RuPaul’s Drag Race Seasons 2 and three star Darius Jeremy Pierce, also referred to as Shangela, is beneath fireplace for allegations of sexual assault. The information comes almost one 12 months after a earlier lawsuit in opposition to Shangela, which concerned related accusations, was dismissed in courtroom. The newest grievance was filed on February 24, 2025, by Eric Poff, an grownup movie star identified by the stage title, Dakota Payne. Within the lawsuit, Poff accused Pierce of pressuring him to drink excessively earlier than allegedly assaulting him whereas he was incapacitated.
Based on courtroom paperwork obtained by PEOPLE, the incident befell in October 2017 whereas Poff and Pierce have been filming Hurricane Bianca in Manhattan. Poff has claimed that the Drag Race star “spiked” his drink with a drug. The following factor Poff knew, he wakened in a resort room with Pierce assaulting him whereas an unknown man watched from the nook. His attorneys wrote that due to Poff’s “Semi-conscious” state on the time, he was unable to consent to any sexual exercise that befell.
The paperwork additionally state that Poff “gained the braveness to return ahead” along with his story after the earlier allegations in opposition to the drag queen made headlines in 2024. Poff additionally alleged that Pierce continued to ship him cash to purchase his silence. In his lawsuit, Poff is requesting a jury trial and asking Pierce to pay his legal professional’s charges together with “all different quantities owed to him.”
5 Individuals Have Accused Shangela of Sexual Assault
In March 2024, Rolling Stone broke the information about 5 individuals accusing the well-known drag queen of sexual assault. Based on the report, all these incidents befell between 2012 and 2018. All 5 alleged victims claimed that Pierce, AKA Shangela, had been almost double their age through the time of the assaults. Three of the victims revealed that they have been aspiring drag queens themselves and have been “conscious of Pierce’s movie star standing.” One of many sources additionally shared that they have been so drunk that they threw up in a resort mattress simply moments earlier than the alleged assault befell.
In a letter despatched to the journal, Pierce’s lawyer, Andrew Brettler, maintained that the allegations have been false and “unsupported by any proof or dependable witness testimony.” Based on Andrew, Pierce by no means engaged in non-consexual intercourse and claimed that there have been important inconsistencies within the accusers’ tales. Nonetheless, the drag queen has admitted to assembly with 4 of the sources on the dates of the alleged assaults. Based on Shangela, they don’t keep in mind the fifth accuser.
One of many accusers included former RuPaul’s Drag Race manufacturing assistant, Daniel McGarrigle. Daniel alleged that Pierce assaulted him whereas they each appeared on HBO’s We’re Right here in 2020. Nonetheless, Daniel dropped his lawsuit, which was initially in search of damages for alleged sexual assault, sexual harassment, and gender violence. As reported by PEOPLE, the swimsuit was dismissed “with prejudice,” which meant that it couldn’t be refiled. RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 17 airs on MTV on Fridays at 8 PM. It’s also possible to stream it on Paramount+ within the U.S.
