The Vivienne's friend slams 'slew of abuse' Drag Race UK star received days before death
A friend of The Vivienne has issued a damning statement hitting out at those who "bombarded" the star with "a slew of homophobic abuse" in the days before their death.
The RuPaul's Drag Race UK star, who was crowned the first ever winner of the BBC series in 2019, died at the age of 32 earlier this month, with police saying there were "no suspicious circumstances" involved. The Vivienne, also known as James Lee Williams, had starred in a national tour of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as recently as December, as well as appearing on a special Boxing Day episode of Blankety Blank, The Mirror reports.
Fellow drag queen Myra DuBois, real name Gareth Joyner, who was a semi-finalist on ITV's Britain's Got Talent in 2020, has called out the vile abuse that The Vivienne was targeted with following her appearance on the BBC special - which was famously hosted by Paul O'Grady's beloved drag queen alter-ego Lily Savage in the nineties and early noughties.
READ MORE: Number of pupils off without permission 'increased' ahead of Christmas holidays
READ MORE: What we know about Northumbrian Water incident in Whitley Bay on Wednesday January 9
In an earlier Instagram post, Myra shared that she had just come off the stage from her final performance as the Wicked Stepmother in a pantomime run of Cinderella in Manchester when she heard the news of The Vivienne's death. "The Vivienne was a remarkable talent who I always name-checked as someone who was doing it right," she said in a tribute.
"Her drive and talent was inspiring," she added. And in a subsequent update, Myra shared her anger at having "buried so many friends in the last few years", calling on her fans and followers to do "everything you can to keep all LGBTQ+ people alive" in the face of rising homophobic and transphobic abuse.
Myra wrote: "I don't know how The Vivienne left us, and I will be respecting the family request for privacy by not trying to find out, or by fuelling rumours. I do know that after appearing on Blankety Blank over Christmas they were bombarded with a slew of homophobic abuse.
"I also know that the comments sections on posts announcing their passing are filling up with comments like 'one less' and 'rest in hell'. I need you to know this. I want you to acknowledge this. To me, to your colleagues, to your family. I want you to acknowledge it when there are no LGBTQ+ people in the room with you.
"You can't just post how sad you are when LGBTQ+ people die. I want you to ask if you're doing everything you can to keep all LGBTQ+ people alive."
The star continued: "Do you make an effort to use pronouns that might not immediately make sense to you? Do you post comments of love so they drown out comments of hate? Do you oppose political parties who openly discriminate LBGTQ+ people even if they align with your beliefs elsewhere?
"I don't care how you answer, it's between you and yourself. But in the last few years, I have buried so many friends, all of them LGBTQ+, all of them taken too soon. And it is NOT because of the 'lifestyle choice'. It's the burden of shame. Society murders queers, and I am so, so angry."
It comes after The Vivienne's RuPaul Drag Race co-star Crystal penned an opinion piece for The Metro about the homophobic abuse their "effortlessly funny, whip-smart" friend was subjected to before their death. Crystal wrote: "It has shocked me. Losing a friend so young is a real gut punch – it doesn't feel real. But the shock and sadness is heightened because I know her final days were spent on the receiving end of abuse and homophobia."
Crystal added: "The pile-on Viv received points to a dangerous trend in recent years of the mask slipping, and the public feeling more emboldened to shame queer people simply for being themselves."