Tamron Hall is coming under fire for an upcoming interview.
The Daytime Emmy winner took to Twitter Monday to tease a segment with drag queen Sherry Pie.
She’s facing backlash for giving the performer (whose real name is Joey Gugliemelli) a platform after he admitted to sexual misconduct, which got him disqualified from season 12 of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Facing backlash: Tamron Hall is coming under fire for an upcoming interview, after she took to Twitter Monday to tease a segment with drag queen Sherry Pie
Tone-deaf: She’s facing backlash for giving the performer (whose real name is Joey Gugliemelli) a platform after he admitted to sexual misconduct, which got him disqualified from season 12 of RuPaul’s Drag Race (pictured in February, 2020)
The 50-year-old said in the clip: ‘On the next Tamron Hall, one of the breakout stars of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Sherry Pie, booted from the show after being hit with lewd accusations of catfishing men. For the first time, Sherry Pie comes clean. What really happened, next Tamron Hall.’
It comes after Gugliemelli, 29, faced a wave of accusations from several men, who said he catfished them, posing as a casting director.
At least five men came forward last March, claiming he convinced them to submit embarrassing audition tapes, one even admitting he let Gugliemelli film him masturbating.
Gugliemelli did not deny the allegations, posting an apology to Facebook: ‘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.
Exclusive interview: The 50-year-old said in the clip: ‘On the next Tamron Hall, one of the breakout stars of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Sherry Pie, booted from the show after being hit with lewd accusations of catfishing men’
Catfish allegations: It comes after Gugliemelli, 29, faced a wave of accusations from several men, who said he catfished them, posing as a casting director
Speaking up: At least five men came forward last March, claiming he convinced them to submit embarrassing audition tapes, one even admitting he let Gugliemelli film him masturbating (pictured in February, 2020)
‘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. I learned on that show how important “loving yourself” is and I don’t think I have ever loved myself.
He continued: ‘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.’
The native New Yorker was subsequently disqualified, after filming for the season had already been completed.
VH1 banned him from both the reunion and the finale, where he was supposed to compete for the crown, as part of the top four.
Public apology: Gugliemelli did not deny the allegations, posting an apology to Facebook, which got him disqualified, after filming for the season had already been completed
Disqualified: VH1 banned him from both the reunion and the finale, where he was supposed to compete for the crown, as part of the top four (pictured in February, 2020)
They also took steps to minimize his screen time, as well as including a disclaimer before each episode that explained his disqualification.
Many on Twitter took aim at Hall for giving Gugliemelli a platform to rehabilitate his image, after he already admitted his guilt.
Jackie Cox (real name: Darius Rose), 35, who also competed on season 12 of the hit competition series, posted a lengthy statement to Twitter.
She wrote in part: ‘Being a performer and public persona is not a right, it is a privilege. Sherry relinquished this privilege by their actions. Giving Sherry a spotlight without the forethought to reach out to victims is irresponsible, immoral, & wrong. I stand with the victims of Sherry’s actions.’
David Mack, who broke the story for Buzzfeed last year, wrote on Twitter: ‘I’m the reporter who first wrote about Sherry Pie. There are things here that suggest a worrying lack of research (accusations? she admitted the behaviour) but the biggest is one victim has already contacted me in distress as it appears there’s been no effort to hear from them.
Fellow queen: Many on Twitter took aim at Hall for giving Gugliemelli a platform to rehabilitate his image, after he already admitted his guilt, including Jackie Cox (real name: Darius Rose), 35, who also competed on season 12 of the hit competition series
Lack of research: David Mack, who broke the story for Buzzfeed last year, also took to Twitter with a statement
No thanks: Ben Shimkus, one of the first accusers to come forward, clarified on Twitter that he was contacted for the show, but refused to participate
Ben Shimkus, one of the first accusers to come forward, clarified on Twitter that he was contacted for the show, but refused to participate.
He wrote: ‘Just so we are all clear on this, I spoke with producers at @TamronHallShow and told them that I and the 20 victims that I spoke to today DO NOT want them to air a segment with Sherry Pie. They’re going to air it despite the all of our requests.’
Meanwhile, Gugliemelli has broken his social media silence, taking to Instagram with his first post since the scandal broke, promoting the interview.
He wrote: ‘It’s been a long year of learning to own my many unpardonable mistakes. I’ll be sharing my story, reflecting on my shameful actions, and working towards making amends live on THE TAMRON HALL SHOW tomorrow, 10am EST @tamronhallshow’
Breaking his silence: Meanwhile, Gugliemelli has broken his social media silence, taking to Instagram with his first post since the scandal broke, promoting the interview