Kiki bids the competition bye-bye. Kiara, the fierce Montreal queen and one of Canada’s Drag Race more versatile performers, has been eliminated from the show. But she left a lot to desire, with fans gagging over her performance in the lip sync battle with Priyanka and the iconic line “Kiki wanna kai kai.”
We spoke with Kiara about her Snatch Game performance, which queen she’s rooting for to win and her plans after Drag Race.
What did you learn from your time on Canada’s Drag Race?
I learned that I should not do Mariah Carey on Snatch Game. So anybody out there that wants to be on the show, do not do her. I don’t know her. Okay?
I learned I could trust myself and I learned that I have all the tools that I needed to succeed in my career. And I learned that even if you lose, it’s not the end.
You spewed one of the show’s most iconic lines (“Kiki wanna Kai kai”) during the rap battle. How did you come up with that?
“Kiki wanna kai kai” just came up. Sometimes I just write stuff and I always try to think of myself as a third person (like Kiki does something). With this Kai Kai situation with the theme [of the challenge], I thought it was a good way to diss the other queens. Just saying to them, “you know what, I’m usually known to be a kai kai queen, but you’re not my type, I’m sorry—not sorry.
“I learned I could trust myself and I learned that I have all the tools that I needed to succeed in my career.”
Why did you choose Mariah Carey as your character on Snatch Game?
I chose Mariah as my character because I love her so much, I’m such as Stan. I am a lamb [the name of Carey’s fandom] full-on! I really do know everything about her and I do really like her. She’s my girl, you know? But I learned really quickly that even though I knew her it was hard to make somebody funny, just to be in their skin and to answer [as her on Snatch Game] is just a challenge. To make it funny is even worse!
If not Mariah, who would you have picked?
I thought about doing [Canadian model] Stacey McKenzie.
In an interview before the premiere, you mentioned how you want to represent queens of colour. Why is this important to you?
I wanted to represent queens of colour because I, myself, am a person of colour. When I saw queens that looked like me on RuPaul’s Drag Race or in bars, it kind of showed me that I could do it, too.
Most people say that you and Priyanka delivered one of the most iconic lip syncs in Drag Race herstory. What’s your reaction to that?
I do agree. I just watched it before doing the interview! I waited a long time to see it so it’s really fun to finally see it on screen. I put my all into it and I really, really lip sync for my life
“When I saw queens that looked like me… it kind of showed me that I could do it, too.”
Looking back at your Drag Race journey, would you do anything differently?
I would make sure that every look is a moment, because I had some meh moments on the runway—and keep in mind that every moment counts and that it’s a competition so you can’t just take any chances and you need to deliver all the time.
If it can’t be you, which queen would you like to see win it all?
I would love for Rita Baga to win because you know [she’s also from] Montreal. I really am rooting for her from all my heart.
What’s next for you?
I am super creative as a person, so I have a couple of ideas in mind. Maybe some music? Maybe some videos? Maybe mixing film and drag together? You know, just serving looks and polishing my aesthetic and polishing my drag. I still want to work on my drag.
I want to tour, too. I wanted to do so many things! I feel like I’m just gonna take time to digest everything to get used to this new life and this new attention that I’m getting and then I’m gonna figure out the best way to take advantage of that.
One word to describe your time in Drag Race?
Kai kai! It didn’t happen, unfortunately, but it was a memorable line on the show.
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