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RuPaul has broken his silence after Tyra Sanchez posted a controversial tweet about their recently deceased fellow drag star The Vivienne.
The Vivienne, aka James Lee Williams, who won the first series of the reality TV show RuPaul's Drag Race UK in 2019, was found dead last weekend aged 32.
Sanchez, aka James Ross, feuded with The Vivienne nearly five years ago and has reacted to news of the shock death with a scathing jibe about the late performer.
On Monday, Sanchez reposted a tweet by The Vivienne from July 2020, in which the latter wrote: 'Bet Tyra was fuming when she realised Netflix Spoiled the win too. Sorry gal. You tried though.' Quoting the tweet, Sanchez retorted: 'Yet it doesn’t compare to the fumes of the crematorium.'
Sanchez, another Drag Race alum, was met with a vociferous backlash on social media from fans of The Vivienne who were outraged over the post.
Amid the furor, RuPaul posted a throwback video on Instagram this Wednesday, showing him pretending to slap Sanchez during an acting challenge on Drag Race.
RuPaul (pictured) has broken his silence after Tyra Sanchez posted a controversial tweet about their recently deceased fellow drag star The Vivienne
Many fans in the comments interpreted the post as a response to Sanchez' tweet, with one writing: 'MOTHER LMFAOOO,' and another exclaiming: 'Do it again!!'
A third fan wrote: 'YASSSS, mother has spoken,' as a fourth wrote: 'She knows what she did. She. KNOWZ!!' and a fifth approvingly remarked: 'As you should mama.'
While news of The Vivienne's death triggered an outpouring of grief from fans, Sanchez, winner of the American version of the program in 2010, took to social media to rekindle a social media feud with The Vivienne from almost five years earlier by posting her crematorium tweet.
Met with opprobrium from fans and fellow drag stars alike, Sanchez was unrepentant, writing on social media the following day: 'She's dead. Rotting. Sending me all the hate in the world won't bring her back. But do as you must.
'Because of you the tweet has reached over 25k individuals. Thanks for the much needed attention that I oh so desperately needed.'
And despite further criticism, with X users branding the drag queen 'disgusting' and 'twisted', Sanchez's position became more entrenched on Tuesday evening, when she posted a picture of a crematorium furnace captioned: ‘Songs I would play if I owned a crematorium.’
The soundtrack to the post was the Alicia Keys hit Girl on Fire.
Social media users once again responded with fury, variously branding Sanchez 'disgusting', 'despicable' and 'sad'.
The Vivienne, who won the first series of the reality TV show RuPaul 's Drag Race UK in 2019, died at the weekend aged 32
Amid the furor, RuPaul posted a throwback video on Instagram this Wednesday, showing him pretending to slap Sanchez during an acting challenge on Drag Race
A third fan wrote: 'YASSSS, mother has spoken,' as a fourth wrote: 'She knows what she did. She. KNOWZ!!' and a fifth approvingly remarked: 'As you should mama'
Sanchez's latest tweet was met with fury by X users, who variously branded Sanchez 'disgusting', 'despicable' and 'sad' in response to the post
Sanchez's social media post is the latest in a series of insensitive comments the drag star (pictured) has made since the death of fellow performer The Vivienne at the weekend
'You are so f****** disgusting,' one user wrote beneath the post.
'How sad that you once had the status of a queen and now you are just a despicable vagabond hungry for a pitiful show, laaaaaame,' wrote another.
A third added: 'Girl, you were too scared to reply when The Vivienne was alive so you had to clap back after they had passed? You’re sad, get a life.'
RuPaul led a wave of tributes to The Vivienne after her death was announced by the performer's publicist, Simon Jones, on Sunday.
'She will be dearly missed, but her legacy will live on as a beacon of creativity and authenticity - she embodied what it means to be a true champion,' he wrote on X. 'Our hearts go out to her family and fans during this difficult time.'
In an update on Monday, a spokesperson for Cheshire Police said officers were called to an address in Chorlton-by-Backford at 12.22pm on Sunday following reports of a sudden death.
'Police attended, investigated the circumstances of the death of the 32-year-old man and concluded there were no suspicious circumstances,' said a police spokesman. 'A file will be prepared for the coroner.'
Williams, whose drag name The Vivienne was rooted in a love of the fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, first garnered attention in 2015 as the British drag ambassador for the US version of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Four years later, Williams won the first UK edition of the show, later appearing in series seven of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars. The drag artist also finished third in the finals of Dancing on Ice in 2023.
Other career milestones came with appearances in a touring production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and a turn as the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard of Oz.
'I love Vivienne Westwood and when I moved to Liverpool everyone used to call me Vivienne as I was head to toe in Westwood,' The Vivienne explained in 2019.
'My style is like a Scouse wife who has come into money, she moved to LA and blew it all and then she's had to move back to Liverpool.'
The Vivienne's death was announced by Jones on Sunday.
'It is with immense sadness that we let you know our beloved James Lee Williams – The Vivienne, has passed this weekend,' wrote Jones.
'James was an incredibly loved, warm-hearted and amazing person. Their family are heartbroken at the loss of their son, brother and uncle. They are so proud of the wonderful things James achieved in their life and career.
'We will not be releasing any further details. We please ask that James’s family are given the time and privacy they now need to process and grieve.'
English (US) ·