Dancing On Ice paid tribute to former contestant The Vivienne on Sunday’s launch show following her 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 opened Sunday’s Dancing On Ice with a tribute to The Vivienne, whose real name was James Williams, but viewers were left unimpressed.
Speaking to the camera, Holly said: “Before we move on, like us, many of you have been saddened by the tragedy of Vivienne’s passing last weekend.
“Now, they were a big part of the show, they made it all the way to the final in 2023 and they will be sorely missed. Our thoughts are with Vivienne’s loved ones at this sad time. How sad.’
Viewers criticized the tribute as “fake” and claimed the message had “no care or feeling”, while criticizing the show for not showing any of The Vivienne’s dances.
Dancing On Ice paid tribute to former contestant The Vivienne on Sunday’s launch show following the drag queen’s tragic death last week at the age of 32.
The RuPaul’s Drag Race UK winner, who came third when competing on the ITV skating show in 2023, died suddenly on January 5.
On X, formerly Twitter, viewers wrote: ‘I thought they could have said/done a little more when it came to paying tribute to The Vivienne as well, showing previous clips and/or a dance routine in memory of maybe’;
‘Nah #DancingOnIce kissing, they were making a tribute to The Vivienne and they say practically nothing, they make more of a tribute than that shitty bolero, what a fucking abysmal show’;
‘Was that seriously the tribute to The Vivienne you were talking about?’ Hoping there’s something else later in the show because that’s the only reason I tuned into icl’;
‘Is it to pay tribute to La Vivienne a few words why can’t we at least see some dances, etc.?’;
‘It didn’t seem genuine to be honest. Vivienne deserved better’;
‘What an absolute insult to The Vivienne. Fake. Nauseating. It smells like “first, are you okay?”;
‘That #DoI #DancingOnIce tribute to #TheVivienne was absolutely disgusting. Without television, without images on the big screen… the opening dance could have been a dedication. There seemed to be no feeling or concern in it.
Vivienne gained attention in 2015 as a British drag ambassador for the US version of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Speaking to the camera, Holly said: “Before we move on, like us, many of you have been saddened by the tragedy of Vivienne’s passing last weekend.”
Viewers criticized the tribute as “fake” and claimed the message had “no care or feeling” while criticizing the show for not showing any of The Vivienne’s dances.
On X, formerly Twitter, viewers wrote: “I thought they could have said/done a little more when it came to paying tribute to The Vivienne.”
RuPaul broke his silence in public for the first time since Vivienne’s death when he opened DragCon UK at ExCel London on Friday.
RuPaul, 64, who discovered the Welsh-born artist, whose real name is James Lee Williams., On the first series of his hit BBC show, he appeared visibly emotional with his best friend Michelle Visage at his side, who was wearing a mini dress with ‘The Vivienne’ printed on it.
He told the DragCon UK audience: “We’re here to celebrate life and love and spread it.” We want to focus on love.’
‘Let’s remember our dear Vivienne with love and life, because that’s what she was and she would love for them to live their lives and be free and have a lot of fun and spread it.’
Organizers have installed a memorial wall and commemorative books where the thousands of fans expected to attend the event over the weekend can remember the late artist who won the show’s UK series in 2019.
On Wednesday, RuPaul responded to fellow drag star Tyra Sanchez and posted a controversial tweet about The Vivienne.
Sanchez, whose real name is James Ross, fell out with The Vivienne nearly five years ago and reacted to news of the shocking death with a scathing dig at the late artist.
Sanchez reposted a tweet from The Vivienne from July 2020, in which the latter wrote: ‘Bet Tyra was furious when she realized Netflix ruined the win too. Sorry girl. But you tried. Quoting the tweet, Sánchez replied: “However, it doesn’t compare to the fumes from the crematorium.”
RuPaul broke his silence in public for the first time since The Vivienne’s death when he opened DragCon UK at the ExCel London on Friday.
The death of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK winner last week at the age of 32 has sent the drag community into mourning.
Sanchez, another Drag Race alum, received strong backlash on social media from The Vivienne fans who were outraged by the post.
Amid the furor, RuPaul posted a video on Instagram on Wednesday, showing him pretending to slap Sanchez during an acting challenge on Drag Race.
While news of The Vivienne’s death caused widespread grief among fans, Sanchez, winner of the US version of the show in 2010, took to social media to reignite a nearly five-year-old social media feud with The Vivienne. earlier when posting his tweet about the crematorium. .
Faced with opprobrium from fans and other drag stars, Sánchez was unrepentant and wrote on social media the next day: ‘She’s dead. Rotten. Sending me all the hate in the world won’t bring her back. But do what you must.
‘Thanks to you, the tweet has reached more than 25,000 people. Thank you for the much needed attention.’
And despite fresh criticism, with : “Songs I would play if I had a crematorium.” .’
The soundtrack for the release was Alicia Keys’ hit Girl on Fire.
Social media users responded once again with fury, calling Sánchez “disgusting,” “despicable” and “sad.”