Drag artists warn of rising tide of bigotry as they pay tribute to The Vivienne

Share:
Drag artists warn of rising tide of bigotry as they pay tribute to The Vivienne
Author: Raphael Boyd
Published: Jan, 13 2025 17:28

Transphobia is fuelling abuse towards community, said artists gathering over weekend at RuPaul’s DragCon UK. Drag artists are under unprecedented pressure as they are “more visible, but also more debated” than ever before, performers have said, as they paid tribute to The Vivienne.

 [A person writes a message on a memorial wall for drag artist The Vivenne at DragCon in London.]
Image Credit: the Guardian [A person writes a message on a memorial wall for drag artist The Vivenne at DragCon in London.]

The international drag community came together in London for RuPaul’s DragCon UK over the weekend, its first large gathering since the Welsh performer’s death. The Vivienne, real name James Lee Williams, won the inaugural season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK in 2019 and had since forged a career on the stage, appearing in UK tours of the Wizard of Oz and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Williams died earlier this month at the age of 32. A cause of death is yet to be established.

 [Remembering The Vivienne: Drag Race winner and TV star – video]
Image Credit: the Guardian [Remembering The Vivienne: Drag Race winner and TV star – video]

Their final television appearance was on the Boxing Day edition of Blankety Blank, after which they received abuse online for appearing on the BBC One gameshow in drag. Danny Beard, a fellow winner of Drag Race UK who hails from Merseyside, believes a growing tide of bigotry towards the community is fuelled by transphobia. Drag artists are “more visible but also more debated than ever”, they said, and certain corners of the society have become more comfortable not viewing them as people.

 [Juno Birch attends RuPaul’s DragCon in London]
Image Credit: the Guardian [Juno Birch attends RuPaul’s DragCon in London]

“There’s this real rightwing vile propaganda at the moment, and I feel that drag queens get the thin edge of the wedge when it comes to transphobia - I get to put this on and take it off, but our trans brothers and sisters can’t,” Beard added.

 [Ginger Johnson performs in Blows Off! at the Soho theatre in London last October.]
Image Credit: the Guardian [Ginger Johnson performs in Blows Off! at the Soho theatre in London last October.]

Share:

More for You

Top Followed