A RuPaul s Drag Race alumnus has been accused of stealing money from a woman's purse in the middle of a Las Vegas Drag Brunch performance.
A video posted by Megan Gerber to TikTok shows former Drag Race contestant Shannel, whose real name is Bryan Watkins, removing cash from a purse while the audience looks on. Watkins puts down the purse and struts away at the end of the video, which has over 4 million views. Gerber alleges that the purse is hers and that about $700 was taken.
In a series of TikTok videos, Gerber shared additional details about the incident, which occurred Saturday at the Mexican-themed bar and grill franchise Se or Frogs. After the incident, Watkins, who was one of the brunch'headliners, realized that Gerber was upset and asked her from the stage what was wrong. When Gerber charged Watkins with stealing hundreds of dollars, Watkins responded, B -, please, I took a dollar, Gerber alleged.
There were tables next to us that saw him take the wad of cash out of my wallet, and nobody told him he could go into my purse, Gerber said in one of the videos. She then excused herself from the performance and reported the incident to the venue's general manager. She reported the incident to the police.
The Las Vegas police confirmed in an email that they had received Gerber's larceny report. A spokesman said the case had not yet been assigned to a detective, but that it will be turned over to that bureau or detective to do a follow up or investigation. On Wednesday, Watkins posted an 11-minute video to Instagram titled In My Words, extending an apology to Gerber and an explanation of the comedic bit during the drag performance.
During my performance, I picked up her purse, and danced around with it for about 20 to 30 seconds or so. I added it to the wad of singles that were already in my hand from having performed around the room, Watkins said.
He ended the video by saying: No, I did not steal $700 from her purse. Yes, I inappropriately picked up her purse, and I made comments to her that were in poor taste. I ruined her birthday experience, and I apologize for that. It was never my intention, and I feel horrible for that. I really am sorry and refrain from doing a bit like this in my show for these reasons. Watkins did not respond to a request for comment.
A spokesman for Voss Events, a company behind the Drag Brunch show, said that only $2 was removed from Gerber's purse and that it was later returned to her.
The spokesperson said Gerber and her friends were offered a full refund of $1,200, plus an additional $700, despite the fact that it was never stolen. The company asked Gerber to take down her TikTok videos, alleging that they are inciting hate and threats directed at its drag performers, but Gerber refused and insisted on $7,000 in compensation to remove the posts.