# Amanda Tori Meating
**Amanda Tori Meating** is the drag persona of Amanda Philipps, an American drag performer and wig stylist best known for competing on the sixteenth season of *RuPaul's Drag Race*, where she placed 12th[1](https://rupaulsdragrace.fandom.com/wiki/Amanda_Tori_Meating). Born in Ohio in 1996 and later based in New York City, she came out as trans feminine shortly after her season began airing in early 2024[1](https://rupaulsdragrace.fandom.com/wiki/Amanda_Tori_Meating) • [2](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/amanda-tori-meating-comes-trans-171419983.html).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Known for | Contestant on *RuPaul's Drag Race* season 16 (2023–2024), 7 episodes[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm15564771/) |
| Season result | 12th place; eliminated in episode 5 by Q; zero challenge wins; Golden Boot Award at the reunion[1](https://rupaulsdragrace.fandom.com/wiki/Amanda_Tori_Meating) |
| Born | 1996, Ohio, USA; based in New York City[1](https://rupaulsdragrace.fandom.com/wiki/Amanda_Tori_Meating) |
| Background | Wig stylist who made wigs for *Drag Race* queens Kerri and Sasha Colby and for Beyoncé's music video dancers[1](https://rupaulsdragrace.fandom.com/wiki/Amanda_Tori_Meating) |
| Name origin | A pun on "a mandatory meeting", from being called into meetings at survival jobs while pursuing performing[4](https://thotyssey.com/2023/07/18/on-point-with-amanda-tori-meating/) |
| Coming out | Came out publicly as trans feminine in a January 2024 *Entertainment Weekly* interview[2](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/amanda-tori-meating-comes-trans-171419983.html) |
## Background and drag career
She grew up in Ohio and trained in theater, completing a BFA before touring with the musical *Kinky Boots*. Performing in drag, she has said, felt more aligned with her body than performing as a "boy"; after moving to New York City she began appearing in local drag shows[4](https://thotyssey.com/2023/07/18/on-point-with-amanda-tori-meating/). Alongside performing she worked as a wig stylist, building wigs for *Drag Race* alumni Kerri Colby and [Sasha Colby](https://www.edgepedia.org/sasha-colby) and for dancers in a Beyoncé music video[1](https://rupaulsdragrace.fandom.com/wiki/Amanda_Tori_Meating).
The stage name came from her years working "survival jobs" while pursuing performance: repeatedly called in for a "mandatory meeting", she adopted the pun as her drag name[4](https://thotyssey.com/2023/07/18/on-point-with-amanda-tori-meating/). She describes her style as a mix of camp and comedy, with theatricality, spoken word, and singing among her performance interests[1](https://rupaulsdragrace.fandom.com/wiki/Amanda_Tori_Meating) • [4](https://thotyssey.com/2023/07/18/on-point-with-amanda-tori-meating/).
## RuPaul's Drag Race
She was announced as one of the queens of season 16 in December 2023, and the season premiered on MTV on January 5, 2024[1](https://rupaulsdragrace.fandom.com/wiki/Amanda_Tori_Meating). She was the second queen eliminated, sent home in episode 5 after a lip sync against Q, finishing 12th of the season's contestants[1](https://rupaulsdragrace.fandom.com/wiki/Amanda_Tori_Meating) • [5](https://www.houstonchronicle.com/entertainment/movies_tv/article/amanda-tori-meating-drag-race-exit-plane-jane-18651394.php). Her run included a widely discussed feud with fellow contestant [Plane Jane](https://www.edgepedia.org/plane-jane), which she addressed in exit interviews[6](https://www.out.com/gay-tv-shows/rupauls-drag-race-season-16-amanda-tori-meating). Despite the early exit, she became a fan favorite during the season[5](https://www.houstonchronicle.com/entertainment/movies_tv/article/amanda-tori-meating-drag-race-exit-plane-jane-18651394.php), and at the reunion she received the Golden Boot Award, given for the season's most memorable fashion failure[1](https://rupaulsdragrace.fandom.com/wiki/Amanda_Tori_Meating).
Her screen credits beyond the competition include *[RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked!](https://www.edgepedia.org/rupauls-drag-race-untucked)*, a 2024 guest appearance on *Hey Qween!*, and a stint as a bartender on *Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen*[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm15564771/).
## Coming out and community work
In a January 2024 *Entertainment Weekly* interview she came out as trans, saying that being called Amanda and referred to with she/her pronouns on set helped her recognize how comfortable that identity felt, and describing leaving *Drag Race* as her "egg crack moment", a term for realizing one is trans[2](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/amanda-tori-meating-comes-trans-171419983.html) • [6](https://www.out.com/gay-tv-shows/rupauls-drag-race-season-16-amanda-tori-meating). She later began hormone replacement therapy and launched a crowdfunding campaign for [facial feminization surgery](https://www.edgepedia.org/facial-feminization-surgery), which raised $9,827 from 223 donations against an $8,000 goal[7](https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-amanda-tori-meatings-facial-feminization-surgery?attribution_id=sl%3A7f53da41-ec20-4987-866e-b8d76db4cd2a&lang=es_ES).
In May 2025 she hosted Dollapalooza at 3 Dollar Bill in [Bushwick, Brooklyn](https://www.edgepedia.org/bushwick-brooklyn), a drag show bringing together nearly 40 trans femme performers from *Drag Race* and the New York scene, including Aja and Amethyst, structured as a fundraiser for trans community members recovering from gender-affirming surgeries[8](https://www.intomore.com/culture/icons/amanda-tori-meating-is-cracking-eggs-and-spreading-love-with-dollapalooza/).
## References
1. [Amanda Tori Meating, RuPaul's Drag Race Wiki (Fandom)](https://rupaulsdragrace.fandom.com/wiki/Amanda_Tori_Meating)
2. [Amanda Tori Meating Comes Out as Trans, Says Drag Race Helped "Crack the Egg", Yahoo Entertainment/EW](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/amanda-tori-meating-comes-trans-171419983.html)
3. [Amanda Tori Meating, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm15564771/)
4. [On Point With: Amanda Tori Meating, Thotyssey (July 18, 2023)](https://thotyssey.com/2023/07/18/on-point-with-amanda-tori-meating/)
5. ['Drag Race' Q&A: Amanda Tori Meating was afraid 'people are just going to think I'm a booger', Houston Chronicle (February 6, 2024)](https://www.houstonchronicle.com/entertainment/movies_tv/article/amanda-tori-meating-drag-race-exit-plane-jane-18651394.php)
6. ['Drag Race' fave Amanda Tori Meating on 'egg' look & Plane Jane feud | Out.com](https://www.out.com/gay-tv-shows/rupauls-drag-race-season-16-amanda-tori-meating)
7. [Support Amanda Tori Meating's Facial Feminization Surgery, GoFundMe](https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-amanda-tori-meatings-facial-feminization-surgery?attribution_id=sl%3A7f53da41-ec20-4987-866e-b8d76db4cd2a&lang=es_ES)
8. [Amanda Tori Meating is cracking eggs and spreading love with Dollapalooza, INTO (April 16, 2025)](https://www.intomore.com/culture/icons/amanda-tori-meating-is-cracking-eggs-and-spreading-love-with-dollapalooza/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Theater and dance › Stage practitioners and craft › Acting: theory, technique, and teachers › Acting coaches and training biographies › Acting coaches to the profession and celebrity coaching*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license