'RuPaul's Drag Race' Star Shangela Accused of Sexual Assault by Multiple People

Shangela is facing serious accusations.

In a new Rolling Stone report, the 42-year-old RuPaul’s Drag Race breakthrough star is being accused of sexual assault by multiple people.

Four people allege to Rolling Stone that Shangela (Darius Jeremy “DJ” Pierce) either sexually assaulted them or attempted to have sex with them when they were too inebriated to consent, and a fifth person claims the drag star attempted anal penetration in a bathroom closet despite rejecting his advances.

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The allegations were laid out in a recently settled civil lawsuit against the star by a former colleague. According to the court documents, he was accused of raping a production assistant from HBO‘s We’re Here after purchasing several drinks for them.

Shangela, through his lawyer Andrew Brettler, called the allegations “false and unsupported by any evidence or reliable witness testimony,” and said that there were “significant problems with purported accusers’ accounts.” The lawyer added that Shangela “adamantly denies ever engaging in nonconsensual sex.”

The Rolling Stone investigation began in November 2022, and is based on 16 months of research, court documents and interviews with several accusers. The news outlet found a previously unreported police complaint filed in Los Angeles, and multiple independent accusations across several years alleging sexually coercive and assaultive behavior by Shangela.

Nearly all accusers said it took them at least months to process their alleged sexual assault. The alleged interactions span from 2012 to 2018 in Louisiana, Texas, California, and the United Kingdom.

Shangela has maintained that he is innocent, but admitted to meeting with four of the sources on the dates of the alleged assaults. He said he does not remember the fifth accuser.

Three sources who spoke to Rolling Stone had spoken to BuzzFeed News, which was set to publish their allegations last year. The site shuttered in April 2023, and the investigation was never published.

Two more accusers stepped forward during Rolling Stone’s continued reporting.

All five sources who spoke to Rolling Stone identify as queer and have participated in or watched drag shows, and “grappled with the decision to come forward with their allegations” amid anti-trans and anti-drag legislation debates in America. But they all said they “want Pierce — not the queer community — to bear accountability for the allegations,” per the report.

For specific details regarding the allegations and the full story, head to RollingStone.com.

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