AJ Bediako—actor, model, fitness coach and member of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK’s Brit Crew—has passed away. He is survived by his partner and remembered for “his uplifting energy, constant support and beaming smile lit up every room he walked into” by his friends and family.
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On Wednesday, Bediako’s teammates in the London Knights Basketball Club—the UK’s first gay and inclusive club according to the team’s website—shared the news of his passing on social media.
“In his role as club secretary, he gave so much to our community and played a huge part in shaping our club into the place it is today,” the team wrote. “His passing leaves a huge hole in our club and in our lives.
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“Last night at training, we came together to remember AJ and hold space for each other. We send our deepest condolences to his family, his partner Gabe, our teammates, his friends and everyone who was lucky enough to know him.
“Rest in peace, AJ. You will be missed immensely and will always be part of the Knights.”
Bediako joined the Brit Crew for the inaugural season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. According to his IMDb page, he appeared in The Huntsman: Winter’s War and episodes of the TV series One Crazy Thing and Venus vs Mars.
In a video with It Gets Better UK, Bedaiko shared his coming out story. “My teenage years were very hard and confusing because I grew up in a church and everybody knew everyone,” he said. “I had an inkling that I was different to other people. I knew I was attracted to guys. Around the time of YouTube popping up, that’s when I started to get more information about different lifestyles.”
Eventually, things turned around when Bedaiko came out to his two older brothers. “That was kind of the beginning of ‘it getting better,’ because I had people that were not judging me, that loved me for who I was,” he said. “They loved me because I was AJ. They loved me for who I was as a person. Even if you feel like people do not love you right now, there will always be people that love you. You are perfect the way you are.”
Drag Race UK alums Cheryl The Queen and Tia Kofi shared their condolences in response to the post. “He was such a lovely human,” Pixie Polite wrote. “So kind, so supportive.”
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