RuPaul’s Drag Race celebrity Tyra Sanchez has sparked further controversy with a second inappropriate ‘crematorium’ joke following the sad passing of fellow star The Vivienne. Tyra initially faced backlash after posting insensitively on social media about The Vivenne, whose real name was James Lee William, shortly after their untimely death at age 32 on January 5.
The post responded to a nearly five year old tweet from The Vivienne, which read: “Bet Tyra was fuming when she Realised Netflix Spoiled the win Too. Sorry gal. You Tried though.” To this, Tyra callously replied: “Yet it doesn’t compare to the fumes of the crematorium.”
Doubling down on her shocking behaviour, Tyra proceeded to share an image of a crematorium captioned ‘songs I would play if I owned a crematorium’, while Alicia Keys’ ‘Girl on Fire’ played in the background, compounding the offense. The reaction to Tyra’s disturbing sense of humour was swift and fierce.
Read more The Vivienne made final TV appearance days before death
On the platform X, formerly known as Twitter, responses ranged from outrage to disappointment, with one individual commenting: “You are so f****** disgusting.”, reports the Mirror.
Another user lamented over what Tyra had become: “How sad that you once had the status of a queen and now you are just a despicable vagabond hungry for a pitiful show, laaaaaame.” Others called out Tyra’s cowardice, stating: “Girl, you were too scared to reply when The Vivienne was alive so you had to clap back after they had passed? You’re sad get a life.”
Drag Race enthusiasts have called for RuPaul to revoke Tyra Sanchez’s title after her unacceptable rants. A viewer pleaded on X: “@RuPaul take away Tyra Sanchez’s win now. The s**8 she posted had no right to allow her to stay in the hall of fame, she is a disgrace to the planet and to the fandom and you should discard anything related to her as you did Sherry Pie. Letting this slide is a big f**8 up.”
Another suggested: “I think #RuPaul should take the crown from Tyra Sanchez and give it to #Raven in a symbolic but powerful act. The level of disrespect that girl has, already crossed all limits with her comments about The Vivienne. Do the right thing Mama Ru.”
Meanwhile, a third commented, “Strip Tyra Sanchez of her Crown for Disrespecting Late Queen.” Tyra has addressed demands for her title removal in a social media post: “Calling for a crown/title that I could give two f**** about is stupid. You’re the only ones caught up in that fairytale. It means absolutely nothing. Y’all been hollering 15min for 15 years. F*** that crown. F*** @RuPaul F*** @RuPaulsDragRace F*** @WorldOfWonder and f*** you too.”
The tragic news of The Vivienne’s passing was confirmed on Sunday by their publicist and friend Simon Jones via Twitter/X, with a touching statement: “It is with immense sadness that we let you know our beloved James Lee Williams – The Vivienne, has passed this weekend.”
James’s loved ones said in a statement: “James was an incredibly loved, warm- hearted and amazing person. Their family are heartbroken at the loss of their son, brother and uncle. They are so proud of the wonderful things James achieved in their life and career. We will not be releasing any further details. We please ask that James’s family are given the time and privacy they now need to process and grieve.”
RuPaul then paid tribute, saying: “With a broken heart, I join the entire Drag Race universe in mourning the loss of the Vivienne – an incredibly talented queen and a lovely human being.”