'Drag Race's Chi Chi DeVayne Has Reportedly Died

The performer was in the hospital being treated for pneumonia.

Mikelle Street

Mikelle is the former editorial director of digital for PrideMedia, guiding digital editorial and social across Out, The Advocate, Pride.com, Out Traveler, and Plus. After starting as a freelancer for Out in 2013, he joined the staff as Senior Editor working across print and digital in 2018. In early 2021 he became Out's digital director, marking a pivot to content that centered queer and trans stories and figures, exclusively. In September 2021, he was promoted to editorial director of PrideMedia. He has written cover stories on Ricky Martin, Miss Fame, Nyle DiMarco, Jeremy O. Harris, Law Roach, and Symone.

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Mikelle Street

August 20 2020 4:11 PM EST

May 26 2023 1:31 PM EST

MikelleStreet

After weeks in the hospital,RuPaul's Drag Race alum Chi Chi DeVayne has died. Fellow alum Trinity K. Bonet announced the news on Instagram today.

DeVayne, who competed on season 8 of the show, had been in the hospital being treated for pneumonia. In a recent Instagram Story post, while hooked up to a breathing tube she had asked fans for prayer. In July, prior to her stay for pneumonia, the 34-year-old had been hospitalized for possible kidney failure. DeVayne was diagnosed with scleroderma, a condition that attacks various internal organs in 2018. Fans and other alum of the show had been raising money and circulating the performer's CashApp and Venmo accounts to help finance her care after July's hospital stay. Priyanka, a contestant on the debut season of Canada's Drag Race just announced raising $900 for that effort and Shea Coulee had been selling a print of one of her All Stars season 5 looks to benefit the performer as well.

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DeVayne made an impression on Drag Race audiences primarily as a lip-sync assassin, notably besting Thorgy Thor to Jennifer Holiday's "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going." The performance has gone down as one of the best in Drag Race herstory and DeVayne made it to the Top 4 of that season -- she revealed herself as not only a dancer but a witty comedian as well. She later returned for RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars season 3. Though he has personally left social media, RuPaul released a statement on the news through the RuPaul's Drag Race Twitter account.

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"I am heartbroken to learn of the passing of Chi Chi DeVayne," he wrote. "I am so grateful that we got to experience her kind and beautiful soul. She will be dearly missed, but never forgotten. May her generous and loving spirit shine down on us all."

"On behalf of VH1, World of Wonder and the cast and crew of RuPaul's Drag Race, I extend my deepest sympathy - from our family to hers," he continued.

\u201c\ud83d\udc95\ud83d\udc95\u201d
— kam (@kam) 1597954032

\u201cIm so num right now my heart is broken into peaces.. I couldnt even got see her. \ud83d\ude2a\ud83d\ude2a I love you always chichi. My dancing angel..\u201d
— Kennedy Davenport (@Kennedy Davenport) 1597954001

\u201cRest in peace Chi Chi. I\u2019m in shock. Our second queen to have passed from Drag Race. You will be forever our star Chi Chi. Thank you for bringing our joy to our lives in S8 & AS3\u2764\ufe0f We love you. #DragRace #ChiChiDevayne\u201d
— philip (@philip) 1597954189

\u201cRIP Chi Chi DeVayne (Zavion Davenport) the heart of RuPaul's Drag Race Season 8 and All Stars 3.\n\n"Never be ashamed of how you walk... talk... because that is going to be the key to your success." #RIPChiChiDeVayne\u201d
— omri (@omri) 1597954897

\u201cChi Chi \ud83d\udc94 My heart is breaking. You were such a light, a rare talent, a kind and generous spirit and a force of nature on the stage. Rest well, sister. \ud83d\udd4a\u201d
— BeBe Zahara Benet (@BeBe Zahara Benet) 1597955667

In addition to being a star performer, DeVayne was known as a gentle and loving soul to all that met her. Watch DeVayne's season of Drag Race on CBS All Access now.