Every time a contestant is eliminated from RuPaul's Drag Race there are fans who rush to their defense, claiming they deserved better and picking out which surviving queens they would have eliminated instead. It's so frequent that even now during season 14 there is weekly backlash whenever fan favorites are sent home.
But like any show with judgement as subjective as Drag Race, there will always be a difference of opinion from person to person and between judges and viewers at home. There are plenty of eliminations that have surprised viewers, proving to be the most controversial exits for some of the most popular queens.
Mrs. Kasha Davis (Season 7)
Season 7 of Drag Race is packed full of both fan favorite queens and controversial eliminations so Kasha may not be the first one that comes to mind, but the backlash from her elimination was still notable.
Her very early exit from the show robbed the season of her potential as one of the more unique queens in the cast but it was her actual final lip sync that so many fans disagreed with. Despite putting on a fantastic show she was still sent home and has since been one of the most common fan requested queens to return.
Yara Sofia (Season 3)
Yara's elimination from season 3 is still one of the biggest points of controversy for early fans of the show. Her breakdown during the lip sync all but guaranteed she would be going home, but many fans feel like she should have never been in that position in the first place.
While her elimination was ultimately a big surprise, the events of the episode itself added some context. Still fans thought that she had the talent and performances to have a shot at winning the crown.
Vanessa Vanjie Mateo (Season 10)
It's hard to explain exactly what Vanjie did in her brief stint on season 10 that attracted so many devoted defenders but it's easy to see why in her final moments she was still proving she had a reason to stay.
A queen with a unique sense of humor and style compared to some of her more polished contemporaries, Vanjie had a personality that just drew people in, so her dramatic exit from the show is one of the most memorable in series history. It was no surprise that Vanjie was invited back on to compete in season 11.
Ongina (Season 1)
While Drag Race didn't have the same sized fanbase during its very first season that it has now, in retrospect many fans can't believe that Ongina went home around the middle of the season. Despite being in the bottom two with the seasons eventual winner most fans believe that Ongina delivered the better lip-sync and should have gotten the opportunity to carry on.
It took a long time before she was invited back on the show for another chance but fans were happy to see her finally back on the runway in All Stars 5.
Valentina (Season 9)
This one wasn't so much about the elimination not being justified, it was more about the general surprise of one of the seasons frontrunners falling. Season 9 is considered by many to have one of the best casts in Drag Race history, which made many eliminations controversial.
Valentina attracted a lot of fans very quickly and was viewed by many as the favorite to win the entire season. That's why fans were left stunned when she chose to keep her mouth covered during the lip sync because she didn't memorize the lyrics to the song. It was such an avoidable slip up for such a strong contestant that ended up costing her big time.
Trixie Mattel (Season 7)
Given how popular Trixie has become since her run on Drag Race many fans assume she was a series winner, or at least someone who went very deep into the competition. So learning the she was originally eliminated 11th before winning her way back into the competition just to be eliminated again is pretty surprising.
What's much less surprising is how fans reacted to both of these. Trixie's work with Pearl is considered one of the best Drag Race makeover challenge transformations, and Trixie's style and brand of humor won over so many viewers. Her season 7 run is still so controversial these days that conspiracy theories about behind the scene drama and purposely provocative eliminations to cause drama still run rampant in the Drag Race fandom.
Vivacious (Season 6)
An early controversial elimination came in season 6 when Vivacious was sent home after just a few weeks. Her distinct style and sense of fashion immediately blew fans of the show away and had many believing that she would go far in the season.
While the show didn't have quite the same presence online that it does now, fans were still very vocal in the wake of Vivacious' elimination making it one of the shows more notable controversies.
Latrice Royale (Season 4)
Latrice was one of the nicest queens from the early days of Drag Race and is still a fan favorite all these years later. Many fans felt like Latrice faced a double standard the whole way through.
Her hilarious quips and consistent for other contestants is what most fans her for but the judges were never impressed by her performances. This created a pretty noticable gap in the perception of her merit as a contestant which made it all the more controversial when she was finally eliminated.
Katya Zamo (Season 7)
One of the most beloved contestants and one of the most successful queens outside of Drag Race, Katya saw her exit from the show come during an episode when fans loved both her challenge performance AND her lip sync. That fact only further inflamed her already fervent fanbase and spawned plenty of bad behavior directed at the queens still competing on the show.
While she certainly found ways to stay in the public eye and deliver for her fans, this will forever be an unforgettable reaction from the shows viewership.
Shea Coulee (Season 9)
All the evidence you need to mark this as one of the most controversial exits in Drag Race history is how well Shea performed and how extatically fans rooted for her when she eventually returned on All-Stars. During season 9 Shea impressed in just about every way a contestant can, collecting four wins along the way.
Despite never really feeling like her spot to compete for a title was ever at risk, she lost a lip sync to Sasha Velour and was out. She immediately became one of the most highly requested All-Stars contestants and when she finally got another chance, she took it.