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Shangela Laquifa Wadley, commonly referred to as Shangela and professionally known as Darius Jeremy Pierce[3] or DJ Pierce, is a professional drag queen, actor, a contestant from RuPaul's Drag Race and comedian from Paris, Texas.

Biography[]

D.J. grew up as an only child with a single Army vet mom, a hard-working aunt and his grandparents, some of D.J.'s biggest supporters. D.J.'s grandpa was a pig and cattle farmer ranchhand. D.J.'s childhood was spent singing in the church choir, playing Atari Pole Position and tracing dresses from the bridal section of D.J.'s granny's JCPenney catalog. - Quoted from Shangela's website.

One of Shangela's first performances in drag was when he was 16 in 10th grade. D.J. had to do a book report for his English class. The book was Huck Finn, and D.J. re-wrote the lyrics of Tina Turner's "Proud Mary" and performed as Jim from the book, earning him a high grade.[citation needed]

D.J. attended Southern Methodist University along with Sahara Davenport, who was on season 2 with Shangela. The two briefly discussed this in the Season 2 premiere episode. His drag mother is Alyssa Edwards from Season 5.

Track Record(s)[]

Shangela
Statistics USA Season 2 USA Season 3 USA All Stars
Season 3
Ranking: 12th Place 6th Place 3rd/4th Place
Maxi Challenges Won: 0 2 (Eps. 3, 8) 3 (Eps. 2, 4, 7)
Mini Challenges Won: 0 1 (Ep. 8) 0
Times as Team Captain: 0 0 0
Times in Bottom: 1 (Ep. 1) 3 (Eps. 2, 10, 11) 2 (Eps. 5, 6)
Episode Eliminated: Episode 1 Episode 11 Episode 8

Drag Name Origin[]

He was choreographing Beyoncé’s Single Ladies for three guys doing a charity event. One of the guys got sick the night before the show and his friends asked him to fill in. He was running late for the show and they called to ask for his drag name. He didn’t have one and thinking that it’s going to be a one-time thing, said to just put down anything. His friend Brad who had worked in telemarketing came up with the name. One time he called this lady and cannot get her name right. The lady said, "Let me tell you something, my name is Shangela Laquifa Wadley and don’t you forget it!" His drag mother is Alyssa Edwards.

Memorable Quotes[]

RuPaul's Drag Race Season 3[]

  • "Halleloo!"
  • "Nobody clocked me. They thought I was Jada Pinkett Smith up in there."
  • "And I say get it Stacy, eat that chicken, you bitch.." (about Stacy Layne Matthews’s performance in the werk out video challenge)
  • "Some of the other queens are probably looking down on me for doing this for only five months... it just makes me feel more determined to show them that I can do it." – (Upon his surprise return in Season 3, Episode 1 "The Queen Who Mopped X-Mas")
  • "I said bitch better have my money!"
  • "You'll never be glamour." (to Mimi Imfurst in Untucked of Season 3, Episode 2 "Queens in Space".)
  • "THEY SAY LAQUIFA!?! I SAY WHAT!?!" (as his character, "Laquifa the Post Modern Pimp Ho" on the 8th Episode, "Ru Ha Ha" in Season 3.)
  • "A lot of times, things don't go the way that you plan. Okay, that happens, for a lot of us out there. But LET me tell you something! You pick up the Halleloo-la-hoop! And you put it BACK around your waist! And you WERK the Halleloo-la-hoop!" (from Season 3, Episode 4 "Totally Leotarded")
  • "One two three four, I don't want that whore no more! Five six seven eight, I am gonna FIND a date!" (from Season 3, Episode 4 "Totally Leotarded")
  • "Where did this bitch hear that I have a sugar daddy..?"
  • "I don't have a sugar daddy. I've never had a sugar daddy. If I wanted a sugar daddy, yes, I could probably go out and get one because I am what? Sickening! You could never have a sugar daddy because you are not that kind of girl. Baby everything I've had, I've worked for and I have gotten myself. I built myself from the ground up. Oh, you BITCH!"
  • "I am the Nancy Drew of drag."
  • "C'mon Miss Tu-Tu-Tulle and fabric and felt!" (referring to Raja's fantasy hair look in Untucked of Season 3, Episode 10 "RuPaul's Hair Extravaganza".)

RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Season 3[]

  • "I'm the Daenerys Targaryen of drag."
  • "Jealousy is a killer in this industry, mama."
  • "Oh the Big and Milky, girl."
  • "Y'all told her on the internet it was funny. I blame y'all." (about Trixie Mattel's Snatch Game performance.)
  • "Spelling Bee winner" (referring to Chi Chi's Snatch Game)
  • "Hmm, honey look at the sperm count on this one!" (In the Bitchelor)
  • "Oh, you have insurance? You said Progressive." (In the Bitchelor)
  • "Season 3 Shangie would've thrown a drink on her."
  • “Oh, girl, just add some sparkle. It feels so sexy and free and you'll see, yes you will. Wear the glitz and glamour, be flashy for the cameras. So gay, gay, gay. Bitch if you want to play.” (verse in Drag Up Your Life)
  • "Ain't nobody that can make my famous pies, and put a man on the moon." (In My Best Squirrelfriends Dragsmaids Wedding Trip)
  • "Here come the dragons!"
  • "Step aside, I'm back again! So hype, so lit, adrenaline! I'm Shan-ge-la, (say what)? Started as a baby now I'm all grown up. Gonna take this verse just to let you know, never listen to the haters, be a pro! Cause I've worked my way, payed my dues, now I got the whole world screaming halleloo!" (Verse in "Kitty Girl")
  • "Ru's looking at me like, 'that's my daughter. That's my baby.'"

Farewell Message[]

Season 2[]

"Love you all! Turn it out... Shangela "DJ""

Season 3[]

"Always live your dreams and believe in second chances. Halleloo! Love Shangela."

Trivia[]

  • Shangela is the most followed last place contestant on Instagram (the second most followed being Vanessa Vanjie Mateo).
  • Shangela is the first contestant in Drag Race history...
  • Shangela is the second contestant in Drag Race history...
    • ...to land in the bottom two on their first episode competing, and then proceed to win a Maxi challenge, after Sahara Davenport.
    • ...to win more than one Maxi challenge, but to not make it to the finale, after Ongina.
    • ...to win three Maxi challenges in an All Stars season without winning a Maxi Challenge in their first season, after Shannel.
  • After her All Stars 3 participation, Shangela became...
    • ...the third-lowest placing queen to return for All Stars, later followed by and tied with Jasmine Masters. The second lowest-placing is Serena ChaCha, who placed 13th on Season 5. And tied for the lowest-placing is Jaymes Mansfield and Kahanna Montrese who both placed 14th in their respective seasons.
    • ...the highest ranking member of the Haus of Edwards, placing 3rd/4th.
    • ...along with BenDeLaCreme, one of nine pairs to lip sync against each other twice in a single season.
    • ...one of few contestants to participate in several Lipsync For Your Legacy, and to win all of them. She was preceded by Alaska and followed by Shea Couleé and Ginger Minj.
  • All Stars 3 was the first season in which Shangela wasn't up for elimination in the first episode.
  • Shangela placed in the bottom on every fashion-related challenge (Design and Ball challenges) she participated in, accumulating a total of four bottom two and one low placements across Seasons 2, 3 and All Stars 3.
    • Interestingly enough, she never took part in a Makeover Challenge, despite the fact that she participated in three seasons.
  • Shangela sent in an audition tape for Season 3, but was invited back on the show before the producers had even seen it.[citation needed]
  • Along with Trinity the Tuck, Valentina, and Monét X Change, Shangela is one of contestants to both win and lose a lip sync to the same artist. She lost a lip sync (against Sahara Davenport) to "Cover Girl (Put the Bass in Your Walk)" by RuPaul in Season 2, and won a lip sync to "Freaky Money" (against Trixie Mattel) by RuPaul (feat. Big Freedia) on All Stars 3.
  • Shangela had a sledgehammer and a piñata underneath her outfit for the finale lip sync of All Stars 3, as revealed by Trixie Mattel on UNHhhh.
  • Shangela and Jackie Cox have the same first name out of drag, Darius.
    • Coincidentally, they are also two out of the four biracial queens of Middle Eastern and West Asian descent to compete on the Drag Race, the third and fourth being Aja and Jan respectively.
  • In high school, D.J. became the school's first male cheerleader since 1968.[citation needed]
  • Shangela has a drag daughter named Bambi Wadley.
  • Shangela was first runner-up to Vanessa De Mornay in the 2010 National Entertainer of the Year pageant, having won California Entertainer of the Year that same year. Her first runner-up as California Entertainer of the Year was Chad Michaels.
  • Shangela performed a medley of Beyoncé songs at the 2019 GLAAD Awards, a ceremony at which Beyoncé was present and watched.[citation needed]
  • Shangela had met with Vice President Kamala Harris in 2020, in which he was showing her how to prop open a fan. The video had spread widely on Instagram, gaining over 140,000 views.
  • During the COVID-19 pandemic Shangela chose to participate in parties in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico without any safety restrictions and gained a lot of criticism for it from past contestants and fans.[citation needed]
  • On September 19, 2022, Shangela entered Season 31 of Dancing With The Stars, becoming the first ever drag artist to participate in US edition of the show. She was paired with Gleb Savchenko and made it to the finale where she placed 4th.
    • This makes Shangela the third overall drag artist to participate in the Dancing with the Stars franchise, after Courtney Act took part in the Australian edition of the show in 2019, and Elektra Shock, who not only competed as a guest dancer in Series 7 of the New Zealander edition, but was a judge for the 9th series as well.
    • In the third episode, Shangela had Michelle Visage as one of her supporters in the audience.
    • In the ninth episode, when Shangela and Gleb were dancing to a Spice Girls song, Shangela mentioned that she met Emma Bunton, one of the Spice Girls members, when she was the guest judge for the Girl Groups Challenge on All Stars 3.
  • Shangela made a guest appearance on the show Dance Moms. She was there to teach to teach Nia how to do a death drop. Nia also performed to two songs sang by Shangela called "Call Me Laquifa" and "Werqin' Girl".

