'RuPaul's Drag Race': Sherry Pie Appearing on Tamron Hall's Show, and People Are Fuming

Tamron Hall is facing backlash after she announced Monday that disqualified RuPaul's Drag Race [...]

By Allison Schonter

Tamron Hall is facing backlash after she announced Monday that disqualified RuPaul's Drag Race contestant Sherry Pie would be interviewed on her talk show this week. The interview comes after Sherry Pie, whose real name is Joey Gugliemelli, was disqualified from Season 12 of RuPaul's Drag Race after the 29-year-old admitted to sexual misconduct, with many calling out Hall for giving him a platform.

The Daytime Emmy winner announced the interview in a Monday tweet, writing that "one of the breakout stars" from the Emmy Award-winning reality competition series, who was "booted from the show after being hit with lewd accusations of catfishing men," would be appearing on the Tuesday episode of the talk show. The tweet attempted to hype up the interview by adding it would be "the first time Sherry Pie comes clean." Backlash was immediate, with some dubbing the upcoming interview "disgusting."

Reporter David Mack, who first reported on the allegation against Gugliemelli, was among the first to respond to the announcement. In a tweet, he said, "There are things here that suggest a worrying lack of research." According to Mack, among the most troubling aspects is the fact that "one victim has already contacted me in distress as it appears there's been no effort to hear from them." Several social media users called Hall out on this, with one person pointing to Mack's tweet and adding, "Despite knowing how angry the victims are over this, they're proceeding anyway just for the attention this redemption attempt will get. Not even a pretense of caring." Another person wrote, "Listen to her victims. Not her. She doesn't deserve a platform, her victims do." Several others pointed to the fact that Hall called the scandal "accusations" despite Gugliemelli having admitted to them, with one person commenting, "These weren't 'accusations,' she admitted to them. And this wasn't just 'catfishing,' this was actual sexual abuse."

The drama surrounding Gugliemelli began in March 2020 after several men came forward with claims that Gugliemell convinced them to film themselves auditioning for a fake role, with one claiming that he let Gugliemelli film him masturbating, according to the Daily Mail. Gugliemelli later apologized in a Facebook post, writing, "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." Gugliemelli added, "I know that what I did was wrong and truly cruel." Gugliemelli was subsequently disqualified from RuPaul's Drag Race and also banned from both the reunion and the finale.

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