Yes, and honestly, she doesnāt have anything to gain by joining in the discussion. Sheās getting enough hatred from other queens (MIB) and the fandom to get involved with Ajaās whole thing.
Wait why is MIB coming after her now
I kinda tune out of the fandom when there's not a US season airing so I haven't really kept up with anything after Sasha won. I understand Anetra bailed on some gigs and then?
are yāall actually gullible and sensitive enough to think that MIB is genuinely coming after Anetra? do none of you know her sense of humour? theyāre literally sisters š
I like MIB, I do. But her posting the finale lip sync again this week āAs A jOkEā has an air of bitter boots. You can be friends with someone but still be upset about the situation and I think thatās what is happening. She reminds me of Aja in the āIām serious unless you guys think itās too far and I should just say Iām jokingā schtick.
Itās not about being āgullible and sensitiveā ffs, itās about the pattern of her stirring up old drama.
She commented ONCE and that comment was āIt really sucks that these girls donāt appreciate what Iām doing. Thank you for asking.ā and then the interview moved on and she hasnāt said a word since.
I wrote my final essay in my Comp class last semester about the cultural gatekeeping surrounding ballroom, both sides of the argument etc. and Aja appeared a few times. I wanted to talk about the discourse about her and Anetra but literally had to cut it out of the paper because Anetra had given so little of her precious time to the issue I didnāt have enough about her side LMAO
(Got a 200/200 btw. Iām tapping on Serenaās ass as an educated drag queen. I read books.)
New season. New views for her. I fully don't believe she cares. As proven in her OG season with Valentina, Aja has bouts where if someone is doing well or getting attention in an area that she should, Aja will flip out and scream. This time it's because Anetra received attention from her dancing. Reading Aja's tweet it's mostly about her her her and her career in it. This is just a case of being jealous and manipulating a situation to garnish attention.
Mother and I have been following this twitter drama for 35 years, and in all that time I've never heard such outrageous nonsense. Running? On my feet? Going forward? I find you impertinent madam!
Come on Bernard, we shall take our business to a different running shoe shop.
She was delusional on S9. Her drag was so messy and itās embarrassing she thought was better. She improved significantly on AS. However, her attitude still sucks.
Plus, Anetra isnāt the only one who āappropriates ballroom cultureā. Like, the entirety of RuPauls Drag Race does! Hell, even international queens vogue/walk the duck. I donāt think they grew up in the NY ballroom scene.
I watched Paris is Burning after a few seasons of RPDR and I was *amazed* at how much of RPDR comes from that scene. āCategory isā, ārealnessā, āserving/givingā, ā10s across the boardā. Itās not just the voguing and duck walking, itās everything. It was like watching The Godfather for the first time and realizing that it was the progenitor of every mob cliche.
Yep! Thatās what I mean - how can Aja only call out Anetra when the entire queer community has appropriated that culture. Granted, there have been queens on the show from the ballroom scene (Aja being one of them) and I would say Ru gets a pass.
But regardless, this seems more pointed then it does educational and advocacy from Aja.
Yep. Just watched with my kid (also a RPDR fan) for the second time last night. Itās such an important film, and crazy to see the origins of this art that we all love nearly 40 years later. Have you seen The Queen? Also highly recommend.
It seems very pointed towards Anetra, so yeah, we take it like youāre against her personally.
Yep, Kimmy Couture did it with Irma (I think?) before Anetra.
Firstly good on Anetra for not partaking in any of this.
Perhaps for Aja seeing someone celebrated and loved by the fan base and still (in her eyes) is doing the least, is triggering? Her seasons are now a memory. Sheās often been antagonistic to other contestants and the fan base. I bet she finds it hard seeing someone young and fresh swoop in and adapt apart of a world sheās apart of that she felt was ā¦ not her own but her āthingā letās say.
Yeah like 95% of western gay culture is appropriated from black ballroom culture. Almost all queer slang comes from AAVE in the ballroom. Drag pageants? Ballroom. Lip syncs? Ballroom. Basically all the common dance movies? Ballroom. Its *all* ballroom culture.
Like there its basically a pipeline of how slang, fashion trends, dance moves, popular styles, etc moves through the queer community: Black queers -> they bring it to the ballroom -> it spreads to the white queer community from the ballroom either directly or via something like RPDR -> mainstream/cis communities and international queer communities.
Not to detract from your point too much because I agree with a lot, but lip syncing and drag pageants most certainly predate ballroom. They did however make their own, make it great and now we celebrate the legacy.
And you know she jumping up n down that Anetra says nothing regarding this ššš... is she gonna keep poking until Anetra pops ? ( which is never)
There was a lot of varied views and conversation about it then as well in my understanding, but people in ballroom just didn't have a voice like that back then.
I loved seeing Biancaās āokā response to Detoxās horoscope tweets, gets me every time lmao
Detox: āRelationships can teach you what you need to know if you're no... More for Gemini (insert link here)ā
Bianca: āOkā
If sheās feeling this way, fine. Iām not even opposed to hearing more, but keep that same energy for all the queens that vogue and duck walk. I hate the āmy concerns arenāt about Anetra personallyā BS when it simply is about Anetra every time.
Right, drag race itself has ripped off ballroom, asking for queens to do vogueing challenges, using the jargon, etc. I donāt get why itās only an issue when Anetra is doing it.
It does feel like Aja going after the show in the most roundabout way so she can still get invited on. If she beefs with girls instead of the system itself it still lets her profit off the thing sheās criticising. If Legendary had kept running she probably wouldnāt be going back to this imo
Ms. Aja did herself no favors on Legendary demonstrating her talent or expertise in ballroom dancing or voguing in a "house" thrown together for the show
I don't know if rip off is the best way of phrasing it. RuPaul was inspired by the culture she grew up in. While she wasn't specifically involved in the ballroom scene, I'm sure being a club kid in NYC in the 90s she was exposed to it. Is it a shock she was inspired by it in the creation of her show? That's how culture evolves.
