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Fans are heartbroken The Vivienne, real name James Lee Williams, had to endure so much hatred in their final days after they appeared on an episode of Blankety Blank on Boxing Day
21:21, 07 Jan 2025Updated 21:22, 07 Jan 2025
The Vivienne was bombarded with online abuse in the week before their death.
After appearing on Blankety Blank on Boxing Day, scores of trolls posted anti-gay messages on social media. Fellow drag queen and pal Myra Dubois said: “After appearing on Blankety Blank over Christmas, they were bombarded with a slew of homophobic abuse.”
Fellow Drag Race contestent Crystal also opened up about her shock and heartbreak at the drag queen’s untimely passing on Sunday, aged just 32.
“The homophobia that The Vivienne faced days before her death breaks my heart”, she said, adding that the amount of hate she received has “compounded the tragedy of her passing”.
In a devastating opinion piece for The Metro, Crystal called The Vivienne, real name James Lee Williams, "effortlessly funny, whip smart, and more confident than anyone I had ever met".
And of her death on January 5, she said, “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."
Fans are also heartbroken The Vivienne had to endure so much hatred in their final days.
One said: “It breaks my heart that The Vivienne spent her last few days being relentlessly hounded by homophobic trolls for appearing in drag on Blankety Blank at Christmas, a show that famously had a drag queen host for years.
“Shame on you if you were a part of that.”
Another said: “To have received that much abuse in the last week of your life must have been horrific.”
The Vivienne, who won RuPaul’s Drag Race UK and also appeared on Dancing on Ice, was found dead at their home in Chorlton-by-Backford, Cheshire on Sunday.
Police have confirmed there were no suspicious circumstances.
A spokesperson for Cheshire Police said: “Police attended, investigated the circumstances of the death of the 32-year-old man and concluded there were no suspicious circumstances.
“A file will be prepared for the coroner.”
Dancing on Ice bosses are planning to pay tribute to The Vivienne when the show returns for a new series on Sunday.
The star was the first drag queen to be a contestant on the show when they competed in 2023.
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