'Drag Race' alum Shangela accused of 2017 sexual assault in new lawsuit
Darius Jeremy 'DJ' Pierce, known by his drag persona Shangela, has been accused of sexually assaulting a crew member of a movie he was filming in 2017, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in a New York court.
The complaint naming Pierce is the latest accusation against the popular 'RuPaul's Drag Race' alum, who has denied other allegations of sexual assault, including one filed in 2023 that was settled last year.
The new suit claims Pierce, 43, and an unidentified John Doe broke New York City's Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law, which gives survivors of alleged gender-motivated violence, including sexual abuse, nine years from the date of the incident to file civil claims.
Andrew Brettler, a lawyer for Pierce, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday. Pierce could not be immediately reached for comment.
Plaintiff Eric Poff was an art assistant for the 2018 film 'Hurricane Bianca: From Russia With Hate,' while it filmed in New York City in the fall of 2017. Pierce was among the actors in the movie, which starred fellow 'Drag Race' alum Bianca Del Rio.
During a night out, Poff, then 28, went to a Manhattan bar with Pierce and consumed one or two drinks, according to his complaint filed with New York County Supreme Court.
Poff alleges in his suit that his drink was ''spiked with a drug' because he had 'no memory of events between consuming the drink and becoming semi-conscious in a hotel room.'
Another man was in the hotel room, along with Poff and Pierce, according to the suit. While in the room, Poff 'started to fade into consciousness' and 'was bent over a bed being anally penetrated without consent by John Doe with Pierce watching from the corner of the room,' the complaint says. Pierce also anally penetrated Poff 'without his consent,' and then later sent Poff money via PayPal, according to the suit.
Poff was unavailable for a phone interview Monday, but he said in a statement to NBC News that he came forward because sexual assault remains a 'particularly taboo subject' in the LGBTQ community. He added that anti-sexual violence laws that allow people to pursue litigation against their accused years later are important, and New York's law gave him time to process what he says happened.
'I am coming forward because I have the ability and resources to do so, knowing many other victims cannot,' Poff said, adding, 'I will not be deterred by the Defendant's popularity or potential backlash.'
New York City's Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law typically gives alleged victims nine years to file a claim, but in December 2022, a temporary window was open permitting claims stemming from older allegations; that window is set to close at the end of this month. The decades-old law has been cited as the basis for recent complaints filed against other high-profile defendants, including music mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs and luxury real estate brothers Oren and Tal Alexander.
Poff's lawyer, James Vagnini, said Pierce is seeking a jury trial and damages to be determined at that time.
Vagnini added that Poff's memories were 'foggy' since he was not fully conscious, but similar claims against Pierce that have become public in recent years compelled him to come forward.
Poff continues to work in the entertainment industry, Vagnini added, and said that speaking up against a major drag performer such as Pierce, who was on multiple seasons of 'RuPaul's Drag Race,' became the first drag artist on ABC's 'Dancing with the Stars' and has been in movies such as 2018's 'A Star Is Born,' was fraught with risk to his own career.
'We shouldn't let anyone off the hook because of who they are,' Vagnini said. 'There are people coming forward, and it shows that you can be raped no matter what your gender may be.'
In 2023, a former production assistant on the hit HBO show 'We're Here,' which features drag queens in real-life situations, filed a lawsuit accusing then-series star Pierce of raping him in a hotel room following an after-work party three years earlier.
Pierce said in a statement at the time that the allegations were 'entirely meritless,' and 'perpetuate damaging stereotypes that are harmful not only to me but also to my entire community.'
That suit, filed by Daniel McGarrigle, was dismissed last year after a settlement was reached, Rolling Stone and others reported. The terms were undisclosed, and Pierce at the time did not respond to requests for comment.
Last March, Rolling Stone interviewed and reported on multiple people accusing Pierce of either sexually assaulting them or attempting to have sex with them when they were too inebriated to consent.
In a response to Rolling Stone, Brettler, the lawyer for Pierce, called the allegations 'false and unsupported by any evidence or reliable witness testimony,' and said there were 'significant problems with purported accusers' accounts.' He added that Pierce also 'adamantly denies ever engaging in nonconsensual sex.'
