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Gia Gunn

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Gia Gunn is an American drag performer from Carpentersville, Illinois. She is best known for being a contestant on Season 6 of RuPaul's Drag Race, where she placed 10th, and on All Stars 4 where she placed 8th.

Gia also competed on the second season of The Switch Drag Race, the Chilean spin-off of RuPaul's Drag Race, where she placed as Runner-Up.

Quick Answers

What season of RuPaul's Drag Race did Gia Gunn first compete in? toggle section
Gia Gunn made her initial appearance on RuPaul's Drag Race in Season 6. She later returned for All Stars Season 4 and also competed in The Switch Season 2.
Provided by: Fandom
What is Gia Gunn's real name? toggle section
The legal name of the American-Japanese drag queen Gia Gunn is now Gia. Her drag name was influenced by supermodel Gia Carangi and Tim Gunn of Project Runway. She announced her transgender identity on Trans Visibility Day 2017.
Provided by: Fandom
In which spin-off of RuPaul's Drag Race did Gia Gunn compete? toggle section
American drag performer Gia Gunn participated in multiple spin-offs of RuPaul's Drag Race. She competed in Season 6 and All Stars 4, securing 10th and 8th places respectively. Gia also took part in The Switch Drag Race's second season, a Chilean spin-off, where she finished as runner-up.
Provided by: Fandom
What is Gia Gunn's ethnicity? toggle section
Gia Gunn, known for her participation in RuPaul's Drag Race, identifies as Japanese American. Born on May 10, 1990, she originates from Carpentersville, IL, USA, and currently lives in Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Provided by: Fandom
When did Gia Gunn publicly come out as transgender? toggle section
In 2017, on Trans Visibility Day, Gia Gunn publicly declared her transgender identity. She is known for her association with the Haus of Edwards and is the drag daughter of Alyssa Edwards.
Provided by: Fandom

Drag Name Origin[]

Gia came from the supermodel Gia Carangi and the movie Gia. Her last name originated from Tim Gunn Project Runway.[citation needed]

Track Records[]

Statistics USA Season 6 The Switch
Season 2 		USA All Stars
Season 4
Ranking: 10th Place 2nd-4th Place
(Runner-Up) 		8th Place
Maxi Challenges Won: 0 5 (Week 1, 2, 4, 9, 11) 0
Mini Challenges Won: 0 3 (Ep. 11, 20, 23) 0
Times as Team Captain: 0 4 0
Times in Bottom: 1 (Ep. 5) 1 (Week 6) 1 (Ep. 3)
Episode Eliminated: Episode 5 Episode 31 Episode 3

Biography[]

Gia Ichikawa was born on May 10, 1990 into a Japanese-American family. She grew up in a small diverse town in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago in Carpentersville, Illinois, United States. At the age of five years old, Ichikawa had made her stage debut.

After completing her high school education, she enrolled in a cosmetology school, where Ichikawa had received her cosmetology license. Soon after moving to Chicago, United States, she had observed numerous drag shows. Possibly being influenced by the observation of the numerous drag shows, Ichikawa had decided to perform herself and became a headlining drag performer.

She auditioned for Logo TV's reality television series RuPaul's Drag Race whilst Ichikawa was working in the hair industry full-time and performed as Gia Gunn by evening.

She also appeared in Mega's second season of The Switch Drag Race, the Chilean version of RuPaul's Drag Race.

Memorable Quotes[]

RuPaul's Drag Race Season 6[]

  • "Just got off the boat, you know, little trip from Asia. Just landed like fresh tilapia." (entrance quote)
  • "Gia's a fishy girl, she's C.C.C.: Crazy, cuckoo, c*nt!"
  • "7 of us? I mean is there no budget this time around?"
  • "It's Season 6 honey and shits getting gaggy"
  • "How is she though?"
  • "My name's Gia Gunn. I don't jump guns, I am the boom boom gun."
  • "I don't like messy queens, I don't like cheap queens and I don't like manly queens."
  • "You are very versatile im sure"
  • "And no shade no tea, im just letting you know."
  • "Gag me with a Delorean!"
  • "Feelin' like pussy, feelin' like c*nt!"
  • "I'm feeling my oats, let me feel my ooooooooats!"
  • "You ladyboy? You ladyboy?"
  • "Absolutelyyy!"
  • "What's a Tony?"
  • "Bitch, are you fucking kidding me right now? You look like a fucking dumpster."
  • "You should have been read for that hair, but you weren't, so..."
  • "Well you girls... look good." (when meeting the other group in Episode 3)
  • "I didn't quite cough like a man." (to Courtney Act)
  • "This is the moment that counts." (to Laganja Estranja in Untucked)
  • "YES. BITCH. WERK!" (to Laganja Estranja's entrance)
  • "Oh, you know, I'm still, like, having some morning-after stuff...you know, like throwing up and stuff after the pregnancy, but everything should be okay." (as Kim Kardashian during the Snatch Game.)
  • "Honey, just because nobody's interested in your style because it looks like it came from the fucking Quinceañera store."
  • "My God, there's... room for everybody, let's just say that!" (about Darienne Lake)
  • "You guys are all still dudes" (exit line)

