Someone was bound to go home first, and no matter who it would be, it would be heartbreaking. RuPaul’s Drag Race Global All Stars lost its first casualty following the International Queen of Mystery Ball. Sadly, that casualty was Drag Race Belgique Season 1 runner-up Athena Likis. It was a shock to all to see them leave so soon on the reality competition series, but Athena knows it was a great honor to represent their country.
Twelve international drag queens from around the world have strutted into the Werk Room in hopes of being the Queen of the Mothertucking World in the inaugural season of RuPaul’s Drag Race Global All Stars. Hosted by RuPaul with judges Michelle Visage and Jamal Sims, the queens competing for the crown include Alyssa Edwards (RuPaul’s Drag Race), Athena Likis (Drag Race Belgique), Eva Le Queen (Drag Race Philippines), Gala Varo (Drag Race Mexico), Kitty Scott-Claus (RuPaul’s Drag Race UK), Kween Kong (RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under), Miranda Lebrao (Drag Race Brasil), Nehellenia (Drag Race Italia), Pythia (Canada’s Drag Race), Soa de Muse (Drag Race France), Tessa Testicle (Drag Race Germany), and Vanity Vain (Drag Race Sverige). This all-star-style season has already gagged viewers. The talent is exceptional. The fashion is exceptional. It’s truly coming down to splitting hairs on who sees the bottom two.
Athena Brought Their Sensibility To the Stage
Athena Likis first came onto the Drag Race scene having competed on the first season of Drag Race Belgique. For Athena, it was amazing to be the first Belgian queen to be invited to participate in a global season. Even though this season was presented through an international lens, Athena stayed true to their identity as a performer. They said, “I’m always trying to stay through to myself, even if it’s TV, even if it’s like wherever I am, I’m always bringing my energy. I think my drag is like a reference to all the women that I’ve met in my life. And it’s androgynous with my type of fashion and very personal.” This will be a key factor that played into her ultimate departure. But we’ll get to it.
With twelve queens in the Werk Room, this was an opportunity to not only compete with, but meet some amazing queer artists from across the globe. But for Athena, thankfully there were some familiar faces: Pythia and Soa de Muse. “It felt like a relief to have someone that I know was like, okay, I’m not that alone here. Even if it’s a competition,” they revealed. Sadly, Athena would have to face off with their French sister, Soa, in the Lip Sync For Your Life at the tail end of Episode 3. Not only was Athena there with these other queens, they got to perform in front of Mother herself, RuPaul. She summed up that feeling into one word, “Scary.”
Athena’s Got Talent
To kick off the season, the cast was divided into two groups where they showcased their talents in the Global Glamazon Talent Extravaganza. Fans of Drag Race Belgique knew that Athena would bring a mind-blowing routine as she is infamous for winning their season’s talent show challenge. This season was no exception. Athena gave a talent that had a story and then took it one step further to give something viewers wouldn’t expect. Athena mentioned that it all comes down to having a single idea when they create their numbers.
She said, “I just have an idea, and then I’m like, oh, that can be interesting. Then I start writing, and I’m like, Hmm. Okay. What do you like? What are your strong points? I mean, for Belgium, it was like, you can dance, but you’re not, you’re not a professional dancer. Maybe don’t do that. Don’t do that. So I was like, okay, I did science studies. I was like, let’s bring science to my talent show…I was in Greece at that time with someone, she was playing with a fan. It was like OnlyFans as a joke. And then it started growing in me. And this is how it started.”
Athena’s Runways Were a Point of Contention
No matter the interaction of the show, Drag Race is always known for its incredible runways. Athena was able to bring her brand and style to the stage. But this time around, it came with a catch. To begin the season, it appears great minds thought alike when Tessa Testicle presented a similar concept to Athena in her bondage-inspired Garden of Eve look. Even though their concepts were similar, their storytelling couldn’t have been more different. Athena joked, “There was an apple. It was so big, I don’t know.” Athena continued, “Tessa came to me, she was like, before I saw her look, ‘Girl, we have exactly the same look.’ I started panicking. And then she just put the outfit on her, and I was like, ‘oh, yeah, sure, we have exactly the same outfit.’ No, it’s super different. For me, she was giving like sex doll 80s and I was doing editorial.”
Athena, a non-binary drag artist, is known for their androgynous aesthetic. Their drag does celebrate the line of gender by mixing androgynous elements into their runways. When it came down to a critical critique from RuPaul herself, it seemed that would be the thing that would seal her fate. RuPaul wanted Athena’s look to “be more feminine,” which contradicts Athena as a drag artist. It was not a fair critique. As a non-binary person, I felt they were weird, to be honest,” they said. Athena questioned its validity saying, “It’s 2024. And so we still say that feminine and masculine? I mean, for me, women can be very masculine and men can be very feminine. It’s 2024. I want to be out of those boxes. So yeah, I received the critique, and I was like, if that’s what they think I will, I will just accept it. But I myself, I disagree totally.”
With the talent at an all-time high, the competition was already stiff. When the queens went back for the Werk Room for Untucked, viewers and some of the queens wished they had some popcorn because things got a bit heated. Athena and some of their sisters came for Tessa for the “gown” she designed for the challenge. Even with a laugh, Athena said she didn’t know why Tessa wasn’t in the bottom instead of her. “I don’t remember what I said, but I think I was a bit rude to her, I think. I was so pissed to let in the bottom. Maybe I was delusional, but I still don’t think I deserved to be in the bottom for that episode. Even if my gown was not the best contrast constructed.” Athena continued, “I don’t know, like the gown, like for me, they talk about how feminine I look and the construction of my dress. And for her, they were like saying, ‘your shoulders are beautiful. They are shining. Who cares about your shoulders? It’s a design challenge!”
Athena Was Crushed to Lip Sync Against Soa
In the end, Athena was forced to lip sync for her life against their French sister Soa de Muse, something she hoped would not happen. “I know she’s an amazing lip syner. Losing the lip sync against her, I don’t mind because she’s my friend. But like being at the bottom against her, that crushed me,” Athena revealed. The pair lip synced to Olivia Rodrigo’s “Bad Idea Right?” in an emotional battle that saw Athena sashay away.
Now that Athena Likis has taken the global stage, what do they want to conquer next? “I think maybe I want to do a solo show. I don’t know. Maybe. You have to stay tuned. And I think I want to travel around the world because I didn’t have the chance to travel a lot in my life, mostly in Europe, and I’m already very lucky with that. But I think I want to go more around the world and meet other queer artists and see their culture, their art, and I don’t know, like just share that with them.” Sounds like an amazing dream to me! To listen to the full interview, download Block Talk on your favorite podcast platform.
RuPaul’s Drag Race Global All Stars streams new episodes every Friday on Paramount+.