Pierce, who has 1.4 million followers on Instagram, is set to appear in the forthcoming film 'Magic Hour,' directed and starring Katie Aselton, according to the movie's IMDB credits.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
11 hours ago
- The Guardian
Online ‘ghost stores' are providing fake tracking numbers to dupe payment platforms, Australian shopper says
Online 'ghost stores' falsely claiming to be Australian businesses are providing fake tracking numbers to convince payment platforms they have delivered goods that have never been sent, a disappointed shopper says. Ghost stores are online businesses that only exist in a digital sense and do not have a physical storefront. Guardian Australia has tracked 140 such stores masquerading as local businesses, which include those selling poor quality clothing and counterfeit labels, while others take customers' money and fail to deliver anything at all. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email A 63-year-old Geelong woman, who asked not to be identified, said she had a 'distressing' and 'disappointing' experience seeking a refund from PayPal after trying to buy items from the Maison Canberra website in April. She said she had been duped by fictitious advertising on Facebook portraying it as a Canberra-based boutique having a sale after making the difficult decision to close. Her clothing and shoe orders never arrived. The customer said the seller had repeatedly submitted false evidence to PayPal of deliveries, and she believed the payment platform was siding with the business despite her 'efforts to provide clear and legitimate proof to the contrary'. Maison Canberra was built using Shopify, a Canadian multinational e-commerce platform. Neither Maison Canberra nor Shopify has responded to Guardian Australia's repeated requests for comment. On 31 March Guardian Australia bought a blouse for $69.95 from Maison Canberra. The site sent an email on 1 April saying the item had been shipped but it was never delivered. The site has since been taken down. The Geelong woman spent $490.90 on two orders of clothing and shoes. After seeing she had been charged international transaction fees of $17.18, researching the site and realising she had potentially been scammed, she lodged a dispute with PayPal requesting a refund. She said she had included 'extensive documentation' including evidence of what she believed were 'fake' tracking numbers. In two separate emails seen by Guardian Australia, Maison Canberra claimed her orders were 'on the way' but sent tracking numbers beginning with 'UK'. Australia Post declined to comment on whether they were valid. Guardian Australia looked up the tracking numbers on three third-party parcel-tracking platforms, all of which said the orders had been processed by a logistics company in China but had not progressed any further. Consumer experts have said Shopify and Meta need to take more responsibility for enabling these sites and allowing them to run false advertising but that payment platforms including PayPal also play a role by allowing these sites to use their services. The Geelong customer said PayPal had denied her claim on 29 April and told her tracking information provided by the seller showed that the items had been delivered. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion The woman filed a formal complaint with PayPal on 11 May. But she said she hadn't receive a refund until 26 May, the day after she told PayPal she would escalate the issue to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority. She said PayPal maintained she had received items from the seller and that her refund had only been granted because they were 'not as described'. The customer said she was 'appalled by this misrepresentation'. 'I strongly believe consumers deserve better protection, and someone must be held accountable,' she said. 'It's so distressing and so disappointing and frustrating.' She said PayPal should have a dedicated fraud or scam category in its claims process to help scam victims seeking redress. PayPal previously said all Australian sellers were verified when applying for an account, before conceding that this may not be the case for online sellers based in countries with different laws and regulations. A PayPal spokesperson said the safety and security of customers was its 'top priority' and it invested 'significant resources' into protecting them. 'Under PayPal's buyer protection policy, we will refund the full purchase price plus the original shipping charges for eligible claims,' they said. The Australian Financial Complaints Authority declined to comment, saying it could not disclose information about individual complaints. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which has previously said it is investigating ghost stores, declined to comment.
