The Vivienne’s sister speaks out about drug use ‘stigma’
The sister of The Vivienne has questioned whether the “stigma” around drug use stopped the drag queen from seeking help.James Lee Williams, 32, who won the first series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, died at home in Chorlton-by-Backford, Cheshire on 5 January after taking ketamine.Chanel Williams told the BBC Two current affairs programme Newsnight that The Vivienne did not discuss their relapse, including a hospital stay, to “protect” their family, after “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 Williams 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,” Chanel 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.
”Among other measures to tackle addiction, she also said ketamine should become class A rather than class B, because people “think it’s less harmful than other drugs”,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 Drag Race, Welsh-born The Vivienne said they had 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”.
In the UK, Action on Addiction is available on 0300 330 0659.In the US, call or text SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 988.In Australia, the National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline is at 1800 250 015; families and friends can seek help at Family Drug Support Australia at 1300 368 186.
Pro baseball player Tarik El-Abour is everything RFK Jr says he can’t be
The US health and human services secretary dismissed autistic people in recent comments. It’s not hard to disprove his theoriesWhen Tarik El-Abour was in middle school, his teacher asked him and his classmates a simple question. What do you want to be when you grow up? When it was time for him to answer, El-Abour gave a reply that thousands of children have said before. He wanted to be a baseball player. But his teacher shot back with something less than encouraging: “You’d better have a Plan B
Wests Tigers and Lachlan Galvin: a modern-day NRL saga for the social media age | Jack Snape
The future of 19-year-old playmaker Lachlan Galvin may be its catalyst, but rugby league’s latest tug-of-war is a very contemporary NRL saga. It has been enriched this week by surprises, including the presence of a security guard at a local footy ground, an unusual intervention at a press conference by the Wests Tigers chief executive, a shock recall and now calls for “urgent mediation”.But this latest episode of rugby league soap opera is different. It has spilled over into the online realm and become the latest spot fire in sport’s failing efforts to extinguish the raging blaze of social media abuse. Now, that online harm has the potential to burst forth from screens and force clubs to proactively shield players from Instagram-borne threats to their welfare
Lotteries, stashed teens and bidding wars: reimagining the NFL draft
The draft makes for brilliant television and maintains interest in the league even during the offseason. But it’s worth considering other optionsThere is something funky about the draft being one of the NFL’s marquee events. At root, it’s a man stepping to the podium, being booed and reading names. The NFL still dominates Sundays … and Mondays … and Thursdays … and playoff Saturdays during the season; the draft allows the league to gobble up the offseason months too. But as interest continues to grow, there has been relatively little pushback from those who make the draft work: the prospects, particularly those slated to go at the top of the first round
NFL hall of famer Shannon Sharpe accused of rape in Nevada lawsuit
NFL hall of famer Shannon Sharpe has been accused of sexual assault and battery by a former partner in a lawsuit filed on Sunday in Nevada.The woman says she met the 56-year-old Sharpe, who is now an ESPN analyst, at a Los Angeles gym in 2023 when she was 20. A two-year consensual relationship ensued, during which she alleges he raped her.“A woman can say ‘yes’ to consensual sexual relations with a man ninety-nine times, but when she says ‘no’ even once, that ‘no’ means no,” the lawsuit states. “Defendant Shannon Sharpe, a man who is accustomed to getting what he wants, completely fails to understand this basic concept
Wisden calls World Test Championship a ‘shambles’ and makes case for reform
Wisden hits the shelves this week and, as well as unveiling its latest batch of award winners, it has trained its sights on the International Cricket Council. The World Test Championship, the book argues, is a “shambles masquerading as a showpiece”.The publication of the sport’s annual bible is timely, with the future of the WTC discussed recently at ICC meetings in Zimbabwe. In typically opaque fashion, the sport’s governing body is yet to announce the outcome of the debate.Sources suggest the 2025-27 WTC is likely to remain the same, with nine teams and an asymmetrical two‑year fixture list producing two finalists
County cricket day four: Essex survive Ethan Brookes onslaught to grab first win
A thunder and lightning 88 from Ethan Brookes took Worcestershire to within sniffing distance of victory on a morning of high drama at Chelmsford. Starting the day needing 110, with four wickets in hand, Worcestershire quickly lost three, which stung Brookes into an astonishing array of hitting, finding the rope even with every Essex fielder stationed on the boundary.But with 28 needed, and just after flaying Porter over fine leg for his seventh six, Brookes palmed the ball in the air and Porter threw himself into a caught and bowled down in the dust. Brookes put out a questioning arm and a fired-up Porter briefly looked as if he was going into the ring. But the umpire gently intervened, the finger was raised and handshakes followed
Post your questions for Nigel Havers
Arts Council England a victim of ‘London-centric’ media coverage, CEO says
‘When medieval times return, I’ll be ready’: Bella Ramsey on friendship, fashion and The Last of Us
Sunday with Paul Chowdhry: ‘I’ll have a big brunch, then lie around watching YouTube’
Jameela Jamil: ‘I used to be a massive troll and bitch on the internet’
On my radar: Romola Garai’s cultural highlights