Kandy Muse talks 'sting' of Drag Race All Stars 8 finale and why her planned lip-sync gag wasn't allowed

The legendary Kandy Muse finished RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 8 with a bang (per usual), but she nearly went out in a wall of fire, the AS8 runner-up exclusively tells EW's Quick Drag podcast.

"I was going to do this on season 13 at the finale, and then I [didn't] have the time, and I was going to do this for the finale of All Stars. Have you ever watch The Monster Ball, when [Lady] Gaga comes out from the floor during 'Paparazzi' with the fire tits?'" Kandy asks on set in an interview shortly after the All Stars 8 crowning in New York City. "I planned to do that with the silver outfit I had for the finale, but, apparently, to have fire on television, you need a license!"

While Kandy "Producer" Muse is still working on adding Kandy "Fire Marshall" Muse to her ever-growing roster of monikers, she tells EW she's enjoying her booked-and-busy era, which she says includes "auditions and movie roles" flooding her inbox — though she won't reveal specifics just yet, outside of an upcoming WOW Presents Plus talk show called Inside the Producer's Studio, in which she'll discuss "how to produce your life" alongside a handful of past Drag Race contestants who've all "had had an iconic Untucked moment," Kandy confirms.

That kind of industry support, she says, is also enough to comfort her and assure that she's on the right track, even though she didn't win the AS8 crown, and faced some vitriolic backlash from Drag Race trolls simply because she "made some great television" across her return run on the show.

"Sometimes people take me as a person and what I do on television as a villain or whatever you want to call me. I don't even consider myself a villain," Kandy explains, noting that she and Jimbo — who ultimately won the season — are actually very close friends, and celebrate each other whenever they can. "People see it as that or see it as arrogance. When I was campaigning for Team Kandy, people were like, 'Well, Jimbo's going to win. It's like, do y'all walk around life not being your own cheerleader? Because you have to be your own cheerleader in order to succeed in life."

She adds: "All the comments and all the tweets, none of that matters, because my shows are always sold out."

Despite the good fortune coming her way, Kandy is still human; finishing in second place on All Stars 8 wasn't immediately easy for the Bronx native to process.

"I'm so proud. I can't say it's not like, a sting to lose, because you get here a second time and you're like, 'Oh my God, I want it so bad,'" Kandy admits. "Even prior to that, going into the season, I knew I was way more elevated than I was in my original season. Not an upgrade because I was c--- back then, but I felt elevated, and I felt great with everything I brought to the show this season. I made some great television. How many girls can say that they've been in the final two twice? The only girl that's ever achieved that has been Raven."

Looking at the prospects on the horizon, Kandy finishes with a hopeful idea: "Listen, Raven's doing RuPaul's makeup," she says of the Emmy-winning season 2 Drag Race icon. "So, if I can stand with Raven, I'm okay with that."

Listen to Kandy's full Quick Drag interview above, and catch up with more of EW's podcast interviews from RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 8 in the feed below. All episodes of AS8 are now streaming on Paramount+.

Subscribe to EW's Quick Drag podcast for recaps of RuPaul's Drag Race, including reactions with the cast, special guests, and more.

Related content:

• RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 8 winner Jimbo just wants the world to get weird under her reign
• Jimbo and Kandy Muse spill major tea on RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 8 best moments: 'We played everyone'
• Jimbo and Kandy Muse say more queens tried to quit RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 8