Drag Race star Shangela accused of multiple sexual assaults
Note: The following article contains discussion of sexual assault, rape and sexual misconduct allegations.
Shangela, who first rose to fame on RuPaul's Drag Race, is facing multiple allegations of sexual assault.
Four people have alleged that Shangela (also known as Darius Jeremy Pierce) either sexually assaulted them or tried to have sex with them when they were too intoxicated to give their consent, Rolling Stone reports. A fifth individual has alleged that Pierce attempted anal penetration despite rejecting his advances.
Pierce has strongly denied the allegations via an attorney, who said that his client "adamantly denies ever engaging in nonconsensual sex".
A 16-month-long investigation conducted by Rolling Stone and published on Monday (March 18) has also reported multiple independent allegations against Pierce of coercive and abusive behaviour spanning a period of several years.
Pierce's lawyer Andrew Brettler also described the allegations as "false and unsupported by any evidence or reliable witness testimony," claiming that there were "significant problems with purported accusers' accounts".
The five accusers who have shared their stories all described nights out with Pierce when they were between 18 and 23.
The incidents are alleged to have taken place between 2012 and 2018 in Louisiana, Texas, California and the UK, during a timeframe when Pierce had risen to fame appearing as Shangela in three stints on RuPaul's Drag Race and its spin-off series RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars.
Rolling Stone's report reiterated that its findings do not implicate Drag Race nor RuPaul.
Pierce has rejected the accusations but admitted to meeting with four of the sources on the dates of the alleged assaults, while he maintained he does not remember the fifth accuser.
Rolling Stone's report notes that all five of the sources had struggled initially with whether to come forward with their allegations, citing an increase in anti-drag and anti-trans legislation in conservative states across the US.
However, all five accusers also noted that they wanted Pierce to face accountability for the allegations when making their decisions to come forward.
The fresh allegations follow an allegation of rape made by a production assistant who worked on We're Here, a reality TV show which featured Shangela for its first three seasons.
In May 2023, the assistant filed a civil lawsuit against Pierce and his employer Buckingham Television, alleging he was raped in Los Angeles in 2020. He had previously filed a police report against the star in Ruston, Louisiana.
When the lawsuit was filed, a statement from HBO said that Buckingham Television "received a complaint late summer 2021 regarding an incident that was alleged to have occurred in early 2020".
It continued: "Buckingham and HBO take the safety and well-being of personnel on our shows very seriously, and Buckingham immediately launched an investigation. The investigation concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support these allegations."
According to Rolling Stone's report, all parties involved reached a settlement in February 2024, though the details of the agreement haven't been disclosed and Pierce's representative did not respond to questions about the 2023 lawsuit.
However, Pierce had denied these allegations in a statement given to People in May 2023, describing them as "totally untrue" and "personally offensive".
It was reported in March 2024 by People that Pierce's accuser had dropped the lawsuit when the case was dismissed "with prejudice," which means the lawsuit cannot be refiled.
If you've been affected by the issues raised in this story, you can access more information from Rape Crisis England and Wales, who work towards the elimination of all forms of sexual violence and sexual misconduct, on their website or by calling the National Rape Crisis Helpline on 0808 802 9999. Rape Crisis Scotland’s helpline number is 08088 01 03 02.
Readers in the US are encouraged to contact RAINN, or the National Sexual Assault Hotline on 1-800-656-4673.
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