The Switch Drag Race Season 2[]

RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Season 4[]

  • "Step aside boys, 'cause the real queen is here." (entrance quote)
  • "That little beautiful bitch was lucky today." (about Farrah Moan)
  • "Do your makeup and get ready, cause according to your team you're the weakest link." (to Farrah Moan)
  • "Honey, I'm here for an opportunity just like you are."
  • "Oh sweetie, I'm very secure, are you secure?"
  • "Well you're Caucasian... you got a fucked-up nose like her." (to Trinity The Tuck)
  • "Well what you wanna do, isn't necessarily what you're gonna do." (to Trinity The Tuck)
  • "What privilege!"
  • "I don't think tucking is a talent." (to Trinity The Tuck)
  • "Girl, soak what up? I mean, maybe some of that sweat on that forehead." (referring to Monét X Change)
  • "This is a place for legends."
  • "For those of you who don't know me, I put the T in the LGB. Don't worry about what you call me, 'cause I know who I be. I'm a woman who does drag but don't confuse me with those hags. Be the best you and I'll be the best that I can be. Yes, gawd!" (verse in Don't Funk It Up)

Trivia[]

  • Gia Gunn came out as transgender on Trans Visibility Day 2017.[citation needed]
  • Gia's drag mother is Aly Gunn, a Chicago nightlife personality. She also considers Alyssa Edwards an adoptive drag mother, and has performed with the Haus of Edwards.[citation needed]
  • Gia has a drag daughter named Jake Warden.[citation needed]
  • Gia is the first queen to be booted on Fashion Photo Ruview.[citation needed]
  • On April 20, 2017, she announced via X that she had legally changed her name to Gia.[citation needed]
  • Gia Gunn won a beauty pageant known as Miss Roscoe's back in 2013.[citation needed]
  • Gia lives with her drag sister and fellow RuPaul's Drag Race Season 6 contestant Laganja Estranja. Together they form the drag duo, #TeamTooMuch.[citation needed]
  • Gia is a frequent guest on Kimora Blac's show Wait, What?.[citation needed]
  • Gia is the third member of the Haus of Edwards to compete on RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, after Alyssa Edwards and Shangela.
  • Gia and Kandy Ho are the only contestants from the RuPaul's Drag Race to compete on The Switch Drag Race.
  • On All Stars 4...
    • Gia became the fourth contestant to compete as a transgender woman after Sonique, Monica Beverly Hillz & Peppermint.
    • Gia is the first contestant to come back to an All Stars season as a trans woman, thus making her the first transgender All Star.
    • Gia became the first queen to be eliminated twice on Snatch Game.
    • Her All Stars 4 elimination got leaked due to it being added to WowPresents+ by accident. It was removed hours later.[citation needed]
  • Before she officially did drag, she actually performed "Kabuki" at the age of 7.[citation needed]

Controversies[]

After the airing of All Stars 4's Snatch Game, Gia's performance as Jenny Bui was crticized by not only the judges but by Bui herself. Gia's biggest critique by the judges, especially Michelle Visage, was portraying a survivor of Cambodian persecution as Japanese and playing into Japanese stereotypes. Jenny Bui commented on it, saying on Instagram, "I'm honored to be featured on last nights episode of @Rupaulofficial ❤️. Unfortunately that's not my accent, and the only thing off the boat is the "fresh" tilapia that you are allegedly serving. 💅🏾"[3][4]

On June 26 2020, after the beginning of the Coronavirus Pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 (commonly known as Covid-19 or coronavirus), Gia caused major controversy online saying "I think the whole mask thing is f–king ridiculous, I honestly think this whole COVID-19 thing is a hoax. I think everybody who is, you know, taking precautions is cute and it’s definitely the thing to do, but I also think a lot of people are brainwashed. I think the more and more that we look around and see each other with masks on, the more influenced we are going to be to also put our masks on, which then to me, insinuates that everything is not ok. I’m here to tell you guys that I think things are more okay than the government is allowing you to think." Gia recieved major backlash from fans with one person saying "The 120,000+ dead Americans don’t agree with Gia. But okay girl. Act a fool." This response has since been deleted.[5][6]

