RuPaul has broken his silence in public for the first time since the death of The Vivienne.
The RuPaul’s Drag Race UK winner’s death last week at the age of 32 has plunged the drag community into mourning.
RuPaul, 64, who discovered the Welsh-born performer on season one of his hit BBC show, appeared visibly emotional with his best friend Michelle Visage by his side.
He told the audience of DragCon UK: ‘We are here to celebrate life and celebrate love and to spread it around. We want to focus on love’.
‘We are going to remember our dear The Vivienne with love and life, because that’s what she was all about and she would love for you to live your lives and to be free and to have a lot of fun and spread it around.’
A memorial booth has also been set up at the convention held at the Excel centre, east London where tens of thousands of fans of the drag artf orm are expected to attend this weekend.
RuPaul has broken his silence in public for the first time since the death of The Vivienne
The RuPaul’s Drag Race UK winner’s death last week at the age of 32 has plunged the drag community into mourning
It comes as RuPaul is weighing up his future on the BBC show which has been broadcasting since 2019.
Friends have RuPaul said he was ‘absolutely devastated’ by The Viv’s death and has been in bits about the sudden loss.
The tragedy has weighed so heavily on the presenter that he is now ‘seriously considering’ stepping away from his hosting duties on the show.
A friend of the star said: ‘This has come like a bolt out of the blue for Ru. The Vivienne was one of his brightest stars and everyone knows what a soft spot he had for them. He has been left absolutely devastated by their passing and is now weighing up his own future.
‘Ru is now seriously considering standing down from hosting the UK franchise, which will always be associated with The Viv.’
Sources said that the American drag queen has confided in those close to him that his filming schedule is packed and he ‘isn’t getting any younger’ and he believes the show is in ‘good hands’ with his co-presenters Michelle Visage, Alan Carr and Graham Norton.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk