Culture

Drag Race star Kim Chi issues statement over Eureka’s viral comments

By Sam Damshenas

15th May 2024

Kim Chi has called out the ‘wild and cruel’ barrage of hate she’s received following Eureka’s recent comments on Delta Work’s podcast.

On Very Delta, Eureka sat down with her fellow Drag Race alumni to discuss various topics, from “using drugs safely” to her “love for pageantry” and her role in the first three seasons of HBO’s Emmy Award-winning series We’re Here.

One particular clip from the interview, in which Eureka reminisces on a “fight” with Kim on the Werq the World Tour, has gone viral on social media.

After recalling how she lost her bags on tour, Eureka told Delta: “I got into the biggest fight with Kim Chi, I was so pissed at her. I went to her and was like, ‘Do you have anything I could borrow? A stretch dress? Anything?’

“This was when she was going through her era of like, ‘I’m not a big girl.’ She was just like, ‘Eureka, I don’t have anything in your size.’ I was just like, ‘Okay, that’s delusional.’

“I was a skinnier version of myself, and it also just felt, like, hateful. We’re sisters, we’re on tour together, and I got upset about it like, ‘Okay, fuck you girl.’”

Eureka subsequently had a “big fight” with Bob the Drag Queen, who she would later star with on We’re Here, “because Kim Chi was upset that I was mad”: “I was just like, ‘Fuck you too bitch! Get out of my dressing room. I hate you all!’

“I love them now, [but] me and Kim Chi took a minute before we were okay again. But, you know, that’s how sisters get into it when we’re traveling.”

The clip subsequently went viral on social media, which led to trolls inundating Kim with vile abuse about her weight. The Drag Race season eight star later addressed Eureka’s comments and online hate in a statement to X (formerly known as Twitter).

“The amount of body shaming I’ve received in the last 24 hours over someone’s falsely embellished story is actually wild?” she wrote. “I didn’t want to air out my personal struggles but I actually struggled from depression and leg injury and have gained a lot of weight.

“I am doing much better now getting into healthier habits and routine. I hope you folks aren’t this cruel to fat people in your real daily lives.”

Kim’s post was met with swathes of support from fellow alumni such as Bianca Del Rio, Bimini, Brooke Lynn Hytes, Deja Skye, Denali, Detox, Joey Jay, Kandy Muse, Mrs. Kasha Davis and Rosé.

Darienne Lake responded: “From personal experiences, yes, they are that horrible. Sometimes those words even come from friends.

“It’s tough to be mentally strong, but it helps when you have people who have compassion and understanding. I’m always a Kim Chi fan. (Unless you do some stupid shit).”

We’re sending all our love to Kim Chi.