With back-to-back seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race under her belt, the internet seems to think Lydia B Kollins is RuPaul Charles’ new favorite drag queen. 

But what does Mrs. Butthole (Yes, the “B” in Lydia B Kollins stands for Butthole) think? “I would love to claim that title, but I think she has room in her heart for so many queens,” she tells The Hollywood Reporter, though it’s not hard to believe that she’s Ru new go-to girl as the Pittsburgh-based queen was asked back to appear on the landmark 10th season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars immediately after gracing the cast of season 17.  

Queens often take at least a year off before pivoting to the All Stars franchise, but not Lydia, who had a few weeks off between filming season 17 and All Stars season 10. In fact, she believes her quick return to the competition was a “blessing” because she was still “in the competition mindset.” It’s widely known in the Drag Race world that she had a mere five days to prepare her package for All Stars, but that didn’t hold her back from jumping at the opportunity to showcase her artistry on the biggest platform for drag in the world. “This is the path that I was meant to take,” Lydia asserts of her double-Drag Race status.

Below, Lydia recounts what it was like reuniting with Chappell Roan (whom she opened for before appearing on Drag Race) on the set of All Stars season 10, what Pride as a new Ru Girl is like, having her partner Kori King (who she met during RPDR season 17) “to ride with me during all this,” and the advice she has for aspiring queens looking to get into drag amid the current political landscape in the United States. 

Everybody knows you had roughly four to five days to prepare for All Stars after season 17, and a lot of fans have been pointing out how difficult it must have been to prepare your runways, so how you approach the seasons differently from an emotional standpoint with such little time?

I think it was kind of like a — I don’t want to say a blessing and a curse — I think it was more a blessing. I definitely had already been in the competition mindset, so I went into All Stars with an alleviated sense of stress. Season 17 had a lot of loud, rowdy bitches on the season, and I felt like I couldn’t get a word in, but having only five other people in the room with me [at the beginning of my All Stars bracket] was a big help. So I went in with just an air of fun, and my main goal was to have fun.

Going into All Stars 10, Mistress Isabelle Brooks was the only queen who had met you at that point as a Ru Girl because she was on the roast episode of season 17. Do you think this anonymity with your drag and the other queens not knowing who you were was an asset?

I think so, yes. The only time Mistress saw me was when I was doing well in the competition, so I think that played to my benefit, and I worked with Nicole [Paige Brooks] before even filming season 17, so we had some sort of establishment with each other. But I loved the fact that I went in there and they all knew each other, and they had absolutely no idea what was going on, what to expect from me. That was very tantalizing and very exciting. 

When you went in for All Stars, did you fill them in on what challenges you did well on? Did you tell them you won the roast? What was the rundown you gave the other queens? 

Oh, I absolutely gassed myself up. I was like, “Yeah, I ate season 17 up, I won the roast, I was in the top for every challenge!” I just wanted to scare them, even if it was all a lie (Laughs).

On season 17, RuPaul took an early affinity towards you. Have you seen the memes that came out after the premiere episode of your bracket on All Stars 10 of Jorgeous realizing you’re her new favorite, and do you personally think that you are RuPaul’s new favorite queen? 

I mean, listen, I would love to claim that title. I would love to be mother’s favorite, so if people are saying that, I’m going to run with it for sure. But I think that she has room in her heart for so many queens, and I mean, Jorgeous is really small, so she’ll always fit into one blood vessel one way or another. 

Well, a lot of fans fell in love with you on season 17 after your lip sync to “Boogie Wonderland.” Now, there’s another running meme online that you’ve only (so far) won lip-syncs that are set to 70s and 80s songs. Have you seen that?

(Laughs) Yes, I have.

Is this your favorite niche of music to perform, or is this just something that has come with your time on Drag Race?

I mean, kind of. My favorite song to perform is a niche Tom Jones song, and growing up, my dad would play disco music and Earth, Wind & Fire constantly, so I feel like it was something that’s always been ingrained in my bones. I’m just really grateful that that happened, you know? I’m grateful that I got the chance to sort of show off what I love. So, yeah, I think it’s always been around.

You and Kori King started dating after meeting on season 17, but right after that, you were busy filming back-to-back seasons, so when did this relationship blossom? Was it after you shot All Stars, or was it in between seasons before you left to go back for All Stars?

We immediately started talking after season 17, for sure. But I am, what’s the word, crazy, so I really wanted to give it a moment and see what happened, and All Stars happened too quick for us to establish any real [relationship], you know. We didn’t hang out as much as we could have before All Stars started. So it really blossomed after both seasons were wrapped up, but we’re still going strong. She’s gonna come and see me very soon, maybe even tomorrow, so things are going very good with Kori King.

What has it been like being in a new romantic relationship during this really hectic, busy time of your life?

It’s fascinating. I think that Kori takes it like a champ, she is built for this, and her emotional standpoint is super strong. She’s very solid in her stance, and I am as well, but I think that I sort of take little comments more seriously than she does, and I think I shouldn’t. So, it’s the most amazing thing in the world. I love having someone who’s going through the same thing as me to ride with me during all this. But I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t just a little tiny fraction of stress.

And you guys are both so popular on social media, so that must be an added level of stress.

