“RuPaul’s Drag Race” star Darius Jeremy Pierce, also known as Shangela, is hitting back against recent rape accusations made against him. The TV star is caught up in an explosive lawsuit filed by a former production assistant named Daniel McGarrigle, who worked with Shangela on the HBO series, “We’re Here,” in early 2020. In February of that year, McGarrigle alleges he had fallen asleep in Shangela’s Louisiana hotel room, where the show had finished up filming for the first season. He was then said to have been woken up by the drag queen pouring liquid poppers on his face.
Shangela, according to the court docs filed at the Los Angeles Superior Court, then allegedly proceeded by pulling down his pants and attempted to penetrate the production assistant, who fought the drag queen off after telling him “no.” The accuser says he was overpowered by Shangela who insisted that he gets to penetrate him and allegedly said, “I know you want it, and you’re going to take it.”
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Shangela is vehemently denying the accusations made against him. He has since issued a statement to PEOPLE, telling the publication, “I can’t begin to explain how hurt and disgusted I am by these totally untrue allegations. They are personally offensive and perpetuate damaging stereotypes that are harmful not only to me but also to my entire community.” He added, “An external investigation into this embittered individual’s claims previously concluded that they were completely without merit.”
“This newest filing is nothing but an attempt to shake down both me and a well-regarded television company. No one should be fooled: it has no basis in fact or in law, and it will not succeed.
The lengthy statement concluded with him continuing to say, “As a hardworking and outspoken drag entertainer for more than a decade, I know that I am far from alone in battling ignorance, bigotry, and prejudice, all of which played a role in the filing of this complaint. That is why I will fight this entirely meritless lawsuit and not allow it to destroy me and those I love, or harm the causes we all stand for.”
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The lawsuit had also mentioned that Shangela was alleged to have been “heavily flirtatious” and was very insistent on buying McGarrigle even though he wasn’t a heavy drinker. The alleged victim says he hesitated to file the lawsuit because he feared he would lose his job if he spoke out, but claims that Shangela’s behavior towards him was not a one-time thing.
Apparently, Shangela had been inappropriate towards him on several occasions, causing him to suffer from economic and non-economic damages.” The television personality is being sued for sexual assault, sexual harassment, gender violence, false imprisonment, violation of the Ralph Act, and negligence.
The case remains ongoing.