‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 10’ Queen Opens Up About Autism Diagnosis

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” released the fourth episode of its currently airing “All Stars 10,” on Friday, May 23, welcoming back the second group of former contestants who will compete in the season’s “Tournament of All Stars.” Amongst the six queens who returned to the competition was Season 13 contestant Tina Burner. 

Ahead of the episode, which saw Tina competing against other former “Drag Race” stars like Kerri Colby (Season 14), Lydia B Kollins (Season 17), Nicole Paige Brooks (Season 2), Mistress Isabelle Brooks (Season 15) and Jorgeous (Season 14 & All Stars 9), the New York drag legend took to Instagram to address her fans and haters alike. 

Tina Burner Addresses Fan Comments and Autism Diagnosis

“Tomorrow I am back on your screens. Although exciting, it also feels like I am bracing for a storm. The first time around on Season 13, I have to say, I wasn’t prepared for what would follow. The darkness, the hate, the confusion,” wrote Tina on Instagram. 

The queen went on to explain that, despite receiving negative feedback from fans after her first appearance on “Drag Race,” she has since “changed and grown,” and is ready to bring the “best version” of herself to “All Stars 10.”

“These past four years have been a journey,” Tina continued, adding that she’d received an ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) since she placed 7th on “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 13.

“My whole life there have been so many things I never understood. Why I am who I am. Why I act certain ways in social settings, relationships, in friendships and just life in general,” Tina added, explaining why she decided to seek further mental health support after appearing on the Emmy Award-winning series in 2021. 

Hormona Lisa, who appeared as a contestant on “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 17 earlier this year, similarly revealed her autism diagnosis in a post on the show’s official subreddit in March. 

“I received my diagnosis nearly 7 years ago, and it really helped explain a lot of my life experiences, like never quite fitting in, no matter how much I wanted to, or people not quite understanding me,” said the Tennessee queen, adding, “It’s part of who I am, and I wouldn’t change it.”

Tina Burner Scores First ‘Drag Race’ Win on ‘All Stars 10’

Despite a seventh-place finish on Season 13, Tina’s return to “Drag Race” for “All Stars 10” has already been a successful endeavour, with the queen securing her first-ever challenge victory on the season’s fourth episode. 

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The episode, which began streaming on Paramount+ on Friday, May 23, saw host RuPaul challenge the six returning competitors to design fashion forward looks from scratch, with the added challenge of incorporating eight random items into the final look. 

At the end of the episode Tina was declared one of the Top 2 All Star’s of the week alongside Season 17 alum Lydie B Kollins, though she failed to best Lydia in a lip sync battle to Loleatta Holloway’s “Love Sensation.”

The recently debuted “Tournament of All Stars” features an all-new bracket format which will see three sets of six queens each compete in three-episode brackets. At the end of each bracket, the three queens with the most points will advance to the semi-finals. Tina’s second-place finish in the first episode of Bracket 2 secured the queen 2 points while Lydia pocketed three after winning the lip sync. 

Next episode, the bottom four queens (Nicole Paige Brooks, Mistress Isabelle Brooks, Jorgeous and Kerri Colby) will each receive one Most Valuable Queen (MVQ) point to award to another player. 

New episodes of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 10” will be available to stream every Friday on Paramount+, with the series finale set to air in mid-July.