Alaska Thunderfuck 5000

Justin Andrew Honard (born March 6, 1985), best known by the stage name Alaska Thunderfuck 5000 or Alaska Thunderfuck and mononymously as Alaska, is an American drag queen and singer from Erie, Pennsylvania. She is best known as a runner-up on the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race and the winner of the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars.

Her first studio album, Anus, was released in 2015, followed by her second album, Poundcake, in 2016 and her third album, Vagina, in 2019. Her fourth album, Red 4 Filth, was released in 2022. Alaska is also a part of The AAA Girls, a drag group with Willam and Courtney Act and hosts the podcast Race Chaser with Willam.

Early life Honard was born to Andrew and Pam Honard, and raised in Erie, Pennsylvania. He is partially of French Canadian descent, with his grandmother being French Canadian and originally from New Brunswick before immigrating to the United States. He graduated from Fort LeBoeuf High School in 2003. Honard has a brother, Cory. He studied theater at the University of Pittsburgh.

Career

2007–2012: Career beginnings After dabbling in various jobs and projects in Pittsburgh, Honard eventually moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting. After discovering that he disliked the process of trying to land acting jobs, he conceived the concept and personality of her drag persona while smoking marijuana. Honard had previously done drag as a hobby, but the conception of "Alaska" fueled an intent to turn it into a career, and she eventually landed a job at the West Hollywood club Fubar. Honard frequently performed as Alaska in the Trannyshack shows in Los Angeles. In 2009, she performed in Palm Springs Gay Pride with Tammie Brown and Jer Ber Jones.

Alaska met future boyfriend Sharon Needles (stage name of Aaron Coady) through Myspace via an introduction from Pittsburgh drag queen Veruca la'Piranha in December 2009, and eventually moved back to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to live with him in 2010. The couple had friction between them after Sharon Needles' casting on season four of Drag Race, as Alaska had auditioned for every season of the show previous, and Sharon Needles had been cast on her first attempt at auditioning. She had previously auditioned for every season of the show, and filmed her audition tape for the fifth season while on a cruise paid for by Sharon Needles' Drag Race winnings. She prepared for the season with the help of Baum, la'Piranha, and New York City-based drag queen Miles De Niro. Sharon Needles was not present for the preparation, as she was touring at the time. As part of the show, Alaska sang on the "We Are the World"-inspired song "Can I Get an Amen?". The song's proceeds helped benefit the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center. At the season finale in May 2013, Alaska was declared the runner-up along with fellow competitor Roxxxy Andrews. Jinkx Monsoon was the winner of the season. Due to her substantial gain in wealth after Drag Race and subsequent ability to purchase the item, she later fell into a cocaine addiction, which Alaska has described as "kinda ugly, gross, and kinda sad".

Since appearing on RuPaul's Drag Race, Alaska has toured and performed, appearing in RuPaul's Drag Race Battle of the Seasons shows, the Drag Stars at Sea cruises, custom one-woman shows such as a Stevie Nicks tribute called "Stevie Forever", a cabaret show called "Red for Filth", and a holiday show called "Blue Christmas". An animated version of Alaska appeared in the "RuPaul's Drag Race: Dragopolis 2.0" mobile app. During the summer of 2014, she starred in a stage production of Sex and the City. With her brother, Cory Binney, Alaska appeared in a web series sponsored by World of Wonder, called Bro'Laska. In 2014, Alaska became a spokesmodel for American Apparel alongside Willam Belli and Courtney Act.

Alaska has since released a string of singles, namely "Ru Girl", "Your Makeup Is Terrible", and "Nails". In June 2015, Alaska's debut album, Anus, was released to positive reviews. Singles from the album included "Hieeee" and "This Is My Hair".

