Dancing On Ice paid tribute to former contestant The Vivienne on Sunday’s launch show after their tragic death last week.
The RuPaul’s Drag Race UK winner, who came third when they competed on the ITV skating show in 2023, died suddenly on January 5 at the age of 32.
Presenters Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern paid tribute to The Vivienne, whose real name was James Williams, at the beginning of Sunday’s episode of Dancing On Ice. However, viewers did not react positively to the tribute.
Holly addressed the audience, expressing that like many others, they were saddened by The Vivienne’s recent passing.
‘Now, they were a huge part of the show, making it all the way to the final in 2023 and they’ll be very sorely missed.
‘Our thoughts are with The Vivienne’s loved ones at this sad time. So sad.’
However fans of The Vivienne were left unimpressed by the tribute, as they criticised the show for not showing any of The Vivienne’s dances.
Some viewers took to social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) to express their disappointment. One viewer commented that they had hoped for a more elaborate homage to The Vivienne, such as showing past clips or performing a dance routine in memory of the late contestant.
‘Was that seriously the tribute for The Vivienne they were talking about?? Hoping there’s something else later on in the show because that’s the only reason why I tuned in icl,’;
‘Is that it for a tribute to The Vivienne a few words why can’t we at least see some dances etc,’;
‘Didn’t seem genuine to be honest. The Vivienne deserved better,’;
‘That tribute from #DoI #DancingOnIce for #TheVivienne was absolutely disgusting. No VT, no picture on the big screen… the opening dance could’ve been a dedication. Seemed like no feeling or care at all in that.’
The Vivienne garnered attention in 2015 as the British drag ambassador for the US version of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
RuPaul broke his silence in public for the first time since The Vivienne’s death as he opened DragCon UK at the ExCel London on Friday.
RuPaul, 64, who discovered the Welsh-born performer, real name James Lee Williams, on season one of his hit BBC show, appeared visibly emotional with his best friend Michelle Visage by his side, who wore a mini dress with ‘The Vivienne’ emblazoned across it.
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.’
Organisers set up a memorial wall and memorial books where the thousand of fans who are expected to attend the event over the weekend can remember the late entertainer who won the show’s UK series back in 2019.
On Wednesday RuPaul hit back at fellow drag star Tyra Sanchez posted a controversial tweet about The Vivienne.
Sanchez, real name James Ross, feuded with The Vivienne nearly five years ago and has reacted to news of the shock death with a scathing jibe about the late performer.
Sanchez reposted a tweet by The Vivienne from July 2020, in which the latter wrote: ‘Bet Tyra was fuming when she realised Netflix Spoiled the win too. Sorry gal. You tried though.’ Quoting the tweet, Sanchez retorted: ‘Yet it doesn’t compare to the fumes of the crematorium.’
Sanchez, another Drag Race alum, was met with a vociferous backlash on social media from fans of The Vivienne who were outraged over the post.
Amid the furor, RuPaul posted a throwback video on Instagram this Wednesday, showing him pretending to slap Sanchez during an acting challenge on Drag Race.
While news of The Vivienne’s death triggered an outpouring of grief from fans, Sanchez, winner of the American version of the program in 2010, took to social media to rekindle a social media feud with The Vivienne from almost five years earlier by posting her crematorium tweet.
Met with opprobrium from fans and fellow drag stars alike, Sanchez was unrepentant, writing on social media the following day: ‘She’s dead. Rotting. Sending me all the hate in the world won’t bring her back. But do as you must.
‘Because of you the tweet has reached over 25k individuals. Thanks for the much needed attention that I oh so desperately needed.’
And despite further criticism, with X users branding the drag queen ‘disgusting’ and ‘twisted’, Sanchez’s position became more entrenched on Tuesday evening, when she posted a picture of a crematorium furnace captioned: ‘Songs I would play if I owned a crematorium.’
The soundtrack to the post was the Alicia Keys hit Girl on Fire.
Social media users once again responded with fury, variously branding Sanchez ‘disgusting’, ‘despicable’ and ‘sad’.
