HOME / ENTERTAINMENT / TV

'RuPaul's Drag Race': Sherry Pie disqualified for catfishing but fans don't think that calls for death threats

Part of the fanbase said that though what Sherry did was vile and disappointing, that does not call for death threats or bullying

Sherry Pie has been disqualified from 'RuPaul's Drag Race' over catfishing allegations! Season 12 of the show recently premiered and ahead of Episode 2, the series made the announcement on Friday night about the disqualification. 

Sherry Pie, whose birth name is Joey Gugliemelli, had reportedly spent many years posing as a casting director, according to a recently published Buzzfeed article on the allegations.

Joey has catfished them over email and tricked the aspiring young actors into filming themselves doing demeaning and sexual acts and sending it to him. In the statement, the series revealed that though the season will air as planned, Joey has been barred from the series' finale episode that will air in spring. 

Taking to Twitter, the series shared, "In light of recent developments and Sherry Pie's statement, Sherry Pie has been disqualified from 'RuPaul's Drag Race'. Out of respect for the hard work of the other queens, VH1 will air the season as planned. Sherry will not appear in the grand finale scheduled to be filmed later this spring –spokesperson for VH1 and World of Wonder." 

The accusations of Joey catfishing these actors took the internet by storm after 25-year-old actor Ben Shimkus uploaded a status on his Facebook profile opening up about what happened.

It was a year-long scam where Joey posed as an agent named Alison Mossie online. There were several other men who Joey catfished too. Overall, there are currently seven men who have accused Joey of catfishing them as Alison, and one of them affirmed that he had been doing it till December 2019. 

After these allegations arose, Sherry Pie took to her Facebook profile and issued an apology for what she did, blaming it on her mental health. She said, "This is Joey, I want to start by saying how sorry I am that I caused such trauma and pain and how horribly embarrassed and disgusted I am with myself."

"I know that the pain and hurt that I have caused will never go away and I know that what I did was wrong and truly cruel. Until being on 'RuPaul's Drag Race', I never really understood how much my mental health and taking care of things meant," she shared. 

The apology statement continued, "I learned on that show how important 'loving yourself' is and I don’t think I have ever loved myself. I have been seeking help and receiving treatment since coming back to NYC."

"I truly apologize to everyone I have hurt with my actions. I also want to say how sorry I am to my sisters of season 12 and honestly the whole network and production company. All I can do is change the behavior and that starts with me and doing that work," she added.

Following Sherry Pie's apology, she drew flak from viewers who called her out for the catfishing incident. Some of those comments were harsh saying she needs to be in jail and labeled her as trash.

Amid all this online backlash that Sherry has been receiving, a part of the fanbase shared that though what Joey did was vile and disappointing, that does not call for death threats or bullying because that might lead to drastic decisions. 

"I know what Sherry Pie did was wrong, awful, & disgusting, but is death threats really necessary? #dragrace," a fan wrote on Twitter.

Another said, "It’s literally making me so sad that I can’t enjoy this season like others. I feel bad for the other queens on this season. I feel bad for the victims. And I’m nervous for Sherry. In no way were her actions okay but neither are the death threats going her way. #DragRace." 

"So this Sherry Pie thing is pretty twisted, & people on here are saying she's canceled, which is fair enough. But in this climate of prolific social media bullying, let it be just that. No trolling, no bullying, no death wishes... #RPDR," a fan wrote.

Another said, "Most of the people attacking sherry don’t care about the victims, they just like the drama and wanna attack someone relentlessly without any consequences, she was disgusting, no question but she’s still a human so let’s not ruin drag race forever and push her to suicide #DragRace." 

"What she did was completely wrong and like many of you said, she will have to face the music and deal with the consequences, 100%. But these comments are so dark, vile, and full of hate. Comments like these can make people who are not emotionally/mentally stable do some pretty horrific things to themselves. I understand that we're all upset and disappointed but this is not the way to show it. I hope she gets the help that she needs and stays safe," a fan wrote on Facebook. 

'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 12 airs every Friday night only on VH1. Check your local listings for more information.