RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (season 3)
The third season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars began airing on January 25, 2018. The season was announced in August 2017, and 9 of the 10 cast members were revealed during a VH1 television special titled "Exclusive Queen Ruveal," which aired on October 20, 2017. This season featured ten "All Star" contestants, selected from the show's first season through to its ninth season, who competed to be inducted into the "Drag Race Hall of Fame".
As in the previous season, the top two queens in the challenge compete in a "Lip Sync for Your Legacy," with the winner of the lip sync earning $10,000 and choosing which of the bottom queens gets eliminated. A new twist on how the top queens of the season were chosen was revealed in the season's last episode. The previously eliminated queens returned in the finale and voted for the top two out of the remaining top four finalists, from there on the two queens with the most votes advanced while the other two were subsequently eliminated. The prizes for the winner of the competition are a one-year supply of Anastasia Beverly Hills cosmetics and a cash prize of $100,000.
The winner of the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars was Trixie Mattel, with Kennedy Davenport being the runner-up.
Contestants
'| Contestant | Age | Hometown | Original season | Original placement | Outcome |
| Trixie Mattel | 28 | Los Angeles, California | Winner | ||
| Kennedy Davenport | 35 | Dallas, Texas | Season 7 | Runner-up | |
| BeBe Zahara Benet | 36 | Season 1 | |||
| Shangela | 35 | Los Angeles, California | Season 2 | ||
| Shangela | 35 | Los Angeles, California | Season 3 | ||
| Morgan McMichaels | 36 | Los Angeles, California | Season 2 | 5th Place | |
| BenDeLaCreme | 35 | Seattle, Washington | Season 6 | 6th Place | |
| Aja | 23 | Brooklyn, New York | Season 9 | 7th Place | |
| Chi Chi DeVayne | 32 | Shreveport, Louisiana | Season 8 | 8th Place | |
| Milk | 29 | Season 6 | 9th Place | ||
| Thorgy Thor | 33 | Brooklyn, New York | Season 8 | 10th Place |
Notes'''
- Morgan McMichaels originally placed 10th before being chosen to return to the competition.
- This contestant was voted Miss Congeniality during her original season.
- This contestant eliminated herself.
Contestant progress
Jury Vote
As part of the finale, the eliminated queens were invited back as jurors. They were given two votes each to vote for the remaining contestants that they thought deserved to make the final two, with their first vote worth two points and their second vote worth one point. The remaining contests were given the chance to plead their case before the jurors, prior to the vote.Lip syncs
Notes- BeBe Zahara Benet chose not to show whom she selected to return to the competition and whom she selected to eliminate if she had won the lip sync. Later on Trinity the Tuck's podcast, on May 3, 2020, Aja asserted that Bebe had chosen Trixie Mattel for elimination.
- BenDeLaCreme wrote her own name on a lipstick using whiteout, choosing to quit the competition. After being given the choice by RuPaul to select a queen to return, she chose Morgan McMichaels.
Guest judges
- Vanessa Hudgens, actress and singer
- Todrick Hall, actor and singer
- Vanessa Williams, actress and singer
- Constance Zimmer, actress
- Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman, actor and model
- Nicole Byer, comedian and actress
- Kristin Chenoweth, actress and singer
- Tituss Burgess, actor and singer
- Shay Mitchell, actress and model
- Adam Lambert, singer and actor
- Emma Bunton, singer and actress
- Chris Colfer, actor and singer
- Garcelle Beauvais, actress and model
Special guests
- Chad Michaels, runner-up from season four and winner of season one of All Stars
- Alaska, runner-up from season five and winner of season two of All Stars
- Marc Jacobs, fashion designer
- Nancy Pelosi, House Democratic leader and representative for California's 12th congressional district
Episodes
Leak
On February 15, 2018, the series production company World of Wonder filed a lawsuit against an anonymous leaker using the alias RealityTVLeaks. According to the lawsuit, RealityTVLeaks posted several visuals from the season on various social media websites such as Reddit, Twitter, and Instagram before each episode's airing—including runway themes, challenges, episode titles, and eliminated queens. Additionally, a producer from the show stated that the leaker removed "information identifying as the copyright owner and author" before adding "misleading copyright management information falsely identifying as the copyright owners and authors." World of Wonder launched the suit because of the defendant's "unlawful theft and public dissemination of episodes of the popular and critically-acclaimed reality television show," and the production company confirmed it is seeking damages of $300,000, including $150,000 for each infringed episode and $25,000 per violation of "actual damages" and defendants' profits.Ratings
Reception
Although a ratings success, the season was not critically well received, following the high bar set by All Stars 2. Vulture, in writing a summation review, described the season as "truly one of the roughest seasons of the show ever. After a stellar, jaw-unhingingly good All Stars 2, this season felt more like an embarrassing cousin you brought to gay happy hour who wears double polos". The A.V. Club similarly described the season as disappointing; in their final review of the season, they wrote, "I should be celebrating the crowning of a new queen in the Drag Race hall of fame, but Drag Race All Stars season three has left me feeling totally underwhelmed and wondering, What’s the point?"Vulture did however make the point that although the season did not live up to expectations, "even at its worst, it’s still one of the best, if not the best goddamn reality competition show on television".