Chi Chi DeVayne, ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ star, dies at 34

Chi Chi DeVayne, the self-proclaimed Southern bayou princess who dazzled viewers of RuPaul’s drag show competitions with impassioned lip sync performances and head-over-heels dance routines, died Thursday. DeVayne, known offstage as Zavion Davenport, was 34.

The Davenport family confirmed the death in a statement on the star’s Instagram account. No cause was given, though she had health problems.

RuPaul Charles, the eponymous host of the shows whose contestants often use male and female pronouns interchangeably, said in statement: “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.”

In 2016, DeVayne competed in season eight of “RuPaul’s Drag Race”; in 2018, she was featured in season three of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars.”

She gained a following among fans, both for delivering splits and high kicks on the runway and for candid, revealing moments away from the stage.

In DeVayne’s first year on the show, she told fellow contestants backstage, “I wish that I had the guts to stand up for gay rights.” In response, one of those contestants, Bob the Drag Queen, smiled and said, “Go do it — you can start anytime.”

DeVayne, in full makeup and dressed in a fuchsia ballgown, responded by shaking her head and saying, “You can’t do it in Shreveport,” referring to her hometown in Louisiana. “They’ll blow your head off.”

That moment captured a paradox, Jenna Wortham wrote in the New York Times. “Queer and gay culture has been so widely co-opted and incorporated into mainstream popular culture that it can feel commonplace, embraced by default,” she wrote. “Yet, pop culture has barely started grappling with...