"Social Media: The Unverified Rusical" is the eighth episode of the thirteenth season of the American reality competition television series RuPaul's Drag Race, which aired on VH1 on February 19, 2021. The episode's main challenge is a Rusical (musical theatre production) about social media. Choreographer Jamal Sims is a guest judge, and Anne Hathaway also makes a guest appearance.

On the runway, the category is "Yellow, Gorgeous". Rosé the winner of the main challenge. Kandy Muse and Symone place in the bottom two, but neither is eliminated from the competition.

Episode

The episode has contestants perform a Rusical about social media for the main challenge. Jamal Sims is a guest judge, alongside regular panelists RuPaul, Michelle Visage, and Ross Mathews. Anne Hathaway also makes a guest appearance.^[1]

For the Rusical, contestants record their own vocals, then dance and lip-sync on the main stage as they portray various social media platforms and other aspects of the internet. Visage assists with the vocal recording process, and choreography is provided by Sims. Following are the contestants and their roles:

• Tina Burner as Emcee and Friendster
• Rosé as Foxy, a non-social media character who sings a parody of "Don't Rain on My Parade" (1964) from Funny Girl
• Olivia Lux as "Markie Tuckenberg", inventor of Facebook
• Symone as "Miss Instaglam" (Instagram)
• Kandy Muse as "Rev. Dr. Mrs. Linked All-the-Way In" (LinkedIn)
• Elliott with 2 Ts as "Miss Toktik" (TikTok)
• Utica Queen as "Lady Tweets" (Twitter)
• Denali and Gottmik as the Russian bots Natasha and Nikita

On the runway, the category is "Yellow, Gorgeous". Tina Burner's outfit is taxi-themed. Olivia Lux wears a dress with yellow ostrich feathers, and Symone's outfit has suspenders. Kandy Muse recreates a dress made famous by Beyoncé. Elliott with 2 Ts also wears a taxi-themed outfit, and Rosé's look pays tribute to Jim Carrey in The Mask (1994). Denali wears snakes on her head, and Gottmik's outfit resembles a crash test dummy.

RuPaul names Rosé the winner of the main challenge. Kandy Muse and Symone place in the bottom two and face off in a lip-sync to "Boss" (2014) by Fifth Harmony, Symone is declared a winner but RuPaul spares Kandy Muse from being eliminated from the competition.

Production

Sims has appeared on the show several times. He was a guest judge and choreographer on the eighth season's "Bitch Perfect" (2016), the twelfth season's "Viva Drag Vegas" (2020), and the thirteenth season's "Condragulations" (2021). Additionally, he was solely guest choreographer on the seventh season's "Glamazonian Airways" (2015), the twelfth season's "Madonna: The Unauthorized Rusical" (2020), and the thirteenth season's "Gettin' Lucky" (2021). On the sixth season (2021) of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, Sims was a guest judge and choreographer on "Halftime Headliners" and solely a guest choreographer on the finale "This Is Our Country".

Reception

Kate Kulzick of The A.V. Club called the Rusical "fun, if flimsy".^[2]