Canada’s Drag Race winner Venus has clarified that injuries sustained in Mexico following an altercation were ‘not the result of any wrongful abduction or brutality by authorities’, after initially claiming she was ‘abducted and assaulted’ by police.
The drag star, who won the fourth season of the Canadian spinoff of RuPaul’s Drag Race, took to Instagram on 22 April to share pictures of injuries the performer had sustained, claiming that they were a result of treatment at the hands of police in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Venus said she was “abducted… handcuffed and tossed around in the back of a truck hatchback”.
She claimed that she was “choked and kicked for an hour,” and that the authorities “took $1,000 (£750) cash and my headphones [from me] and I had to pay them hundreds more dollars to get released”, adding: “I can’t even call the police because they’re the ones who did this.”
Venus also shared an image of a building, with the comment: “They left me here, bleeding on the side of a dark road in the middle of the night after being handcuffed for hours while they all laughed at me.
“I’m still in shock and not sure what to do. I’m bruised and very sore. I can’t even comprehend the [past] five hours, I’m just lucky to be alive.”
Now, Venus has shared a new statement to her Instagram Story, clarifying that a “lack of clear memories, combined with the status of my physical injuries” led her to jump to conclusions during her stay in PV.
“In a moment of fear and deep confusion, I shared concerns about my treatment at the hands of the local police department, after blacking out unexpectedly,” she wrote. “When I came to, my lack of clear memories, combined with the status of my physical injuries, lead [sic] me to believe that something serious had happened while I was detained.”
Continuing, Venus explained that after the “opportunity to work closely with representatives from the authorities, local advocacy groups, such as the Vallarta Gay+ Community Center, and the … team at the Almar Resort,” the events of the night became clearer with “additional context”.
She added that her “initial response was made prematurely and without having all the facts.”
The Drag Race winner continued, “It was made clear to me that I was involved in an altercation, however I can confirm that this occurred prior to any police involvement and is not the result of a wrongful abduction or brutality by the authorities.
“I acknowledge that I should have waited until I had more clarity before making any public accusations and take full accountability that my previous statement does not align with the events of that night. I want to take a moment and express a deep gratitude and appreciation for the efforts of those who helped me piece things together with compassion and care.”
Venus concluded that she is “safe, recovering and incredibly thankful,” extending special gratitude to the local queer community of Puerto Vallarta.
Venus won the fourth season of Canada’s Drag Race in 2024, becoming the first Indigenous queen to do so. As well as serving pure drag excellence, she’s also known for getting her little (big) Venus out online, too.
Fellow Drag Race contestant Jasmine Kennedie was “harassed” on a train in New York earlier this month, while in 2023, Drag Race Holland‘s Envy Peru was assaulted in Amsterdam. The Vivienne, who died in January, was attacked in Liverpool the following year.
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