Very unhappy information this week out of the fact tv universe:
James Lee Williams — higher identified by their stage title The Vivienne, who received the first-ever RuPaul’s Drag Race UK in 2019 — has handed away.
They had been 32 years outdated.
Williams’ dying was confirmed by supervisor Simon Jones, who wrote by way of Instagram over the weekend that his consumer was now not with us.
“It’s with immense disappointment that we let you understand our beloved James Lee Williams, The Vivienne, has handed away this weekend,” reads the message.
“James was an extremely liked, warmhearted and wonderful individual. Their household are heartbroken on the lack of their son, brother and uncle. They’re so pleased with the fantastic issues James achieved of their life and profession. We won’t be releasing any additional particulars.
“We please ask that James’s household are given the time and privateness they now have to course of and grieve.”
No reason for dying 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 damaged coronary heart, I be a part of the whole Drag Race universe in mourning the lack of The Vivienne,” RuPaul wrote, ending the publish by calling the late entertainer “an extremely proficient queen and a stunning human being.”
On the aforementioned present, The Vivienne was identified for comedy and vocal impersonations — notably that of Donald Trump — and opened up a couple of wrestle with substance abuse and restoration.
“The Viv is an ideal instance of a twenty first century British Queen,” RuPaul stated through 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 sequence gathered a gaggle of earlier winners competing to turn into the primary queen to win the present… twice.
General now, a complete of vie Drag Race franchise contestans have died for the reason that sequence 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 phrases I by no means ever wished to jot down,” Jones added in a follow-up assertion.
“Viv was a detailed good friend, a consumer and somebody I liked very a lot. From the second I met them in 2019, I knew we may create magic collectively and I grew to become their supervisor. Their expertise was immense and the sunshine they introduced to each room was astonishing.
“Nobody has ever made me chuckle in my life as a lot as Viv did. Their comedian genius and fast wit was like no different.”
