Shangela’s attorney denies repeated claims of sexual abuse

An investigation published in “RuPaul’s Drag Race” magazine found that five people accused Shangela, a three-time “RuPaul’s Drag Race” contestant, of sexual assault or attempting to have sexual intercourse with them. Rolling Stone Magazine.

Shangela, whose real name is Darius Jeremy “DJ” Pierce, has denied the allegations. His lawyer, Andrew Brettler, sent a legal letter to Rolling Stone saying his client “emphatically denies that he ever had non-consensual sex.” Brettler called the allegations “false and unsupported by evidence or credible witness testimony” and that there have been “serious problems with the alleged accusers’ accounts.”

Unnamed accusers told Rolling Stone that Pierce, 43, “sexually assaulted them or tried to have sex with them when they were too drunk to consent.”

Rolling Stone reported that it took 16 months to interview accusers and review legal documentation. The magazine said it discovered a police grievance that had not previously been reported, in addition to multiple allegations of sexual coercion and sexual assault against Pierce.

The allegations date from 2012 to 2018 in Louisiana, Texas, California and the United Kingdom. The five accusers were aged between 18 and 23 on the time of the alleged assaults. Three of the five called themselves aspiring drag queens and were aware of Pierce’s fame.

Accusers discover as queer and cited the rise of anti-transgender and anti-drag laws within the United States as a reason they’re “struggling” to come back forward with their allegations. “But they all said they wanted Pierce – not the queer community – to be held accountable for the allegations,” the report said.

According to Rolling Stone, Pierce said he remembered meeting 4 of his accusers but didn’t remember the fifth. He denied any inappropriate conduct.

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Earlier this month, a judge dismissed a civil lawsuit against Pierce that alleged sexual assault and gender-based violence. The allegations were made by Daniel McGarrigle, a former “Drag Race” production assistant. The final result of the case is unclear. Some reports say this was the case.”settled,” while others say it was “rejected with prejudice,” which suggests it can’t be refilled.

The Rolling Stone The report also clearly states that neither “RuPaul’s Drag Race” nor RuPaul himself is related to any of the location’s findings.