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