Nicki Minaj is maybe the best 'RuPaul’s Drag Race' judge ever

Ring the alarm! Season 12 of RuPaul’s Drag Race premiered Friday and it was no-holds-barred from the get-go. The contestants vying to be the last drag queen standing were pulling out all the glam stops—tucks, guts, guile, gusto, and some wicked contours—but come on, this is Drag Race so you it ain't gonna be that easy. Plus, there's a new guest judge in town and she's a queen in her own right and you better work if you want to impress her.When ‘Queen of Drag’ RuPaul stepped out, he informed the contestants that for their first big hurdle, they’d have to rap for none other than Nicki Minaj. Talk about pressure—Nicki’s anaconda don’t want none unless you got rhymes, hon.Gigi Goode, Crystal Methyd, Heidi N. Closet, Widow Von'Du, Jackie Cox, and Nicky Doll’s basically reacted how we would, mostly because everybody remembers what Nicki was like as a guest judge on American Idol (Nicki being Nicki, she ended up butting heads with rival diva Mariah Carey the entire time). And of course, she entered with a bang, spouting some fresh drips she wrote just moments before and causing seasoned professional RuPaul to lose his composure.Drag Race is mostly about the contestants though, and Nicki she showed some solidarity when she sat down with the “girls” to have a motivational chat about how her writing process is a lot like drag. “The same way that you guys are going to perfect your look over time, just doing it over and over and staying in that mirror, I do that with writing things over. I just feel like the line could always be better... and you guys can do the same thing, you know, with your clothes, with your hair, with your makeup. It’s not always going to blend in obviously right? There’s ways to stand out and still be fly. There’s ways to be funny and not be the joke.”

QUEENS SUPPORTING QUEENS! ? @NICKIMINAJ catches up with the girls backstage in Untucked ❣️ #DragRace pic.twitter.com/7Sdahw5ueD

— RuPaul's Drag Race (@RuPaulsDragRace) February 29, 2020

She went on to give them major props for putting themselves out there for the cameras and world because they are, as she put it, “putting themselves on blast.” Regular people, she said, can fail in private. “But when it’s on TV and you know it’s about to be critiqued by the internet and the whole world, it’s very, very normal to be afraid.”She capped off the uplifting group chat with a reminder that they can’t be in the race just to “be that bitch.” But it seemed like contestant Heidi N. Closet just took a DNA test and turns out, she’s 100% going for Nicki. He had the ovaries to raise his hand and ask Nicki point-blank about her commentary over his less-than-stellar runway look: “What is it you hate so much about my face?” Clearly he took Nicki’s comments about his makeup not being up to snuff to heart.

skfhksdhks nicki’s face after heidi asked her question is SENDING me lmao #dragrace pic.twitter.com/WS2BKTAxJY

— sinthia (@damnitsinn) February 29, 2020

First of all, dang. Secondly, you don’t want to mess with Nicki when she’s not feeling it (do you want a “Miley, what’s good” moment?). And third, Nicki proved that she could be an amazing permanent judge because, instead of clapping back, she combated the animosity with actual constructive criticism (and obviously a little sass).[video_embed id='1911622']RELATED: ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ judge Ross Matthews dishes on S12[/video_embed]We have no choice but to stan Nicki as one of the best Drag judges in recent history. Plus, her rap challenge inspired some crazy splits, leg-contortions, and ill rhymes. Motion to have her stay for the rest of the season. All in favour say SLAY! Since she recently announced her retirement from music, she might have the time on her hands. We're just sayin'.Watch RuPaul's Drag Race Fridays at 9:30 pET on Crave.[video_embed id='1810055']BEFORE YOU GO: Is Nicki Minaj married?[/video_embed]