Weight Loss Surgery Nearly Killed RuPaul’s Drag Race Star DeJa Sky

RuPaul’s Drag Race star DeJa Skye is opening up about a harrowing chapter in her life, revealing she “nearly died” following complications from a weight loss surgery that led to a 60-pound loss.

The season 14 standout, known for her charisma and resilience, returned to the franchise for season 10 of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars. And in the premiere episode — which debuted Friday, May 9 on Paramount+ — the 35-year-old reality star got candid about her health crisis during an emotional conversation with host RuPaul.

Skye went under the knife in late 2023, getting liposuction and a tummy tuck by a doctor in Mexico. She previously told her followers on Instagram that while recovering from the operations, she had to return to the hospital multiple times, including one visit where doctors discovered she had blood clots in her lungs and legs that were preventing her from walking.

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“It wasn’t a very good experience, if I’m being honest,” Skye said on RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, telling RuPaul she suffered “a lot of complications” from the procedure.

“My body was like, ‘No,’ ” she said. “It was crazy, like, I legit almost died. And that was the darkest time, just sitting in the hospital bed alone and being like, ‘Why did I do this to myself?’ ”

That question is something Skye doesn’t yet have a concrete answer for. From her explanation, it appeared insecurities over the size of her body drove her to think the grass would be greener.

“If I’m being 1,000% honest, nobody went to me and went, ‘You need to lose weight.’ I just got in my head and I over-thunk [sic],” she said. “‘Maybe it would help my career? Maybe it would help my drag?’ And in reality, I had it all before. It was just… I still don’t know why I did it.”

“Do I regret it? I do,” Skye said, in a confessional. “Obviously I’m thinner, but I almost died on that table. And it made me realize that the voices in my head can be my worst f—— enemy, and I want to do better moving forward.”

But that’s easier said than done. In episode 2, which also dropped on May 9, Skye opened up to her fellow competitors Aja, Irene the Alien, Bosco, Olivia Lux and Phoenix that she still struggles to believe in herself.

“I just constantly feel like I’m not good enough. I just don’t know where it stems from,” she said. “I don’t know why I can’t let myself just be happy for myself. For some reason I just care too much what people think.”

In her Instagram video posted in January 2024, Skye said that her mental health declined while dealing with waves of health complications that stemmed from her initial surgery.

“Going through it alone was a really big struggle,” she said. “Mental health is real. I’ve never been depressed in my life but it’s hard to stay positive. It’s nothing to laugh at, it’s nothing to bat an eye to. I’ve never had anxiety before. It’s just… it’s extremely difficult.”

Trouble first started in Mexico when her skin began turning yellow. “I had to go back to the hospital and get three blood transfusions,” she said. “I had lost a lot of blood.”

Two weeks later, she returned to the United States where problems continued to appear. She was put on blood thinners to address the clots doctors found when she went to the emergency room complaining of shortness of breath and pain in her legs. Then there were “a couple of days” she experienced severe vomiting every two hours.

“I couldn’t catch a break,” she said. “My body, I guess, is just not equipped for surgery — which is maybe something I just didn’t realize because I’d never gone through any surgery before. But it’s just been one thing after the other.”

“My body is just going through an insane amount of trauma,” Skye added. “Recovery is a very slow process, and I didn’t think about that, … Everyone I talk to is like, ‘It’ll be worth it.’ It is hard to look to the future when you’re in pain. If I knew it was going to be like this, I would have never gotten the surgery.”

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As for the surgery itself, Skye told RuPaul on All Stars 10 that anyone who considers getting liposuction and a tummy tuck should “absolutely do their research.”

“Go and see a doctor and make sure your body is capable of those things,” she said.

RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars can be streamed on Paramount+. New episodes air Fridays.