‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ contestant Chi Chi DeVayne dies at 34
Chi Chi #ChiChi
Aug. 20 (UPI) — RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant Chi Chi DeVayne has died, RuPaul announced. She was 34.
DeVayne, born Zavion Michael Davenport, competed on Season 8 of the VH1 drag competition reality show and was later asked to participate in the show’s All-Stars spinoff in 2018.
“I am heartbroken to learn of the passing of Chi Chi DeVayne. I am so grateful that we got to experience her kind and beautiful soul,” RuPaul said in a statement on Twitter. “She will be dearly missed, but never forgotten. May her generous and loving spirit shine down on us all.”
On Saturday, DeVayne posted a video to Instagram showing her attached to medical equipment in a hospital bed.
“Keep me in your prayers. I’ll be back soon,” she said.
She had been hospitalized with high blood pressure and suspected kidney failure in July, saying she had catheters to her heart and kidneys surgically installed before receiving dialysis treatment, EW reported.
In addition to performing as a drag artist competing on RuPaul’s Drag Race, DeVayne made appearances on Apple TV+’s Little America and guested on the queer talk show Hey Qween and fellow Drag Race contestant Yuhua Hamasaki’s YouTube series Bootleg Opinions.