Shangela Accused of Sexual Assault and Roofies in New Lawsuit

TW: Article contains graphic depictions of sexual assault. 

A new lawsuit filed last week by Eric Poff has accused RuPaul’s Drag Race queen Shangela, legal name Chantaize Darius Jeremy “D.J.” Pierce, of sexual assault, spiking drinks, and other violating acts. This brings the total of men who have alleged sexual assault against Pierce to seven.

Poff, who creates adult content under the name Dakota Payne, originally posted about his encounters with Shangela in September of 2024 on Instagram. In the video, he says, “I know what you did; you know what you did, and I believe all those boys’ stories,” referencing a piece done in March of 2024 by Rolling Stone. Pierce was first accused of sexual assault in May of 2023, when production assistant Daniel McGarrigle alleged that he was raped by Pierce under similar circumstances to what Poff is alleging during the shooting of We’re Here. Shortly after, the Los Angeles Times spoke to McGarrigle about the altercation in which the queen tried to get him drunk and then poured poppers on his face before trying to penetrate him. Then, the Rolling Stone piece was published, which tacked allegations from an additional five victims onto the expanding matter. 

In the suit, in which he is the plaintiff, Poff says that he met Pierce in 2017 on the set of the sequel to Hurricane Bianca, in which Shangela played a character named. Poff states that he went to a bar with Pierce, where he had “one or two” drinks. He alleges that his drinks were roofied, due to having “no memory of events between consuming the drink and becoming semi-conscious in a hotel room.” Poff recalls that he was “anally penetrated without consent” by an unknown male (also a defendant in the suit alongside Pierce) while Pierce allegedly watched from the corner of the room. Pierce then proceeded to also anally penetrate Poff, then sent him money through PayPal.

Pierce has denied the claims since they first came to light nearly two years ago—In this most recent case, he spoke out on Instagram (against legal advice) on February 26, saying that Poff’s complaint was “some BS” and that he was being “falsely accused.” He’s been advised to stay silent and accused Poff (and others, broadly) of seeking fame and money by defaming him.

In a statement to Out, which originally obtained the complaint filed on February 24, Poff said that “sexual assault is a particularly taboo subject in the LGBTQ community and protecting celebrities who are accused is far too common (…) But we cannot ignore the experiences of survivors or allow violence to continue unanswered.” Poff says that he hopes this lawsuit “shed(s) light” on the horrifying experiences of those present in the queer community who have experienced assault and have been ignored or victim-blamed by their peers and beyond.

Photo courtesy of social media