Briar Blush reveals reason for fainting on latest episode of Drag Race

A medical emergency on the latest episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race made waves in the Drag Race community this week. 

The incident occurred while the judges critiqued the queen's runway portion of the episode. The two queens Juicy Love Dion and Briar Blush and were pitted against each other in elimination after a red carpet fashion challenge.

"You look like a WWE wrestler," Roach critiqued Briar's outfit, which was made from scratch. "I just wanted you to jump off the ropes and just do a drop-kick on somebody."

“Let me tell you what I did love. That face, daughter? The beat is divine," Roach continued "The outfit is... not so much."

However, before the winner of the challenge could be announced, Briar unexpectedly swayed to the side and onto the floor. 

RuPaul and fellow judge Michelle Visage called for a medic to set. Juicy sprang into action, attempting to gently wake her up and encourage her to breathe.

@worldofwonder SPOILER ALERT! ‼️ Briar Blush faints during this week’s critiques 🫶 We love you, @briarblush! NOW STREAMING - all-new RuPaul's Drag Race Season 18 premieres on MTV and WOW Presents Plus with extra-special guest judges Law Roach and Annaleigh Ashford! ➡️ Use code RDR18 for 20% off your first 3 months of WOW Presents Plus! ⬇️ WHERE TO WATCH #DragRace S18 + Untucked 🌍 @wowpresentsplus worldwide ex. USA, Canada, Australia 🇺🇸 @mtv 🇨🇦 @cravecanada 🇦🇺 @stanaustralia ♬ original sound - World of Wonder

Roach looked, asking the rest of the panel, “Was I too harsh?”

Juicy explained in a confessional. "I don't know what happened. I don't know what's going on, but I'm scared."

"Did I fall?" she asked as soon as regained consciousness. 

While Myki Meeks supported Briar, saying pulling a stunt like that “ is not like her and she would not, she would not do that.” Other competitors are calling the commotion, BS. 

"It's a show. It's a show," Vita VonTesse Starr said while a medic attended to Briar with a quick evaluation on stage. 

"As soon as Law Roach says something about her looking like a WWE wrestler, [she faints]" Vita later said in a confessional. 

Athena Dion also had doubts about it. "It's intense up there. You're stressing out, you're about to be judged by all of the judges? Every ingredient for the perfect recipe for a collapse, 100%," 

"But... who knows what the truth is?” she continued. 

Briar ultimately sashayed away later in the episode. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly after her elimination aired, Briar revealed the reason that resulted in her fainting. 

“Well, after the season of Drag Race, I have really considered how I approached drag because I wanted to mention that the reason I ended up fainting was because I had pneumonia during filming,” she said, detailing a hospital stay after the diagnosis turned to Sepsis. 

“I was diagnosed later after getting home.”

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