RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 2 winner Tyra Sanchez is under fire for making a joke about the tragic passing away of fellow drag queen, The Vivienne. The Vivienne, whose real name was James Lee Williams, died on January 5, 2025, at the age of 32. The performer rose to fame after winning RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Season 1 back in 2019. She then competed again in the RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 7 in 2022. A cause for her death for the reality star yet to be established.
A few hours after the news of the drag queen’s death came out, Sanchez took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to reshare one of The Vivienne’s tweets from 2020. “Bet Tyra was fuming when she realized Netflix spoiled the win too. Sorry gal. You tried though,” wrote The Vivienne. Her tweet referred to the streaming platform using a photo of Shea Couleé with her RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 5 crown to promote the season’s finale. Sanchez quoted the tweet and wrote: “Yet it doesn’t compare to the fumes of the crematorium,” a move that has not gone down well with fans.
While The late drag queen was making a light-hearted jab at Sanchez and her many controversies, it looks like Sanchez was waiting to retaliate. Many fans took to the comments to express their disgust at the vile joke. Drag queen Kandy Muse replied to Sanchez and claimed that she was not going to defend her for this. “If our path were to ever cross it’s absolutely on sight bi*ch,” added Muse while calling Sanchez out for being disgusting. To this, Sanchez replied and threatened Muse to prepare her funeral for the next time they saw each other.
Tyra Sanchez Is Doubling Down on the Disrespect
Yet it doesn’t compare to the fumes of the crematorium. https://t.co/DGSYkRovzJ — Tyra (@thatdamntyra) January 5, 2025
Despite all the negative reactions to her tweet, Sanchez is not backing down from her stance. A few hours after her original tweet, she took to X once again to respond to the criticism. She expressed that sending her hate wouldn’t bring The Vivienne back. “She’s dead. Rotting,” wrote the drag queen, which fueled even more outrage among fans. However, Sanchez took the opportunity to thank everyone for giving her so much attention and noted that her original tweet had reached over 25k individuals.
Sanchez has continued tweeting about the situation since then. One of her posts revealed that she had been blocked by Kandy Muse after their heated online exchange. In another tweet, she attacks RuPal and the producers of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Sanchez goes on to claim that her Drag Race title means “absolutely nothing.” Sanchez uses extremely inappropriate language in her tweet and directs profanities toward the host of the reality tv show.
On the other hand, Kandy Muse, who was the runner-up on RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 13 took to Instagram to share a heartfelt tribute for The Vivienne. Muse shared a series of photos and videos of The Vivienne and herself to show how strong their friendship was. In the caption, she wrote: “I am in utter shock, devastated and absolutely heartbroken.” Muse went on to talk about how sweet The Vivienne was and how much she will miss her “bright energy and smile.”
RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 17 airs Fridays at 8:00pm on MTV. Previous seasons of the show are available to stream on Paramount+.
