Darius Jeremy "DJ" Pierce, who is best known as Shangela, has been accused of sexual misconduct allegations. The report came after Daniel McGarrigle, a former assistant to Pierce on We’re Here, filed a lawsuit against the performer and the show’s production company, Buckingham Television, with the allegations on Thursday morning. Shangela, who is best known as a Ru Paul's Drag Race alum and the first drag queen contestant on Dancing With The Stars, has now publicly responded to the claims by denying them.
McGarrigle alleged that Pierce raped him in February 2020 after they finished shooting on We’re Here, which is currently streaming with an HBO Max subscription. The former assistant claimed that after a wrap party, Pierce was “heavily flirtatious” with McGarrigle. He said that Pierce insisted on buying him drinks before asking him to come back to his hotel room to pack for a flight where the performer then gave McGarrigle poppers and raped him, despite resistance from McGarrigle. Here’s how Shangela responded, per a statement to Entertainment Weekly:
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.
Shangela shared that he was “disgusted” by “totally untrue allegations,” and shared intentions to push back against the lawsuit. As the drag performer continued:
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.
Daniel McGarrigle’s lawsuit also details that the former assistant felt fearful regarding reporting the incident, and "tried to maintain a cordial relationship with Pierce" until he decided to resign from the show in July 2021. McGarrigle previously made sexual assault allegations toward Shangela in a social media post that has since been deleted. Apparently, the show’s production company received a complaint in late summer 2021 and proceeded to launch an investigation which concluded with “insufficient evidence to support these allegations."
Shangela was cast in the 2010 second season of one of the best reality TV shows, RuPaul’s Drag Race, but was eliminated in the first episode. She later returned for Season 3 where she made the top five, and has continued to make cameo appearances since, along with competing in Season 3 of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars and RuPaul's Drag Race Holi-slay Spectacular.
When Shangela was chosen to be on DWTS, the performer revealed he texted RuPaul about it, who offered support. During the last season of the dance competition series, fans dragged Disney for not featuring Shangela in the series’ marketing prior to the drag queen and Gleb Savchenko finishing in fourth place during the Season 31 finale.
It’s still early days for DJ Pierce’s sexual misconduct allegations. We’ll keep you updated on how the courts handle the serious claims.
