Phoenix claps back after gagworthy Ice Spice critique

During the premiere episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 10, guest judge Ice Spice gave Orange Bracket competitor Phoenix a fairly direct critique – and Phoenix has clapped back.

Warning: Sickening spoilers ahead for the first two episodes of All Stars 10.

Well, it’s happened – the Tournament of All Stars, otherwise known as All Stars 10, has finally kicked off, with six of its eighteen-strong cast sashaying into the Werk Room for their second (or third, or fourth) chance to snatch the crown.

In the premiere episode, the Orange Bracket, which consists of season 3’s Phoenix, season 9 and All Stars 3‘s Aja, season 13’s Olivia Lux, season 14’s Bosco and Deja Skye and season 15’s porkchop Irene the Alien, all wrote, recorded and performed a rock ‘n’ roll verse to “Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner”.

And while it was Aja and Irene who landed in the top two, with Aja nabbing that extra point in the spinoff’s new scoring system, the assembled panel, including guest judge, rapper Ice Spice, had critiques for all the sickening six.

Following the performance, Ice Spice, who is best known for her collabs with Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift – and for her track “Think U The Shit (Fart)”, which was used as this episode’s lip-sync song – she told Phoenix, “I hear you’re a legendary icon, but tonight, I don’t think I would have been able to tell with how shy you were.”

Ice Spice’s critique towards Phoenix is fucking sending ME like—i’m CRYING 😭 #AllStars10 pic.twitter.com/hELEqW4Wfx

— 𝔞𝔭𝔦𝔣𝔣𝔞𝔫𝔶 🪩 (@dragraceher) May 9, 2025

After the episode aired, Phoenix, who first appeared on RuPaul’s Drag Race in 2011, took to her Instagram Story to slam the critique and make it clear that she’s still an icon.

“I appreciate the love from everyone about the Ice Spice comment!” Phoenix wrote in a statement posted 10 May. “I’ll comment more and tell the funny part about this later.”

She continued, “My 25 years of experience and decades of contributing to my community is what makes me an ICON! Not 3 minutes on a tv show…..

“That being said, Im perfectly fine not getting “icon” validation from someone who’s “fame” has come from 1 song about shitting and farting…….”

With team orange the first to enter the ring, team purple consists of Acid Betty, Alyssa Hunter, Cynthia Lee Fontaine, Daya Betty, Denali and Ginger Minj, while the pink sisters are Mistress Isabelle Brooks, Lydia B Kollins, Nicole Paige Brooks, Jorgeous, Tina Burner and Kerri Colby.

As a wise woman once said, “We can’t wait to see how this turns out.”

RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 10 will be available to stream on Paramount+ in the US and WOW Presents Plus internationally from 9 May.

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