RuPaul Shades ‘Drag Race’ Winner’s Cruel Post About Star’s Death

RuPaul hit back against a drag queen’s offensive joke following the recent death of Drag Race U.K. winner, The Vivienne.

Tyra Sanchez, 36, who won the second season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, sparked an outcry when she responded to an old tweet by The Vivienne. “Bet Tyra was fuming when she realised Netflix spoiled the win too. Sorry gal. You tried though,” The Vivienne wrote in 2020, referencing Netflix using a different drag queen’s photo to promote the season finale of Drag Race.

After The Vivienne’s death at the age of 32 on Sunday, Sanchez responded, “Yet it doesn’t compare to the fumes of the crematorium.”

The comment was immediately blasted as “twisted” and “nasty” by former Drag Race competitors who called for her to be stripped of her crown.

An unrepentant Sanchez, whose real name is James Ross, however doubled down writing, “She’s dead. Rotting. Sending me all the hate in the world won’t bring her back. But do as you must. Because of you the tweet has reached over 25k individuals. Thanks for the much needed attention that I oh so desperately needed.’

She then posted a picture of a crematorium furnace captioned: “Songs I would play if I owned a crematorium,” which included Alicia Keys’ song “Girl on Fire.”

RuPaul weighed in on the drama on Wednesday by posting a throwback video of him slapping Sanchez during an acting challenge on the second season of Drag Race.

Though the video was posted with no caption, fans were quick to pick up on RuPaul’s meaning. “A thousands words,” RuPaul’s Drag Race U.K. contestant A’Whora commented.

“GET HER AGAIN FOR ME MAMMA!!!” wrote All Stars 5 winner Shea Coulee, who appeared on All Stars 7 with The Vivienne.

While a cause of death has not been provided following The Vivienne’s death, Cheshire Police said “there were no suspicious circumstances.”