The ex-husband of the drag artist referred to as The Vivienne has stated “my coronary heart is shattered” after the demise of the RuPaul’s Drag Race star, because the hit TV present’s host paid tribute to “a beautiful human being”.
James Lee Williams, who gained the 2019 first sequence of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK as The Vivienne, died on the weekend aged 32.
In an emotional tribute on Instagram, David Ludford wrote: “My coronary heart actually sank after I obtained the decision! My coronary heart is shattered!”
Ludford, a wig hairstylist, stated Williams “modified my life a lot”, including they “cherished one another a lot”.
“We actually went by means of and did a lot collectively, it was like a whirlwind and I wouldn’t have modified the time we spent collectively for something on the earth!” The couple introduced their separation in April 2023.
RuPaul Charles, the host of RuPaul’s Drag Race, stated: “With a damaged coronary heart, I be part of all the Drag Race universe in mourning the lack of The Vivienne – an extremely proficient queen and a beautiful human being.”
Williams’s skilled skating companion on ITV’s Dancing on Ice, the American skater Colin Grafton, stated the performer “introduced gentle into each room they entered and gave so many individuals hope the place there was none”. The pair made historical past when Williams grew to become the primary drag act to achieve the present’s finale, being positioned third within the skating competitors’s 2023 sequence.
Williams carried out because the Depraved Witch of the West in a UK and Eire tour of The Wizard of Oz musical, reprised the function within the West Finish on the Gillian Lynne theatre final yr, and was due to return on tour subsequent month within the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang musical because the Little one Catcher.
Ariana Grande, who stars within the movie Depraved, shared a photograph of Williams on Instagram together with three coronary heart emojis.
The Dancing on Ice decide Oti Mabuse praised the performer for being a “phenomenal entertainer” and “trailblazer” and the Drag Race decide Michelle Visage stated The Vivienne was “a beacon to so many”.
The Northern Irish drag queen Blu Hydrangea, who competed within the first sequence of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK with The Vivienne, praised the TV star as a “class act, a mentor, an absolute celebrity”.
Information of Williams’s demise was introduced by their publicist, Simon Jones, on Sunday night. A spokesperson for Cheshire police stated on Monday officers had been known as to an deal with in Chorlton-by-Backford, close to Chester, at 12.22pm on Sunday after studies of a sudden demise.
The spokesperson stated: “Police attended, investigated the circumstances of the demise of the 32-year-old man and concluded there have been no suspicious circumstances. A file will likely be ready for the coroner.”
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