If you’ve ever heard of Shangela, first off, I apologize. Second off, if rumors are true, it appears he/she’s has caused even more chaos as of late.
According to a statement from the Los Angeles Times, Shangela — a.k.a. Darius Jeremy Pierce, and who's appeared on RuPaul's Drag Race, numerous legacy media segments, Dancing With The Stars and HBO’s We’re Here — has been accused of sexual assault.
Pierce is being sued by former We’re Here production assistant Daniel McGarrigle, who claims he fell asleep fully clothed in Pierce’s hotel room after a crew party back in 2021 and woke up pants-down with Pierce attempting to have sex with him. According to the lawsuit, “McGarrigle screamed ‘No’ and tried to fight off Pierce but was overpowered, with Pierce allegedly telling McGarrigle, ‘I know you want it, and you’re going to take it."
The suit alleged that McGarrigle woke up with a cold liquid, likely a “chemical inhalant that contains alkyl nitrites, sometimes used during sex to relax muscles and create a euphoric head rush.” The suit also alleges that Pierce continued assaulting McGarrigle at various points until McGarrigle resigned in July 2021, accusing Pierce of sexual assault, gender violence, false imprisonment and sexual harassment.
Naturally, Pierce denied the allegations, even going so far as to say he was “hurt and disgusted” by the “totally untrue allegations,” and insisted that the allegations were “harmful” to his “entire community.”
“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,” he said.
Apparently, alleging someone raped you is "harmful" if that someone happens to be a man who dresses up as a woman.
It’s likely that McGarrigle, who reportedly filed a complaint against Shangela years ago, filed his suit now due to Shangela’s latest wave of fame. If he was in fact assaulted, I imagine that it’s challenging to see your abuser be so widely celebrated.
In the last year, Shangela has been featured on Good Morning America for shaking his butt and talking about his drag lifestyle, with one anchor even competing, “We really need that right now.” Pierce was also featured on Season 31 of Dancing With the Stars streamed on Disney Plus, making it pretty far in the competition and even getting her dance partner, Gleb Schevancok, to dance in drag too.
McGarrigle said he didn't come forward initially because he was worried that “social conservatives will weaponize the allegations and use them to perpetuate the notion that drag queens — and LGBTQ+ people in general — are sexually perverse and dangerous to children.”
In all fairness, accusations of sexual assault and predatory behavior are becoming quite the trend among the LGBTQ mafia, and I don’t think it's going to stop anytime soon.