2016–2017: RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars and Poundcake In 2016, Alaska returned to Drag Race for the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. She won 4 challenges (Snatch Game, Acting, Stand Up, Advert) and was in the bottom for a makeover challenge. She received backlash due to her choices of eliminations and her behavior toward the end of the competition. In response, Alaska donated $5,000 to the charity Trans Kids Purple Rainbow and posted an apology video online. In the final five of the competition, when she landed in the bottom, Alaska famously offered competitor Detox $10,000 to vote for her to stay in the competition, of which Alaska revealed years later that she donated the amount to a snake sanctuary instead. Due to the stress sustained while filming the season, she has said that she preferred the experience she had while filming Season 5 of Drag Race over All Stars 2. named after the rebellious puppet Lil' Poundcake, who was created from a mannequin doll by Alaska and fellow contestant Lineysha Sparx during the mini-challenge in the third episode of the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race. Three singles from the album have been released: "The T", "Stun", and "Puppet". On the seventh episode of the eighth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, the main challenge of the episode was for the contestants to act in a true crime spoof entitled "Forensic Queens: Wha-Ha-Happened to Lil' Poundcake?", depicting a fictional All Stars season where Lil' Poundcake, slated to make her Drag Race comeback, suddenly disappears.

Alaska competed in the first season of VH1's Scared Famous, which premiered on October 23, 2017, and placed 6th in the competition.

2018–2020: Race Chaser, Vagina, and pageant

Since 2018, Alaska has hosted the podcast Race Chaser with fellow Drag Race alumna Willam Belli. The podcast is "devoted to the discussion and dissection of every episode" of RuPaul's Drag Race. Alaska and Jeremy Mikush, performing as Alaska and Jeremy, released their debut album Amethyst Journey in 2018.

In 2019, Alaska released her third album titled Vagina. Soon after, she created and hosted The Drag Queen of the Year Pageant Competition Award Contest Competition at the Montalban Theater in Hollywood. The event was sold-out and featured eight different drag artists competing for the crown. The eventual winner, decided by Alaska and a panel of judges including Peppermint, Sharon Needles, and Willam, was Abhora, a former contestant on season two of The Boulet Brothers' Dragula. The event has since been hosted annually by Alaska alongside Lola LeCroix, with a documentary series following the production of the 2022 edition, Behind the Drag Queen of the Year Pageant Competition Award Contest Competition, being released in 2023. In June 2023, a panel of judges from New York magazine placed Alaska seventh on their list of "the most powerful drag queens in America", a ranking of 100 former Drag Race contestants.

2021–present: Red 4 Filth and memoir Alaska's first comedy special, The Alaska Thunderfuck Extra Special Comedy Special, aired on OutTV in Canada in 2021.

She released her memoir, My Name's Yours, What's Alaska?: A Memoir on November 9, 2021.

In May 2022, Alaska released a concept album for Drag: The Musical, which she co-wrote with Tomas Costanza and Ash Gordon. A staged version ran from September to October at the Bourbon Room in Los Angeles, starring Alaska as the character Kitty. Alaska reprised the role when the show debuted Off-Broadway in October 2024, with the role of Kitty eventually taken over by fellow drag queen Jimbo before the show ended its run on April 27, 2025.

Alaska released her fourth studio album, Red 4 Filth, on September 23, 2022. Written during COVID-19 lockdowns, the album was inspired by the music of the 1990s and 2000s, with Alaska citing Aqua, Toni Braxton, Britney Spears and Weezer as specific influences. The album includes appearances by Stephanie's Child and Ts Madison, as well as a cover of Ace of Base's "All That She Wants".

In June 2023, Alaska took up the role of Princess in the Dungeons & Dragons themed show Dungeons and Drag Queens, which was also the 18th season of the actual play anthology series Dimension 20 on Dropout. In 2025, she reprised the role in the show's second season.

Public image and artistry

Alaska's drag name is derived from Alaskan Thunderfuck, a strain of cannabis.

She has stated, "I am a huge fan of drag for many reasons; first and foremost being that it is an extremely important form of performance art. Drag uses humor as means of relaying a message, and because humor tends to get overlooked as a valid way to communicate through art, drag tends to get pigeonholed into being something 'less than' when you think about it in terms what you'd see at a museum. I can't think of almost anything more artistically redeeming than a huge museum full of drag queens, but maybe that's just me."

She has cited Gianni Versace, Lady Gaga and Marc Jacobs as her favorite fashion influences. Thought Catalog described her style as "risk-taking" and "creative", with "weird choices"; Yahoo! called her Lil Poundcake outfit a "pink nightmare" and "clownish crazy", and explained that "the drag and music world would certainly be very quiet without Ms Thunderfuck".

