Shangela: RuPaul's Drag Race star accused of multiple sexual assaults as drag queen denies allegations

RuPaul's Drag Race star Shangela has been accused of multiple sexual assaults in a new bombshell article. The drag queen, whose real name is Darius Jeremy Pierce, was accused of sexual assault or coercion against five people, who made the public accusations in a new Rolling Stone article.

The accusers said that they came forward after the reality TV star and actor, whose credits include 2018's A Star Is Born alongside Lady Gaga, settled a previous case in which he was accused of drugging and raping a HBO production assistant at a 2020 wrap party. He strongly denied the allegation.

Almost all of the new allegations involve Peirce, 43, accused of buying or providing alcohol to the men, some of which were also under the legal US drinking age of 21. The men, aged 18 to 23, recalled waking up in the TV star's room feeling dazed after spending the evening drinking with him. Many also alleged that they could not remember what happened the previous evening, with some recalling a third person in the room when they woke up.

One of the accusers, a 27-year-old man named only as Hemler, alleged that Pierce had invited him to dinner in Los Angeles seven years ago. At the dinner, Hemler said that the TV star bought him a cocktail, despite being under the legal drinking age, before waking up the next morning "completely naked on a bed and believed to be at Pierce’s residence".

A second accuser, Edward Ramirez, told the outlet that he was sexually assaulted in a walk-in closet in 2018. The then 21-year-old said that he had been "very confident I was clear with my 'no's'" and had made the initial allegation shortly after the alleged assault in a pop culture internet blog named ATRL.

Pierce is also accused by a man identified as Cherci, who said he attempted anal penetration without his consent after buying a round of drinks at a nightclub in London in 2018. A fourth man, identified as Zachary, recalled an alleged interaction with the reality star in which echoed Cherci's alleged experience, stating that he "blacked out" after drinking with Pierce before being allegedly assaulted.

A fifth accuser, identified as RoyLee Soliz, said that he met the Drag Race star at a meet-and-greet event in 2012 at the age of 20. He said he accepted Pierce's offer to stay the night in his hotel room after drinking too heavily. He then alleged that he woke up to Pierce attempting to put his penis into his mouth, but was too incapacitated to forcibly fightback.

In a letter to Rolling Stone in response to the new allegations, Pierce's lawyer Andrew Brettler said that his client denies all allegations. The attorney called the allegations “false and unsupported by any evidence or reliable witness testimony".

Brettler said that Helmer and Pierce had engaged in consensual sexual contact and that Helmer had continued to contact Pierce in the following months. He said of Ramirez's allegations that three witness testimonies could be provided to prove that Pierce and Ramirez were never left alone on the night of the alleged assault.

The lawyer also said that the encounters with Chaci and Zachary had both been consensual. He added that the encounter with Chaci saw the pair kiss but the interaction ceased after he fell ill at which point Pierce sent him home.