In July 2021, Gia confirmed she tested positive for Covid-19, tweeting "I just tested positive for Covid. Put on your fucking masks!!" This tweet recieved major backlash and a majority negative responses. Drag Race alum Mrs. Kasha Davis responded "Is this tweet a hoax? Is covid a hoax like you’ve previously said??? OR is it just NOW important because it’s affecting you? I truly hope you feel better both with covid symptoms and your ego adjustment. 🙏🏻💋" Other responses included "Queen of getting Covid yassss !!!!" and "Sounds like you haven’t been putting yours on! 💁🏾‍♀️" Gia since recovered from Covid.[7][8][9][10]

On January 8, 2022, the day after the Season 14 premiere, Gia tweeted, "So happy to see a trans person on an actual season of drag race 🏳️‍⚧️ The doors that I’ve opened…" in reference to Kerri Colby. This tweet sparked mild controversy but largely became the subject of trolling from fans and contestants alike. Notably, Season 13 contestant Gottmik tweeted, "I love my fake season" and All Stars 6 Winner Kylie Sonique Love tweeted a GIF of her in the confessionals of All Stars 6 pointing to herself. Gia responded to Gottmik's tweet saying "let me clarify…trans WOMEN" but did not respond to Kylie. Since then, "The doors Gia's opened" has become a meme in the Drag Race Fandom.[11][12][13]

On May 16, 2022, after DragCon 2022, Gia tweeted "Say what you want but I saw 0 beauty at this year’s dragcon…what happened to the glamour? 🤷🏻‍♀️" The tweet received major backlash from Drag Race queens. Canada's Drag Race Season 2 contestant Océane Aqua-Black responded "I think this tweet is a little bit hurtful and i say that with respect towards, you without attacking you. I put a lot of effort in my drag for my first DragCon like many people. I even waved at you and you passed me by and ignored me totally." Eve 6000 responded to Océane with "Babe gia is one of "those" girls like the other one you told me about lol… they don’t see it for ppl like us. Their loss." Queen of the Universe Season 1's Ada Vox responded to Gia "Damn… you saw everyone not serving beauty or glamour & I didn’t even know you were there… guess it’s better to be noticed and "unglamorous" than beautiful and invisible." Some queens took an ironic response to the tweet. Season 7 and All Stars 3's Trixie Mattel responded "Gia please never change lol," while Season 5 and All Stars 2's Alaska responded "BRING BACK THE ERA OF GLAMOUR" with the infamous Vulture photoshoot. Nicky Doll responded "Oh girl please" to which Gia responded "You were one of the beauties my love!" The next day, Gia tweeted "Just a friendly reminder what glamour actually looks like 🥰 Your welcome. Have a nice day X!" with a photo of herself. The tweet received some backlash.[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]

On July 9, 2024, Gia did an interview with Matt Cullen where she doubled down on her being the first trans woman to appear on RuPaul's Drag Race. She said that she felt that she was brought into All Stars 4 to do janitorial work after RuPaul made transphobic comments and that her edit was not representative of how she was. Of being the first trans woman on Drag Race, she said that "the girls don't wanna give me that title, and that's ok." She said when she watched Kylie and Peppermint on Drag Race, she "saw boy." She said of Kylie, "well she was a boy," and that Kylie and Carmen Carerra were "doing interviews as boys."[22] She later posted on X saying "I’m not here to judge or put anyone down. All transitions are valid but I know what I’m saying and you may disagree but isn’t that the beauty of life? Having different opinions and learning from each other. Now you tell me…who was the first girl to present as female?" followed by a collage of herself, Kylie Sonique Love, Carmen Carrera, Kenya Michaels, Monica Beverly Hillz, and Peppermint in their confessional looks. However, she used her All Stars photo instead of her Season 6 photo.[23] Bob The Drag Queen responded to this saying, "It's not too late to delete this. You can do it. You can support yourself in your remarkable transition without slinging any mud."[24] Another user commented "Let's ask the audience?" followed by Gia's Season 6 confessional look.[25]

Gallery[]

RuPaul's Drag Race Season 6[]

RuPaul's Drag Race Season 6 Looks[]

The Switch Drag Race Season 2[]

The Switch Drag Race Season 2 Looks[]

RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Season 4[]

RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Season 4 Looks[]

Videos[]

RuPaul's Drag Race[]

The Switch Drag Race[]

External Links[]

References[]

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