Filed in Los Angeles, it alleges that Darius Jeremy ‘DJ’ Pierce, who goes by the stage name Shangela, raped a former We’re Here production assistant while filming the first season of the hit HBO show.
Daniel McGarrigle, 39, alleges the encounter occurred in a hotel room following an after-work party in Monroe, Louisiana in February 2020.
Pierce, 42, has denied the allegations characterizing them as “entirely meritless”.
McGarrigle is seeking unspecified damages from Pierce and the show’s production company, Buckingham Television.
Pierce competed in seasons two and three of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
The lawsuit says Pierce purchased and handed McGarrigle five shots of alcohol and two mixed drinks at the party, and asked McGarrigle to come back to Pierce’s hotel to help him pack for an early flight.
It states that McGarrigle “immediately threw up in the toilet” at the hotel room and Pierce then allegedly suggested McGarrigle spend the night in his room, saying: “If you want to lay down in my bed until you feel better, you can do that.”
Suit says McGarrigle was ‘fearful of losing his job’
The lawsuit said McGarrigle agreed and passed out on Pierce’s bed fully clothed.
McGarrigle alleges that he woke up with his pants pulled down and poppers being poured on the side of his face.
The lawsuit says McGarrigle then “felt Pierce on the lower half of his body, rubbing his penis against his buttocks, attempting to insert himself into his anus”.
McGarrigle claims he screamed “No!” and tried to fight Pierce off. The suit says that after the encounter, McGarrigle was “fearful of losing his job” and “did not immediately report the sexual assault to the authorities or to Buckingham TV” and tried to maintain a “cordial relationship with Pierce”.
McGarrigle resigned in the summer of 2021, it added.
