RuPaul’s Drag Race UK stars Tia Kofi, Veronica Green, and The Vivienne were evacuated from a nightclub gig due to a bomb scare. The scare took place at the popular London nightclub Heaven on May 3, 2021. The potential threat interrupted a rehearsal for their upcoming show in the West End, Drag Queens of Pop. These three Drag Race UK alumni will be joined by fellow drag queen Shania Pain.
The Vivienne appeared on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK season 1, winning the entire competition. Tia Kofi and Veronica Green recently competed on the second season of the series, with Tia finishing in seventh place. In turn, Veronica appeared to be a frontrunner until an unfortunate COVID-19 diagnosis prevented her from returning to the competition after a months-long lockdown break. However, RuPaul gave her an open invitation to compete on the show’s third season.
Veronica Green shared the news in a series of tweets (included below) that she shared with the RuPaul's Drag Race UK fans. As the story goes, a suspicious item was item was discovered at a commercial premise in Villiers Street, and specialist officers came to investigate. The premise was closed to the public at the time, but the performers and crew rehearsing were evacuated. The nearby Charing Cross Railway Station was evacuated as well. The officers investigating confirmed that the item wasn't harmful during their investigation. However, the circumstances suggested that the item was part of an intentional hoax, and police are trying to identify the person that is responsible for it.
The queens and staff present at the event took to social media to reflect on the incident. “To the sick person who made the call to the police, thanks for ruining our rehearsal for which people travelled down for” ranted season 1 champion The Vivienne on Instagram, “just out of lockdown and now this.” The Vivienne thanked Simon Jones and G-A-Y boss Jeremey Joseph for keeping the performers safe. Jeremy shared his own post as well: “It was frightening, but I can’t praise the police dog team enough. They have to enter a building not knowing if a threat is real or a hoax.”
The incident was dubbed the most dramatic ever by Joseph. He seized the opportunity to promote the Drag Queens of Pop show that was being rehearsed at Heaven in the first place. “I can’t promise that Drag Queens of Pop at Nimax Theatres Vaudeville will be this dramatic, but it is going to be an amazing show,” declared the nightlife mogul. In turn, RuPaul's Drag Race UK will return for season 3 in the near future. Even though the American version of the series just finished its 13th season, the first edition of the Australian spin-off premiered right after. The investigation happening in regards to the person that called in the bomb threat is still open and inconclusive. However, these drag performers are happy to be safe.