RuPaul's Drag Race season 16 winner Nymphia Wind opens up about being first-ever Taiwanese winner 

RuPaul's Drag Race season 16 aired it's season finale on Friday, April 2024, on MTV. The show found the latest queen to join the list of winners and for the first time in the show's long-running history, crowned a Taiwanese drag queen.

Nymphia Wind, Sapphira Cristal, and Plane Jane were the top three who were still in the running, but after lip-syncing against Sapphira Cristal to Padam Padam by Kylie Minogue, Nymphia Wind took home the crown.

The season 16 winner spoke to Entertainment Weekly on April 20, about winning the show and being the first Taiwanese winner of RuPaul's Drag Race. She said that in general, East Asians or Asians are not represented all that much in "Western media." She added that it "meant a lot" to hold that space and "representation" in the competition—

"Being on the Main Stage and seeing my mother there, I got emotional because she doesn't live in America and she had to travel from Taiwan. At that time, she was physically sick. It was a lot for her to travel, and she still made it. You see how supportive she is and how much love she has for her child."

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"Be graceful"—RuPaul's Drag Race winner Nymphia Wind has a message for Asian children

The RuPaul's Drag Race season 16 winner, Nymphia Wind, was asked whether she had a message for children who didn't feel confident in their appearances.

The season 16 winner opened up about being an Asian child. She said that being brought up in Aisa, they were taught to be "subtle, quiet," and to keep to themselves. Nymphia Wind said that she had never been one to boast about herself and called herself a "wallflower."

She added that even after winning, there are days when "you're not feeling yourself" and there are days where "you wake up super confident." To the children, she said—

"You have to remember to acknowledge the good and the bad and see it as a whole. When you have those bad days, remember the good days are going to come. The bad days aren't forever. Be graceful, and know that people are out there just like you, even if they may seem confident in themselves."

Nymphia had never been in the bottom throughout season 16 and had to lip sync for the first time during the season finale.

About her performance, the contestant said that she came to the show to represent her country but wasn't going to do that by "putting a flag" on her dress. The drag queen explained that Boba tea is Taiwan's national tea and incorporating the tea in her performance was her way of "being camp and still representing" her country.

Nymphia Wind added that since she knew she was going up against Sapphira Cristal and Plane Jane, she knew she had to be a "pride float" and "bring something."

She also opened up about her solo performance and said that she chose Queen of Wind because she was "thinking of being weighed down." The RuPaul's Drag Race cast member added that her costume was a traditional Peking outfit—

"That mask is a fantasy character inspired by rich Peking opera [in] Asian culture. It was a tiger general, she was shot by a lot of arrows and worn down, battling, tearing away to become the Queen of Wind. It's a metaphor for shedding your self-doubt."

Episodes of RuPaul's Drag Race season 16 are available to stream on MTV.