Drag Race star Shangela accused of sexual assault by five people
Drag Race alumni Shangela (also known as Darius Jeremy Pierce) has been accused of multiple sexual assaults in a new investigation.
Content warning: This article contains discussion of sexual assault allegations, which some people may find triggering. Four people have come forward to allege that the actor and drag performer either sexually assaulted or attempted to sexually assault them at a time when they were too intoxicated to provide consent, according to a new report in Rolling Stone.
A fifth person has alleged that Shangela attempted anal penetration after rejecting his advances. The incidents are said to have occurred between 2012 and 2018 in Louisiana, Texas, California and the UK.
Shangela has denied the allegations. In a legal letter shared with Rolling Stone, Shangela, through his attorney Andrew Brettler, called the allegations “false and unsupported by any evidence or reliable witness testimony,” and has “adamantly” denied “ever engaging in non-consensual sex.” He continued to claim that there were “significant problems with purported accusers’ accounts.” Pierce has confirmed that he met with four of the sources on the dates of the alleged assaults, but said that he does not remember the fifth.
