Cheryl The Queen lead the touching tributes to The Vivienne as fans gathered to remember the Drag Race UK winner on their birthday.
The podcast host sweetly honoured the late Welsh star – who tragically passed away in January aged 32 – by sharing a throwback clip on Friday.
In the Instagram video, the pair are seen chatting about their worst dating experiences, with Cheryl captioning poignantly: ‘Happy Heavenly Birthday @thevivienne_ This clip always makes me smile with how much you cared! We miss you, we love you, we celebrate YOU!’
Fans raced to remember the beloved drag icon, who would have turned 33 on Saturday, sharing their support in the comment section:
‘Happy heavenly birthday to Queen Viv ❤️ (Also, that anecdote was hilarious and kind of terrifying at the same time!)’;
‘That’s a real Judy there, being blunt about you being abducted on a date…god I miss her!’;
Cheryl The Queen lead touching tributes to The Vivienne (pictured) as fans gathered to remember the Drag Race UK winner on their birthday
The podcast host (pictured) sweetly honoured the late Welsh star – who tragically passed away in January aged 32 – by sharing a throwback clip on Friday
‘Happy birthday Viv/James. We love you very much, my darling! ❤️❤️
‘Love this clip ❤️❤️❤️’; ‘Happy birthday viv’.
‘Oh wow it’s still crazy to think their gone ❤️it’s still not real #missyouviv’;
Earlier in February, The Vivienne’s father paid a heartbreaking tribute to their son after Drag Race UK winner was honoured with and Icon Award.
The drag queen, whose real name was James Lee Williams, died suddenly in January.
And at Metro Pride Awards, held at the Grand Connaught Rooms, The Vivienne was honoured with the Icon Award for their groundbreaking contribution to drag, queer visibility, and advocacy.
Their father Lee accepted the award on behalf of The Vivienne, and got choked up as he spoke about his loss.
‘James loved being a part of the entertainment world and I know he would’ve been happy… I know he would have absolutely loved tonight’s events,’ Lee said.
In the Instagram video, the pair is seen chatting about their worst dating experiences (The Vivienne pictured)
Fans raced to remember the beloved drag icon, who would have turned 33 on Saturday, sharing their support in the comment section
‘When he was nominated for the Metro award for rising star last year he was honoured and made up to be here. So whilst it is extremely bittersweet to be here without him, being under this roof meant the world to him.
‘Thank you to everyone for your huge love and support to James and an amazing night. Thank you so much.’
The Vivienne was catapulted to international fame after winning the first series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK in 2019.
But amid their rise to fame, Williams also battled with drug addiction – something they openly spoke about in the past.
News of their sudden and unexpected death last month sparked an outpouring of grief, with hundreds of family, friends and fans gathering in their adopted home city Liverpool to release green balloons into the air to The Vivienne’s favourite songs from Wicked.
Last month mourners including Ian ‘H’ Watkins, Kim Woodburn, Jade Thirlwall, Aston Merrygold and Claire Sweeney attended the TV star’s funeral in Denbighshire, North Wales.
The crown and sceptre The Vivienne won on Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK were carried into the church ahead of their coffin, family and a host of stars.
Many wore green for the service while Vivienne Westwood badges were worn on the lapels of some of the men’s suits.
Floral tributes in the hearse read ‘Vivienne’, ‘James’ and ‘Son’.
The Vivienne died from a cardiac arrest after taking ketamine, the performer’s family revealed in March.
The Vivienne died from a cardiac arrest after taking ketamine, the performer’s family has revealed
The drag star, real name James Lee Williams (pictured out of drag) died on January 5 aged 32
The star was found dead in the bathroom of their home, in Chorlton-by-Backford, near Chester, on January 5 this year, an inquest in February heard.
Their manager and friend Simon Jones said on Instagram that he and the the family feel it is ‘important to say how James tragically died’, after The Vivienne reportedly died due to cardiac arrest caused by the anaesthetic ketamine.
Mr Jones added: ‘We hope that by us releasing this information, we can raise awareness about the dangers of ongoing ketamine usage and what it can do to your body.
‘Ketamine usage is on the rise, particularly amongst young people, and I don’t think the full dangers of the drug are being discussed.’
He added they hope to work with mental health and addiction service Adferiad to ‘raise vital awareness and give information on how to get help if you are struggling with ketamine usage’.
A post mortem found The Vivienne’s cause of death was ‘unnatural’, a coroner was told during the February hearing, but no further information was revealed about how the TV star died.
