The drag queen performer known as “Shangela” is facing accusations of sexual assault and misconduct by four men who claim they were either sexually assaulted or were too drunk to consent to sex during the alleged incidences that date as far back as 2012, according to a report from Rolling Stone.
Shangela — whose real name is Darius Jeremy Pierce — is an alumnus of RuPaul’s Drag Race and has been an activist promoting drag queen story hour events for children.
EXCLUSIVE: Four people allege that actor and drag star Shangela either sexually assaulted them or attempted to have sex with them when they were too inebriated to consent.
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) March 18, 2024
Story: https://t.co/rcSFQ1ePUw pic.twitter.com/Ifty5JaEaH
The Daily Beast once called him the “fearless drag queen America needs right now.”
Shangela has denied the allegations, saying he never engaged in nonconsensual sex with the accusers.
Rolling Stone noted that the accusers were initially hesitant to come forward due to rising public sentiment against drag queens due to their relentless push to have access to children.
The oldest accusation against Shangela stems from 2012. RoyLee Soliz claimed that he met Pierce at a meet-and-greet in Texas when he was 20 years old.
Soliz told Rolling Stone he recalled drinking with Pierce afterward and returning to his hotel room.
“I just remember trying to sleep and closing my mouth when she (Shangela) tried to put her penis in my mouth,” Soliz claimed. “I really didn’t have any strength to tell her to stop or that I didn’t want to have sex with her.… She had gotten me so drunk that I couldn’t say no, and I was in no way mentally OK enough to feel strong or demand her to stop what she was doing.”
Another accuser, identified only as Zachary, alleges Pierce tried to anally penetrate him after a night of drinking in 2015.
Zachary, who was 23 at the time, claimed that after meeting at a meet-and-greet in New Orleans, the two went out until he “blacked out” and woke up to Pierce and a third man.
“I heard Shangela say, ‘Stick it in him,’ and I quickly said ‘No,’” Zachary told Rolling Stone. “I am pretty sure that [the third unidentified man] didn’t do anything, but I passed out again, so I am not positive.”
Others have also alleged they were sexually assaulted after passing out.
One accuser has already made his allegations known.
As Breitbart News reported, Daniel McGarrigle filed a lawsuit last year against Pierce, claiming the drag queen tried to penetrate him after a party.
Shangela has been active in promoting drag queen story hour events for children. His activism was spotlighted in HBO’s reality series We’re Here, which follows Drag Race alumni traveling through small-town America.
Follow David Ng on Twitter @HeyItsDavidNg. Have a tip? Contact me at