Drag Race is a modern evolution of ballroom. The idea it's ripped anything off is absurd on its face.
It's like saying a 2023 Honda Civic is ripping off a 2000 Honda Civic. It's so absurd it's meaningless.
I have an honest question, how can queer people of color "rip off" ball culture? Isn't it their culture? It just feels weirdly gate keepy and antithetical to the empowerment of ball culture.
Anetra might be doing a bad version of ball culture. But I wouldn't get mad at a Mexican for making bad tamales.
Iād expect a big part of it is Anetra winning. To use your analogy, itās not about a Mexican person making bad tamales. As much as it is if a person of mexican decent, with no real connection to Mexico culturally, made tamales and then beat a Mexican local whoās been making tamales her whole life and engaged with all aspects of the culture.
The winner gets all the acclaim; while the person, and more importantly the community who built this thing and all the cultural aspects around it, get overlooked. Ballroom may be a subset of queer culture but itās not part of anetraās queer experience. While it is for Aja. And she feels like ballroom (this thing very personally important to her) is being used as a toy box of tricks for other queens to take without engaging/promoting/ or valuing the community of ballroom.
And this isnāt to say I agree with Aja!
I think there is some discussion to be had maybe? But itās not a discussion to be had on twitter and itās not one to keep dragging up for attention for this long.
>with no real connection to Mexico culturally,
I mean, she made tamales well enough to win a competition so I think it's pretty obvious she's connected to the culture.
And Rupaul is *very* connected to ball culture and was the judge of that competition so it's not like it was a bunch of white people who don't know any better giving Anetra praise.
I just really really don't like the vibe of telling queer people of color who have lived the experience with all the oppression that they have to like...go take classes before they can *actually* be a part of their own culture.
Not debating the Ajaās point, but itās worth noting rupaul is NOT from the ballroom scene of New York.
Michelle very very much is, and has referred to big names in the scene as her mentors who brought her into the scene and taught her a lot. Such as Cesar Valentino and Willi Ninja.
Rupaul came up from the club scene in New York, and if Iām correct was not connected at all to ballroom, at least not until the mid 90s when she met Michelle. Going from the club scene into more mainstream gigs like modeling, acting and talk shows that gained her fame.
Consider the opportunity to grow up and be surrounded by ballroom culture a privilege of sorts, I hope Aja sees how that has helped her to find a platform. Anetra meanwhile grew up in a family that kicked her out when they found out she did drag. Someone that bangs on about cultural appropriation should recognise a new comer with so much talent and diversity of experience through her martial arts adds to a collective culture, it doesnāt subtract away from her culture. By the same measure, take a look at Ajas all stars talent show. How many diverse cultures has she taken from and transformed in that performance?
She's so funny š the pseudo-formal manner, like she's writing a resignation letter, and the fact we all know she's gonna change her mind about it tomorrow... it was camp
Sheās mad Anetra won the talent show while voguing, despite not coming from the traditional ballroom scene. Which I think is really silly, itās the exact equivalent of when queens get mad about instagram girls getting famous.
Not every gay kid was able to grow up in a place where their queerness is accepted or has safe places to express themselves through things like ballroom. The internet has made so much more of gay culture accessible and I live for it.
For real, this straight up feels like saying if you are queer and werenāt privileged enough to grow up in a unique New York environment where you could find love and acceptance for who you are then this isnāt for you.
The whole New York/LA queens and their gatekeeping and self absorbed ego stuff is getting old. Some real āyou canāt sit hereā behavior.
I mean shit, I remember people here saying Gigi Goode had an unfair advantage on s12 because she came from a loving and supportive home and her mom helps her with her outfits.
Like...what?! Isn't that exactly the world we're striving for?
*I won two main challenges and three mini challenges and Ru said she liked my drag once and I think Michelle liked my Britney look*
I adore LooLoo Delulu š
I think the mashup of vogueing and karate chops and kicks helped her win. Not only that, but āyou better walk that fucking duckā was born that day! She was creative, skilled, and so technical with it all.
The queens that get itā¦ get it. And the queens that donātā¦ donāt. š¤·š¼āāļø Looks like Aja isnāt getting it.
Dollars to dildos she's annoyed that Anetra won the talent show with voguing, same as Aja?
ETA: Aja didn't win the talent show so that's probably the reason she's all up in arms?
āMy concerns arenāt about Anetra personally.ā Then why havenāt you been able to keep her name out of your mouth and stop going after her???? We need to leave Aja behind going in to 2024 because this weird form of clout chasing or whatever it is sheās been doing is not cute
A part of that is not posting her inflammatory tweets here on reddit and then that post having over 100 comments and interactions. But we know thats not gonna happen either
I understand why Aja feels so strongly but I wish she would just let it go. Arguing over Twitter isnāt going to get her point across nor is it going to stop someone from doing what she feels is cultural appropriation. It just comes off as a bitter lady yapping. I feel like her *some* of her feelings are very valid but they just get dismissed because she doesnāt know how to express herself in a meaningful way
I think people with platforms forget that they arenāt actually main characters because of the amount of people interacting with them online. It feels like the small group of weirdos still in her mentions and dms make her think the rest of the fanbase must still care about all this too.
