RuPaul is back, back, back, back, back to the Emmys once again, as the legendary drag icon has sashayed to a new TV Academy record for his hosting duties on RuPaul’s Drag Race.
On Wednesday morning, Mother Ru joined Project Runway’s Heidi Klum and Dancing With the Stars’ Tom Bergeron as the most-nominated hosts in Emmys history, with the 63-year-old’s ninth consecutive nod for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Competition Program bringing him into the elite group.
RuPaul’s consecutive achievements in the category also set a record, as no other host nominee has been honored nine years in a row in the bracket. Klum and Bergeron are no longer hosting the shows for which they earned their nominations.
“10s, 10s, 10s across the board. Thank you Academy members for recognizing the love and hard work that our amazing cast and crew put into every episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race,” RuPaul said of his latest nomination in a statement. “Condragulations to our fellow nominees for making this a great year for television.”
Overall, the RuPaul’s Drag Race franchise earned 10 new nominations on Emmys morning, bringing its collective number of nods to 85 s ince it first aired in 2009. In addition to RuPaul, the show was nominated for Outstanding Reality Competition Program — an award it has won five times in the past. The show also extended its streak with the record for the most nominations for Outstanding Casting for a Reality Program, as well as the record for most nominations for Outstanding Unstructured Reality for its Untucked companion show.
Additionally, longtime Drag Race choreographer Jamal Sims was nominated for Outstanding Choreography for Variety or Reality Programming for his work on the show, which marks the first time Drag Race has appeared in the category.
Atop airing its current All Stars 9 edition, Drag Race season 16 ended in April with the crowning of the show’s first East Asian winner in Nymphia Wind, who hails from Taiwan.
“As an Asian kid brought up in Asia, we’re not taught to be vocal or voice ourselves. We’re taught to be subtle, quiet, and keep to ourselves,” Nymphia exclusively told Entertainment Weekly in her first coronation interview. “You have to remember to acknowledge the good and the bad and see it as a whole. When you have those bad days, remember the good days are going to come. The bad days aren’t forever. Be graceful, and know that people are out there just like you, even if they may seem confident in themselves.”
RuPaul remains the most-decorated Black artist in Emmys history, with 13 total Emmy victories to his name.