The last week’s episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 14 saw more than one queen leave the competition. Kornbread surprised the audience and the queens by leaving due to an injured ankle. But, since the show must go on, another queen was also eliminated after a Lip Sync For Your Life. Unfortunately, the queen to sashay away was Orion Story.
Shadow and Act talked to Story about her time on the show and what it was like to battle her nerves, something she said ultimately got the better of her.
Shadow and Act: What was the overall process of getting picked for Drag Race like? How did you feel to be accepted to the show?
Orion Story: It was crazy, you know, I’m like not going to lie…I always knew that whenever I did audition, I would get on. And the only reason I say that is just because I feel like I have a good story to tell, and I’ve always really believed in myself and I knew they would see that. And I just kind of, I think it’s, it’s more like when I sent off my audition tape, I was like, “Okay, now I gotta start getting ready.” And then it’s like, I got the call and it was like, “Oh, this is actually happening.”
This season has already had a lot of twists and turns, but one no one expected was Kornbread leaving the competition due to an injury. What was it like when you got the news that she wouldn’t be coming back to the competition?
I was pretty heartbroken. Kornbread was one of the girls that I was really close with and we were always consoling each other off-camera [and] talking. She was one of the ones that I was really opening up to about everything that I was dealing with. And, you know, she was talking about all the stuff that she was dealing with and I think she was like my biggest support system there. And then after learning that she was gone, I just was kind of just like, “D**n. I just lost my support system.” Not that I wasn’t close with anyone else, but it’s just like we’ve had like the time to talk about everything, you know? So it’s like, we knew about each other. It just hurt.
It seemed like she was a lot of contestants she was the support system or the big sister type of person on the cast. So it seemed like when we saw everyone’s reactions, it seemed like everyone was like genuinely just gutted by what had happened.
Yeah. I mean, it definitely felt like there was like a weird energy after she was gone because she was always the one that would just like start up the conversation. And she was the one that would always bring the energy. And I remember feeling just very like bleak, almost like it just felt like something was missing.
That probably put everybody in a weird head space after getting that news and then going right into a challenge. What was it like for you going into the acting challenge as you’re digesting this news about Kornbread?
I mean, honestly, I was already going through a lot besides that. I woke up that morning just not doing very well. And I think I just kind of a weird, weird, energy just from the beginning, before we even found out that Kornbread was gone. So I think going into the challenge was just kind of like–I don’t know how to describe it. I almost just didn’t really care, which sucks to say, but I didn’t really feel present. That’s what I felt. I didn’t really feel present.
With the challenge being an acting challenge, what was it like to push yourself as far as being an actress?
That was, I think one of the things going on the show I was not as super, super, familiar with as opposed to everything else. But I didn’t feel unconfident about it because the previous challenge was an acting challenge and I did pretty well in it.
So I was like, “It’s not like I can’t do this.” I went in saying, “You know, we’re gonna do the best that we can.” I think that’s the thing–like, you can be the best actress in the world and still mess up on an acting challenge. You can be the best seamstress in a world in the world and go home on a sewing challenge. It’s really just what happens in the challenge itself.
With so much happening in the episode, when everything was said and done, what did you think about your time on the show?
My entire time there was amazing. Everyone was so sweet and it was a surreal experience and I was really grateful for the opportunity. I think for me, the biggest thing that I regretted was just not being able to open up. Looking back, I just see how hurt I was. I just like want to go back and like simultaneously slap myself in the face, but also give myself a hug, you know? That [feeling] was what I was struggling with just because I felt like there was so much that I wanted to say that I didn’t know how to say it or what to say. And I think with opening up, I didn’t want it to seem like I was just making excuses, you know? I always put on this front, like everything’s fine, I’m confident. I didn’t want anyone to see me sweat. So I just dealing with it on my own. And I think that was one of the things looking back I was like I wish I would’ve just been able to just talk about everything. I think that’s what they wanted.
I sympathize because it’s easy to get in your head when you’re in a new situation and you’re trying to get your bearings, so I completely get where you’re coming from. And with Drag Race, there’s always a second chance, so you never know. I hope your experience on the show was a great one and I’m excited to see what you have planned for the future.
Absolutely…I haven’t really been doing drag for very long and my momentum since I started has been so great. And…I’m not going to let me losing Drag Race twice in one season [laughs] get to me. There’s so much more than just the show. There are so many things that I want to do afterwards Drag Race. Just being on the show has opened up for me so many doors and I get to share my story, my experience, and I get to do what I love for a living. And I think that’s the most gratifying.
RuPaul’s Drag Race airs Fridays at 8/7c on VH1.