FANS of Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK will clearly remember the moment one drag queen received scathing criticism for wearing an H&M dress on the runway.

Joe Black, the first queen from Brighton to appear on the show, was sent packing for wearing a pink dress from the high street store during a girl band performance.

But Ru Paul’s outburst over the off-the-rack outfit went viral and drag fans seized the opportunity to own a slice of the show’s history when it went up for auction.

Joe donated the infamous dress to be raffled off to raise funds for The Sussex Beacon, a charity which helps people living with HIV.

“I wanted to do something good out of something that turned out to be negative,” said Joe.

“So, after that happened, I was like ‘right I need to do something with this’.

The Argus: Joe Black was the first performer from Brighton to star in Ru Paul's Drag Race UKJoe Black was the first performer from Brighton to star in Ru Paul's Drag Race UK

“I had a couple of people get in touch and they didn’t seem quite right and then Sussex Beacon asked me if I would consider it and I thought yes, that’s perfect.”

The raffle has raised more than £10,000 so far, with £5000 of the current total having been donated by H&M.

Joe said the money raised will make a “real difference” to the charity after the Covid pandemic forced it to close all its shops.

He told The Argus: “It’s run by the LGBT+ community and mostly for the community.

“It’s something I think really affects local queer people, so it was important for me to stay to those roots with it rather than something more generic, or maybe a charity that is bigger and has more means.

“Sussex Beacon are very grassroots and very, very small. I thought it was a charity that I could really make a difference for and it’s really community led.”

A spokesman for Sussex Beacon said the charity was “over the moon” to have the support of both Joe Black and H&M.

He said: “To raise over £10,000 during these difficult times is one thing but entirely another from the raffling of a single dress. It’s extraordinary.

“This will make an enormous difference to those living with HIV in Sussex.”

To find out more about Sussex Beacon, visit https://www.sussexbeacon.org.uk/