Drag Race’s Plane Jane Joins ‘House Of Villains’

Originally a contestant on season 16 of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race,’ Plane Jane was recently announced as a cast member of season 3 of Peacock’s ‘House of Villains.’ Gaining notoriety for its premise of bringing back iconic villains and personalities from reality shows of varying backgrounds, House of Villains lets fans watch their favorite TV bad guys compete against one another for the title of America’s “Ultimate Supervillain.” This marks the second time that a contestant from Drag Race has been cast on the show, with Kandy Muse of Drag Race season 13 and ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars’ season 8 fame competing on the previous House of Villains season.

Known for her strong personality, light-hearted shade, and her quick wit, Plane Jane stormed onto season 16 of Drag Race and earned her title as the season’s unofficial “villain” by fans. Her villain arc wasn’t built on cruelty or chaos like the stereotypical reality television villain that fans hate to love and love to hate, instead Plane introduced a new type of archetype to the Drag Race franchise, by revealing her in confessionals that she had a foolproof strategy that would inevitably place her into the final four by proving that she, especially through her confessionals, was a person that had watched the show and understood what it required with surgical precision.

Whether it was sabotaging the placements of other contestants through a vote to secure a coveted immunity potion, provoking other contestants without ever having to argue or raise her voice, or even through her getting into the heads of other contestants by placing seeds of doubt that would lead to their elimination, Plane Jane has the exact energy that’s needed to compete and entertain on House of Villains. Not only does a competitor need to fit the criteria of being villainous, but they also need to be top of mind, and Plane checks every box.

Like Plane Jane, Kandy Muse also had a controversial introduction to Drag Race. Kandy’s fiery personality, humor, and looks made her into more than just a competitor on Drag Race; she became a brand. While fans may have argued over who they wanted to win in the end, no one could deny that Kandy kept the season interesting, especially with her unforgettable quotes, heated arguments, and refusal to be belittled by her fellow queens.

Drag Race as a franchise has propelled queens to stardom outside of the show, with queens starring on Broadway, releasing albums, acquiring movie roles, and more. Drag Race offers an international stage for queens to showcase their talent, but it also serves as a direct pipeline to the world of reality television, especially after they’ve proved that they can stand out in an already super-saturated market of personalities.

As we head into Pride Month, we can see that the growing presence of queer visibility doesn’t only have to be happiness, sunshine, and rainbows. Plane Jane and Kandy Muse remind us that queer visibility doesn’t have to palatable to be acceptable; It can be loud, it can be quirky, it can be controversial, and it can be powerful.