Shangela, a popular drag queen and actor who appeared on RuPaul’s Drag Race and co-hosted We’re Here, has been accused of sexual assault by multiple people.
According to a report from Rolling Stone, four people are alleging that Shangela, also known as Darius Jeremy Pierce out of drag, either sexually assaulted them or tried to have sex with them when they were too inebriated to consent. A fifth person claims “Pierce attempted anal penetration in a bathroom closet despite rejecting his advances.”
Pierce has also been implicated in a civil lawsuit brought by a former colleague that alleges that Pierce raped a production assistant on the show We’re Here.
Pierce denies “ever engaging in nonconsensual sex” in a legal letter sent to Rolling Stone through his lawyer Andrew Brettler, who said the allegations are “false and unsupported by any evidence of reliable witness testimony,” and saying that there are “significant problems with purported accusers’ accounts.”
According to Rolling Stone, five people independently came to them and described going out with Pierce when he was in his 30s and they were between the ages of 18-23. They said that they were aware of Pierce’s celebrity, and three of them were aspiring drag queens.
The stories laid out in Rolling Stone’s report share some similarities. They all involve young adults meeting Pierce and drinking heavily with him, often until the alleged victim passes out, and other times until they no longer feel they can give proper consent.
Several of the allegations involve young queer people looking for some help and guidance in the drag community, and several involve the victims waking up to find Pierce trying to assault them.
Pierce has admitted to meeting with four of the five accusers, but disputes their claims and says he does not remember the fifth. He also has several witnesses to some of the alleged relationships and encounters that support his side of the story.
In its report, Rolling Stone details the alleged assaults, and has statements given by witnesses for both sides.
Shangela first faced controversy last year when Daniel McGarrigle, a production assistant on We’re Here, filed a civil lawsuit alleging that Pierce had provided him drinks, and after he got so drunk he “threw up,” he woke up to Pierce “rubbing his penis against his buttocks, attempting to insert into his anus” while saying “I know you want it, and you’re going to take it.”
The lawsuit came after McCarrigle filed a police report against the drag star in Louisiana. The lawsuit was settled out of court in February and dismissed.
“This case has been resolved, and the defendants and their counsel acted in good faith,” Daniel M. Gilleon, McGarrigle’s lawyer, said to Rolling Stone. “As such, I feel it would be inappropriate to discuss this matter or its resolution. I don’t know anything about the new allegations, but I certainly recognize the courage it takes for a victim to come forward.”