Drag Race queens who shared health struggles and stars whose deaths devastated the community

RuPaul’s Drag Race has been rocked by several tragedies since it began in 2009 (Picture: Getty)

The world of drag is in mourning following the death of Jiggly Caliente.

Aged 44, the RuPaul’s Drag Race star—whose real name is Bianca Castro—suffered a ‘severe infection’ that led to the operation.

Days after having their leg amputated, Castro’s family announced the star had passed away ‘peacefully’ in the early hours of Sunday morning.

They are an important part of Drag Race’s legacy, appearing on season four of the reality TV show, All Stars season six, and as part of the judging panel on Drag Race Philippines.

This isn’t the first time the show has been rocked by tragedy, with queens opening up about various health woes, addiction battles, and legal issues since appearing on the show.

Groundbreaking episodes across the show’s run have seen queens share their experiences with everything from gender identity to religion and the LGBTQ+ community, conversion therapy, and living with HIV and AIDs.

But once the cameras stop rolling, many queens have faced extreme hardships.

Drag Race stars who have been lost

News of Jiggly Caliente’s death comes just months after Drag Race UK winner The Vivienne died.

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The Vivienne died in January (Picture: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images) The drag community is now mourning the loss of Jiggly Caliente (Picture: Chelsea Guglielmino/WireImage)

The performer, real name James Lee Williams, died on January 5 at the age of 32.

Williams’ body was found in the bathroom of their home in Chorlton-by-Backford, near Chester, with their cause of death revealed as a result of ‘effects of ketamine use causing a cardiac arrest.’

Their family is now fighting to change the law so that ketamine would be classified as a Class A drug to ‘protect vulnerable individuals’.

In 2022, fellow Drag Race UK star Cherry Valentine, real name George Ward, died by suicide aged 28.

After taking their own life, Ward was found at home in Hornsey, North London by friend Katie, who had been out at a concert that night.

Cherry Valentine died by suicide in 2022 (Picture: Jonathan Hordle/Shutterstock) Willow Pill opened up about their experience with cystinosis, a rare genetic disorder (Picture: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)

‘It’s a frickin’ ravenous and thorough disease,’ they told People.

‘My kidneys went into failure when I was 14, and within a year, I was on dialysis and received a transplant from my brother. But then cystinosis starts to infiltrate other organs as you get older.’

Addiction battles

Various queens, including The Vivienne, bravely opened up about their experiences with addiction during their time on the show.

After quickly becoming a fan-favourite queen on season 7 of the show, Katya has experienced relapses into drug addiction since.

In 2018, the drag queen announced they were taking a break from drag to address issues with their mental health and addiction.

Speaking on the Whimsically Volatile podcast, Katya, real name Brian McCook, said they experienced a ‘total psychotic break.’

Katya has checked into rehab various times due to substance abuse issues (Picture Rick Kern/Getty Images) Katya, who frequently collaborates with fellow season 7 queen Trixie Mattel, took a break from drag in 2018 (Picture Rick Kern/Getty Images)

‘I couldn’t tell what was real or not real,’ they said. ‘I thought it was just a drug problem. No, mama.’

Katya, who co-hosts podcast The Bald and The Beautiful with fellow season 7 queen Trixie Mattel, added: ‘It was rock bottom. You have the bottom of the barrel, I was the sludge under the barrel.’

Last year, Katya postponed their live tour to check into rehab to address their addiction issues.

Sharing the news online, Katya said: ‘There’s a saying for the active alcoholic or drug addict that the trajectory of the life course has three possible outcomes: A) jail, B) institutions or C) death.

‘Unfortunately, I find myself squarely and firmly and quite uncomfortably in the B camp right now.

‘In an effort to make things good with you in the future, I’ve got to make things good for me right now.’

Bimini had an emotional talk on their podcast about addiction (Picture: John Phillips/Getty Images)

Drag Race UK star Bimini shared their experience with substance abuse on their podcast The Pieces.

They said that was amplified by powerful men in showbusiness who ‘chewed [them] up and spat [them] out’ and a loss of credibility in the Drag Race world due to issues with merchandise.

‘People were scammed, and I felt so deeply responsible for this. Unfortunately, it all caught up on me and then since then it has been a battle for the last three and a half years,’ they said.

They added: ‘There were times when I didn’t know what I should be doing for myself, and sometimes I think that made me look like I felt like I was maybe better than Drag Race, but it’s not the truth. I’m so grateful for Drag Race and everything that I got from Drag Race. I loved it. I watched that show all of the time.

‘There was a lot of gossip within the community about what I was going through and my troubles with addiction and my troubles with drugs and they were from friends that I felt really hurt by.

‘I’m not saying that they’re to blame. I don’t think I was ready to admit things that, at the time anyway. I came up through the scene where there is a lot of alcohol. There is a lot of drugs. The community really does struggle with it. But I have decided that enough is enough and I can’t continue anymore.’

Eureka O’Hara entered rehab in 2022 (Picture: Santiago Felipe/Getty Images for MTV)

In 2022, season nine and 10 queen Eureka O’Hara entered rehab, saying that it has been ‘really hard, to be honest’ about their decision.

‘I’m in Rehab. It was time for me to get my addiction and mental self under control,’ they wrote on X.

‘I made this decision and it’s been really hard to be honest about it. I’m embarrassed! These are some of my first steps. I love you all so much!’

A horrifying car crash

Season 16 contestant Morphine Love Dion and Drag Race Canada season 2 contestant Kaos were involved in a car crash that left one person dead last year.

According to local news reports, the accident took place on the 10 freeway in Los Angeles, in the Jefferson Park area.

On Morphine’s Instagram Story, a statement read: ‘Saturday night, Morphine was in a serious car accident while in an Uber.