RuPaul’s Drag Race Myki Meeks on Winning, Tattoos, All-Winners, Broadway

Myki Meeks can be anything she wants — and this year, she just so happened to set her sights on being RuPaul’s Drag Race’s next winner. 

The Orlando, Florida, based drag queen entered the 18th season of the RuPaul-led reality show, deeming herself the “gorgeously stupid, stupidly gorgeous drag ingenue.” During her WerkRoom entrance, she talked up her performing chops, and luckily for Myki (and the Drag Race audience), she more than delivered throughout the season. 

After winning her first challenge on the series in a political ad spoof, Myki dominated the backend of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 18, nabbing wins in both look and performance-based challenges. With a total of four instances where she was deemed the best competitor of the week, her stunning showings in two of the show’s staple episodes that she didn’t even win — the Rusical (a spin on the word “musical”) and Snatch Game (a spoof on the Match Game, tasking contestants to do celebrity impersonations) — Myki won over the series’ devoted audience. 

And ultimately, RuPaul too, as she bestowed the title of America’s Next Drag Superstar onto Myki Friday. 

“It’s been a whirlwind, honestly,” she tells The Hollywood Reporter of what the past few days have been like after being named the winner of the industry’s most prominent drag show. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and to take it in the end, it’s brilliant. I’m so blessed.” 

Myki’s versatility on the show has promised a fruitful career post-Drag Race, one that she tells THR could head down a number of creative paths. But for now, she’s focused on celebrating her win. 

Below, the RuPaul’s Drag Race winner reflects on her record-setting tenure on the competition show, her beloved post-coronation lip-sync number to Sophie’s “Immaterial” and why it exemplifies her journey, her musical theater aspirations and the tattoo she wants to get to memorialize season 18.  

What have the past few days since winning Drag Race been like for you?

It’s been a whirlwind, honestly. You want to celebrate and all that, but really, it’s like, onto the next event, onto the next event. So I think now that I am back home for just a few days, I get to celebrate with my friends and family, which is the best part.

I saw the video of you learning that you had won season 18. It was so emotional. What was going through your mind when RuPaul called your name as the winner?

Hell, yeah! Like, let’s go! It was just a moment of, like, Wow, we did it. Getting on the show is an achievement, but to win the whole thing, it’s just beyond. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and to take it in the end, it’s brilliant. I’m so blessed, and I want to get a tattoo or something to celebrate this, right?

What tattoo do you have in your mind?

My whole motif is this cinema queen, like the old Hollywood ingénue. Not that this is necessarily like a movie reference, but I’ve always loved the imagery of a single rose in a spotlight, like at the end of a show. And I did a rose look on the show as well, so something in that mood, whether it’s just a rose itself or the image of a spotlight and a rose.

As more seasons of Drag Race come out, more queens are getting recognized for their numbers on social media. I remember seeing your number to Charlie xcx’s “Party 4 U” before season 18. You carry this old Hollywood aesthetic, but also have such an understanding of modern pop culture and also legacy pop cultural touchstones. I think your modern edge and understanding of pop culture is what sets you apart as a winner of Drag Race. Do you agree?

I can see that, for sure. I’ve seen people say, “I don’t really know what Myki’s brand is. I don’t really know where she’s going.” But the thing is, my brand is I’m a working drag queen. That’s what it is to the soul. Back home, I was working four shows, five shows a week. A lot of its rotating themes, so I had to adapt to every single theme coming my way for the past five, six years. As for when I went on the show, I knew I had these different aesthetic points, but I knew at the heart of it was the actress, the one who could take on any role. And that’s the brand right there; is this girl who could do it all. I mean, listen to my song “Versatile” at the finale, and I can do it all. 

Now, as for the old Hollywood, it’s probably the most draggy glamor and pop culture that we can go for. As for the modern references, that’s where we’re living in right now. Charli and, I mean, KATSEYE has its own drama and issues, but they’re pushing forward fashion, so we got to look to see what is coming up as well. I’m a blend of a lot of things, but pop culture is definitely what I study the most.

Your first lip sync performance after winning was to “Immaterial” by Sophie. Why did you pick that song to be your first performance after winning Drag Race?

It’s a song that has been near and dear to my heart for the longest. Actually, I’m posting a video [Tuesday,] but my very first drag competition that I won, I performed “Immaterial,” and that was back in 2021. That song was a torch song for me, and it’s for a torch song for a lot of queer people who feel like they can be any expression that they want to be. She says, “I could be anything I want / Anyhow, anywhere, any place, anyone that I want.” The main message is I can be anything I want. And that’s been my whole life motto; I set the goal and I meet it, and it’s the dream, you know?

You won four challenges, and with that, you join a very select group of queens who have won that landmark of four challenges. What did it mean to win four challenges on Drag Race?

Oh, God. I’m that bitch! It’s the best outcome, because I don’t think someone [wins] past five [challenges] on a regular season. So to achieve four, it’s a hard thing to do. I’m so grateful that they can recognize what I was doing and they liked it. And I’m the first queen in the show’s history to win three challenges in a row on the last three challenges [of the season.] 

