"Please reach out to me because we have to collab"—RuPaul's Drag Race's Sam Star proposes a partnership with Kim Gravel

RuPaul's Drag Race season 17 episode 18, Grand Finale, premired on MTV on April 18, 2025. The episode featured the top four contestants, namely Jewels Sparkles, Lexi Love, Onya Nurve, and Sam Star. They competed in their last runaway and lip sync to clinch the winner's title and the cash prize.

Ahead of the finale, the finalists spoke with Us Weekly in an exclusive interview published the same day, reflecting on the competition throughout the season. Sam Star looked back on episode 7’s Snatch Game challenge, where she impersonated QVC personality Kim Gravel. She felt confident in her performance but noted that she hadn’t received any feedback from Kim about the impression.

Still, the RuPaul's Drag Race star shared her admiration for the QVC host and the network, even expressing interest in a future collaboration.

“If you do see this, Kim, I love you. Please reach out to me because we have to collab. The kids would love it. And I was a huge fan of your show. Still a huge fan of the QVC line!” she said during the interview.

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RuPaul's Drag Race finalist opens up on the intensity of the Werk Room

RuPaul's Drag Race season 17 finale spotlighted the top four queens—Jewels Sparkles, Lexi Love, Onya Nurve, and Sam Star—as they battled it out for the coveted crown. RuPaul Charles, Carson Kressley, and Michelle Visage returned to the judging panel, with superstar Liza Minnelli as the special guest.

In the Us Weekly interview, the finalists reflected on their standout season and shared insights into the challenges they faced. They also discussed their emotional struggles and the efforts that were put in behind the scenes of the Werk Room.

Onya admitted that she had no idea everything would be "so hard" on the show. She explained that while most queens typically performed drag part-time or full-time outside the show, RuPaul’s Drag Race felt more like a “drag boot camp,” even comparing it to “drag two-a-days.”

Sam Star agreed and explained that the show’s title was more fitting than she knew. She talked about the fast-paced nature of the show and how it was difficult for them to come up with multiple ideas for their performances.

"When it’s called RuPaul’s Drag Race, I didn’t realize that that is so accurate, that it’s so fast. You don’t have time to think, really. Your first idea is your only idea, ’cause there’s no time to think for the second idea," she said.

The RuPaul's Drag Race season 17 star continued:

"It seems so easy, and I was definitely the girl who sat at home and read everybody down and was like, ‘Girl, why would you do that?’ But now doing it, I get it. So everybody at home, I’m sorry for reading y’all. The former girls, I get it now. It was very hard.”

Lexi expressed a similar sentiment, describing the show as a "race" which she believed was "very regimented" and included a lot of surprises. Meanwhile, Jewels noted that she had a “new respect” for all the contestants who had ever been in the Werk Room.

Onya then reflected back to episode 7, which premiered on February 4, where he was crowned the winner for impersonating Eddie Murphy. She believed that she was that "perfect representation," and shared that she was still waiting for a fellow or DM from the comedian.

Sam Star chimed that she, too, hadn't received a response from Kim Gravel for her impression of the QVC personality. She shared that she was a huge fan of the show and asked for a collab with Kim.

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RuPaul's Drag Race season 17 episodes are available on MTV.