Controversies[]

On May 4, 2023, We're Here producer Daniel McGarrigle filed a Civil Lawsuit against Shangela, stating that in 2020 Shangela sexually assaulted him. McGarrigle stated that in February 2020, at an after-work party, Shangela gave him 5 shots and 2 mixed drinks then brought him back to his hotel to help pack for an early flight. When they got to the hotel, he vomited and Shangela allowed him to sleep in her bed fully clothed, but when he awoke he was naked with a bottle of poppers poured on the side of his face and Shangela attempting to perform anal sex while he was asleep. McGarrigle said in the suit that he tried saying no but that he was very weak, and that Shangela said throughout the encounter "I know you want it, and you are going to take it." McGarrigle initially did not report the incident out of fear of losing his job, and he later resigned in the summer of 2021 after having to have a civil relationship with Shangela for work. As of May 2023, McGarrigle has been in contact with the local police in Louisiana where the incident took place, but no charges have been filed.

After the allegations came forward, Shangela said that “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.” A representative for We're Here said that the network received a complaint in July 2021 regarding "an incident that was alleged to have occurred in early 2020.” Buckingham Television, the show's network, said that they launched an investigation but could not find sufficient evidence to support the allegations.[4]

Gallery[]

RuPaul's Drag Race Season 2[]

RuPaul's Drag Race Season 2 Looks[]

RuPaul's Drag Race Season 3[]

RuPaul's Drag Race Season 3 Looks[]

RuPaul's Drag Race Season 4[]

RuPaul's Drag Race Season 4 Looks[]

RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Season 3[]

RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Season 3 Looks[]

RuPaul's Drag Race Holi-Slay Spectacular[]

RuPaul's Drag Race Holi-Slay Spectacular Looks[]

Videos[]

External Links[]

Navigation[]

  1. Post by itsSHANGELA | Twitter — February 22, 2011
  2. Instagram
  3. Shangela's Success Shows the Power of Queer Resilience | The Advocate — April 8, 2019
  4. 'Drag Race' star Shangela accused of rape in new lawsuit | NBC News — May 4, 2023
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