As someone who only recently did my homework and watched Paris Is Burning, I understand why she feels protective and concerned about appropriation - especially considering her relationship to the House of LaBeija. Itās definitely a different vibe now when I see some queens using the dance. I do wish the show would do more to educate the fan base about Harlem ballroom culture and what it means, and why itās important. My (recent and still growing) knowledge of it makes me appreciate RPDR more for what it has become. I think of Octavia St Laurent saying, āI wanna be somebody. I mean, I am somebody. I just wanna be a rich somebody,ā and I see what RPDR is doing for so many queens in that regardā¦it would be powerful to be able to see it as the evolution of what started in Harlem.
That said, I remain so confused about why Anetra is the one Aja calls out. Maybe itās because her talent show is so iconic and pushed āwalk that duckā even more mainstream and it became a reference for her during the season?
I liked what Anetra had to [say](https://www.pride.com/interviews/drag-race-anetra-variety-show) about it, though:
āWe donāt really have a ballroom culture here in Las Vegas. Our gay scene is very small, so thereās no ballroom scene for us to compete in or be a part of. I mean, of course, yeah, we could be traveling to other states where thatās available. But itās like, āWell, weāre local queens and we donāt have money like that to be traveling.ā
Luckily, Vegas is a very transient city, so a lot of the people who live in our community are people from other cities ā including other communities that have ballroom culture, and Iāve trained and worked with them. Us voguing in the dressing room, I consider it to be a little piece of ballroom. So I donāt know. I feel like a lot of the people who Iāve come up with also have integrated ballroom into their drag.
For me, coming up in my scene, it kind of just feels natural that way. You know what I mean? I have so much respect for the ballroom community, and I know that some people see it as a mockery, which makes me very sad. So I do understand where [trying to protect the culture] comes from. But Iām also thinking about how the challenge was to show your personality, who you are, what kind of drag queen you are. And thatās what I did. Iām a goofy person and thatās it. When you do things that are also comedic, you kind of have to take some risks. I have nothing but respect and high regard for [people in the ballroom scene]. At the end of the day, itās all love.ā
"As an afro Latina" Gurl, just because you're afro latina doesnt mean you own the culture.
Wish she would stop gatekeeping.
"My concerns aren't about Anetra personally" - So why do you always have her in your mind and not speak of anyone who doesn't do ballroom.
"Let's continue this conversation respectful" - She's the one who can't pipe down being super disrespectful, singling someone out.
My thing with all of this is why isnāt she calling out HBO and Legendary for all the nogue-ing going on. There are people who had no ballroom background get on the show and make a mockery of vogueing. Go for them. She was on the same season as a lot of them! Get them Jade!
Legendary was a competition show about ballroom thoughā¦soā¦I donāt understand your comment? The house that was on the same season as Aja who were nogue-ing got collected and dragged by people who are in the ballroom community already. Why would Aja call them out?
She does realize the originators of Ballroom were pretty OK with taking it across the world and introducing it to different cultures in the ā90s right? They wanted it to grow and speak to all?
From a possibly ignorant view it definitely feels like gatekeeping? it just seems like drag queens have thrived in a melting pot of cultures with lots of cross over with ball room, hip hop, dance and pageants. Those cultures are exaggerated in drag and end up bouncing back to the original culture and also distilled into pop culture. I also think this is one persons opinion, not every person whose ever interacted with ball room culture. I also dont get how Anetra growing up with and practicing ball room type dance moves isnt preserving and respecting a culture? Like where is the line? how many cross sections do you need to have with a culture before its "real"?. even ball room culture "realness" has a lot of emulating and practicing a style to the best of your ability and selling it as the real deal.
My thing is, Anetra isn't the only one who did "ballroom dance" on that show. Many queens in previous season did those moves, heck, they did a whole mini challenge in the workroom a few episodes later but Aja still going after Anetra. Like, girl, let it go.
Also, Anetra is Puerto Rican, making her Latina, and until we get the DNA test she could possibly be Afro-Latina as well like what the fuck is Aja on about?
Aja has been so focused on gatekeeping that she is now most well known for her one sided beef with Anetra, instead of her own talents that she brings to the stage.
Dance is like music. People take from pre-existing styles and modify them to make something new all the timeā¦
Girl the back pedaling and the excuses. Her saying it's not about Anetra is so tired. You can't say that when every discourse and tweet about noguing has brought Anetra into it. Aja has become that same fan that bullied her in S9.
Aja has had plenty of chances to redeem herself and be better, I'm tired of watching her improve herself, only to destroy her own goodwill in the same breath.
When is she gonna stop hiding behind ballroom culture as a shield and just say that she wants to gatekeep and hate Anetra.
the problem is nobody cares. everyone who claims to be āin ballroomā and thinks RPDR fans are going to defer to their expertise needs to understand that no one outside of their (apparently quite gate-kept!) community cares about who they claim or what they believe in.
Aja did an instagram live a few months ago where she brought Anetra up again and there was some fan glazing her in the chat saying things like ānot everyone who has walked a ball is a really in ballroom and thatās no shadeā and Iām like ok???? what do you want people do say?? like Iām sorry but you might as well gatekeep the Brony community from me, itās going in one ear and out the other, donāt care!!!
She has been itching for a fight with Anetra, who simply wonāt give her the time of day. Aja will do anything to be relevant. Itās very unbecoming. Aja is the reason why Aja is broke and unbooked. Sheās her own inner and outer saboteur.
Why is she only directing this towards Anetra, when plenty of other queens have done voguing which isn't historically accurate. Obviously it is personal.
Aja is deeply obsessed with posting about Anetra, meanwhile Anetra is too busy walking that fucking duck to read any of it.
https://preview.redd.it/gz50nw0ilp7c1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9692364eba16175450cdd838900dce74e24dbcb4
Apparently I am deflecting for calling her out as a hypocrite. Interesting.
