During a chat on “All Stars 3” winner Trixie Mattel’s YouTube channel, Season 13 runner-up Gottmik revealed that, originally, she got the call from “Drag Race” producers telling her she wasn’t going to be on the show. Thankfully, just a few days after that initial disappointment, they got in touch to confirm Gottmik would be appearing on Season 13 after all. “Maybe you were an alternate,” Trixie suggested, noting Gottmik’s podcasting buddy Violet Chachki, with whom she hosts “No Gorge,” “was famously an alternate — and she won.”
According to Trixie, Violet was brought in for Season 7 only after another competitor pulled out. “Same with Jaida,” Gottmik noted, referring to Jaida Essence Hall, who won Season 12. Even more impressively, as a result of being called in late, Jaida had less than a week to prepare for “Drag Race.” Gottmik, meanwhile, made history as the first out trans male contestant in the show’s herstory. She went on to make the final four, losing in a lip-sync battle to the eventual winner, Symone. Gottmik saw herself as paving the way for more trans queens to compete in the long-running reality competition.
Indeed, just a short while later, Kylie Sonique Love became the first trans contestant to win a season of “Drag Race,” following her “All Stars 6” victory, per Decider.
