Drag Race Down Under star Nikita Iman revealed what Michelle Visage was really like as a judge and addressed how she feels about missing out on the finale.
The New Zealand drag queen, 27, was eliminated from the reality TV competition on Friday night after losing in the lip sync battle to her close friend Mandy Moobs.
He narrowly missed out on a spot in next week’s season four finale, with drag queens Mandy, Lazy Susan, Vybe and Freya Armani securing the coveted spots.
Following her devastating elimination, Nikita spoke exclusively to Daily Mail Australia about her time on the Stan series and how she felt returning home so close to the final.
“When I left, I had literally shown every outfit in my package except the final one, so the fact that I was able to literally show all my outfits except the final one makes me feel so proud,” she shared.
“I mean, I had been eliminated and filming the finale was the next day, so I was like, ‘Oh my God, I was literally so, so close,’ but no, I can’t complain.
Drag Race Down Under star Nikita Iman (pictured) has revealed what it was really like to miss the final after being eliminated from the show on Friday night.
“I felt very happy and very proud when I left. I think maybe I had exhausted myself and was ready to go home, but I was also ready to push myself over the last few days.
“But I love the final four, they are an incredible four finalists.” “I love the whole cast, but I feel like being in the finale would have added something a little different, but it is what it is.”
The Auckland-born, Sydney-based queen also revealed what it was really like to be up close and personal with notoriously feisty judge Michelle, 56, who replaced RuPaul in series four.
Nikita admitted that although she wasn’t intimidated by Michelle off camera, she felt much more nervous when facing the judges on camera.
Despite her fears, she insisted that working with Michelle was still a lot of fun and theorized that facing drag legend RuPaul would have made her more nervous.
She said: “I didn’t find (Michelle) intimidating when we were there, but every time we were talking on camera, I was like, ‘Oh my God, what do I say and how do I say it?’ ‘
“For me, my mouth usually runs faster than I think, so I’m always saying something stupid or silly, and that’s when I put a lot of pressure on myself to watch what I say.”
‘But interacting with (Michelle) off camera and when she was talking to the girls, I didn’t feel as nervous. She was so, so lovely, she really treated everyone very well.
He narrowly missed out on a spot in next week’s season four finale, with drag queens Mandy, Lazy Susan, Vybe and Freya Armani securing the coveted positions.
The Auckland-born, Sydney-based queen also revealed what it was really like to be up close and personal with feisty judge Michelle Visage, 56, who replaced RuPaul in series four.
“I think the environment she was in made everyone much more relaxed and made the whole process much more enjoyable.
“I’ve never met RuPaul or done a season with her, but I can imagine being in a room with her would be pretty (tense), but with Michelle it felt so much more relaxed and like our favorite teacher had taken over the class.” .for the day.
“So we have to have fun and enjoy it.”
Reflecting on her journey in the competition, Nikita said she was “so sure” before she started that she was going to make it to the final four, until she met the other talented queens in person.
After overcoming “imposter syndrome” early on, Nikita said she became more confident and “didn’t mind” where she placed each week, but she still would have loved to make it to the final.
But she admitted she knew her time was up when she performed her third lip sync against Mandy, and said she’s glad she was able to finish the show with someone she was so close with.
Nikita also opened up about what her plans would have been for the grand finale, sharing exactly what she planned to wear on that all-important final runway.
“She had this huge Marie Antoinette-style Samoan princess outfit,” she shared.
Reflecting on her journey in the competition, Nikita said she was “so sure” before she started that she was going to make it to the final four, until she met the other talented queens.
“I just wanted to reference what it would have been like when Samoa was first colonized with the big European style skirt but with very traditional Samoan fibers, colors and clothing.”
She also spoke about representing her Samoan heritage on the show, saying that while it hadn’t been her focus, she’s proud to have been able to do it.
“Before I went on the show, it wasn’t that important to me to be that (representation) because I didn’t want to put pressure on myself to represent the culture or my community, I was just there to represent myself.” she said.
‘I didn’t realize that most of my package was influenced by culture, but I think that’s who I am and my way of thinking.
“When I was given the themes for the runway, it wasn’t my intention to think ‘fabulous, let’s do something Samoan,’ but just ‘Okay, period, I have this reference, so let’s do this.'”
“But when you look at my package and my journey on the show, I think, ‘wow, I’m really representing Samoa and ballroom dancing and where I’m at.’
“For me, that’s the best way to do it because I find that when people come in with the mentality of ‘I have my community on my shoulders to represent it,’ they put a lot of pressure on themselves to really perform.” and make your country or community proud.’
While Nikita had many standout moments on the show, including her spectacular makeover challenge, she revealed that there was one moment in particular that she couldn’t remember.
After overcoming “imposter syndrome,” Nikita said she became more confident and “didn’t mind” where she placed each week, but she still would have loved to make it to the final.
She confessed that she was embarrassed by her acting challenge and didn’t even get to see him on screen, but said she was still glad to have given a new talent a chance.
‘My lowest point was probably the acting challenge, I couldn’t watch it! “I had my eyes and ears closed,” he joked.
“My partner said to me, ‘Do you want to go to the viewing and see it?’ and I said, ‘I don’t want to be around people when I see it.’
“I thought, ‘Let’s make some dinner, sit down, have a drink and watch it on the couch.’
“I think it was a low point because it was so embarrassing to watch, but at the time, like that and Snatch Game, they were things I’d never done before.”
He also revealed that he wishes he had taken more advantage of the three-week preparation time before appearing on the Stan series.
“They gave us three weeks, but I moved and I was so busy with work that I literally packed all my preparation into one week,” she shared.
“Then, when I finished working, I went clubbing on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, so I had from Sunday to Thursday to get it all in.
‘So if I ever do this again, I’ll definitely make the most of the full three weeks!’
While Nikita had many standout moments on the show, including her makeover challenge, she revealed that there was one moment in particular that she couldn’t remember: her acting challenge.
Nikita didn’t close the door on returning to the Drag Race franchise in the future, and shared her desire to appear in a global spin-off version of the competition.
‘I’d love to do a global version of the show! “Queen of the Universe just came out, I don’t know if another Samoan queen would be good, someone else would be fabulous,” he said.
“But looking at the season and looking at my progress, I definitely see a lot of potential; I just need to go out there, work harder and gain experience and confidence in myself.”
“On the show, I felt so confident and so delusional, and that’s very much who I am, but even though I’ve been doing drag for a long time, there’s so much more I can do and still learn.
‘The next steps for me in the next year are to travel around Australia, get involved in the community with the local bars, the local scene, the local girls and just getting my name out there.
“Even though the girls have been watching me on the show every Friday for the last few months, I would still love to show them what Nikita does and what Nikita brings to the table in terms of my shows.”
The next Drag Race superstar from Down Under will be crowned during the season four finale, airing on Stan on Friday, December 20.
All four seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under can be streamed on Stan.