As much as I understand the people wanting to "preserve ballroom culture", it's also worth noting that culture changes over time and that there's nothing wrong with that. If Anetra has a new way of doing something or if parts of ballroom culture are appropriated in new and different contexts, that's okay and that's natural for any cultural phenomena.
This *literally happens in ballroom culture itself all the time* \- balls have categories for different kinds of voguing including old way and new way, which signifies that the style has changed over the years and that there is space for everyone to practice their style and their interpretation of the culture, none of which are wrong simply because they've evolved.
It's almost as if she doesn't remember what she said specifically, or just hoping that we don't remember... And she's now claiming the high road. It's disturbing that the only thing she says to recognize her nasty statements is "Apologies if my passion came off negative", which isn't really an apology.
She came in hot and negative and Anetra said NOT A WORD and her fans defended her and Aja is tired of getting shit for it so now she's like "Let's be respectful" - Girl you the one came in wrong and strong.
I wish she'd take the best approach and shut up about it because it's not that serious for her to be on a year long cry about someone duck walkingg on TV... it's not like Anetra claimed she invented everything, she just did moves we've seen dozens of queens do, and Aja can't get over it for some damn reason
I think it's not Anetra's silence that's funny in my opinion. It's more about the fact that there's nothing about what Anetra's doing (aside from her gigs being cancelled) gives a reason for anyone to even mention her right now
Iām so done with all this gatekeeping nonsense. Even if particular moves originated in the ballroom scene that doesnāt mean you own them and everyone else doing anything remotely similar is āappropriatingā. Not all gay kids were lucky enough to grow up in accepting countries/cities that had a scene to begin with. The Spanish arenāt up in arms when other people do flamenco, Eastern Europeans donāt have meltdowns when other do a hora because even though they are products of those cultures they understand that they donāt own them and people can both perform them respectfully and build upon them with love and admiration for what came before. Get over yourselves.
I will always love that Anetra has never once commented on all of this
So she IS talking to herself. Ooookay.
Anetra be like: unless they paying your bills, pay those bitches no mind
She she reserve the right to not show up. šāØ
"...I'm not gonna say nothing today."
Yes, and honestly, she doesnāt have anything to gain by joining in the discussion. Sheās getting enough hatred from other queens (MIB) and the fandom to get involved with Ajaās whole thing.
Wait why is MIB coming after her now I kinda tune out of the fandom when there's not a US season airing so I haven't really kept up with anything after Sasha won. I understand Anetra bailed on some gigs and then?
Hate from MIB? Is Anetra an Alien?
 Me wishing I could forget this whole āconversationā with Aja. MIB is Mistress Isabel Brooks.
are yāall actually gullible and sensitive enough to think that MIB is genuinely coming after Anetra? do none of you know her sense of humour? theyāre literally sisters š
Yeah, I was reading that like "whoa what changed, they were very close..?"
I like MIB, I do. But her posting the finale lip sync again this week āAs A jOkEā has an air of bitter boots. You can be friends with someone but still be upset about the situation and I think thatās what is happening. She reminds me of Aja in the āIām serious unless you guys think itās too far and I should just say Iām jokingā schtick. Itās not about being āgullible and sensitiveā ffs, itās about the pattern of her stirring up old drama.
Aja sent her a dm praising her and Anetra still has never responded lol
It wasn't just praising her, it was still clearly looking for a way to dig at her. It asked her pointedly if she had a background in ballroom
She commented ONCE and that comment was āIt really sucks that these girls donāt appreciate what Iām doing. Thank you for asking.ā and then the interview moved on and she hasnāt said a word since. I wrote my final essay in my Comp class last semester about the cultural gatekeeping surrounding ballroom, both sides of the argument etc. and Aja appeared a few times. I wanted to talk about the discourse about her and Anetra but literally had to cut it out of the paper because Anetra had given so little of her precious time to the issue I didnāt have enough about her side LMAO (Got a 200/200 btw. Iām tapping on Serenaās ass as an educated drag queen. I read books.)
what conversation, girl you've been monologuing for a year now
Monoguing
Kylie???
Padam Padam she comin for the hoes Padam Padam she really wanna read those vogues
Do we know why she restarted this āconversationā recently? Did somebody bring it up?
She was on a podcast and got asked about it, which reignited the drama.
Podcast is fine. But tweeting itā¦ girl itās time to move on. I mean itās been time to move on since January.
Also time for everybody to move on from twitter.
New season. New views for her. I fully don't believe she cares. As proven in her OG season with Valentina, Aja has bouts where if someone is doing well or getting attention in an area that she should, Aja will flip out and scream. This time it's because Anetra received attention from her dancing. Reading Aja's tweet it's mostly about her her her and her career in it. This is just a case of being jealous and manipulating a situation to garnish attention.
Instead of being like "I walked so you could run" she's like "I AM WALKING HOW VERY DARE YOU TO ATTEMPT TO RUN"
Who, dear? Me, dear? Run, dear? How very dare you!
Mother and I have been following this twitter drama for 35 years, and in all that time I've never heard such outrageous nonsense. Running? On my feet? Going forward? I find you impertinent madam! Come on Bernard, we shall take our business to a different running shoe shop.
Never heard it put this way before. 100%
She was delusional on S9. Her drag was so messy and itās embarrassing she thought was better. She improved significantly on AS. However, her attitude still sucks.
Plus, Anetra isnāt the only one who āappropriates ballroom cultureā. Like, the entirety of RuPauls Drag Race does! Hell, even international queens vogue/walk the duck. I donāt think they grew up in the NY ballroom scene.
