Tyra Sanchez has revealed plans to sue RuPaul, Michelle Visage and World of Wonder.
On 4 January, the Drag Race season two winner, whose name outside of drag is James Ross, took to Facebook to outline her intended lawsuit.
“Before my words are twisted. Before blogs attempt to paint me how they see fit. Here’s my full transparency regarding my lawsuit against RuPaul’s Drag Race,” she wrote at the start of the post.
Sanchez then went on to share her “Statement Of Claim,” which accuses “RuPaul Andre Charles (“RuPaul”), Michelle Visage (“Visage”), and World of Wonder Productions (“WOW”) of intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, false light, and tortious interference with prospective economic advantage.”
“For over a decade, Defendants, acting collectively and in concert, have engaged in a pattern of conduct designed to discredit, disparage, and destroy Ross’s professional reputation, with reckless disregard for the truth and with the intent to incite hatred, harassment, and ostracization within the entertainment industry and among the public,” Sanchez claimed in the post.
In the “Factual Background” section, Sanchez detailed the alleged “pattern of conduct,” beginning with what she describes as Visage’s “campaign” to discredit her.
“On her promotional tour for Season 3, Visage repeatedly stated: ‘I’m RuPaul’s best friend and if I were a judge on Season 2, I would have fought really hard for Raven to be the winner.’ This deliberate narrative that Ross’s Season 2 victory was undeserved fueled years of harassment, blackballing and reputational harm,” Sanchez alleged.
The former contestant also claimed that Visage “acknowledged her wrongdoing via a direct Instagram message” but did not issue a public apology.
“Her failure to publicly retract her statements left the damaging narrative uncorrected,” the post continued.
In the next section, titled “2017-2018 – False Police Report and Public Ridicule,” Sanchez claimed that she was “subjected to intentional humiliation as the result of a scripted audience question” during a panel discussion at DragCon 2017.
She then referenced a 2018 tweet that read, “Fair warning: DO NOT attend RuPaul’s DragCon on May 12 2018. Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” alleging that WOW subsequently filed “a false police report accusing Ross of threatening to ‘blow up DragCon.'”
“This baseless report triggered an LAPD investigation and was disseminated by major media outlets, including Entertainment Weekly, TMZ, and Out Magazine,” she alleged.
“The false accusation branded Ross as dangerous, further inciting public ridicule, harassment, and threats of violence. No legal action was taken against Ross as the investigation determined in no way did Mr. Ross break the law or threaten anyone or any event.”
In the third section, Sanchez outlined what she described as a “pattern of defamatory storylines” across three All Stars seasons, which she claimed “discredited” her and “incited hatred” toward her.
Lastly, the drag performer accused RuPaul of conducting an “ongoing campaign of targeted humiliation” toward her, referencing an 8 January 2025 Instagram post uploaded by the latter.
The post in question — which was shared after Sanchez made controversial comments in reference to The Vivienne and her death — featured a clip of RuPaul fake-slapping the former season two contestant during an acting challenge.
Towards the end of her intended suit, Sanchez claimed that “the Defendant’s actions” had resulted in her suffering “severe reputational harm; constant harassment; threats and ostracization from the entertainment industry and the LGBT+ community; emotional distress; trauma and fear for personal safety; and Economic losses in the form of lost wages and diminished earning capacity.”
“Ross seeks affirmative relief, including compensatory and punitive damages, as well as declaratory relief acknowledging the Defendants’ wrongful conduct,” the post concluded.
According to Star Observer, no official legal documents related to Sanchez’s intended lawsuit have been filed as of 6 January.
RuPaul, Visage and WOW have also refrained from commenting on Sanchez’s post or her intended legal action.
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