Drag Race star Shangela accused of multiple sexual harassment counts

Note: The following article contains discussions of allegations of sexual assault, rape, and sexual misconduct.

Shangela, who first rose to fame on RuPaul’s Drag Race, is facing numerous allegations of sexual assault.

Four people have claimed that Shangela (also known as Darius Jeremy Pierce) either sexually harassed them or tried to have sex with them when they were too drunk to consent, Rolling Stone reports. A fifth person has claimed that Pierce attempted to penetrate her anally despite rebuffing his advances.

Pierce has strongly denied the allegations through an attorney and said his client “vehemently denies ever having had non-consensual sex.”

A 16-month Rolling Stone investigation published Monday (March 18) also uncovered several unrelated allegations against Pierce that he engaged in coercive and abusive behavior over a period of several years.

Pierce’s attorney, Andrew Brettler, also called the allegations “false and not supported by any evidence or reliable witness testimony” and claimed that there were “significant problems with the statements of the alleged accusers.”

The five accusers who shared their stories all described spending nights with Pierce when they were between 18 and 23.

The incidents are said to have occurred between 2012 and 2018 in Louisiana, Texas, California and the UK, during a time when Pierce had become famous for his appearances as Shangela in three episodes of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and the spin-off series “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars”.

The Rolling Stone report reiterated that its findings do not incriminate Drag Race or RuPaul.

Pierce denies the allegations, but admits to having met with four of the sources on the days of the alleged assaults. He claims he cannot remember the fifth accuser.

The Rolling Stone report said all five sources initially struggled with whether to go public with their allegations, citing increasing anti-drag and anti-trans legislation in conservative U.S. states.

However, all five accusers also stressed that in their decision to go public, they wanted Pierce to be held accountable for the allegations.

The new allegations follow a rape complaint filed by a production assistant who worked on “We’re Here,” a reality TV show in which Shangela appeared for the first three seasons.

In May 2023, the assistant filed a civil lawsuit against Pierce and his employer Buckingham Television, claiming 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 in late summer 2021 regarding an incident that allegedly occurred in early 2020.”

It continues: “Buckingham and HBO take the safety and well-being of our show staff very seriously, and Buckingham immediately launched an investigation. The investigation found there was insufficient evidence to support these allegations.”

According to Rolling Stone’s report, all parties involved agreed to a settlement in February 2024. However, the details of the agreement were not disclosed and Pierce’s representative did not respond to questions about the 2023 lawsuit.

However, Pierce denied these allegations in a statement to People in May 2023, calling them “completely untrue” and “personally offensive.”

In March 2024, People reported that Pierce’s accuser dropped the lawsuit when the case was dismissed “with prejudice,” meaning the lawsuit cannot be refiled.

If you have been affected by the issues raised in this story, you can find out more on the website of Rape Crisis England and Wales, an organisation working to eliminate all forms of sexual violence and sexual misconduct. You can also call the national Rape Crisis Helpline on 0808 802 9999. The Rape Crisis Scotland helpline number is 08088 01 03 02.

Readers in the United States are asked to contact RAINN or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.

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