NBC News
13 hours ago
- NBC News
'Jane' gives tearful testimony about 'hotel nights' at Diddy's direction
A former girlfriend of Diddy's going by the pseudonym 'Jane' wept on the witness stand today as she described drug-induced sexual encounters with male escorts while she traveled the world with the music mogul. The marathon sex sessions, described by her as 'hotel nights' and similar to 'freak offs,' were organized at Diddy's direction, could last multiple days, and involved drugs and baby oil, she said. Through tears, she testified that she didn't know why she couldn't outright tell Diddy to stop and that he would give her 'multiple doses' of ecstasy per night to keep her awake. On her birthday in Miami in 2023, she testified, she had sex with multiple men as Diddy watched. Jane previously testified that Diddy was paying her rent and reiterated today that he continues to. She is one of four accusers referred to in the government's indictment that alleges Diddy ran his business empire as a criminal enterprise and exploited the women through his financial support. 'It's true that at any moment he could just do that if he wanted to,' Jane testified, 'cut me off.' 🔎 The view from inside By Adam Reiss and Jing Feng Diddy sat with his hands clasped in front of him as Jane testified, while attorneys for both the prosecution and defense appeared riveted by her on the stand. Diddy's demeanor is in the spotlight after Judge Arun Subramanian yesterday scolded his defense team for allowing him to make facial expressions toward the jury. Subramanian said it was 'absolutely unacceptable' and warned that if it happens again, he may remove Diddy from the courtroom. In other news: An attorney for Jane complained to Subramanian that media outlets are trying to expose her identity. The attorney accused the outlets of livestreaming and posting related articles, and asked the court to 'stop these attempts to violate the court's order' not to name her. The judge said he would consider issuing a media gag order if someone is found to have violated the rules. Next week: Jane is expected to return for more questioning by the prosecution before the defense begins its cross-examination. PSA: Every night during Diddy's trial, NBC's 'Dateline' will drop special episodes of the 'True Crime Weekly' podcast to get you up to speed. 'Dateline' correspondent Andrea Canning chats with NBC News' Chloe Melas and special guests — right in front of the courthouse. Listen here. 🎧
NBC News
15 hours ago
- NBC News
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, will face federal charges
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man whose erroneous deportation to El Salvador became a protracted battle over due process and a test of wills, will face human smuggling charges in Tennessee, NBC News has learned. Abrego Garcia has been named in an indictment charging him with transporting within the U.S. people not legally in the country. The two-count indictment, sealed by a Tennessee court last month, alleges Abrego Garcia participated in a conspiracy over several years to move people from Texas, deeper into the country. The two-count indictment alleges that those transported included members of the MS-13 gang. A federal judge and the U.S. Supreme Court had long ago ordered the federal government to facilitate Abrego Garcia's return to the U.S., but the administration dragged its feet and resisted. At times the administration insisted that Abrego Garcia's return was up to El Salvador's President Nayiob Bukele, who refused to return him. The administration had accused Abrego Garcia of being a member of the MS-13 Salvadoran gang and gave that as reason to deport him, despite a judge's order from 2019 barring him from being sent to his home country. Garcia was deported March 15 amid a flurry of arrests and deportations after Trunp invoked the Alien Enemies Act, a law only used before in wartime, to target Venezuelan immigrants and other immigrants he alleged to be gang members and "invaders" of the U.S. He was taken to the notorious CECOT prison in El Salvador, known for its harsh and brutal conditions. Government attorneys had said he was taken there as a result of "administrative error". The Supreme Court ruled in April that Abrego Garcia's removal was "illegal" and determined that a judge's order for the administration to facilitate his return was proper. Initially the administration said it had deported Abrego Garcia in error, but as calls for his return intensified, the administration doubled down on keeping him incarcerated in El Salvador. Despite orders to bring him back, the administration stood its ground over and over, raising concerns about its defiance of the judicial branch and setting off threats of contempt from the bench. Abrego Garcia's wife has insisted that he was not involved in criminal activity. 'Kilmar worked in construction and sometimes transported groups of workers between job sites, so it's entirely plausible he would have been pulled over while driving with others in the vehicle,' his wife previously said in a statement. 'He was not charged with any crime or cited for any wrongdoing." A federal judge ordered the Trump administration just last week to give hundreds of migrants in El Salvador's CECOT prison the chance to challenge their detentions and removals.
