Mar 18
'Drag Race' Star Shangela Facing Multiple Sexual Assault Allegations
Emell Adolphus READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Once again Shangela is in trouble for alleged bad behavior. According to a Rolling Stone report, the "Drag Race" star is facing accusations of sexual assault from five people who identify as LGBTQ.
Shangela reportedly settled previous rape cases out of court that allegedly took place on the set of an HBO show.
Rolling Stone reports that the five accusers allege Shangela attempted to get them inebriated beyond the point of consent. According to Rollin Stone the accusers came forward after "HBO production assistant Daniel McGarrigle filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court accusing Pierce of drugging and raping him after a 2020 wrap party." After the case was settled in mediation, a judge tossed two of the charges.
About the previous incident, Shangela said it "has no basis in fact or in law." In response to the latest allegations, Shangela, real name Darius Jeremy Pierce has chosen to respond via lawyer.
A 27-year-old accuser named Helmer reportedly filed a 2023 police report in Los Angeles and said he was 20 year old when they met in 2017. He remembers, "waking up completely naked on a bed and believed to be at Pierce's residence" after dinner and a mojito.
"[Helmer] asked Pierce what happened last night and why he was naked," according to the complaint. "Pierce responded with, 'We had sex, and there was another guy involved that you brought in.' [Helmer] asked who that other guy was, and Pierce stated he did not know, 'but you were really into it.'"
About this claim, Shangela refuted that they had consensual sex. Addressing a second accuser named Edward Ramirez, who claimed Shangela attempted to force penetration when he was 21 in 2018, Shangela's lawyer claimed that there are three people who can "attest that Mr. Pierce and Mr. Ramirez were never alone together"
All of the allegations put a sinister cloud over the drag persona many have come to know and love. Read the full Rolling Stone article here.
Warning: the allegations of rape might be triggering.
