors?
I have always wanted to do The Amazing Race with my brother, and they just did it on Hacks, so I was like, "Ooh, it's time! It's a sign."
You won two challenges in your original bracket and another two in the semifinals. At what point did you start thinking you could win?
The first episode back after the merge, I was like, "Yeeeeees. That's a good sign," but I really wasn't expecting two in a row. It felt good because I did what I wanted to do there.
Did you have any strategy going into the final episode's lip syncs?
You just have to know all the songs, because you don't know what's gonna happen. I was living a disco fantasy for a while learning all of those songs.
How did you decide on those looks?
I wanted to be as colorful and sparkly as possible. I loved my little tinsel reveal coat. It weighs 40 pounds. I made things I knew I'd want to perform in again. I get to show it on TV, and then I get to take it around.
Your butter runway earlier in the season was also incredible. Where did you get the inspiration for that?
With the butter yellow category, I was like, "Either I go away from this, or I be as literal as possible." That's what I decided. I literally drew a stick of butter, and that's what I was. The wig was amazing. That was from Hassan, Morgan McMichael's husband. He does amazing wigs. I love love love that look. Someone made a little Barbie doll of it that is so so cute.
I saw after you won that Gigi Goode posted a photo of you on Instagram. What has the response been like from your original season sisters?
Oh my gosh, Season 12 is so happy right now. I was in Vegas for the last episode, and I got to see Drag Race Live. Jaida [Essence Hall, Season 12's winner] is currently in it, so I got to link up with her. It feels so good. I wish we could get Gigi back on there, and we would all be winners.
To wrap up, what are you gonna do with the money, and would you come back for an all-winners season?
Oh my gosh, I don't even know what I'm gonna do with the money. Maybe I'm gonna make some bad business decisions. I would absolutely love to do all-winners. I have gotten to tour with so many other winners, like Jimbo, Sasha Colby, and Kylie Sonique Love. If I got to do an all-winners season, it would just be playing with all my girls.
And then you could drag Alyssa Edwards again.
Oh my gosh, yes! She would be there, because she won Global All Stars. That would be amazing.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
