James Ross, a controversial drag performer who won the second season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” as Tyra Sanchez, was reportedly arrested in Florida for assault on a law enforcement officer and resisting without violence.
According to an arrest report recently obtained by TMZ, Ross was involved in a minor crash last month in Starke, about 45 miles southwest of Jacksonville.
When officers arrived at the scene, Ross reportedly jumped out of the car and started yelling at a cop. When he proceeded to handcuff him, Ross allegedly threatened to shoot the police officer.
According to TMZ, Ross also tried to reach into the vehicle but was stopped by the officer, who used a Taser on him. When that didn’t seem to work, Ross was able to take off — but was finally arrested nearby.
The 35-year-old father of two is no stranger to controversy. A few years after winning the coveted title of “America’s Next Drag Superstar” in 2010, Ross became involved in a growing number of altercations involving fans and fellow “Drag Race” contestants.
In 2015, fans of the show were outraged when Ross told a person on Twitter to “go kill yourself.” In 2018, Ross was banned from attending DragCon after posting threats to the event on Facebook.
Two years later, Ross was arrested in Atlanta for vandalism, after allegedly spray-painting “Don’t Move Here Ever” on the side of an apartment building, TMZ reported at the time.
The performer’s turbulent career seemed to have come to an abrupt end in March 2020, when Ross announced on Instagram he was retiring from drag and “no longer [wanted] to be referred to as Tyra, Tyra Sanchez, her, she, girl, or queen.”
However, Ross appeared to reverse course in 2022, rebranding himself as King Tyra with an account on OnlyFans.