The homophobia The Vivienne faced days before her death breaks my heart-Crystal-Entertainment – Metro

The level of vitriol Viv received has compounded the tragedy of her passing (Picture: Danny Lawson/PA Wire)

The Vivienne (also known as James Lee Williams) was effortlessly funny, whip smart, and more confident than anyone I had ever met.

And her death – on January 5 at the age of 32 – 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.

This was a performer at the top of her game, with work covering theatre, TV, comedy and music, but after they featured on a special Boxing Day episode of Blankety Blank, the usual suspects on social media complained that a drag queen was on their screens. This is despite the show being hosted by Lily Savage for years!

The level of vitriol Viv received has compounded the tragedy of her passing.

I want to be perfectly clear that I am drawing absolutely no connections between her death and this bullying – her family have asked for privacy and I am not engaging in speculation. However, it makes me incredibly sad to know she was on the receiving end of these messages immediately before her death, and I need to address it.

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.

I remember the first time I saw The Vivienne, which was in 2019.

Viv taught me so much (Picture: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)

She walked into the workroom on the first season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK like she’d been doing it all their life. I was in the workroom myself as a fellow contestant, and I didn’t know her, but my first impression was ‘oh, she’s going to win’.

Over the course of the season, I saw how right that first impression had been. We had a makeup station in the corner together that we dubbed ‘confidence corner’ (the irony being that I felt no confidence at all at being on TV and was desperately hoping she wouldn’t catch on).

She taught me so much – from makeup tips while we were stressing and getting ready for our first runway, to the power of confidence to totally transform a person.

From L to R: Crystal, The Vivienne, and Gothy Kendoll (Picture: Crystal)

Frankly, I was always more than a little in awe of The Vivienne – and it’s clear I’m not alone, judging by the outpouring of love and respect on social media following the announcement of her passing. It’s been wonderful to see how many people’s lives she touched.

I have huge admiration for her – both as a friend and a talent – but I’ll leave the proper tributes to people who knew her better. What has galvanised (and enraged) me to write this piece is the climate of homophobia that was swirling around her untimely death.

We do not need to know the details of The Vivienne’s death to know that a queer person has died far too young – and that is an occurrence with which our community is all too familiar.

On top of the vitriol The Vivienne received after her Blankety Blank appearance, Drag Race UK season two star, Tayce, recently won the Strictly Christmas special and received similar treatment.

I’ve seen posts on X with millions of impressions, complaining about the BBC showcasing drag on primetime TV. Or people getting defensive and saying that it’s not homophobic to dislike drag.

‘This isn’t homophobia,’ one post on X protested, ‘it’s a nation fed up to the back teeth of having this SHOVED ONTO EVERY F***ING SHOW.’

Let queer people live (Picture: Santiago Felipe/Getty Images)

But here’s the thing, saying you ‘just don’t like drag’ is like saying you ‘just don’t like comedy’. There are a million varieties of both. So yes, I am going to assume some homophobia – conscious or not – if people pile on a drag queen just for appearing in public. 

This kind of vilification is nothing surprising to me, because I’ve experienced it myself. A recent clip of me on Newsnight had thousands of comments calling me things like a disgusting freak, pervert, and parasite.

This is the reality of life in the UK as a public-facing queer person. Whenever these pile-ons happen, the message they are trying to send is clear: ‘We preferred it when you were in the closet.’ 

In my experience, the UK is growing more intolerant – particularly against people who are gender non-conforming. Even this article mourning my friend will probably bring out nasty, homophobic comments.

I know firsthand that our society shames queer people to death. And that’s the reason that visibility is so important – it’s a preventative medicine for the next generation of queer people.

Maybe seeing a drag artist on TV is pointless to you, but it could be huge for a young queer person who doesn’t yet feel pride in themselves.

RuPaul’s Drag Race season 1 cast at dinner together (Picture: Crystal)

Again, we don’t need to know the circumstances of The Vivienne’s death, to find it absolutely heartbreaking that she received so much hate leading up to it.

If you’re reading this and you participated in that pile on, I hope you feel ashamed of yourself, and I hope you’ll think twice about doing it again. 

Let queer people live.

And to the queer people reading this, take the trick I learned from our Vivienne: live confidently and don’t be afraid to take up space. I’ll see you in Confidence Corner.

Rest in pride, my friend.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing James.Besanvalle@metro.co.uk. 

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