RuPaul's Drag Race Season 12 contestant Sherry Pie has been disqualified from the show after at least five men alleged that she catfished them and asked them to send her degrading and sexually suggestive videos.
"In light of recent developments and Sherry Pie's statement, Sherry Pie has been disqualified from RuPaul's Drag Race," said a spokesperson for VH1 and World of Wonder in a statement. "Out of respect for the hard work of the other queens, VH1 will air the season as planned. Sherry will not appear in the grand finale scheduled to be filmed later this spring."
The story broke yesterday by BuzzFeed News. Pie, whose real name is Joey Gugliemelli, referred several actors to an industry contact named Allison Mossie. Gugliemelli then posed as this casting director for a production of a fictional show called Bulk, centered around a man named Jeff who took steroids to gain muscle. As Mossie, Gugliemelli led these men on with promises of a well-paying gig and free housing in New York City and coerced them into sending videos to him of them flexing in their underwear, reading sexually explicit lines, and even convinced one to masturbate while he filmed.
"It makes me almost tear up that this happened to so many people," said one of the victims.
"With a larger platform, she has the ability to do this to more people," another said on why he came forward. "And I wanted to fight against that."
Gugliemelli admitted to the claims in a Facebook post: "I want to start by saying how sorry I am that I caused such trauma and pain and hor horribly embarrassed and disgusted I am with myself. I know that the pain and hurt that I have caused will never go away and I know that what I did was wrong and terribly cruel."
He goes on to say that he never knew how important his mental health was until he was on Drag Race and that he's seeking treatment in New York City. "I truly apologize to everyone I have hurt with my actions. I also want to say how sorry I am to my sisters of season 12 and honestly the whole network and production company. All I can do is change the behavior and that starts with me and doing that work."
Sherry Pie makes her premiere on the show in tonight's episode.
