Remembering Chi Chi DeVayne

In a tragic turn of events, 34-year-old Drag Queen royalty Chi Chi DeVayne aka Zavion Davenport has reportedly died. DeVayne’s friend and fellow Drag entertainer, Trinity K. Bonet, revealed the shocking news via Instagram less than a week after DeVayne informed fans she was back in the hospital being treated for pneumonia.

“Keep me in your prayers, I’ll be back soon,” DeVayne said in a video message shared this past Saturday morning, just four days ago. It is with a heavy heart that we mourn her untimely passing today.

Hailing from Shreveport, Louisiana, Chi Chi DeVayne rose to international acclaim on Season 8 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” where she impressed both the judges and viewers alike! Her wit and personality truly made an impact on fans and DeVayne went on to impressively finish her season in fourth place.

DeVayne was later asked to return for Season 3 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” in 2018, where she was eliminated in the fourth episode, but even still, Chi Chi DeVayne credited RuPaul’s series and its spinoff for inspiring her to escape inner demons and flourish as an artist despite a difficult upbringing.

This past July, DeVayne had been hospitalized for possible kidney failure after being diagnosed with scleroderma, a condition that attacks various internal organs. Fans and other “Drag Race” alumni had been raising money to help finance her care after her hospital stay, including “All Stars” Season 5 winner, Shea Couleé, who had been selling prints of one of her looks to benefit the performer. Priyanka from “Canada’s Drag Race” recently announced raising $900 for DeVayne and “Canada’s Drag Race” host Brooke Lynn Hytes, was raising money via Cameo right up until today.

Both “Drag Race” fans and alumni, some of which were very close to Chi Chi DeVayne, took to social media to express their emotions surrounding the news:

One Twitter user shared a beautiful video of Chi Chi DeVayne on the main stage of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” telling RuPaul exactly what she would say to her younger self, if she could:

Thank you for sharing your shine with the world, Chi Chi DeVayne.

You will be sorrowfully missed.