Alaska counts Divine and Marilyn Monroe as her role models.

Personal life Alaska was in a relationship with fellow drag queen Sharon Needles for four years before separating in November 2013. She has stated that the pair had a physical fight after a night of doing cocaine. Alaska has said that they are now "really good friends." Sharon Needles appeared in Alaska's music video for "Hieee" in 2015, two years after their breakup. Honard wrote on social media that his father was "kind and loving and hilarious and had a beautiful heart, and had so much love for his family, his wife, my sister and me, and his grandchildren". He also wrote that he was "feeling a lot of pain and grief right now. I'm also feeling compassion for anyone who has ever lost someone they love".

In August 2025, Alaska announced that her longtime partner Matthew Herrmann proposed to her in her hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania after her grandmother's 90th birthday celebration.

Discography

Studio albums Title Details Peak chart positionsUSHeat USIndie USDance USComedy BEL(FL) Anus Released: June 23, 2015 Label: Sidecar, PEG Format: CD, LP, digital download4143——Poundcake Released: October 14, 2016 Label: PEG Label: PEG Format: Digital download—— —2—Red 4 Filth Released: September 23, 2022 Formats: Digital download, streaming—————

Collaborative studio albums Title Details Peak chart positionsUSCast Amethyst Journey (with Jeremy Mikush as Alaska and Jeremy) Released: August 17, 2018 Label: PEG Formats: CD, digital download —Drag: The Musical (The Studio Cast Recording) Released: May 13, 2022 Label: PEG, Killingsworth, Craft, Concord Theatricals Formats: Digital download 12

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist Title Year Peak chart positions Album USComedyDigital "Let's Get Something Started" (Candy Apple Blue featuring Alaska Thunderfuck) 2013 — —Night Tracks "Can I Get an Amen?" (RuPaul featuring Drag Race Season 5 Cast) — — "I Look Fuckin' Cool" (Adore Delano featuring Alaska Thunderfuck) 2014 — — Till Death Do Us Party "Ride for AIDS" (Willam featuring Alaska Thunderfuck) 2015 12 — Shartistry in Motion "Read U Wrote U" (RuPaul featuring Alaska Thunderfuck, Detox, Katya & Roxxxy Andrews) 2016 — 29 "Yet Another Dig" (Bob the Drag Queen featuring Alaska Thunderfuck) 2017 — — "Shade" (Cake Moss featuring Alaska) 2018 — — "La China Mas Latina" (Gia Gunn featuring Alaska Thunderfuck) — — "Come in Brazil" (Katya featuring Alaska Thunderfuck)2020 — —Vampire Fitness "Gay Hands Up" (Jan featuring Alaska Thunderfuck and Peppermint)2021 — — "Everyone Is a Little Bit Gay" (Ash Gordon featuring Alaska Thunderfuck)2022 — —Ash Gordon II "It's in the Book" (Trinity the Tuck featuring Alaska Thunderfuck) 2023 — — Trinity Ruins Christmas: The Musical "Eternity to Me" (Trinity the Tuck featuring Alaska Thunderfuck) — — "Good Enough" (Trinity the Tuck featuring Alaska Thunderfuck) — —"—" denotes a recording that failed to chart or was not released in that territory.

Other appearances

Tours Access All Areas Tour (2017) An Evening with Alaska (2018)

Filmography

Film

Television

Web series

Theatre Year Title Role Theatre 2013 The Rocky Horror Show Dr. Frank N. Furter Woodlawn Theatre 2024Drag: The MusicalKitty GallowayNew World Stages 2026Oh, Mary!Mary Todd LincolnUS National Tour

