Pangina Heals on Asian representation in ‘DRPH: Slaysian Royale:’ ‘A long time coming’

For Pangina Heals, host of “Drag Race Thailand” and guest judge on “Drag Race Philippines: Slaysian Royale,” seeing an all-Asian season is something she hopes to see more of in mainstream media.

Speaking at a Bekenemen viewing party hosted by Baus Rufo and Myx Chanel on Wednesday night at Apotheka, Pangina said Asian representation “has been a long time coming for us.”

“We have not been seen in the media for so long. We have not seen what we look like represented in the mainstream media growing up,” she said.

“For me, to see not just queer people but the people who look similar to me do what I love represented in a show in such a beautiful, different variety of shades, it’s like a dream come true." 

As a guest judge in the “Holy Cacao” and “Rusical” episodes, the Thai drag star was praised for her constructive and fair critiques.

“This is our way of showing love,” she said. “[My critiques] are coming from a place where I want them to be better, I see something that they can still fix.”

She added that this season has been especially tough to judge because “everyone is so talented and so great.”

The “Rusical” episode saw Arizona Brandy win after having landed in the bottom during the “Holy Cacao” challenge.

Pangina previously competed in “RuPaul’s Drag Race: UK vs. the World in 2022,” finishing in sixth place.

"Drag Race Philippines: Slaysian Royale" streams every Wednesday exclusively on WOW Presents Plus.

—CDC, GMA Integrated News