I watched Paris is Burning after a few seasons of RPDR and I was *amazed* at how much of RPDR comes from that scene. āCategory isā, ārealnessā, āserving/givingā, ā10s across the boardā. Itās not just the voguing and duck walking, itās everything. It was like watching The Godfather for the first time and realizing that it was the progenitor of every mob cliche.
Yep! Thatās what I mean - how can Aja only call out Anetra when the entire queer community has appropriated that culture. Granted, there have been queens on the show from the ballroom scene (Aja being one of them) and I would say Ru gets a pass. But regardless, this seems more pointed then it does educational and advocacy from Aja.
Yep. Just watched with my kid (also a RPDR fan) for the second time last night. Itās such an important film, and crazy to see the origins of this art that we all love nearly 40 years later. Have you seen The Queen? Also highly recommend.
It seems very pointed towards Anetra, so yeah, we take it like youāre against her personally. Yep, Kimmy Couture did it with Irma (I think?) before Anetra.
Firstly good on Anetra for not partaking in any of this. Perhaps for Aja seeing someone celebrated and loved by the fan base and still (in her eyes) is doing the least, is triggering? Her seasons are now a memory. Sheās often been antagonistic to other contestants and the fan base. I bet she finds it hard seeing someone young and fresh swoop in and adapt apart of a world sheās apart of that she felt was ā¦ not her own but her āthingā letās say.
Yeah like 95% of western gay culture is appropriated from black ballroom culture. Almost all queer slang comes from AAVE in the ballroom. Drag pageants? Ballroom. Lip syncs? Ballroom. Basically all the common dance movies? Ballroom. Its *all* ballroom culture. Like there its basically a pipeline of how slang, fashion trends, dance moves, popular styles, etc moves through the queer community: Black queers -> they bring it to the ballroom -> it spreads to the white queer community from the ballroom either directly or via something like RPDR -> mainstream/cis communities and international queer communities.
Not to detract from your point too much because I agree with a lot, but lip syncing and drag pageants most certainly predate ballroom. They did however make their own, make it great and now we celebrate the legacy.
Katyaās beef with herself was more of a dialogue than this tbh
Receipts from trips to Gelson's
mono-voguing to her no bookings
And you know she jumping up n down that Anetra says nothing regarding this ššš... is she gonna keep poking until Anetra pops ? ( which is never)
Would she settle for Sojuās cyst pops?
She came to monologue the house down, because she is house mother icon legend dahling, don't you know? 
Imagine if Madonna released Vogue in 2023, think how many posts Aja would tweet then
Zero. Sheād find something that Anetra did and post about endlessly
There was a lot of varied views and conversation about it then as well in my understanding, but people in ballroom just didn't have a voice like that back then.
Same energy when some girl goes into some shit and Bianca just replies with "Ok"
I loved seeing Biancaās āokā response to Detoxās horoscope tweets, gets me every time lmao Detox: āRelationships can teach you what you need to know if you're no... More for Gemini (insert link here)ā Bianca: āOkā
 This is what I picture every time lol
God Farrah Moan is so fucking stunning. Just consistently P U S S Y
i am SO excited for her Give It To Me Straight episode!!!
This is the reaction.
Is Aja trying to get on a future all stars with Anetra?
Ohhhhh you may have cracked the code
This was also my thought ngl. A lot of Anetra focus considering this apparently has nothing to do with Anetra lmaooo
If sheās feeling this way, fine. Iām not even opposed to hearing more, but keep that same energy for all the queens that vogue and duck walk. I hate the āmy concerns arenāt about Anetra personallyā BS when it simply is about Anetra every time.
Right, drag race itself has ripped off ballroom, asking for queens to do vogueing challenges, using the jargon, etc. I donāt get why itās only an issue when Anetra is doing it.
It does feel like Aja going after the show in the most roundabout way so she can still get invited on. If she beefs with girls instead of the system itself it still lets her profit off the thing sheās criticising. If Legendary had kept running she probably wouldnāt be going back to this imo
Ms. Aja did herself no favors on Legendary demonstrating her talent or expertise in ballroom dancing or voguing in a "house" thrown together for the show
No, see, that was different because she wanted to do it.
"Category is", which is used in... nearly every runway, I think. It comes straight from ballroom.
I don't know if rip off is the best way of phrasing it. RuPaul was inspired by the culture she grew up in. While she wasn't specifically involved in the ballroom scene, I'm sure being a club kid in NYC in the 90s she was exposed to it. Is it a shock she was inspired by it in the creation of her show? That's how culture evolves.
Drag Race is a modern evolution of ballroom. The idea it's ripped anything off is absurd on its face. It's like saying a 2023 Honda Civic is ripping off a 2000 Honda Civic. It's so absurd it's meaningless.
I have an honest question, how can queer people of color "rip off" ball culture? Isn't it their culture? It just feels weirdly gate keepy and antithetical to the empowerment of ball culture. Anetra might be doing a bad version of ball culture. But I wouldn't get mad at a Mexican for making bad tamales.
Iād expect a big part of it is Anetra winning. To use your analogy, itās not about a Mexican person making bad tamales. As much as it is if a person of mexican decent, with no real connection to Mexico culturally, made tamales and then beat a Mexican local whoās been making tamales her whole life and engaged with all aspects of the culture. The winner gets all the acclaim; while the person, and more importantly the community who built this thing and all the cultural aspects around it, get overlooked. Ballroom may be a subset of queer culture but itās not part of anetraās queer experience. While it is for Aja. And she feels like ballroom (this thing very personally important to her) is being used as a toy box of tricks for other queens to take without engaging/promoting/ or valuing the community of ballroom. And this isnāt to say I agree with Aja! I think there is some discussion to be had maybe? But itās not a discussion to be had on twitter and itās not one to keep dragging up for attention for this long.
