James Ross, the controversial former drag performer and RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 2 winner known professionally as Tyra Sanchez, claims he is suing the show’s hosts, RuPaul Charles and Michelle Visage, along with its production company, World of Wonder (WOW).

“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,” James wrote in a January 4 Facebook post, which also includes what appears to be a draft of a legal complaint.

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According to the post, Ross intends to bring claims of “intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, false light, and tortious interference with prospective economic advantage” against Charles, Visage, and WOW.

“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,” the post reads.

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Among his claims, Ross accuses Visage of a “campaign of discrediting” him during her promotional tour for RuPaul’s Drag Race’s third season — her first as a full-time, permanent judge. Ross claims that by “repeatedly” stating that, had she been a judge during the show’s second season, she would have fought for runner-up Raven to have been named the winner.

“This deliberate narrative that Ross’s Season 2 victory was undeserved fueled years of harassment, blackballing and reputational harm,” the post claims.

Among the post’s other claims, Ross alleges that in 2018, “WOW filed a false police report accusing Ross of threatening to ‘blow up DragCon,’” resulting in media attention which “branded [him] as dangerous, further inciting public ridicule, harassment, and threats of violence.”

According to YouTuber Bussy Queen, who posted a January 8 video deep-dive into Ross’s “lawsuit,” that allegation stems from a 2018 incident in which, as Gay Times reported at the time, WOW banned Ross from attending DragCon in L.A. due to violent threats he’d made publicly toward other Drag Race alums. Ross reportedly responded by sharing an illustration of the Los Angeles Convention Center blowing up on social media, as well as several posts warning fans not to attend DragCon. She also reportedly added a timer counting down to DragCon to her website along with the word “B.O.O.M.”

Ross also alleges what he describes in his post as a “pattern of defamatory storylines,” citing various instances on RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, which he claims were meant to “discredit [him] and incite hatred.”

Finally, Ross accuses Charles of an “ongoing campaign of targeted humiliation,” citing a single January 8, 2025, social media post in which the Drag Race host shared a video clip showing him slapping Ross as part of a skit on the show.

As both Bussy Queen and Attitude note, Charles’s post appeared to have been in response to an insensitive post Ross shared following the death of fellow Drag Race alum The Vivienne.

Ross, who no longer performs drag, claims in his post that Charles, Visage, and WOW’s actions have resulted in “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.”

According to his post, “Ross seeks affirmative relief, including compensatory and punitive damages, as well as declaratory relief acknowledging the Defendants’ wrongful conduct.”

However, as Bussy Queen notes in their video, “There is no public record of a formal lawsuit being filed in any court. There is no docket number. There is no court filing record and there is no legal reporting regarding this lawsuit,” as of January 8. They suggest that Ross’s post is “AI-generated” and describe his claims as “delusional fan fiction and wishful thinking.”

Ross does not appear to have commented further on his intention to sue Charles, Visage, and WOW.

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