Is Drag Race’s Daya Betty getting the infamous ‘villain edit’, or is she her own worst enemy?

The competition is getting serious on season 14 of RuPaul’s Drag Race, and it’s getting increasingly interesting watching how the diverse cast of queens rise and react to the reality of them inching closer to being crowned America’s next drag superstar. Competition can bring out the best and the worst in queens. Queens like Willow Pill have come to Drag Race prepared – with a game plan. Good looks, thoughtful ideas, a good attitude and can seemingly take the competition in their stride. Queens like Lady Camden have seen themselves start to flourish in the competition after having a slow start – her hunger for the win never making her likability falter. On the other hand, Daya Betty – a queen on a similar trajectory – has spent the last few episodes rubbing queens up the wrong way as the hunger to succeed in the competition becomes all consuming. Which asks the age old question – is Daya Betty getting a “villain edit” on RuPaul’s Drag Race season 14, or is she just her own worst enemy?

Her journey in the competition is one we’ve never seen before

It’s interesting to note that way back on episode two, Daya Betty joined Orion Story on being the first two queens to be eliminated from the show. Queens who return to Drag Race notoriously never perform too well, with most of them leaving after a few episodes back at most. Orion hit that stereotype quickly, never really proving much of a threat in the competition. Daya on the other hand hasn’t landed in the bottom or low since her return, and has shown that week one was definitely too early for her to have gone home.

Via World of Wonder

Since her return, Daya has openly hungered to place in the top / get a challenge win and has rubbed the queens up the wrong way and pissed them off in the process with her moaning over placing safe. This week, Daya’s behaviour seemed to reach its brattiest yet, with her stubborn approach for the 60s girl group challenge setting the tone for her desperation for the win.

Is Daya’s approach working?

Yes and no. Daya’s trajectory in the competition is on the rise, but her popularity online and seemingly amongst the queens in the Werk Room is on the decline. From early on in Drag Race season 14 I really liked Daya Betty – I thought she was fun, likeable and I was glad when she came back and got to prove herself a bit more. I also think that this week she really excelled in the challenge, and although I thought Angeria deserved the win I didn’t think that Daya’s victory was undeserved. But is this a villain edit situation, with the producers trying to make Daya look ruthless and jealous of other’s success or is the pressure cooker of Drag Race bringing out the worst in Daya’s temperament?

It’s a bad combination of things

Daya Betty has spent this season being told she’s too much like Crystal Methyd. From the judges, and by the queens. It’s clearly got to her – and I can imagine it’s incredibly frustrating when you’re trying to carve out your own Drag Race legacy to be told you’re too much like a fan favourite that is a close personal friend and in your drag family off the show. There are similarities, sure, but I think the comparisons drove Daya Betty to act in the frustrated way she’s been behaving because she feels like she has more to prove that she’s a successful Drag Race queen in her own right.

What will be Daya’s storyline going forward? She seems to be coming into her own in the competition, with two successful performances on the trot and a lot of screen time. The next few weeks of Drag Race season 14 will be vital – and Daya Betty will either rise to the challenge or get in her head. The race is really on for that top four, and it seems guaranteed we’ll be seeing Willow Pill, Angeria and Bosco up there – it’s that fourth spot that feels up for grabs. Lady Camden, Jorgeous and Daya Betty could all be joining them

Catch RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 14 every Saturday on the streamer of all things drag, WOW Presents Plus. For all the latest Drag Race memes and Netflix news, drops and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.

Featured image courtesy of World of Wonder.

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