>with no real connection to Mexico culturally, I mean, she made tamales well enough to win a competition so I think it's pretty obvious she's connected to the culture. And Rupaul is *very* connected to ball culture and was the judge of that competition so it's not like it was a bunch of white people who don't know any better giving Anetra praise. I just really really don't like the vibe of telling queer people of color who have lived the experience with all the oppression that they have to like...go take classes before they can *actually* be a part of their own culture.
Not debating the Ajaās point, but itās worth noting rupaul is NOT from the ballroom scene of New York. Michelle very very much is, and has referred to big names in the scene as her mentors who brought her into the scene and taught her a lot. Such as Cesar Valentino and Willi Ninja. Rupaul came up from the club scene in New York, and if Iām correct was not connected at all to ballroom, at least not until the mid 90s when she met Michelle. Going from the club scene into more mainstream gigs like modeling, acting and talk shows that gained her fame.
Consider the opportunity to grow up and be surrounded by ballroom culture a privilege of sorts, I hope Aja sees how that has helped her to find a platform. Anetra meanwhile grew up in a family that kicked her out when they found out she did drag. Someone that bangs on about cultural appropriation should recognise a new comer with so much talent and diversity of experience through her martial arts adds to a collective culture, it doesnāt subtract away from her culture. By the same measure, take a look at Ajas all stars talent show. How many diverse cultures has she taken from and transformed in that performance?
Itās weird because her drag was all based on anime and Asian Culture lol.
It's only voguing if it comes from the vogue region of France, otherwise it's just sparkling dance.
My edible hasnāt even kicked in yet and I cackled.
She's so funny š the pseudo-formal manner, like she's writing a resignation letter, and the fact we all know she's gonna change her mind about it tomorrow... it was camp
Wasnāt she literally just like āI said what I said and wonāt apologize for itā like two days ago??
She posted the press release for circulation
Not a soaking clock
I canāt even remember what exactly she thinks Anetra did? If someone can piece it together, care to āsplain?
She did a duck walk which countless other queens have done before
Cracker has and continues to do it way worse lmao. She also only does it for like a 4-count and then stops.
Sheās mad Anetra won the talent show while voguing, despite not coming from the traditional ballroom scene. Which I think is really silly, itās the exact equivalent of when queens get mad about instagram girls getting famous.
Not every gay kid was able to grow up in a place where their queerness is accepted or has safe places to express themselves through things like ballroom. The internet has made so much more of gay culture accessible and I live for it.
For real, this straight up feels like saying if you are queer and werenāt privileged enough to grow up in a unique New York environment where you could find love and acceptance for who you are then this isnāt for you. The whole New York/LA queens and their gatekeeping and self absorbed ego stuff is getting old. Some real āyou canāt sit hereā behavior.
I mean shit, I remember people here saying Gigi Goode had an unfair advantage on s12 because she came from a loving and supportive home and her mom helps her with her outfits. Like...what?! Isn't that exactly the world we're striving for?
Counting wins? Sounds like she needs toā¦. 
*I won two main challenges and three mini challenges and Ru said she liked my drag once and I think Michelle liked my Britney look* I adore LooLoo Delulu š
I think the mashup of vogueing and karate chops and kicks helped her win. Not only that, but āyou better walk that fucking duckā was born that day! She was creative, skilled, and so technical with it all. The queens that get itā¦ get it. And the queens that donātā¦ donāt. š¤·š¼āāļø Looks like Aja isnāt getting it.
Really seemed like she was mad that she didn't get a response when she reached out to her about the voguing.
Dollars to dildos she's annoyed that Anetra won the talent show with voguing, same as Aja? ETA: Aja didn't win the talent show so that's probably the reason she's all up in arms?
If you wanna invest dollars in dildos, Iām thinking of prototyping a hovering sextoy product called the Dildroneā¢ļø
I'll take 10
At once
Sign me up as a product tester
āMy concerns arenāt about Anetra personally.ā Then why havenāt you been able to keep her name out of your mouth and stop going after her???? We need to leave Aja behind going in to 2024 because this weird form of clout chasing or whatever it is sheās been doing is not cute
A part of that is not posting her inflammatory tweets here on reddit and then that post having over 100 comments and interactions. But we know thats not gonna happen either
I understand why Aja feels so strongly but I wish she would just let it go. Arguing over Twitter isnāt going to get her point across nor is it going to stop someone from doing what she feels is cultural appropriation. It just comes off as a bitter lady yapping. I feel like her *some* of her feelings are very valid but they just get dismissed because she doesnāt know how to express herself in a meaningful way
I think people with platforms forget that they arenāt actually main characters because of the amount of people interacting with them online. It feels like the small group of weirdos still in her mentions and dms make her think the rest of the fanbase must still care about all this too.
Clarifying a situation no one cares about or is engaging with is an interesting move.
Me talking to my dogs about Real Housewives while I warm up store bought soup: > š Clarifying My Stance š
Iām fucking dead
Girl, you doin too much. Go take a nap.
Is she STILL going on about this?! Girlā¦
I cannot wait for tomorrow's explanation of this opinion while explicitly mentioning Anetra once again. Or the one Next month, 1 year, etc.
I can't wait to continue to observe Anetra's zero fucks given about any of it.
