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‘A beacon of love, talent and Louisiana glamour’: Drag Race pays tribute to late queen Chi Chi DeVayne during season 13 finale
The RuPaul’s Drag Race season 13 finale paid tribute to Chi Chi DeVayne, seven months after her death.
Season eight queen Chi Chi died in August 2020 aged 34, when she contracted pneumonia after a hospital stay for scleroderma-related kidney failure.
During the season 13 grand finale, RuPaul paused the show to remember the fan favourite, saying: ‘We lost one of our most beloved queens this past year, a beacon of love, talent and Louisiana glamour. The dazzling Chi Chi DeVayne.’
In in memoriam segment was aired, with Drag Race alumni Bob The Drag Queen, Kennedy Davenport, Thorgy Thor, Eureka, Cynthia Lee Fontaine, Kim Chi, Latrice Royale and Heidi N Closet paying tribute.
Season eight winner Bob said: ‘Chi Chi was one of those folks who was loved by everyone. Everyone who met Chi Chi truly loved her energy’, and added: ‘She was a show-stopping, and I mean show-stopping, performer.’
Thorgy, who was knocked out of the competition by Chi Chi during their memorable lip sync to And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going, said: ‘She was so raw and visceral and honest and I loved every second of it.’
Latrice recalled going on a Christmas tour with Chi Chi, when she agreed to be ‘the bigger queen’ and sing another song after it emerged that she had planned the same track as Farrah Moan.
She said: ‘That b**** can sing. She sang Silent Night and everyone else on the tour who thought they were going to sing live stopped.’
Chi Chi, who hailed from Shreveport, Louisiana, was known for turning out a low-budget look and making her outfits from materials like trash bags – in comparison to some queens who have much more money to spend on couture garments.
Season 12’s Heidi N Closet said: ‘She inspired me so much. She was a queen that didn’t have all the finest things, but she had the talent and the ability and all those other fixins that made her just how special as she really was.’
The segment ended with the queens emotionally telling Chi Chi that they loved and missed her, with a card reading: ‘Zavion Michael Davenport, Chi Chi DeVayne, 1985-2020, rest in perfection.’
The tribute struck a chord with viewers, who praised the show for the moving segment.
Chi Chi was diagnosed with the autoimmune condition scleroderma in 2018, and had been keeping fans updated on her condition after she was hospitalised last year.
Fans sent the performer money to help pay her medical bills, as well as sending prayers and messages of support, but on August 20, it was confirmed that she had died in hospital.
Chi Chi came fourth on season eight of Drag Race, behind Bob The Drag Queen, Kim Chi and Naomi Smalls, and she returned for the third season of All Stars, coming eighth.
The season 13 finale saw Symone, Gottmik, Kandy Muse and Rosé compete in a lip sync smackdown to be named America’s next drag superstar.
After three tense lip syncs to Britney Spears classics, RuPaul crowned Symone as the winner.
RuPaul’s Drag Race season 13 is available to stream on Netflix.
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