What did it feel like having so much momentum going into the finale?

Like it was mine to lose. Is that bad? I felt very confident going into the finale, but I will say, after we filmed the finale, anything could happen. Nini and Darlene both brought their everything, so I knew that it could be anyone’s game. I just knew I had the stats on my side.

Before you won those three consecutive challenges and cemented yourself going into the finale, was there a moment where you were like, Wow, I really am on the road to winning season 18?

The first time I felt like, Okay, I’m here to play and I can make it to the end, was when I won my first challenge, which was the political ad challenge. Because the week prior, I was in the bottom when the queens put me in the bottom for the talent show. I was a little down on myself for that, and I knew I really had to shift it into gear for this next challenge. And when I got that first win, oh, it changed my whole perspective. I felt like I was finally in the game, and I just kept pushing and pushing and pushing. It wasn’t until I won my third challenge [in] episode 13 — that’s when I went, I’m a contender for the crown, fully. Like, at that point, it was Jane Don’t who was frontrunning, and I was like, I’m challenging Jane for this win right now. And when she was eliminated, I thought, I’m so sorry sister, but… no, I’m just kidding. (Laughs.)

There are two challenges you did not win that still made you stand out. The reception to your performance in the Rusical was insane. What was it like for you to be praised for the specific art form of musical theater that you had once written off?

Oh, it’s just beyond. Adam Shankman, the director of Hairspray the musical, complimented my performance in the Rusical. This is someone who’s in the business. It’s just incredible. I was down and out with theater for a while. I just didn’t find as much joy in it as I did with drag. I felt I had more expression in drag, but to be able to blend both, which obviously people have been doing, I just didn’t see it for myself too much, but to blend both and get that positive of a reception, you will be seeing me do this for a while. 

Two Drag Race queens, Bob and Jinkx, have made it to Broadway. Is that a goal you would set for yourself?

Yeah, post-season, for sure. Going into [Drag Race,] I never thought that’d be a reality, but to be able to see queens like Jinkx and Bob land roles on Broadway, in drag, it’s definitely possible. Michelle [Visage] and RuPaul have both expressed on the show that they see this future for me. I mean, I know RuPaul was a producer on A Strange Loop, so I’m like, well, RuPaul, if you want to do it, let’s produce it baby.

Snatch Game and your impersonation of Drew Barrymore was another challenge you didn’t win but was such a standout. After that performance, you went on Drew’s show. How did that appearance come about?

Being there for Snatch Game, I knew I did well, but it didn’t feel like I was gonna take it. It felt very much like it was Nini’s challenge, so I was very proud of [my impersonation.] I did exactly what I wanted to do. The reception after that episode was insane. I think people were really hungry for a genuine celebrity impression; an impression of a celebrity that everyone knows. Ross [Matthews] told me that Drew watched the episode and she loved it, and her team contacted the Drag Race PR team, and within a week, I was filming for the show. It was insane. It was a very quick experience, but she is exactly who you think she is. She is so down-to-earth and empathetic and just loves to celebrate life. She was just the best.

You’re going on tour, but what else do you have in the works?

This year is to definitely celebrate the reign. My year is pretty padded out with a bunch of appearances and shows and tours. I’m going to so many different countries all over the world. This is what we’ve been working towards. Once we get past the initial post-season career, I definitely want to move into more creative directing and producing. The venue I work for, the Renaissance Theatre Company, they’ve been able to bring two shows off-Broadway on their own, and they definitely did say that we can get something in the works to do the same for me. And I want to have more of a presence on YouTube as well. I think that’s definitely the future for queer personalities.

I think a queen from Florida winning RuPaul’s Drag Race right now, in 2026, at the time that we’re at politically, is a statement. If you could give advice to any other young queer kids who are a bit unsure of what their future could look like, what would you say?

This time is so unpredictable and a lot of negative energy. I can’t even imagine being in a generation younger than me dealing with the struggles of the world right now. But for anyone out there who is looking for joy, I mean, it’s the theme of the whole season; in a time full of darkness, let there be light. We can choose the joy that we want to see. It’s an active effort, but that little decision goes a long way. If you’re someone who is in a community where you don’t feel like you belong, well, that community is out there for you. You just might need to take a little bit more time to get there, and when you feel safe, just know that there is a whole world of queerness and joy that is ready to welcome you with open arms.

It may be too soon to ask, but would you be open to returning to the show at some point for a potential all-winners season?

(Laughs.) Oh, my God, I just need a break. I would go back no matter what the iteration was. I love Drag Race. I’ve been a fan since season one. I’ve seen almost every single iteration of it. Yeah, any chance to be back on a show that’s propelled me into the zeitgeist, absolutely. And if it means going up against Bob the Drag Queen and Sasha Colby and Nymphia Wind, hell, I’ll do it.