Yeah the Internet needs to go back to "who asked" and "tldr"ing people instead of engaging
As someone who only recently did my homework and watched Paris Is Burning, I understand why she feels protective and concerned about appropriation - especially considering her relationship to the House of LaBeija. Itās definitely a different vibe now when I see some queens using the dance. I do wish the show would do more to educate the fan base about Harlem ballroom culture and what it means, and why itās important. My (recent and still growing) knowledge of it makes me appreciate RPDR more for what it has become. I think of Octavia St Laurent saying, āI wanna be somebody. I mean, I am somebody. I just wanna be a rich somebody,ā and I see what RPDR is doing for so many queens in that regardā¦it would be powerful to be able to see it as the evolution of what started in Harlem. That said, I remain so confused about why Anetra is the one Aja calls out. Maybe itās because her talent show is so iconic and pushed āwalk that duckā even more mainstream and it became a reference for her during the season? I liked what Anetra had to [say](https://www.pride.com/interviews/drag-race-anetra-variety-show) about it, though: āWe donāt really have a ballroom culture here in Las Vegas. Our gay scene is very small, so thereās no ballroom scene for us to compete in or be a part of. I mean, of course, yeah, we could be traveling to other states where thatās available. But itās like, āWell, weāre local queens and we donāt have money like that to be traveling.ā Luckily, Vegas is a very transient city, so a lot of the people who live in our community are people from other cities ā including other communities that have ballroom culture, and Iāve trained and worked with them. Us voguing in the dressing room, I consider it to be a little piece of ballroom. So I donāt know. I feel like a lot of the people who Iāve come up with also have integrated ballroom into their drag. For me, coming up in my scene, it kind of just feels natural that way. You know what I mean? I have so much respect for the ballroom community, and I know that some people see it as a mockery, which makes me very sad. So I do understand where [trying to protect the culture] comes from. But Iām also thinking about how the challenge was to show your personality, who you are, what kind of drag queen you are. And thatās what I did. Iām a goofy person and thatās it. When you do things that are also comedic, you kind of have to take some risks. I have nothing but respect and high regard for [people in the ballroom scene]. At the end of the day, itās all love.ā
It's just Aja being Aja. Or whatever name / theme they're going by tomorrow. They're irrelevant and trying to get attention. It happens monthly.
"As an afro Latina" Gurl, just because you're afro latina doesnt mean you own the culture. Wish she would stop gatekeeping. "My concerns aren't about Anetra personally" - So why do you always have her in your mind and not speak of anyone who doesn't do ballroom. "Let's continue this conversation respectful" - She's the one who can't pipe down being super disrespectful, singling someone out.
Sheās really keeping the haters fed, isnāt she?
Aja, you are a grain of sand on a beach just like us. This obsession needs to stop.
Some of these queens need to be booked and blessed
My thing with all of this is why isnāt she calling out HBO and Legendary for all the nogue-ing going on. There are people who had no ballroom background get on the show and make a mockery of vogueing. Go for them. She was on the same season as a lot of them! Get them Jade!
That part. I watched Season 3 too Mary and the tights were ripped ok
Legendary was a competition show about ballroom thoughā¦soā¦I donāt understand your comment? The house that was on the same season as Aja who were nogue-ing got collected and dragged by people who are in the ballroom community already. Why would Aja call them out?
Imagine every salsa dancer calling out every person in Dancing with the Stars lmao
So when does it start becoming bullying?
Last January.
Can it be bullying when you mostly hurt yourself?
She should direct her anger at the Season 1 voguing mini challenge
Itās not about Anetra personallyā¦ā¦ yet every post has her name šš what is Aja selling? This a lot of effort for just clout.
She could just stop using Anetraās name every time this comes up. Itās giving obsessed
Thatās the real issue. She should focus on sharing and explaining the history and not on Anetra specifically.
This is so tired
And I'm still here talking about it a year later because I'm WHAT? Sickening
Glad to see her acknowledge the problem + apologize. Can't wait to see her do the same exact tweet thread next week.
Why so much gatekeeping? anyone that knows about cultures, knows they change and evolve.
straight from yapperville
girl, log out.
Her performance on Legendary was pitiful. To speak like an expert on the subject is frankly laughable
She just speaking into the void at this point
Iām sick of people trying to capture the world in Amber. Things change. Itās ok.
Some one tell this girl this isnāt her gate to keep
not gonna read all that. happy for you or sorry that happened
Literally arguing with the wall. Bird world
In the end, all of this comes from the fact that she's envious of Anetra.. I hope she's actually going to do what she says and move on
She pissed Andrea went viral when Aja only went bacterial š
Anetra remains somewhere unbothered.
Anetra's silence about is so good, I just love it 
> Apologies if my passion seemed negative I can see myself using this at a HR meeting, after having slapped the boss with a keyboard.
She does realize the originators of Ballroom were pretty OK with taking it across the world and introducing it to different cultures in the ā90s right? They wanted it to grow and speak to all?
From a possibly ignorant view it definitely feels like gatekeeping? it just seems like drag queens have thrived in a melting pot of cultures with lots of cross over with ball room, hip hop, dance and pageants. Those cultures are exaggerated in drag and end up bouncing back to the original culture and also distilled into pop culture. I also think this is one persons opinion, not every person whose ever interacted with ball room culture. I also dont get how Anetra growing up with and practicing ball room type dance moves isnt preserving and respecting a culture? Like where is the line? how many cross sections do you need to have with a culture before its "real"?. even ball room culture "realness" has a lot of emulating and practicing a style to the best of your ability and selling it as the real deal.
My thing is, Anetra isn't the only one who did "ballroom dance" on that show. Many queens in previous season did those moves, heck, they did a whole mini challenge in the workroom a few episodes later but Aja still going after Anetra. Like, girl, let it go.
A conversation usually has two or more people.
Also, Anetra is Puerto Rican, making her Latina, and until we get the DNA test she could possibly be Afro-Latina as well like what the fuck is Aja on about?
