RuPaul’s Drag Race and We’re Here alumnus Shangela has been accused of sexual assault by five people. They are worried that their claims might be used to support anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-drag narratives from Republican politicians and right-wing media figures.
The accusations come after Darius Jeremy “DJ” Pierce, and Buckingham Television settled a lawsuit a month ago We’re Here, settled a lawsuit filed by a former production assistant on the HBO reality series. The assistant, Daniel McGarrigle, alleged that Pierce raped him in a Louisiana hotel room in 2020 after Pierce bought him multiple rounds of drinks. McGarrigle claimed that he went with Pierce to his hotel room, vomited, passed out fully clothed, and woke up with his pants pulled down and Pierce allegedly assaulting him.
An article in Rolling Stone on Monday reported five more adults who identified as LGBTQ+ members alleging that Pierce either sexually assaulted them or attempted to engage in sex with them while they were too intoxicated to consent. All the alleged victims were between 18 and 23 years old at the time of the alleged assaults, which took place between 2012 and 2018.
Pierce denied all the accusations through a representative.
Many of the claims in Rolling Stone’s article resemble those made by McGarrigle.
The magazine reported RoyLee Soliz's account of meeting Pierce after a performance at Texas A&M University at Kingsville in April 2012. They went to Pierce's hotel room and continued drinking. Soliz stated that they woke up later to find Pierce attempting to insert his penis into their mouth. Pierce said he does not recall meeting Soliz, according to his representative.
Another accuser, Zachary, a part-time drag queen identified only by their first name, alleged that after meeting Pierce following a 2015 performance at Southern Decadence in New Orleans, Pierce supplied them with drinks until they blacked out. Zachary claims that they regained consciousness to find Pierce and another unidentified man attempting to penetrate them.
Zachary said, “I heard Shangela say, ‘Stick it in him,’ and I quickly said, ‘No,’” Zachary said, “I am pretty sure that [the unidentified man] didn’t do anything, but I passed out again, so I am not positive.”
Pierce’s lawyer stated that the Drag Race star and Zachary “engaged in consensual sexual acts before falling asleep.”
Two other accusers made similar allegations, dating their alleged encounters with Pierce to 2017. Helmer, who asked to be identified only by their first name, filed a police report about the alleged 2017 assault last June after reading about McGarrigle’s lawsuit.
A fifth accuser, Edward Ramirez, initially posted their allegations online in September 2018, claiming that Pierce shoved them to the floor in a walk-in closet in a Texas apartment and attempted to penetrate them. Ramirez said, “I’m very confident I was clear with my ‘nos.’ I was declining advances,” Ramirez told Rolling Stone. “He still persisted in trying.”
Pierce’s attorney presented statements from witnesses to disprove some of the accusations.
According to Rolling Stone, all five accusers spoke out against recent laws targeting drag performers in Republican-led states across the country and stated that while the current climate had influenced their decisions to come forward, Pierce should be held responsible for his supposed actions.
