Homegrown talent pays homage to Big Prawn on RuPaul ’s Drag Race premiere

WATCH: Big Prawn gets unusual makeover in premiere of reality show- and no, we’re not talking about Byron Baes.

Ballina born drag queen Maxi Shield paid homage to the famous big prawn.

No stranger to the spotlights of film and TV, the Northern Rivers has been brought to our screen in an unique new way courtesy of one of the most-watched reality TV shows in the world.

Eager-eyed viewers of drag queen contest RuPaul’s Drag Race were shocked to see the small town of Ballina get a shout out over the weekend during the RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under premiere.

Tasked with dressing up in homage to your hometown, queen Maxi Shield took to the runway in a drag-tastic ode to the Northern Rivers town and its famous Big Prawn.

“Although I do live in Sydney and went to high school in Nowra (South coast NSW), I was actually born in a coastal town called Ballina. Famous for many things but the one thing that always stood out for me was the huge “Big Prawn”. This is my “fashion” nod to Ballina’s Big Prawn,” she wrote on her Instagram post featuring the garb.

Many commenters were awed by the drag interpretation of one of our most iconic sights.

“So when you win, after-party at Ballina RSL?” one joked.

“I would never in a million years have thought RuPaul would name check the town I grew up in. Well done Maxi!” another said.

The appearance was not to be dismissed, with the recent Drag Race season 13 premiere the most-watched episode in the history of the franchise with a staggering 1.3 million total viewers.

A now Sydney-based drag queen Maxi Shield, known out of drag as Kris Elliott, prides herself as “the good girl of drag” performing at Mardi Gras, Sydney Olympics 2000, Gay Games 2002 and was named Diva Entertainer of the Year 2015/16.

Drag Race Down Under was filmed in 2020 in Auckland, during the pandemic in Australia and was expected to feature guest stars such as Kylie and Dannii Minogue and Taika Waititi.