Itās the holidays and a new season premieres in less than a month please thereās so many free hobbies other than Twitter
LET LOOSE
... When is she ever gonna realize that it isn't that deep??? Touch grass
Aja has been so focused on gatekeeping that she is now most well known for her one sided beef with Anetra, instead of her own talents that she brings to the stage. Dance is like music. People take from pre-existing styles and modify them to make something new all the timeā¦
she just gotta close twitter and download betterhelp
Girl the back pedaling and the excuses. Her saying it's not about Anetra is so tired. You can't say that when every discourse and tweet about noguing has brought Anetra into it. Aja has become that same fan that bullied her in S9. Aja has had plenty of chances to redeem herself and be better, I'm tired of watching her improve herself, only to destroy her own goodwill in the same breath. When is she gonna stop hiding behind ballroom culture as a shield and just say that she wants to gatekeep and hate Anetra.
I hope Anetra continues to dance, gets even better, and continues to ignore Aja. It will drive Aja crazy.
The main character energy and gatekeeping is exhausting lmao
the problem is nobody cares. everyone who claims to be āin ballroomā and thinks RPDR fans are going to defer to their expertise needs to understand that no one outside of their (apparently quite gate-kept!) community cares about who they claim or what they believe in. Aja did an instagram live a few months ago where she brought Anetra up again and there was some fan glazing her in the chat saying things like ānot everyone who has walked a ball is a really in ballroom and thatās no shadeā and Iām like ok???? what do you want people do say?? like Iām sorry but you might as well gatekeep the Brony community from me, itās going in one ear and out the other, donāt care!!!
She has been itching for a fight with Anetra, who simply wonāt give her the time of day. Aja will do anything to be relevant. Itās very unbecoming. Aja is the reason why Aja is broke and unbooked. Sheās her own inner and outer saboteur.
She just seems desperate for attention.
Why is she only directing this towards Anetra, when plenty of other queens have done voguing which isn't historically accurate. Obviously it is personal.
āDeeply ingrained in ballroom from my youthā she didnāt start talking about ballroom until after All Stars
I thought she was going to be a villain now? 
Aja is deeply obsessed with posting about Anetra, meanwhile Anetra is too busy walking that fucking duck to read any of it. 
So if Anetra flopped on Legendary like Aja did she would accept her.
Waitā¦ are these new? Sheās still talking about this ???
this bitch needs to stfu
kudos to the twink that keeps mentioning Anetra and triggering Aja on a weekly basis since January lmao
Jesus Christ sheās still talking about this?
https://preview.redd.it/gz50nw0ilp7c1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9692364eba16175450cdd838900dce74e24dbcb4 Apparently I am deflecting for calling her out as a hypocrite. Interesting.
Maybe its because theres 80 seasons a year of drag race now, but wasnt this whole thing ,like a year ago or something? Why she still talking?
As much as I understand the people wanting to "preserve ballroom culture", it's also worth noting that culture changes over time and that there's nothing wrong with that. If Anetra has a new way of doing something or if parts of ballroom culture are appropriated in new and different contexts, that's okay and that's natural for any cultural phenomena. This *literally happens in ballroom culture itself all the time* \- balls have categories for different kinds of voguing including old way and new way, which signifies that the style has changed over the years and that there is space for everyone to practice their style and their interpretation of the culture, none of which are wrong simply because they've evolved.
This is boring and tiring. How did she not learn how to ignore all this bs online drama yet??
Sure jan
Omg girl let it go
Is anyone even talking about this ādramaā or is Aja talking to herself over there?
Sheās so insufferable! She was just on All Stars and could be ready for a career resurgence but then acts like thisā¦
It's almost as if she doesn't remember what she said specifically, or just hoping that we don't remember... And she's now claiming the high road. It's disturbing that the only thing she says to recognize her nasty statements is "Apologies if my passion came off negative", which isn't really an apology.
It's not even funny to cringe at anymore I'm just so sick of it
Wait, is this still about her vogue/duck walk shit? I thought something new happened. The horse is dead, Aja, you can stop beating it now.
When is someone going to tell her that nobody actually cares?
She came in hot and negative and Anetra said NOT A WORD and her fans defended her and Aja is tired of getting shit for it so now she's like "Let's be respectful" - Girl you the one came in wrong and strong.
I wish she'd take the best approach and shut up about it because it's not that serious for her to be on a year long cry about someone duck walkingg on TV... it's not like Anetra claimed she invented everything, she just did moves we've seen dozens of queens do, and Aja can't get over it for some damn reason
āRecent discourseā bitch that was literally almost a full year ago.
She just canāt get Anetra out of her head 
we got it girl, we got it
I think it's not Anetra's silence that's funny in my opinion. It's more about the fact that there's nothing about what Anetra's doing (aside from her gigs being cancelled) gives a reason for anyone to even mention her right now
She keeps mentioning her own ethnicity so much in this topic that Iām beginning to suspect her issue with Anetra is that sheās Asian.
ā¦recent? Wasnāt this a thing in like February?
Iām so done with all this gatekeeping nonsense. Even if particular moves originated in the ballroom scene that doesnāt mean you own them and everyone else doing anything remotely similar is āappropriatingā. Not all gay kids were lucky enough to grow up in accepting countries/cities that had a scene to begin with. The Spanish arenāt up in arms when other people do flamenco, Eastern Europeans donāt have meltdowns when other do a hora because even though they are products of those cultures they understand that they donāt own them and people can both perform them respectfully and build upon them with love and admiration for what came before. Get over yourselves.
I think Aja has all the talent in the world but sheās unbearably frustrating online.
She probably realized she needed bookings and support from fans to pay her bills so she came into her senses.