The producers of Canada’s Drag Race, the northern spinoff of RuPaul’s Drag Race, have announced that actor Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman will not return to the show next season.
In an Instagram announcement, fellow judges Brooke Lynn Hytes and Stacey McKenzie announced that Bowyer-Chapman has officially exited the show due to scheduling conflicts.
“Unfortunately, our third will not be joining us this season,” said Hytes. “He’s filming his new show. He’s busy, he’s booked, and he’s getting paid. Unfortunately, with scheduling, things just didn’t work out for him to come back this season. He’s going to be so missed. We love you so much Jeffrey.”
Bowyer-Chapman’s exit follows online tensions during the show’s first season, which saw the judge endure racist backlash from viewers who disparaged Bowyer-Chapman for his critiques. Hytes, McKenzie and several of the contestants came to his defense, though that didn’t stop Bowyer-Chapman from deleting his Twitter account.
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Related: ‘Drag Race Canada’ judge Jeffery Bowyer-Chapman quits Twitter over harassment
Priyanka, the eventual winner of Season 1, also came to Bowyer-Chapman’s defense following her win. “The fans don’t understand that they had to build trust with the judges,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “That’s what happens. They saw these three new judges and were like, ‘Oh, they don’t know what they’re talking about. At this point, they just have to give the judges a chance. Jeffrey is the sweetest and was so invested in our growth and gave us great advice. You want to see the shady comments from the judges because that’s what makes for good TV! It doesn’t mean that he’s a bad judge and an awful human being and should go kill himself. They have to be nicer to people and stop being so evil!”
Bowyer-Chapman’s new project wasn’t officially announced, but it’s thought to be the new Doogie Howser reboot for Disney Plus.
Cam
He also got jumped on for something he didn’t do.
He told one contestant that basically they needed to be consistent in their makeup coverage, saying they should cover their a**. The people attacking on him thought he was somehow fat shaming the contestant. Anyone who watched the episode knew exactly what he meant.
whatsaywhat
The real problem is the oily affectation.
He’s got an attractive face & a great smile… but he’s painfully, awkwardly – uncomfortably – phony.
mikeTigg
I couldn’t fathom why he was a judge. Bearing him no ill will, I just found him and his co-judges lame overall and thought there are others that could do so much better.
Cam
Remember though at first Michelle Visage was angry and dismissive and had her “This straight woman knows drag better than the drag queens” attitude, and you had Santino Rice who was also unpleasant a lot of the time.
It took a while for them to settle in also.
BaltoSteve
I wish him well in his current endeavors and hope he is able to make his way back to the mainstage at some point. Perhaps to just guest judge during the next season.
graphicjack
Good luck to you… you won’t be missed. I would have gotten rid of Brooke Lynn while we are at it, honestly. She was too biased about preferring certain types of drag over others and her dry personality and sense of humour doesn’t work as a judge. Maybe in time she’ll grow into the role, but she just not overly likable, charming or engaging. Yes, she knows drag, but I would have preferred someone like Mary Walsh or Catherine O’Hara who is Canadian and funny, even if they are not part of the queer community. As for JBC and his ‘interesting’ eyeshadow choices, I don’t think he’d ever settle into becoming a likable judge, sadly. He tried too hard to be a shady version of Ru, and it flatlined.
myloginname
I really liked JBC. Not just because he’s a tasty morsel. I’ll miss him.
barryaksarben
I liked the Canada judges. they were not Ru and Michelle but Canada is not LA. I enjoyed the show alot and he will be missed. But then I have had much harsher treatement from my bosses IRL
BGreen1963
Drag Race America = New York Funny direct approach/Sometimes sweet, sometimes
biting criticism, almost always funny. Demanding, but generally
loving
Drag Race Canada = Canadian Nice, polite funny, JCB tried to be a Ru/Michelle-
failed. Brook Lynn Heights – tried to be a Nice Ru – failed. The
third Judge whatshername, was she even there much?
I love Brook Lynn and JCB but there was no conflict, no drama,
no sense of purpose to push the queens. No force of nature.
like Ru. It was like a Drag Race NPR show: Racers Considered.
The show needs a funny Judge with producing or management
history to supply some oomph and some sense of urgency.
Cam
I liked it, I think a huge problem with a lot of the American shows is that producers seem to think that they have to have a problematic personality.
They tried that with Michelle Visage until she was smart enough to realize that having thousands of people on Twitter screaming for you to be kicked off the show isn’t a good thing no matter what the producers were telling her. She stope with the anger and disdain and surprise surprise her career soared.
So I had no problem with the Canadian judges.
Leash
misleading title! makes it sound like the harassment was the reason he won’t return, and while this might be the real reason, the official reason is that he’s busy with another show, as you said yourself in your “article”.