The Vivienne’s sister questions if drug use ‘stigma’ stopped them seeking help

By Charlotte McLaughlin, PA Senior Entertainment Reporter

The sister of The Vivienne has questioned whether the “stigma” around drug use stopped the drag queen from seeking help.

James Lee Williams, who won the first series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, died at home in Chorlton-by-Backford, Cheshire, on January 5th after taking ketamine at the age of 32.

Chanel Williams told BBC Two current affairs programme Newsnight that The Vivienne did not discuss their relapse, including a hospital stay, “to protect them”, following “a really long period of sobriety”.

“It’s hard for me because I think, if that stigma wasn’t there, would my brother have sought the help he needed?” she said.

“To think that, if we’d known, or if he’d have felt able to talk and really reach out for the help that was needed, the outcome could’ve been different.

“That’s why we’ve shared James’s story.”

The family revealed in March that the drag queen died “from the effects of ketamine use causing a cardiac arrest”, to raise awareness.

They also said they would work with the drug charity Adferiad on future campaigns.

“He’d spoken openly on Drag Race about the battles he’d had with addiction, and he’d come through the other side of that,” Ms Williams said.

“He was at the height of everything he was doing and I think, because he’d said it in such an open platform, it’s really difficult to come back and say you’re struggling again.”

She also said the classification of ketamine should be moved from Class B to Class A, because people “think it’s less harmful than other drugs”, among other measures to tackle addiction.

She added: “But it’s not just about reclassification… it needs to include education, police, health, to really raise awareness. We need a strategy around drug usage and drug deaths in the UK.”

The Government is seeking expert advice after the illegal use of ketamine surged to record levels.

While on the BBC show, Wales-born The Vivienne admitted having been a drug addict for four years, saying the addiction was a “habit that caught on a bit too quick and a bit too hard”.

Reflecting on sobriety, the musical theatre and Dancing On Ice star said: “I had to be kicked out of my house and told that I would be dead by the time I was 30.

“It was the loneliest part of my life. I was killing myself… and my family don’t even know. I was pissing my life up the wall and I could’ve been dead now if I didn’t do anything about it.”

An inquest into their death was opened and adjourned at Cheshire Coroner’s Court in Warrington, with a full inquest listed to take place on June 30th.

According to the British Home Office, in the year ending March 2023 an estimated 299,000 people aged 16 to 59 in the UK had reported use of ketamine, which is controlled as Class B.

The UK national anti-drug advisory service Frank says the substance is a general anaesthetic that reduces sensations in the body which can make users feel dream-like and detached, chilled, relaxed and happy, but also confused and nauseated.

British Policing minister Diana Johnson wrote to the UK Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) in January to express the Government’s concern over young people’s ketamine use and call for the classification to be reassessed.

 

A Home Office spokesman said: “Our thoughts are with James’s family and friends, and all those affected by this tragic death, which has sadly reinforced once again the serious dangers of taking ketamine.

“In January this year, the minister for policing and crime prevention wrote to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs expressing the Government’s concern about the growth in the use of ketamine, and asking them to consider whether to reclassify it as a Class A drug.

“We will not hesitate to act when the ACMD reports back, and, in the meantime, we will continue to work across health, policing and wider public services to drive down drug use and stop those who profit from its supply.”