RuPaul is paying tribute to Drag Race queen Chi Chi Devayne, who died at the age of 34 in August.
During his acceptance speech for outstanding host for a reality or competition program at the 2020 Creative Arts Emmys Saturday night, RuPaul dedicated the win to the late star. (The award marks RuPaul's fifth win for hosting on RuPaul's Drag Race.)
"I'd like to dedicate this Emmy to one of my girls, Chi Chi DeVayne. May you rest in power and perfection," RuPaul said.
RuPaul also praised his fellow "LGBT brothers and sisters."
"Tonight the only political statement I want to make is this: love. Love for our LGBT brothers and sisters, love for our Black queens and brown queens and love for the United States of America," he added.
Padma Lakshmi also honored DeVayne, writing on Twitter to RuPaul, "Congratulations my dear friend [heart emoji] we will never forget Chi Chi DeVayne's legacy."
While DeVayne was honored in during the In Memoriam segment of the Creative Arts Emmys, she was left out of the tribute at Sunday's 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards — and fans expressed their disappointment.
"All right, who was it that didn't include Chi Chi DeVayne in tonight's In Memoriam? Who do I have to fight?" one fan tweeted.
"I'm honestly a little surprised that #ChiChiDeVayne wasn't included in this years #Emmys2020 In Memoriam… Just me?" another said.
"Why wasn't Chi Chi DeVayne in the in memoriam?" a different user asked.
"Did they not include Chi Chi DeVayne?!" another fan tweeted.
Sunday's primetime In Memoriam segment came just before RuPaul, 59, accepted the Emmy award for outstanding reality competition series.
"I thank the Academy for this beautiful honor. We love making television. It is an honor to make television. And all the kids get to tell their stories on our show and it's beautiful," RuPaul said.
The star then shared words of encouragement to young viewers.
"Kiddo, I know how you feel right now. Just know that you are loved. And don't give up on love. Believe in love and the power of love, okay? Thank you so much," he said.
DeVayne's death was confirmed last month by Entertainment Weekly after she was hospitalized. Her cause of death was not immediately clear.
Earlier in August, DeVayne, né Zavion Davenport, asked fans on Instagram to "keep me in your prayers" following the hospitalization, EW reported. In July, DeVayne was hospitalized with high blood pressure and suspected kidney failure, but was later discharged, according to the outlet.
A week prior to her death, fans began to flood the comments section of DeVayne's Instagram, saying the star was "battling pneumonia right now."
The 72nd Emmy Awards, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, aired live on ABC from 8-11 p.m. ET.
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