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Big Brother is no stranger to surprises. Across the 26-season run of the US iteration, audiences have borne witness to cheating scandals, jaw-dropping exit interviews, and bizarre realisations that some housemates are related.
More recently, ahead of this year’s installment of the CBS reality series, we’ve watched as surprise housemates have made their way into the hallowed Big Brother halls. Perhaps the most shocking surprise entry ahead of season 26 has come in the form of a drag queen (*adopts Ru Paul voice; a drag queen?!), who appeared in the Big Brother house as part of a promotional push before the actual season begins airing on July 17. So who exactly is the ‘Big Brother’ drag queen, and is she actually competing in season 26.
Who is the Big Brother drag queen?
It was revealed in July 2024 that a swathe of semi-famous celebrities would be entering the Big Brother house as part of a media day promotion ahead of the actual season 26. According to Entertainment Weekly, a total of nine celebrities were invited to spend a day roleplaying as would-be housemates in the Big Brother house, with their antics recorded and used to drum up hype for the real season, which premieres on July 17.
According to Entertainment Weekly, a total of nine guest celebrity housemates were invited by CBS to attend the roleplaying stunt, including Entertainment Tonight host Nischelle Turner and TikTok stars Davis Burelson, Hannah Kosh, Julian Burzynski. The one who perhaps made the biggest splash with their entry, however, was drag queen Salina EsTitties, who appeared on the 2023 season of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Salina EsTitties is known by Drag Race fans for her show-stopping performancesin season 15’s lip sync battles, in which she sang along to tracks by Joan Jett and Celine Dion. Salina placed in the bottom two four times before being eliminated in episode 12. Beyond Drag Race, Salina spoke about not feeling celebrated during her time on the show, particularly for showcasing her Latina background.
A TikTok video of Salina’s — in which she criticized judge Ross Mathews’ comments on her runway looks — went viral in 2023. Salina isn’t the only drag queen to enter the Big Brother universe, with fellow Drag Race alum Courtney Act crowned the winner of Celebrity Big Brother UK in 2018.
Fans of Salina might be disappointed to learn that she is not an actual houseguest on the 26th season of Big Brother, but we at least know that 16 fresh faces are set to join the cast for the upcoming season, with a mystery guest for extra measure.