A little bit, but I kind of love it! I kind of love it. I’m like, “Yeah, that’s my man, and y’all know it!” 

After All Stars 10, do you think that you’re going to be ready for a break from the machine that is Drag Race, or are we going to see you join the cast of season 18 too?

Oh, I’m going on season 18, I’m going on [the] vs. the World [spin-off series]. It’s gonna be Lydia B. Kollins vs. the World pretty soon, trust and believe. 

On All Stars, you reunited with Chappell Roan after opening for one of her shows last April. What was that like reuniting with her when she came on All Stars as a guest judge? 

It was awesome, it was great. I feel like I don’t even know if she had the chance to watch season 17 or if she knew what was going on, but it was very full circle. It felt like things were aligning and clicking into place exactly how they should be.

Season 17 hadn’t even premiered when you were filming All Stars at that point, so what was her reaction when she saw you there for All Stars?

Jaws were dropped, she was gagged.

Your first public drag performance was during Pride of 2021. Looking forward four years from that time in your life, did you ever think heading into Pride of 2025 that you would be a double Drag Race alumni? 

(Laughs) I mean, yes. A little part of me was like, this is the path that I was meant to take. I’ve always said that Lydia Kollins on Drag Race makes a lot of sense, but if I could go back and talk to her, I feel like that girl in 2021 would absolutely not believe me. 

What does a typical day in your life look like as Ru Girl on a currently airing Drag Race season during Pride month?

It’s a lot of business. Luckily, I have fantastic managers who help me through it all, and it’s a whirlwind. I honestly can’t even describe it. It’s a lot of preparation, a lot of making, sewing, stitching, editing, mixes and lots of fun stuff coming up, too. I’m preparing for our Butt-Toot-King tour [with Kori and Suzie] that we have coming up, and a lot of Pride shows here in Pittsburgh. It’s a lot of a lot, but I am so grateful to be stressed about it.

What has it been like performing with Kori and Suzie Toot after the show? 

That has been one of, if not my favorite, moments. We’ve just recently had our first Butt-Toot-King show in New York at 3 Dollar Bill [in Brooklyn], and it was absolutely fantastic. There were so many people at both shows, so much love was shared, and I’m just grateful to have the fans on our side — especially the lesbians.

What else is on your Pride slate this year? 

There’s so much. We have tons of shows coming up — check my Instagram story to find out. Mostly Butt-Toot-King shows coming up, Pittsburgh pride as well. There’s going to be a Pittsburgh Pride parade on June 1, and I’m going to be the Grand Marshal. And then there’s Pride on the Shore, which is happening on the 30th that is gonna be super exciting.

How are you feeling about being the Grand Marshal of Pittsburgh Pride?

I think I’m gonna have to see how I feel when it happens. I love my city so much, I’m so grateful to Pittsburgh for nurturing me and making me the drag artist that I am today. So the fact that I am going to be celebrated in this Pride parade is beyond me, it’s beyond my world.

Drag Race aside, what is your dream gig? 

Oh, I would love to be in a horror film. Of course I would like to do one-woman shows, I want to make dolls, but mainly I would love to be in a horror movie. If the director of Smile 3 is out there, put me in that movie now, please.

You’ve been vying for a spot in Smile 3 in the press a lot. Has anyone from Smile reached out yet?

No, every time they post a story on Instagram or a Reel or on TikTok, I respond to them and I say, “Hey, I’m available!” If you’ve seen the ending of Smile 2, I think it would make total sense to have a drag queen in this movie.

Looking back on your experience with RuPaul’s Drag Race and All Stars, if there was one thing that you wish you had known going into both seasons, what would that be?

I can’t speak much for All Stars 10 because I feel like I’ve applied it, but for season 17, I would just say to relax. RuPaul always says, “Don’t reinvent the wheel, the wheel is just fine,” and she’s totally right about that. You have to sort of make the wheel your own, and just have fun. I think that I was so stressed during season 17 and so full of anxiety that it hindered me a lot, and the main thing is, if you’re having fun, then they will have fun.

Are there any other pieces of advice you’ve learned from RuPaul from your time on both seasons? 

I mean, she has a plethora of quotes and life advice that I think is really valuable, that I’ve applied to my own life since before the race and after. I think the biggest piece of advice that I’ve taken is that “What other people think of you is none of your business.” It’s a very valuable quote, and I think about it constantly, and it is very true. I mean, obviously, read the comments that are full of love, accept the support, but truly at the end of the day, you just have to be strong in what your viewpoints are, and yeah, what other people think of you is none of your business.

As a very young, successful, now two-time Drag Race alumnus, what piece of advice would you give to any other young queens out there who are looking into getting into drag in this turbulent time in our political state?

I was doing drag for years and years before Drag Race, since I was a very young child, and I think the most valuable thing is to stay passionate, keep creating, keep making art. Stop for literally nothing, unless it’s hindering your life. Keep making art — art is the most important thing that I think young people have. If you can’t vote, if you can’t go out and make a difference yourself, making art is definitely something that I hold a lot of value to, and that’s what’s helped me throughout my entire life.

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Season 10 of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars is currently streaming on Paramount+. Read THR’s interview with executive producer Tom Campbell and season 17 winner Onya Nurve.