RuPaul's Drag Race star Gia Gunn has courted controversy by sharing her theory that the coronavirus pandemic is "a hoax".

In a live stream on Instagram which has since gone viral on Twitter, the season six star appears to suggest that the deadly disease is a government ruse that has left people "brainwashed".

"I think the whole mask thing is ridiculous," she said. "I honestly think this whole COVID-19 thing is a hoax. I think everybody that is taking precautions is cute and it's definitely the thing to do but I also think that a lot of people are brainwashed.

"I think the more and more and more that we look around and see each other with masks on, the more influenced that we are going to be to also put our masks on. Which then, to me, insinuates to me that things are not okay.

"I'm here to tell you guys that I think things are more okay than what the government is allowing us to think."

Almost half a million people worldwide have now died from coronavirus, including over 127,000 in the US - comfortably the highest death toll of any country in the world.