Music videos Year Title Artist(s) Ref.2013 "RuPaulogize" Willam Belli 2014 "Your Makeup Is Terrible" Herself "Nails" Herself "Ransom" MOXXI 2015 "Do It Like Miley" Team Heartbreak "Hieeee" Herself "This Is My Hair" Herself 2016 "Expensive" Todrick Hall "Gimme All Your Money" Herself feat. Laganja Estranja "Anus" Herself "Puppet" Herself "The T" Herself feat. Adore Delano 2017 "Power" Little Mix feat. Stormzy "Stun" Herself feat. Gia Gunn "Come to Brazil" Herself "Valentina" Herself 2018 "666" Sharon Needles "Oops I Think I Pooped" Pandora Boxx "Aliens" Alaska & Jeremy "Jolene" Dolly Parton 2019 "Truth in the Light" Alaska & Jeremy"Monster Mash"Sharon Needles 2020"Leopard Print" Herself "Sitting Alone in The VIP" Herself "Shooting Star – A Revealing New Musicals COVID-19 Relief Fundraising Medley" The cast of Shooting Star – A Revealing New Musical 2021 "ROY G BIV BBT" Herself "Gay Hands Up" Herself (with Jan Sport & Peppermint) "Red" Herself "beautiful (night 4 a) breakdown" Herself "wow" Herself "XOXOY2K" Herself 2023 "True Colors" Herself

Podcasts Year Title Role Notes 2014 RuPaul: What's the Tee?Guest Episode: "Perseverance & Oil Pulling with Alaska" 2015–2017 The Pandora Boxx Show 3 episodes 2016–2023 Out on the Lanai: A Golden Girls Podcast 17 episodes 2018, 2021 You're Making It Worse 2 episodes 2018 Whimsically Volatile Episode: "Alaska!" 2018–present Race Chaser Co-host With Willam 2018 Las CulturistasGuest Episode: "God's Plan" 2019 Dopey: On the Dark Comedy of Drug Addiction Episode: "Alaska Thunderfuck & Aurora on weed, relapse and other dumb shit" 2020 A Faerily Queer Podcast Episode: "Alaska!" Doing Great with Vicky Vox Episode: "Queen of Clurbs" Ghosted! by Roz Hernandez Episode: "Alaska Thunderfuck and Jackie Beat" 2020–2021 The Chop with Latrice Royale & Manila Luzon 5 episodes; also executive producer 2020 Sibling Rivalry Episode: "The One with Willam & Alaska" Sloppy Seconds with Big Dipper & Meatball Episode: "Constant Ambient Sexual Energy"; also executive producer Not Too Deep with Grace Helbig Episode: "Alaska Thunderfuck 5000 - New Year's Queens" 2021 The Bald and the Beautiful with Trixie Mattel and Katya Zamo Episode: "Alexis Thunderstorm 500 with Alaska Thunderf*ck" Why Won't You Date Me? with Nicole Byer Episode: "How to Manifest your Dream Man" Queery with Cameron Esposito Episode: "Alaska Thunderfuck" Lady to Lady Episode: "It's Okay to Quit" Scam Goddess Episode: "The Poisonous Beauty Product Peddler with Alaska Thunderfuck" Spanish Aquí Presents Episode: "I Need Musical Numbers" Kesha and the Creepies Episode: "Trash to Treasure with Alaska Thunderfuck 5000" 2022 Wanna Be On Top? with Shea Couleé Episode: "Cycle 7: Makeover Day"; also executive producer 2022-2023 Hall & Closet 2 episodes; also executive producer 2022 Very Delta Episode: "Are You Pre-Sweetened Like Me?"; also executive producer 2023 Sissy That Talk Show Episode: "Season Finale: Alaska Thunderfuck"; also executive producer

Awards and nominations Queerty Awards Year Category Work Results Ref. 2019 PodcastRace Chaser 2020 2021 2022 Drag Royalty Herself Indie Music Video "Gay Hands Up" Standout Stand-Up Herself 2023 Documentary Access All Areas: The AAA Girls Tour Drag Royalty Herself Live Theatre Drag: The Musical 2024 Podcast Race Chaser 2025 Web Series Dungeons and Drag Queens

Miscellaneous awards Year Award-giving body Category Work Results Ref. 2020 Webby Awards Race Chaser Podcasts - Television & Film 2025 GLAAD Media AwardsDrag: The Musical Special recognition Lucille Lortel AwardsOutstanding Musical Outstanding Lead Performer in a MusicalDrama League AwardDistinguished Performance