The Sixth Eliminated Queen from “RuPaul’s Drag Race”: “I Hate ‘Snatch Game’!”

We wait every year on RuPaul’s Drag Race for the return of “Snatch Game,” the phenomenally gaudy send-up of Match Game, where the queens parody celebrities, and this year’s exhibition was damn loony. Jinkx Monsoon triumphed as Little Edie Bouvier thanks to a dead-on voice performance, and Alaska‘s strange, but spirited version of Lady Bunny was just as dynamic. However, some queens flailed before guest-judges Julie Brown and Downtown Julie Brown (yes, both MTV legends were present), and one such underachiever was Lineysha Sparx, the Puerto Rican looker who couldn’t quite sell her impersonation of Celia Cruz. In a final lip-sync against Detox, Lineysha’s sass was no match for Detox’s unforgettably bizarre, jaw-quavering take on Cher.

We spoke briefly to Lineysha, a.k.a. 24-year-old Andy Trinidad, about her time on the show and discussed the problems with language barriers and attempting comedy.

AfterElton: I loved your runway presentation in the first challenge. How did you come up with the concept for that “trash” dress?
Lineysha Sparks: Well, when I have an idea in my crazy mind, I try to make it no matter what. When I saw the wallpaper in the trashcan, I thought to make my look with it.

AE: Were you intimidated by the other queens when you began on the show?
LS: One of the things [that helped me] when I got into the workroom, I didn’t know who everyone was. The only girl I met before the show was Roxxy Andrews, but really I didn’t know that Roxxy Andrews was a pageant girl, or anything about Alyssa or Coco Montrese. Or that Detox was in the different videos for artists like Ke$ha and Rihanna. But because I didn’t know who everybody [was], that made me feel comfortable because I didn’t feel intimidated by anyone, you know?

AE: You were fantastic as Tyra Sanchez in episode two. Did you think that would be a good challenge for you?
LS: I knew that if I could [rely on] my hair, clothes, and makeup, I can do a good job. But in some other aspects, I have limitations — the language, the English, and everything. And maybe [it’s difficult] because the English is so different in different places in the United States. Like when RuPaul says, “Can I get an amen?” That’s not really an “amen” from the church, you know what I mean, right? The people can’t understand that when I speak Spanish, it’s not the same in English. When I’m reading people, it’s not going to mean the same thing. It’s hard! It’s one of my limitations. For the lip-sync, we don’t have to time to learn or improvise something. We have to be on point every time. It’s hard! It’s very hard. But in the lip-sync, you just have to learn the sounds and learn the movements of your mouth. Hard, but very interesting to do that.

AE: You must’ve been intimidated by “Snatch Game.” You need to be so quick, particularly with langauge.
LS: Exactly. I really hate that game! That’s a game you can play just to be safe, or you can try to be one of the best. I really think my character [suffered from] limitations in the language, and the comedy is so hard. I thought of doing Michelle Obama, but I decided to choose something that could make me safe. Maybe as Michelle Obama I could look great, but it would be so hard.

AE: Your last lip-sync against Detox was actually very well done. Are you sad to leave?
LS: Yes. For real! I wish I had more time on the show. But I’m OK. I think I’m happy, I did a good job, and I liked my looks on the runway always. Everybody who knows me and all my fans, they feel, like, very happy. I’m happy with this.