Drag Race star Tyra Sanchez arrested in Florida after protesting with ‘big old dildo’
Tyra Sanchez has been arrested – again – in Florida. (Getty Images)
Tyra Sanchez, the winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race has been arrested – again – in Florida, after protesting against police with a ‘big old dildo’.
Since beating out Jujubee, Raven and All Stars 8‘s Jessica Wild to snatch the crown of RuPaul’s Drag Race season two in 2010, it’s fair to say that Tyra Sanchez’s career has been a tumultuous one.
Sanchez had a run in with the law in 2020, when she spray painted the words ‘Don’t Ever Move Here’ on the side of an apartment complex in Atlanta that she was reportedly living in. She retired the ‘Tyra Sanchez’ name for two years before announcing a return to drag in 2022, under the name King Tyra.
Then, in June, Sanchez was arrested for allegedly assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest – footage of which she later posted to her Twitter account.
Her reaction to this first arrest has now led to a second one in Starke, Florida. Sanchez – out-of-drag name William James Ross IV – is currently being held in the Bradford County Jail, as confirmed by Entertainment Weekly.
Chief of police Jeff Johnston told the publication: “We’ve arrested James William Ross. He came out and was in his little outfit, and he had the police sign, hanging it up and showing and dancing.
“He was in a little G-string with a black bra on. It still was within the ‘freedom of speech’ category. The problem we had was it was in an intersection within a construction zone, but it wasn’t really causing a traffic problem.
Johnson then went onto explain that Sanchez’s actions evolved into a breach of peace when the performer “went home” and returned after strapping “on a big old dildo” under her tights.
“He comes back out on the road and starts shaking it, and that’s when people started stopping and cussing at him, and causing a traffic problem. It was bad from there on,” Johnson added, confirming that Sanchez will be booked on one charge of breach of peace.
Bodycam footage of Sanchez’s arrest from June was posted to the creator’s Twitter account, as well as pictures of the Drag Race star protesting in various drag looks, with two signs that read ‘Middle Finger Starke PD Oink!’ and ‘Charges dropped ayeee!’
It is understood that these images are not from the same event which caused the recent arrest on 6 June, though the circumstances appear to be similar.
According to Out Magazine, Sanchez filed a citizen’s complaint against the officer of her June arrest for excessive force and unlawful arrest.
According to an anonymous records clerk for Bradford County Sheriff’s office, who reportedly spoke to Entertainment Weekly, Sanchez was yesterday being detained in a holding cell in jail and is expected to be booked imminently.
America’s second drag superstar was also criticised for telling a fan to “go kill yourself” in 2016 and for pretending Drag Race alumnus Morgan McMichaels had died in 2017.
Memorably, she was also banned from DragCon in 2018 after allegedly posting threats ahead of the event.
