RuPaul’s Drag Race personality Shangela, also known legally as Darijus Jeremy ‘DJ’ Pierce, is facing renewed allegations of sexual assault, mere days after a previous lawsuit against him was dismissed.
According to reports from Rolling Stone, five individuals have come forward, claiming they were assaulted by Pierce. These complainants allege that they were incapacitated due to excessive alcohol consumption and were unable to provide consent.
The accusers assert that Pierce, in his persona as Shangela, knowingly rendered them intoxicated beyond their capacity to consent. Among them is Daniel McGarrigle, a former HBO production assistant, who previously accused Pierce of rape. McGarrigle filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging that Pierce drugged and sexually assaulted him following a wrap party in 2020. Pierce vehemently denies these accusations, dismissing them as lacking any factual or legal merit. The lawsuit was recently settled through mediation.
Similarly, five men have come forward with allegations of assaults occurring between 2012 and 2018 in Louisiana, Texas, California, and the U.K. At the time of the alleged assaults, the accusers ranged in age from 18 to 23. Pierce, who adopts she/her pronouns in drag and he/him otherwise, reportedly drank with these individuals. Some recall waking up in an unconscious state in Pierce’s bed, with suspicions of a third party’s presence in the room.
Pierce has acknowledged meeting four of the five accusers on the dates in question, though he claims no recollection of the fifth individual. His attorney, Andrew Brettler, has refuted all allegations, asserting that they lack evidence or corroboration. Brettler maintains that Pierce has never engaged in any nonconsensual sexual activity with the accusers or anyone else.