James Lee Williams — higher identified by their stage identify The Vivienne, who received the first-ever RuPaul’s Drag Race UK in 2019 — has handed away.
They had been 32 years previous.
Could The Vivienne relaxation in peace. This RuPaul’s Drag Race champion is useless on the age of 32. (BBC)
Williams’ loss of life was confirmed by supervisor Simon Jones, who wrote by way of Instagram over the weekend that his consumer was not with us.
“It is with immense sadness that we let you know our beloved James Lee Williams, The Vivienne, has passed away this weekend,” reads the message.
“James was an extremely beloved, warmhearted and superb individual. Their household are heartbroken on the lack of their son, brother and uncle. They’re so pleased with the great issues James achieved of their life and profession. We won’t be releasing any additional particulars.
“We please ask that James’s family are given the time and privacy they now need to process and grieve.”
No explanation for loss of life has been introduced on the time of this writing.
On January 6, the Emmy-winning host of this beloved actuality present shared a tribute to the late champion.
“With a broken heart, I join the entire Drag Race universe in mourning the loss of The Vivienne,” RuPaul wrote, ending the publish by calling the late entertainer “an incredibly talented queen and a lovely human being.”
On the aforementioned present, The Vivienne was identified for comedy and vocal impersonations — significantly that of Donald Trump — and opened up a couple of wrestle with substance abuse and restoration.
“The Viv is a perfect example of a 21st century British Queen,” RuPaul mentioned in the course of the 2019 finale.
Previous to their passing, The Vivienne returned to compete on Drag Race as a part of the All Stars 7 solid in 2022, marking the primary time the collection gathered a bunch of earlier winners competing to turn out to be the primary queen to win the present… twice.
General now, a complete of vie Drag Race franchise contestans have died for the reason that collection launched in 2009, together with:
Drag Race Thailand competitor Bandit 2023
Season 2 contestant Sahara Davenport in 2012
Season 8 and All Stars 3 winner Chi Chi DeVayne in 2020
Drag Race UK competitor Cherry Valentine in 2022.
“These are words I never ever wanted to write,” Jones added in a follow-up assertion.
“Viv was a detailed good friend, a consumer and somebody I beloved very a lot. From the second I met them in 2019, I knew we might create magic collectively and I turned their supervisor. Their expertise was immense and the sunshine they introduced to each room was astonishing.
“No one has ever made me laugh in my life as much as Viv did. Their comic genius and quick wit was like no other.”
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