Drag performer Shangela, best known as one of the stars of HBO’s acclaimed docuseries “We’re Here” and as a three-time competitor on “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” has been accused of sexual assault in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Los Angeles.
The performer, whose birth name is Darius Jeremy Pierce, denied the accusations in a statement provided to the Los Angeles Times, which first reported the lawsuit.
The lawsuit was filed by a “We’re Here” production assistant named Daniel McGarrigle, who says that on Feb. 25, 2020, he was raped by Pierce in the performer’s Louisiana hotel room after a crew party. McGarrigle says he had passed out, and woke up to find Pierce attempting to penetrate him. He says he attempted to struggle but was unable to escape.
McGarrigle says he didn’t initially report the assault out of fear for his job which, among other things, he says included serving as a driver and personal assistant for Pierce. He says that in the year following the alleged assault, Pierce sexually harassed him both verbally and physically, ultimately leading him to quit in July 2021.
The Los Angeles Times spoke to three other “We’re Here” crew members, including McGarrigle’s brother, who say he told them about the assault at various times in 2021.
McGarrigle says he also informed the show’s co-creators, Steven Warren and Johnnie Ingram, in September 2021. And in November of 2022, he filed a report with police in Ruston, Louisiana, where the assault is alleged to have occurred.
The lawsuit names Pierce, as well as Buckingham Television, the company that produces “We’re Here,” as defendants.
In a statement to the LA Times, Pierce said: “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. 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. 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.”
In a separate statement, Buckingham Television said it “received a complaint late summer 2021 regarding an incident that was alleged to have occurred in early 2020. Buckingham and HBO take the safety and well-being of personnel on our shows very seriously, and Buckingham immediately launched an investigation. The investigation concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support these allegations.”
Pierce, as Shangela, is also known as a contestant on “Dancing With the Stars.”
Representatives for Pierce, Warren and Ingram didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from TheWrap.