AsRuPauls Drag Raceprepares to conclude its ninth season on Friday at 8 p.m.

ET on VH1, check out what fan favorite contestants have to say about RuPauls life and legacy below.

There was a video of Ru, Supermodel, and I was like, Who is this person?…

Joan presented them as entertainers.

You get a face and have a voice.

He was doing all of that by stepping out and trailblazing.

It brings back fond memories on that level.

It was a big deal to be gay and discrimination was far worse than it is now.

Michaels:His rise started when I started doing drag.

I wouldnt say I started doing drag because of RuPaul.

I had an obsession with Madonna, too.

This celebrity impersonation thing is what pulled me into doing drag.

However, RuPaul was the fire underneath it all, going, This makes it possible.

Theres a viable career there if you work for it and really want it…

It wasnt shocking; it was exciting.

It was shocking because we hadnt seen it before, but it also felt like home… My family was always accepting of my own self-expression.

He definitely shifted things.

He propelled it in a direction where anything was possible.

Overall, he opened peoples minds to going, Oh, these arent just guys dressing up as celebrities.

This is a fully realized character that is original.

Monsoon:There are other drag queens who have made it as far as they could possibly make it.

All they needed was to be seen and then they could bring so much entertainment to the industry.

Ru crossed all boundaries race, gender, all of it.

RuPaul is who made that happen; hes created so many jobs in this time.

We have jobs that were created by this phenomenon, and thats pretty amazing.

No, Im kidding.

My response has to be #fakenews.

Because I think that Ru definitely is, because Ru is a hard-working bitch and hasnt given up.

Look at the success of the show; look at the success of drag in general.

Hes got a huge hand in that and has been a huge part of that.

I was also told if I say anything bad, I wont get paid again.

Even the most successful [Drag Race] winners are still not RuPaul.

Shes a mature queen; shes had a long, fruitful career.

He continues to bring an important, positive message to anyone whos willing to listen.

RuPauls music, especially that album, is internalized.

Now, I dont even register when Im hearing the song because its so internalized for me.

Del Rio:I think it was a huge reflection on what was going on at the time.

You were nobody if you didnt have a video, and it was the height of the supermodel era.

Linda Evangelista and Naomi Campbell were the s!

The timing was magical, and it was sung by this 8-foot tall blonde glamazon.

You could enjoy the song without knowing it was a gay man or a drag queen.

In front of God, and everybody… That was amazing.

I get that Uncle Miltie was probably a little uptight.

Thats still going on today.

Del Rio:It was genius.

I thought, You know what?

Hes up there with a drag queen.

Hes playing with fire.

You shouldnt hold your tongue!

I realize what MAC was doing for the [MAC AIDS Fund] … it all makes sense now.

Watching RuPaul inTo Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything!

Julie Newmar(1995)

Monsoon:Its not at all accurate… Because every other drag queen on screen literally bows down to RuPaul [in that scene].

I remember watching it and loving everything about it.

He looked amazing and it was just fun.