Drag Race royalty Chi Chi DeVayne has tragically died, aged 34
Chi Chi DeVayne has passed away, aged 34. (chichidevayneofficial/ Instagram)
RuPaul’s Drag Race legend Chi Chi DeVayne has tragically died in hospital at just 34 years old after battling pneumonia.
The drag icon — real name Zavion Davenport — competed on the eighth season of the show and on the third season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars.
Chi Chi was recently hospitalised for the second time in as many months after being diagnosed with pneumonia.
Her pneumonia diagnosis came just weeks after she was admitted to hospital with suspected kidney failure.
The star lived with scleroderma, a rare condition caused by the immune system attacking the tissue under the skin, and around internal organs and blood vessels.
This can cause scarring and thickening of the tissue in these areas, and in some cases the condition can be life-threatening.
Chi Chi shared her diagnosis with fans in 2018, and said she’d kept it hidden for the best part of a year because she was afraid of “losing out on jobs and facing criticism from friends and fans”.
“Bottling this up has had me in a state of depression … it has made me hate my appearance … and also made me stray away from the public eye but I’m no longer hiding and living in a state of fear … I just ask you all to keep me in your prayers as I battle with this life changing illness,” she said at the time.
On Sunday, August 16, asked fans to keep her in their prayers in a video taken from her hospital bed, but on Thursday, August 20, she passed away.
Her fellow Drag Race stars were shocked and saddened by the news, and paid tribute to Chi Chi on social media.
Kennedy Davenport wrote on Twitter: “Im so numb right now my heart is broken into pieces.. I couldn’t even got see her.
https://twitter.com/kennedyddoftx/status/1296539168735141889?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1296539168735141889%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.out.com%2Fdrag%2F2020%2F8%2F20%2Fdrag-races-chi-chi-devayne-has-reportedly-died
Ongina described Chi Chi as “one of the nicest people I’ve ever met”, and added: “Rest in power, angel.”
https://twitter.com/ongina/status/1296540119810191360
https://twitter.com/CherylHoleQueen/status/1296545920843223051
Cheryl Hole added: “Chi Chi DeCayne was such a light during her season and beyond.
“She always showed how being humble, honest and your true authentic self will get you far!
“She was a TRUE STAR and her legacy will live on forever.”
