Tyra Sanchez, a one-time winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race, was arrested after threatening to shoot a Florida police officer during a traffic altercation last month, according to a police report.
The drag queen, whose real name is James William Ross IV, is accused of confronting police in Starke, Florida, after officers responded to a minor car accident in which Ross was involved.
According to a police report first reported on by TMZ, officers tried to calmly converse with the drag star, but he became irate.
Officers soon enough arrested the performer and as they slapped on the cuffs, they say Ross threatened to shoot them.
Ross also reportedly tried to reach inside a police cruiser, spurring officers to wrestle him away from the vehicle. Ross was also hit with a taser but continued his belligerent actions, according to the report.
Ross also reportedly ran from the officers and was tackled and cuffed.
Competing as “Tyra Sanchez,” Ross won the second season of RuPaul’s Drag Race back in 2010 and thus a $25,000 cash prize.
Ross claimed to have retired from the drag queen life in 2020, but in 2022 he reportedly set up an OnlyFans page as “King Tyra.”
Ross was arrested in 2020, accused of spray painting “Don’t Move Here Ever” on the side of his apartment building in Atlanta, Georgia, after an altercation with the landlords.
Ross is not the only member of RuPaul’s Drag Race to face legal issues. Last August, show contestant Bryan Watkins was accused of stealing upwards of $700 from a woman during a performance in Las Vegas. Watkins denied the accusation, but police launched an investigation.
Producers for RuPaul’s Drag Race also courted controversy for opposing laws that protect children from groomers and exploiters, calling laws that prevent drag shows to small children “hideous” and “insidious.”
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