Source: Entertainment Weekly

RuPaul’s Drag Race season 1 icon Victoria “PorkChop” Parker, the first-ever queen eliminated from the Emmy-winning competition series, was hospitalized following a medical emergency, according to a note from the star’s team.

In a handwritten message shared earlier this week by Drag Race production company World of Wonder and addressed only to “Thairin” (likely meaning longtime show producer Thairin Smothers), PorkChop’s team reported that the performer “has experienced a serious health setback and was hospitalized after eating a hamburger from a major grocery chain, and is now facing a number of ongoing medical challenges.”

The note explained that “shortly after eating the hamburger, he started vomiting, had diarrhea, and was severely dehydrated. [This] lasted 72 hours. 911 was called and he was immediately transported to the hospital via ambulance.”

The note added that PorkChop is “bed-bound for the next 14 to 21 days” with a visiting nurse and a physical therapist required for his care, and that “he is expected to make a full recovery” after treatment.

“As he works toward recovery, his immediate needs that would greatly improve his quality of life would be a motorized scooter to help him get around, and assistance with personal 24-hour security would be deeply appreciated,” the note continued, also encouraging fans to support the OG Drag Race legend.

“Sometimes a small act of kindness can make a meaningful difference for someone who has spent so many years bringing joy to others,” the note concluded. “We hope the community will keep PorkChop in their thoughts and consider lending support in whatever way they may be able.”

World of Wonder’s post then pointed fans to a GoFundMe page collecting donations for PorkChop, which, as of Saturday afternoon, had raised $4,200.

Drag Race queens listed in the donations section include season 6 winner Bianca Del Rio and season 18 queen DD Fuego, while World of Wonder is listed as a $1,500 donor.

Entertainment Weekly has reached out to a representative for PorkChop for more information.

In addition to making Drag Race her-story as season 1’s first eliminated queen in 2009, PorkChop has made subsequent appearances as a guest. The performer’s name also inspired the infamous “PorkChop Loading Dock” portion of season 13, in which the cast split into two different teams — the winners and losers of a cast-wide lip-sync gauntlet — before the main competition began.

PorkChop also starred in the 2021 television comedy The Bitch Who Stole Christmas, playing an elderly man married to fellow Drag Race alum Jaymes Mansfield’s cutthroat housewife, with the couple attempting to maintain their ruthless reign over the Christmas pageant of the small fictional town of Tuckahoe.

“They didn’t have to pitch it! As soon as they told me, I wanted to do it!” PorkChop told EW of making the movie — which also stars RuPaul — at the time. “From the description of the character, I knew what I wanted to do with it. I immediately thought, ‘Yes! I don’t have to get in drag, and I get to be comfortable!’ I was able to show off what I was able to do as a guy, not in drag.”

See the note about PorkChop’s health in the World of Wonder post above.

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