Kitty Scott-Claus to run London Marathon in drag in The Vivienne’s honour: ‘I miss her so much’
Kitty Scott-Claus is running the London Marathon to support Sahir House, The Vivienne’s favourite charity. (Getty)
Kitty Scott-Claus is running the London Marathon to support Sahir House, The Vivienne's favourite charity. (Getty)
RuPaul’s Drag Race finalist Kitty Scott-Claus is set to run the London Marathon this weekend in memory of The Vivienne, and to raise funds for the late star’s favourite charity, Sahir House.
Kitty will be taking on her first full marathon alongside Jeremy Joseph, the owner of the UK’s legendary G-A-Y nightclubs.
Speaking to PinkNews, Kitty shared that Joseph challenged her to take on the 26 mile run while he completed his 14th marathon last April. Kitty, who was in the earlier stages of her fitness journey, agreed, though their run took on a whole new meaning following The Vivienne’s death.
The Vivienne, who won the inaugural season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK in 2019, died on 5 January this year at her home near Chester. Their family have since revealed that they died from a cardiac arrest caused by taking the drug ketamine.
“Whenever we were with her, it was always just such a warm [energy]. I always felt like she was just like the best older sister that you could ask for. She was always someone you could turn to for advice. She would always be in your corner fighting for you,” Kitty remembered.
“She was the biggest cheerleader and it’s such a loss to the community, to the Drag Race UK sisterhood. She really was our shining star and I miss her so, so much. Everything she has done and did is just incredible. The legacy she’s left behind is unmatched.”
Joseph worked with The Vivienne for years before her Drag Race UK appearance, including when she was named the RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Ambassador in 2015 by RuPaul.
“We were really close friends and she’s someone I [could] call anytime and we had some amazing memories,” Joseph reflected.
Ahead of the Drag Race UK season one finale, Joseph received a call from Wicked star Idina Menzel, who wanted to perform at Heaven.
“I said, ‘OK, but I’ve got two of the UK Drag Race girls [The Vivienne and Baga Chipz] on that [Saturday] who are the finalists. One of them will be the winner, hopefully. And Idina just replied, ‘Oh, they can do a number with me.’ For such worldwide stars to respect the queens from UK Drag Race and Drag Race across the world was just amazing.”
Similarly, Joseph went to see The Vivienne perform as the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz in the West End, and there was appreciation for the drag star from a very famous face.
“Sitting three rows in front of us was Andrew Lloyd Webber. You just go, ‘This is our girl on stage before me, in front of Andrew Lloyd Webber…’ The doors were just going to fly open. He was obsessed [with The Vivienne].”
The decision to run to raise money for Sahir House, a Liverpool-based charity supporting LGBTQ+ people and people living with HIV, “just felt right”, both Kitty and Joseph explained. The Vivienne was a frequent and vocal supporter of the charity.
“It was about keeping The Viv’s memory alive. So to do that, to choose a charity like Sahir House, for us it’s just so important because it means we’re still talking about The Vivienne and that’s something that I just want to constantly do,” Joseph added.
In addition to Sahir House, the pair will be running for the London Marathon’s official charity Pancreatic Cancer UK, London Friend’s LGBTQ+ drug and alcohol support service Antidote, and LGBTQ+ charity Switchboard.
The latter, which has run the National LGBTQ+ Support Line for more than 50 years, is particularly “important” following the UK Supreme Court’s recent ruling that transgender women fall outside of the legal definition of a woman.
“I think now more than ever it just shows how important a service like Switchboard is and highlights how important what they do [is] and just how ridiculous [the Supreme Court’s ruling] was,” Kitty said. “There are people out there who are there to support and are on the right side of history.”
Kitty Scott-Claus will be completing the marathon in full drag – minus high heels, of course – and stopping at mile 21, dubbed Rainbow Road, for a performance of Heather Smalls’ song “Proud” alongside her Drag Race UK sister, Cheryl. Jeremy Joseph will introduce the pair, and say a few words about The Vivienne’s legacy.
It feels apt for the pair to be running the marathon for The Vivienne. In the days after her death in January, the pair hit the trails, and it gave them space to think about the drag icon’s life.
“I remember we started to run and we were like, should we even be running? Should we be doing this? That run, I think, was the best thing for all of us,” Kitty shared.
“We were talking about The Viv and [reminiscing] and really, just celebrating [her life]. It was so good mentally. I remember finishing that run and being like, ‘I’m so pleased I did that. I just feel like a weight has been lifted.’”
The London Marathon takes place on 27 April. You can support Kitty Scott Claus and Jeremy Joseph on their run here.
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